Personal and Universal Eschatology

Good evening everyone when you came in tonight, I Hope that you signed in for the last time. Tonight is our last class and There are two handouts that you need for tonight if you did not get them. Please take a moment to come and get the handouts.

One of them is what we're going to be looking at actually Beginning the class we're going to talk about next semester. So you can have that prepared and the other one is part of tonight's lesson. Tonight is as I said our last class and I have good news for you.

No pop quiz tonight. Instead of the pop quiz, I'm going to use the first five minutes or so to converse with you about why you should take next semester's class and Tell you about what it is going to be on.

So if you have your sheet This one that is entitled course title ds200 introduction to apologetics. Please take it out and look at it with me just for a moment. You'll notice I have reformatted the syllabus slightly.

It is now two pages versus three and I didn't just go in and reduce the font size. Even though that is part of it. What I also did was I changed some of the grading criteria. And I'm going to explain that when we get to next semester's course and But your final grade is your research project is now 50 of your final grade rather than 40.

And as I said when we start next semester's course, we'll discuss why that is. But on the second page or rather on the first page under required texts if you are going to take this class. You need to purchase John frames apologetics a Justification of Christian belief and I'm going to go ahead and tell you it's the book is not too pricey.

I think I paid $15 .99 on Amazon. So it's not super expensive but it is. It's going to be a heavy read. You all read if you took this class and did all the reading you all read dr. Sproul's Systematic theology the introduction to systematic theology.

That was a great book. You showed me you can read well next semester. You're going to read a little more. But the good thing is you don't if you look at this book I've actually chopped off the parts that you don't even have to worry about the there's there's like four Introductions of this book because it's like the third edition second edition or whatever.

So there's like all these introductions to the different editions. You ain't got to read all that you can just don't have to and these are the appendixes. So like there's a ton of in the back that you don't you this is a this truly is a textbook That would be used in seminaries and it is yes I don't think it's available on audio that I could find if you do find it.

Let me know. But the the book itself the actual reading portion is 218 pages and we're not reading about we're not reading all the chapters the one difference of this and dr. Sproul's book is I'm going to assign you Sections of chapters to read because you're just it's so heavy I I'm going to focus on specific parts of this book.

So you still need the whole book? Obviously you can buy it digitally if you want. But there are going to be times when I say read pages this through this and if you got it digital. That's hard to figure out so it's better to have the hard copy so that you know the pages, but please get your book and you'll see under the Assigned reading you'll have an assigned reading from the.

Actually, it is from the introduction a biblical perspective on apologetics. That's only like a page. That's all you have to read before the class starts. It's just a little section I want you to read and it tells you where it's at in the syllabus now this class is going to start the week after Easter April the 8th, and it will take us through the end of May so this will be our spring semester if you will April and May and then We'll have a very quick turnaround.

Because we're going to do June and July and take August off. So we're going to have a pretty quick turnaround for the last class which is Introduction to Christian life and ministry so that gives you the idea of where we're going to be.

This is the book you need if you're going to be in the next course any questions. Terrific all right. John would you close that door for me or yeah either all right? Well that went faster than a pop quiz, so we're moving right along.

The Scope of Eschatology and the Meaning of the End Times

Tonight we are going to study the doctrine of Eschatology we are going to be looking at several different aspects of eschatology. Three primary things we're going to look at our death and the intermediate state in time perspectives and heaven and hell.

That will be our three major primary headings everybody open your Bible and turn to Hebrews 9 27 now miss Jackie. She's she's tired of me calling her name. I think I mentioned her name last night. She just finished.

We did a two-year 90 part series on Systematic theology at our church and last night. We finished it. We finished on the subject of heaven, and I think she's one of the few people who were here for most of those 90 classes and She has heard several weeks on eschatology, and she's going to tell me how good I do tonight at shoving Probably the last eight weeks of study into a one-hour lecture.

And that's really what we're doing every week. I'm having to condense and combine a lot of things to get us through each of the Bible doctrines, but but here's the thing always remember this you can go as Macroscopic or as microscopic as you want when it comes to studying scripture.

Microscopic is when you look down at the small details of any particular teaching or text, but you can also take a Macroscopic or a a big view of things and that's what this class does. This class looks at it really in a in the lens of the larger.

