Study of End-times (Part I)

I just completed my module on 'Eschatology' or study of end-times at RHEMA Bible Training Center last week. Before that, I did not know what is eschatology and even had difficulty pronouncing that word! I signed up for this module because I wanted to learn more about end-times. I felt that it was necessary as a believer not to be ignorant about end-time prophecies in the bible and end-time events.

In the past, I shunned this topic because like most believers, there were different theologies about end time prophecies and the events written in the bible were hard to understand. Some end-time events like tribulation might even be scary or confusing. Other believers may think that they would probably not live till then to witness these things so why the need to study about end-times. For me, I did not want to be caught up with the unfruitful speculation of the timing of Jesus' 2nd coming.

The truth of that matter is: we are already living in end-times. Ok, you may think that centuries ago people were already talking about the 2nd coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but hey, He has not come yet! Yet in the bible, Jesus clearly tells us to watch and pray for we do not know when He will be coming again. Apostle Paul talked as though his generation would witness the end; yet nowhere did he expressly affirm that the end would come in his lifetime.

For me, the study of end-times was necessary because end-time theology taught me to be wise. Psalm 90:12 says 'Teach us to number our days so that we may gain wisdom.' The reality is that there is an end to all things on this earth. Hence we are 'forced' to focus our eyes on eternity no matter how much we enjoy our time on earth. The gospel must be preached to all people because the truth is, without Jesus Christ, man cannot save themselves. There is a heaven to go to and a hell to shun for eternity. Your divine fate is not temporal; it is forever. And forever is a very, very long time...

As a person solidly grounded in the gospel of grace, sometimes I feel that I tend to categorise my life according to doctrines like grace, faith, works of the Holy Spirit etc. Yet the bible does not segregate these teachings. Going through this course did make me a little uncomfortable because some of my theologies were shaken. However I know it is for my good because the Word of God will always straighen us up and adjust our thinking. I used to have a fuzzy idea about end-times but thank God that this lecturer is very anointed in teaching about end-times! He made the concepts and the contentious points so clear for me. He based his teachings largely on the book 'The Blessed Hope' by George Eldon Ladd. 

Having benefited so much from the study, I really liked to share some of my learning points, which I am sure you will be blessed. In the next few blog posts, I will talk about what the study of end-times entails and more importantly, what our response should be as believers.