As another year comes to a close and our journey into the century continues, I find myself thinking about the excitement and questions raised by our entry into 2000. Media hype sparked fear and imagination. A trip to the grocery revealed timely sales on canned goods, bottled water and batteries. The end of the world, er, the end of the millennium was used to sell french fries and tennis shoes, diamonds and automobiles. At the theatre, people lined up for “End of Days.”
In a local department store, I was asked to sign up for a chance to win my own millennium bear. Not far away, I noticed the opportunity to purchase my own millennium time capsule. Later, a millennium T-shirt. The bank was pleading that it is not necessary to withdrawal money. President Clinton assured us that everything would be fine. Not everyone was alarmed; I overheard a conversation where the main concern was what to wear on New Year’s Eve.
Now we learn that the world will end again in 2012. Prepare to hear words like Armageddon, Apocalypse, and Anti-Christ. These buzzwords and other catch-phrases will again be used, misused and overused. Manipulated for profit. Writers looking for a quick bestseller, preachers trying to create a stir, and other marketers trying to earn a dollar. At times, Chicken Little and Henny Penny seem to have us surrounded.
If nothing else, the Y2K scare did show us that we must not put our faith in technology. We are not able to save ourselves. Maybe Big Blue can beat Kasparov in a chess match, but it is unable to save us. Such talk does cause response from the Christian community (as it should). Some make predictions, some write books, and others chart the end of time. While some responses are certainly more appropriate than others, what we need is a reminder of how to respond. Is it necessary to continue preaching and teaching, inviting and praying, opening the bible or seeking God’s will? Has our calling changed? We do not wish to ignore the excitement of it all, but we do wish to maintain our focus through the next millennium. The way to maintain focus is to have a well thought eschatology.
Eschatology is a big word with a simple definition. Simply put, it is the study of last things, the study of the end of time. When many seek for meaning all that is found is a self-portrait. Eschatology presents a bigger picture. For those of us overly concerned with the here and the now, a proper eschatology corrects our perspective. It gives urgency for holy living. A reminder that our lives now ought to be lived not only in response to what God has done but in anticipation of what he will do. For us, eschatology is not a doomsday sentence; it is a source of hope. It is not reason to stand and wait; it is a call to live as holy people.
While certain buzzwords may become trendy, the end of time is not new discussion. This discussion has been around for centuries. Some of the earliest participants were Paul and the Thessalonians. Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians emphasize this theme enough that John Stott entitled his commentary on these letters, The Gospel and the End of Time. This makes it particularly interesting for us to take a look at what is emphasized there.
One of these emphases is the coming of Jesus. Another is the theme of holiness. At I Thessalonians 3.11-13 and 5.23-24 we find both these themes together. This is not by accident, for Paul, the themes are inseparable. For him, the vision of Jesus coming with his holy ones is the greatest stimulus to holiness. In order that we might be holy then, Paul prays that we might be holy now. Here is our statement of how to respond. This sanctification theme is related to worship and religious instruction (5.12ff.). But also, to conduct and behavior. Including the everyday human experiences of work and family (4).
In this portion of scripture, we discover that the end of the world is intricately tied to the theme of holiness. We discover that our behavior now is tied in with what is to come. Eschatology may involve words like Armageddon and apocalypse. Yet, it also involves words like holiness, and sanctification. Eschatology is a source of hope and of holiness.
Therefore, our response is not to buzzwords or predictions of the end. Our response is to the coming of Christ. This event is directly connected to the way that we live. It is to spur us toward holy living. So we will continue to encourage others to become followers of Jesus. We will continue to look through eschatological eyes to realize what lies ahead (we have hope) and where we are now (called to be holy).
We will not share the fate of Chicken Little, because we know whose hands hold the sky. Instead, we side with Paul who stresses holy living as necessary if one is to be prepared to meet the Lord at his parousia. He emphasizes God’s sanctifying work in the believer. He assures the church that God will finish the good work he has begun in them. He sees sanctification as preparation for the coming of Christ. For Paul, eschatology and holiness are so closely related that they cannot be treated separately.
Our message is not only “in the beginning God” and “in the end God.” We will also say “in the now God.” Eschatology is world-changing. Our words, actions and decisions bear witness to God’s final will for the world. Yes, our future hope gives meaning to today. So, we desire to live as a holy people now.
scattered thoughts 