Looking over it in a in a big way. We're not digging into all of the fine details. But we are looking at a few of them. Hebrews 9 27 who's got their Bible ready. Read it for me John. That's it. Well yeah, it goes on.

But that's the most important part as it is appointed unto man to die once and after this comes judgment. That is the heart of what we would call Eschatology. The word eschatology comes from the Greek word Eschaton.

Which means the last things the last things? So the doctrine of eschatology deals with the end or the last things and When we think of eschatology we can think of eschatology in two categories. First we have what we would call personal Eschatology and then we have what we would call universal eschatology.

Brian what do you think would be the difference between personal and universal eschatology. I? I Don't know if them. I don't know if the microphone picked you up. I may have to bring you up. He said one is personal as one is universal.

What? What do you think. I mean though when I say personal and universal eschatology personal eschatology is my own end. Right my own last things. And as I point out to everybody when they ask me pastor Keith Do you think we're in the end times my answers you are?

Because you're you know in a hundred years you won't be here anymore. So whether or not the world only has a hundred years left. You don't you're in your end times and so most people focus on the universal aspect of eschatology they focus on the the Tribulation they focus on the Millennium they focus on all of those things that do inspire tremendous debate but they don't tend to focus on the the reality that we're all in our own in time and If you were in the last class which was our introduction to The New Testament when we did our study of Revelation you probably remember me saying some of these same things and remember the key to learning is repetition and repetition of key to learning it's good to remember these things because We can get tied in knots trying to figure out Revelation.

We can really bend over backwards trying to figure out all of the the beast and the The the ten headed this and the horns of that and what this means and what that means but at the end of the day It is very likely That I will die Before Christ comes because most of the people who lived before me died before Christ came and Most of them thought they were living in the end times and most of them thought Jesus was coming in their day.

Now could he come tomorrow? Yes, and amen. Could I live to see his return? What a glory? But if we fail to think about our own end While getting tied up in knots about the universal end Then I think we've missed the point, you know, we know not when the master of the house cometh.

But we do know that our end is certain as it is appointed unto man wants to die. The only people who aren't going to die Are Enoch Elijah and everybody who's alive when Jesus comes. Everybody else is going to die and there and that there is an appointment God has that on his calendar.

I don't know when that date is. I don't think I'd want to know. Never thought you ever asked that question if you could know for certain when your day was going to be would you want to know? Probably not right none of us knows the day.

But it is appointed unto man to die so we know it's coming even if medicine gets Wildly advanced to the point where it can preserve the body. It will never preserve it indefinitely. We will die as a result of the fall.

Brian you had your hand up, right? That's right. That's right. There have been people who've tried to commit suicide. God didn't allow it. There have been times where you know, people have have Not necessarily try to commit suicide, but tried everything that just almost Done their body so wrong that you think they would die and they go on to live another 30 years.

So yes, you can't. You can't out God God. You can't out sovereign the sovereign and so yes, his appointment is firm. Brother you had your hand up or did one of you? Okay. All right, so when we consider a personal eschatology the first thing we have to realize is we're talking about death and We then have to take the next logical step and say what happens after death which is typically group typically referred to as the afterlife so death and Afterlife now afterlife is a bit of a miscommunication.

Sorry. I'll move that over. This is death and afterlife underneath Individual or personal eschatology we talk about death and afterlife. It's not really afterlife. It's just a different life. It's after this life and The Bible says that every person is going to have an afterlife.

Whether they are experiencing an afterlife that is pleasant or Unpleasant for lack of a better term that is the difference but it Does declare that all men will experience life after this one? We're going to talk later on about the concept of Annihilation when we talk about heaven and hell.

But for the for the moment, we'll leave that on the table. We're going to talk about that later. But for the moment we talk about personal eschatology. We talk about death and afterlife and on your sheet.

We have something called the intermediate state. We say death and the intermediate state. What is the intermediate state? Okay. Very good, Ed. That's the right answer. I like what I just erased this when We talk about the intermediate state to draw a timeline.

This is you. This is your life line. What's that. This is Brian. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah, if it were Ed, yeah, like I said a little bit bigger head. All right, so when you die you go and as a As a body your body goes either into the ground or it is in some way consumed whether it's cremated or whatever it is your body is is placed into a condition of Inanimacy it's no longer animate.

