Systematic Theology - Eschatology

Eschatology

Many theologians believe that our hope is “ultimately rooted in God’s presence” (Rieger, 176). There is some disagreement as to whether that presence is a current or future reality. Some suggest that the kingdom that we seek when we say the Lord’s Prayer is both now and then (Gonzalez, 161). Others, however, suggest that “more important than last things is the union of the soul with God here and now” (Pöhlmann, 60). To be sure, the reign of God is a reign of love and that love involves a different order of reality (Gonzalez, 162). I believe that the reordering of reality has already begun in our world through the in-breaking of God’s kingdom in all the ways that we have discussed God’s activity up to this point. The fullness of that reordering, however, will not occur until Christ returns. Such thinking leads immediately to questions of what happens when we die, heaven and hell, ultimate ends, and the parousia. These questions are personal, communal, and cosmic in nature; and it is to these last things that we now turn.

First, let us remember that our lives are radically altered by our faith in and commitment to God through Jesus Christ. That means eternal life begins at our acceptance in faith. But this is an already and not yet proposition. Our lives are reordered through justification and sanctification, but there is more beyond this life. In saying this, we must be cautioned against the tendency to reduce the gospel message to a get into heaven free type of message. None-the-less, there is life after death for both the believer and the non-believer. The believer will be in the presence of God, in body and spirit, for all eternity. The non-believer will experience eternal separation from God. These existences are respectively referred to as heaven or hell. Scripture tells us that there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1). The old will pass away and the new will come; but I believe that in our finitude we are completely unable to grasp what that looks like. The greatest point of this new heaven and new earth is that the reordering of our love will be complete as we love God, each other, and creation the way that we were meant to.

Yes, I said hell. It seems that if we are to truly honor the way that God has revealed himself to us, then we must take seriously the claim of human freedom. For freedom to be true freedom, humans must be able to choose not to embrace God. While salvation is offered to the world through Jesus Christ, redemption only comes to those who embrace this gift of grace. Not embracing grace is an eternally serious continuation of a person’s chosen distortion of their original design. By choosing, these persons remain separated from God. These that are eternally separated will exist in hell. Fires that forever burn but never consume are difficult to fathom. What is fathomable, however, is how horrible it would be to be separated from God, from others, and from creation for all eternity. That is the reality of hell, regardless of its décor and activity; and that is scary enough! Although the reality must be conceded that hell exists, we ought never to cease praying that when it all ends, hell is empty.

Getting to these places or states of eternal existence is a question that has baffled theologians for thousands of years. I do not believe, as Luther did, that we go to sleep and nothing happens until Christ’s return; nor do I believe as Calvin did, that we go immediately to our full reward or punishment (Placher, 332). Additionally, intermediate states such as purgatory are tenuous. Instead, when death comes, those in Christ continue to be in Christ as our souls go on to be in the presence of God. Those not in Christ, begin to their eternal separation from God. Neither of these states is fulfilled, however, until Christ returns. Upon the arrival of the parousia those in Christ will be fully restored to the newly created order, including the bodily resurrection. How God will accomplish this is a mystery. We must trust that the Creator of the universe is capable of bringing about and faithful to bring about, what he has promised.

As already alluded to, the final destiny of all things is not fully complete until all of the created order is redeemed and there is a new heaven and a new earth. If we are to take seriously our commitment to God in his entirety, our commitment to God’s activity within the world, then we must admit that all of creation (not just humanity) benefits from God’s saving grace. Anything less could not be considered to come of God.

I look forward to your comments.