Ending The End Times Confusion
Have I grabbed hold of your attention?
Are you sitting on the edge of your seat ready for a strongly worded pontification of my eschatological position?
Ready for my pronouncement of which millennial team I will be taking my talents to, whether pre-, a-, or post-?
(Note: Lebron is a dispensationalist, he keeps looking for literal lakes in L.A., not realizing they were superseded from Minneapolis. Westbrook is more of an old school covenantal he thinks made shots are an allegory. Yuck yuck, go Jazz)
Well then, please accept my apology, for the purpose of this, is not that. Instead of an over-bolstered braggadocio of my own end times opinions complete with pithy zingers of others positions (excluding the Lebron joke) I would like instead to offer a path forward for those, who like me, are left completely humbled by the complexity of the end times debate and have been searching for a way to simplify it for the benefit of there own self-discovery and study of GOD's word and what it teaches about the last days.
Lets first understand the problem and what makes this issue so difficult to decipher...
Much of the end times discussion involves timeline and what event happens when as well as where. The problem as I see it ( you weren't going to get through an entire post without hearing at least some of my position) is that many arrive at their timelines by applying the commitments of their particular view to their exegesis of texts which are meant to form it. This is not done in conspiracy or contempt, but rather it is the result of the theological culture we as disciples of JESUS have cultivated. Most end times positions are the result of our theological heritage, a heritage which is formed by our denominations or non-denominations, those who have discipled us, and the doctrines which they favor. I myself held for a long time, a position which was the sole position of the particular church type I attended (generic enough for you?)
Now I'm sure at this point at least someone who is reading this is clutching their pearls that I would dare say that many an eschatological position has been formed moreso by heritage than by consistent hermeneutics, my intent is not to offend but instead to gently challenge, if this is not true of you than the solution I am about to offer should cause you no issue . So lets get to it, where should we start in order to set the stage for our end times commitments? Many believe the proper starting place is the book of Revelation, or Daniel or Matthew 24, but instead I would like to suggest that we place our position on the shelf for a moment & pick up our bibles & turn to Matthew 13, specifically 24-30, 36-43 for our staring point where JESUS is using parables to teach about the kingdom(in fact the entire book of Matthew is a great resource) to help us set some of our markers. Why is that? Three reasons...
JESUS is teaching here and he is expounding on his kingdom and how it will operate in this world as well as this age. Here we have the fulfiller of all those Old Testament prophecies regarding the kingdom, teaching us how and when he will do so.
This is not a vision or a dream, there are no symbols to decipher, no allusions but instead a parable which JESUS then gives us the full interpretation of for the benefit of his disciples understanding. He is also speaking in sequence of events.
This section of scripture precedes Matthew 24, a chapter which many believe sets the stage for the end times. It seems only reasonable to not allow what we believe is set there to be in contradiction to what is clearly stated here. By no means are the biblical authors in competition or conflict with one another, but it is to our benefit to allow the continuous thought of one, who has written his Gospel account to emphasize a particular aspect of JESUS ministry (his Kingdom), in order to help us understand the proper timeline & build up from there, rather than building down from our system to Matthew 24, and then to Matthew 13.
So what does it say?
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 24 He presented another parable to them: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 "But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 "When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 "The landowner's servants came to him and said, 'Master, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from? ' 28 " 'An enemy did this,' he told them. " 'So, do you want us to go and pull them up? ' the servants asked him. 29 " 'No,' he said. 'When you pull up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. 30 "Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I'll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but collect the wheat in my barn.' " ... 36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." 37 He replied: "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 "the field is the world; and the good seed -- these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 "and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 "Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 "The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness. 42 "They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Let anyone who has ears listen.
Some important and plain things here:
- JESUS is speaking to his disciples (believing Jews) and hiding his message from the unbelieving Jews, his expounding of the parable must have relevance to his immediate audience.
- The wheat & the weeds grow side by side, the wheat being children of the Kingdom sowed by JESUS and the weeds being sons of the evil one sown by the devil.
-The wheat and the weeds exist in the world described as the field (Notice who owns it)
- They will grow side by side until the end of the age (This fits within the this age, age to come idea JESUS uses in Matthew 12:32, this does not confirm any one position but it is an important and clear point that each position has to deal with)
-At the end of the age JESUS will send out his angels to gather the weeds (Sons of the evil one) & they will be cast into the furnace as judgement.
- Once this occurs, at the end of the age, only the Sons(& Daughters) of the Kingdom will remain in the age to come & they will shine gloriously like the sun to the glory of their FATHER.
As you study this subject further, may I humbly challenge you to keep this timeline in mind? I believe that all of the existing positions can still survive this sequence, though some are harder to maintain than others when this is considered (still not showing my cards...or charts) May I also challenge you to re-read Matthew 24 after having read all that exists between this chapter and that one?
Have I ended the debate? No, but my honest prayer is that as you do so you may be inspired by the world changing life of CHRIST and his Gospel, made more confident in the clear teaching of scripture, and brought to be more charitable towards others who hold a position different than you or your theological heritage. I also hope that as we build up from this foundation that we can find more of the unity and awe JESUS prayed for everyone of his disciples in John 17. Every position has its issues, and each is striving to be consistent in its harmonization of GOD's revelation. But each one of us can rejoice in this fact... JESUS reigns now (in some aspect) into eternity, he is returning to be present with his beloved bride, and all of creation will be redeemed by this event.
Another way to say this is that our faith in Revelation 22 is just as important as our understanding of Revelation 20.
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