All right, and then one day there will be a resurrection of the body. And the Bible is very clear that the body will resurrect. It's it's not a spiritual resurrection. Jesus didn't just come out of the tomb spiritually.

They went to the tomb and what did they find an Empty tomb, right? Where has where is the body right? And what was the the Jews? Oh, they've stole his body tell people they've stole his body. Why because the body weren't there the greatest way to prove Christianity faults in the first century would have been for the Pharisees to produce the body of Christ.

If all the disciples of Jesus are running around and saying this man has raised from the dead. All they had to do to prove that was false was produce his body. No, he hasn't here. He is he's still dead.

But they didn't produce the body because his body raised. That's a key Apologetic point about the resurrection of Christ. He didn't just raise spiritually. People didn't see a phantom people saw a resurrected Jesus and He even makes the point with Thomas.

See my hands my side in his eye. He eats on the beach with Peter. Remember after his resurrection when he when he cooked fish on the beach. Remember so there's a resurrection of the body. We too will be resurrected.

1st Corinthians 15. I love to preach this text at Easter because 1st Corinthians 15 tells us Paul says. Specifically if Christ is not raised. No, rather if resurrection is not true, then Christ be not raised and if Christ be not raised and we have no hope.

We are of most of all men most to be pitied if there is no resurrection. Because we've been preaching a lie so the resurrection happens when Christ Returns. Now we're going to talk a little bit about millennium positions and all that but for the for the most important for this individual Personal eschatology you will die you will be raised.

The point between this is the point of contention. That is the point that we call the intermediate State. The intermediate state is the point between death and Resurrection now. Wait one second before you ask.

I just want to make a point that if you're alive when Jesus comes you won't you don't get one of these. Because you won't need it, but it was after you're gonna ask. Okay, go ahead. Well, that's what we're getting to.

Absolutely, because this is absent from the body. The body's in the ground. The intermediate state is the state of you is you is the state of your soul? Don't stress days. You just hang with me. I promise.

I'll make it make sense. Huh. Well, yeah, well, I hope so this is basic Christian doctrine. This is but it's true. The the body goes into the ground. The soul and we could write that we could say the soul is in an intermediate state and.

Then one day the soul and body are reunited at the resurrection. Are we clear on on that part? Now the question is what happens to the soul in the intermediate state and there are two Competing arguments.

I only think one is biblical. But I will present both to you so that I can explain why I think one is unbiblical. The first position is the position I believe is unbiblical and that is the position known as.

The fancy word is psychopenic. Yeah, but the no not purgatory. The position is called soul sleep soul sleep soul sleep. And that is the idea that when your body goes into the ground your soul is unconscious and still with your body.

The belief is that your soul is an inextricably tied to your body. Therefore wherever your body is that's where your soul is and if your body's dead so too is your soul. Unconscious or asleep in your body and it will be there until the resurrection when both wake up together.

This is called again psychopenic. He is the fancy word, but the simple word is soul sleep and the idea again is you die eyes closed you're on the bed and You die and the next thing you know, you wake up and you're resurrected in your in your new body.

So for you, it would be an instantaneous trip. It's like like when you know, you fall asleep at night you wake up the next day. It's happens instantly right which is terrible. I love sleep and I don't get to enjoy it.

You know you go to sleep you wake up. It's like no. No, let me have a little more. I didn't you know, yeah, unless you're like me and you have terrible dreams. Sometimes I wake up and I live a whole lifetime in one dream and I'm like, I need to go back to bed.

I'm exhausted from that horrible dream. And I have asked people who hold I know people who hold this position their entire denominations to hold this position. The Advent Christian Church holds its position.

Seventh-day Adventist hold this position the heretical Jehovah Witnesses hold this position. This is very popular among Adventist movements. By the way, Jehovah Witnesses is a offshoot of Adventist theology so this is very popular in some circles and their argument is You're when the Bible says they're sleeping.

That that's talking about their soul. I Called so sleep that during the intermediate state soul is asleep. The opposite position the position I think is biblical and the position of course that we teach and hold to is what we would call continued consciousness.

