Eschatology The Doctrine of Last Things Introduction Eschatology

Eschatology The Doctrine of Last Things

Introduction • Eschatology examines the last things. • Topics include: • Death/Intermediate State • Resurrection • Heaven/Hell • The Millennium • The Kingdom of God

Eschatology • Comes from eschaton or last things. • We live in a culture concerned with the end. • We want to know how things are going end? And When will this all happen?

Death and the Intermediate State • • • What happens after we die? Why does death exist? Will death ever be dealt with? These questions are legitimate questions concerning death. Reality: We’ve all lost someone we’ve loved. Either a grandparent, or a close friend.

Origin of Death • Romans 5: 12 -14 • From this passage, we learn: • Sin reigned before the law was given, thus death reigned before the law. • The fact of death proves the presence of sin. • Before the entrance of sin into the world, death did not exist. • Death only existed after the fall.

Origin of Death • Secular World: Death is a part of the natural order • Christian World: Death is a part of the fallen order • Genesis 2: 16 -17, God warned that the death that would happen is not only spiritual but physical.

Hope in Death • Our sentence for sinning is death. Romans 6: 23 “For the wages of sin is death. ” • Because of our sin, death will come for us. • But the hope of the Christian, Jesus has paid this penalty. So death is not the end for the Christian, but a moment of transition for the Christian.

Hope in Death • Phil. 1: 19 -24 • Paul views death as better than life. He says living is good, but being with Jesus is infinitely better. • Illustration: The Desire to grow younger.

Hope in Death • For the Christian, death is better because we go be immediately with Christ, this is confirmed by the resurrection of Christ. • The Bible teaches both of a death and a final resurrection. • In fact, the Apostles Creed says “I believe in the resurrection of the body. ” • We can be confident in this because Jesus walked out of the grave with a glorified body. So shall we • 1 Corinthians 15: 20 -23

The Intermediate State • Time between our deaths and the final resurrection. • When we die, our bodies go into the grave, but our souls go immediately be with Jesus • In this state, we have a soul without a body, but with a confidence that at the consummation our soul and body will be reunited.

The Intermediate State • Some have suggested the idea of soul sleep • Soul sleep = upon death our souls enter into a state of personal unconsciousness and separated from Christ. • This is not the biblical view. • The Biblical view is that we immediately go be with Christ.