Continued consciousness is My body is in the ground, but my soul is with the Lord. That's what you just said Daisy. Yes. My soul is still conscious and Very much aware and very much alive. So here's a few verses to support Continued consciousness.

My favorite is Luke 23 43. When Jesus was on the cross the man beside him was dying. He was dying and he said Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom and Jesus said I say to you Today thou shalt be with me in paradise today thou shalt be with not in the future not at the resurrection.

But today thou shalt be with me in paradise so That tells us two things one It tells us that there's an immediate Consciousness on the day that you die in your new condition, but also tells us Jesus didn't go to hell.

Some people have a theology that Jesus went to hell, but he said you will be with me in paradise. Very important theological ramifications. Yeah, Joyce Meyer and a lot of others say Jesus went to hell.

Jesus didn't say he was going to hell. Now that's in first Peter and I do not believe it means what you think it does. That's the verse they use I know and They'd be wrong. No, no that that verse is often used to try to prove that Jesus went to hell.

Jesus suffered on the cross. Jesus did not suffer in hell. That is a very important distinction. Yes, you got a question. Okay. There is there is an argument that can be made that Luke 16 tells us and that's another by the way, Luke 16 is another argument for continued consciousness because the two men who died were alive when they died the the The rich man went to hell, but the poor man went to Abraham's bosom both of them were conscious.

That's the point continued consciousness, right? I think it supports that now the question of whether or not Jesus there's led captivity captive is the way the King James says it that he went and he preached to the souls in prison and he Led captivity captive and the argument is that did Christ at that moment go and set them free and take them to heaven with him.

And my answer is I don't know. I don't know. I don't know the answer to that. I don't know the condition of the pre cross Saints after death except one thing Moses and Elijah Were both on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and Therefore there was a certain ability for them to Understand and be in a pleasant condition.

I think there's a lot that we could extrapolate from that. Maybe infer a few things that you know based on what that's saying. But there is no. There's no indication in my mind that the Old Testament Saints were sleeping.

I think they were alive and Conscious now were they with Abraham? I think Luke 16 would argue there with Abraham. The question is where is Abraham? Paradise and that's where Jesus said today. You'll be with me in paradise.

So what's paradise though? And how do we define that? That's it. That's that's more than we have time to get into today. But but they were in paradise. That's where Jesus went. I'm just saying Jesus didn't go to Hades.

Jesus did not go to the hellfire damnation place. Frank you want to ask a question? I'm sorry Frank had to stand up for He descended into hell. I disagree with the interpretation of that because I think that that that particular creed is is is basing an idea on Christ descending into hell to do the very thing.

We just talked about to set captives free. I don't think. And it doesn't it doesn't say.

When he He was he was banished to hell. Are you a question a second question? Sure certainly. He wouldn't be incapable of going to hell would he. Considering sovereignty if that means considering God's sovereignty God goes where God chooses to go for God whatever reason God has for going there.

Yes, but.

The couple questions just come to come to mind. First first thought is Can God go wherever God wants to go? Absolutely. But we have to base what he did do on the text not on what he could do. So do we have a passage that says he went to hell?

We have certain illusions in first Peter that we talked about earlier. And we have the creed that seems to indicate that but no specific passage. The one thing we do have is he himself saying I will be in paradise because he said today you'll be with me in paradise.

So I think that's where we have to begin to break down. What is paradise? How is it related to hell? Could Jesus have stood in paradise and preached to the people in hell as Luke 16 says there's a gulf where they can interact with one another.

That's a possibility. So but I don't think he was suffering. That's my that's my only contention. Frank is those who would say he went to hell to suffer for our sins. Because he suffered for our sins on the cross that that's my that's the big argument.

Whether or not Physically present where I believe he's in paradise with Abraham. If he could interact with people in hell, did he preach to people in hell? I don't think he took anybody out. I think the people that were in paradise with the people that were with him the people in hell don't get a Stay of execution or a reprieve at that point.

Lot to go into though a lot it certainly would be a interesting, you know. Conversation to continue if we had time, but unfortunately we don't. Daisy what we're gonna ask. Yes, and again though when did he preach to them.

Well, but We don't. Unfortunately, we do not have time to break down individual texts like that tonight. It just we just don't have time to break it. For time's sake I have to move on. Let me simply say though that the people who say that he went to hell to suffer I think are misunderstanding that passage and there are people who do again.

Joyce Meyer said that very thing. Kenneth Copeland many of the health and wealth preachers say Jesus went to hell to suffer and I just don't believe that. Okay. Getting back to continued consciousness.

I'm glad you know, don't be sorry. I'm glad you asked questions. If all this was was a lecture. They'd be now I just send you the video. We're supposed to interact but we do got to move on and eventually, you know, once we've interacted move on to the next thing.

Few other verses. 2nd Corinthians 5 8 it should be on everybody's list. I Am willing rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. That's when you mentioned earlier Daisy James 2 26. This is one of my favorites to point out as the body apart from the spirit is dead.

So faith apart from works is dead. James uses an analogy about the body and the spirit. For faith and works, but he says the body apart from the spirit is dead. How do we define physical death. The spirit leaves the body?

That's how James defined physical death. Therefore spirit is not asleep in the body. The spirit is absent left the body. Luke 16 19 to 31. Lazarus and the rich man. Again pointing to immediate consciousness after death.

One of my favorite parts of that story is that when when Lazarus dies, he is carried by the angels. When the rich man dies, he closes his eyes and he opens them in in hell. There is no angelic escort.

There's no pleasant death. You know I have I've actually been at the bedside of many people who died while I was there. Several specific ones stand out to me. People that I've known people I've loved church members and other things.

I've seen the machines go Flat like you see, you know, they don't usually go flat like the movies. They just get so slow that it's you know, it's done but you've kind of seen that I've been in that situation before and there are there are many many stories of Of Unbelievers particularly rampant atheists who in their final moments were just clawing at the walls and very fearful of the darkness that was coming upon them and Hating The the the reality of what they know is coming and it's not always that way but there's enough Anecdotal Situations that you could share to at least know that the death of the wicked is not a pleasant thing.

And even God himself says I'd take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Ross had a question. I don't think so I think it's real, but I'm not gonna die on that hill. My biggest argument is not even a really, you know big argument.

It's just it's if it is a parable. It is the only parable where Jesus uses a real name a Proper name he calls him Lazarus. He doesn't say there was a man like I don't think there was a Good Samaritan.

I don't think that's a true story. I think the Good Samaritan is a parable. I don't think there was I'm not saying there's never been a good guy. I just think that that story is a story. I don't think that Most of Jesus's parables were based on a real thing.

I think they were you know, the kingdom of heaven is like this or the kingdom of heaven is like that or whatever. It's always analogous to something but when he said that he said Lazarus and he spoke of him and he spoke of a situation that In my own heart, I look at and I say there's there's something there's something well, there's something about that story that stands out to me as Just like very powerful and that's this if the story is true.

Then that guy is still in hell today and That just is so mind-boggling to me That as much as he was in hell when Jesus told the story He's still in hell today and all he's waiting for is the resurrection whereby he will be resurrected.

Judged and poured into the lake of fire. He has no hope even today and all he wants is that his family would not come to the place that he's in and That speaks to me. Very true, even if it is a parable.

It doesn't have the same qualities of a parable parables. Usually are intended to have analogous. You know, there was a sower went out and sow a seed. This is rocky soil. This is this this is that and it represents something the story of Lazarus and the rich man.

You have to ask the question. What does it represent? Death and what does it teach us about death and the afterlife, you know, there's a lot of questions that come in. But personally I prefer to think of it as a real story, but I'm not dying on that hill.

I don't know Brian. Okay, cool. Okay, last verse to throw out for you on continued consciousness because I'm going to support this is Revelation 6 9 and 10 and I'll read this one and we'll finish up and move on to the next thing resurrection.

Revelation 6 9 when he opened the fifth seal I saw Under the altar the souls of those who'd been slain for the Word of God and for the witness they had born. They cried out with a loud voice Oh Sovereign Lord.

Holy and true. How long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? They say well, what does that got to do with anything? Well a couple things one. It says the souls are Present in the throne room of God.

Two it says these are previously men who have died men and women who have died as martyrs and Remember how they died. Because they cry out for justice. That's a big deal to me. Because even though I do believe revelation is very it has it's filled with symbolism as we've talked about in our eschatology course.

It's I do believe revelation is highly symbolic. It's apocalyptic literature. You have to look at that and say is there right now before the throne of God? Men and women who have died for the cause of Christ who are crying out that God would bring justice on their adversaries.

That's what it says. And if so, does that not. Remind us that Continued consciousness is the right view of what happens after death rather than soul sleep. I just I just can't I can't get down with soul sleep.

I can't I can't abide it. It's not heresy though. Because it wouldn't it doesn't change the condition of the soul just the immediacy of them of the change. Whether or not the person's going to heaven and hell wouldn't be affected by the doctrine of soul sleep.

It's it's just to me. One of those doctrines that doesn't seem to bear any fruit and it's a it's an argument for no cause no reason. Um would they'll be what I guess you could have say it's an argument against cremation.

Yeah, I mean somebody could say well your soul is still there you need to keep the body intact. But honestly and not to get put to find a point on it and I'm gonna offend some folks but I'll go ahead and say it cremation is is not a Is is not the tradition of the of the Christian Church it's not the way we have done away with our dead.

We have always buried the dead. Cremation is very popular right now because of one reason. Finances, it's it economically cheaper, and I understand that but Cremation was never the practice you read through the Old Testament who burned their dead the pagans the Christians the Jews.

Buried their dead and it was because they had an eye toward the resurrection. Now having said that before I get any emails from anybody out there in a Facebook land who may want to send me a message. Let me clarify one thing very quickly if your body is cremated.

It isn't going to change God's ability to resurrect you at all. I'm simply saying from the from the position of tradition. It is not the tradition of Christians or Jews to burn it is the Christian it's the tradition to bury and therefore.

Yes, it's economically more Financially prosperous or whatever. I want to be buried and I'll tell you just not that you care. I want to be buried in the Jewish method and that is no embalming. They wash your body and they have you in the ground in 24 hours.

It's not hold you over for a week. So everybody can look at your you know bleach body because of the Formaldehyde in your body turns your skin different color and then caked up with makeup and all that stuff that they do with your body.

It's unnecessary. I think viewings tend to be somewhat unnecessary. Just wash me and put me in the ground. That's the again the simple model. But and I worked in the funeral business for years I can tell you it is and Bobby can tell you even more than I can because he did it for years and his father Was a funeral director.

It's what what what we do to the body is not not not the most Pleasant thing to even discuss to prepare it for viewing and that's all we're doing is preparing it for viewing and for some form of unnatural Preservation.

Yes, Brian, yes. Yes burning form of judgment. Absolutely. I'm not sure if there's I would have to look into that and to see if there's any real symbolism. I just burning was a judgment. Okay, or Nadab and a by who Aiken.

You know, we're all burned. But I don't know that I would attach that to cremation as much as I would just say this was a picture of judgment. All right. So this is death in the intermediate state. I believe the intermediate state is conscious and I wanted to focus on that because you probably think thought coming tonight.

We're going to talk about eschatology. We're going to talk about end times. Well, we did we talked about your end times. But for the last few minutes of this part of the class, let's talk about universal eschatology.

Everybody has their handout on your handout. There are two count them two sides. The first one is four views of the end times which this is what we're going to look at. The second one is the same information just in a different chart form.

So both of them kind of give you the same information. But let's look at the board very quickly and let's let's have a little powwow about the different views. Because as we said, this is the resurrection of the body.

We die we have an intermediate state we are resurrected. The question of universal Eschatology is what happens here? That's the big question. What happens at the resurrection of the body? Is it preceded by a seven-year tribulation which itself was preceded by a pre tribulation rapture is it?

Followed by a thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth, or is it followed by an immediate translation into the new heavens and new earth? This is the question and this is the arguments that go on when we talk about universal eschatology.

So for a second. Let us jump to The four views as simply as I can express them and it's on your sheet. But I want to make it even simpler than what's on your sheet simpler than one page. I want to make you a scholar of in time studies.

With one whiteboard and a black marker. Here is Jesus. Jesus Introduces the New Covenant age we are now under the New Covenant in Christ. Which will culminate finally and perfectly in his second coming.

So we have Jesus's return and it will be three things. It will be a bodily return. It will be a visible return and it will be a glorious return. If you read your book remember that was in the book. Because it's the same way he left Acts chapter 1 right?