Eschatology is a complicated subject for many Christians, so that many do not pay enough attention to it.  Some even make excuses for not doing so.

Eschatology is the study of the future and in particular what the Bible has to say about it.

It is important because it deals with life after death Jn 12:35, 1Jn 2:11, but it also deals with the future of the church in this world.

Jesus called the religious leaders who ignored the subject in His day “hypocrites” Mat 16:3 , because they spent time on other matters while ignoring this important one.

“In the morning you say, It will be foul weather today because the sky is red and foreboding. O hypocrits, you can discern the weather, but can you not discern the signs of the times?”

Jesus Christ – Matthew 16:3.

They spent much time on studying the weather but could not discern the signs of the times.

They thought that they had better things to do with their time, but God has given us all the time that we have, and each week God has given us the time that we need to consider these things.

Some basic eschatology

I will mention here only two basic concepts that the Christian Bible predicts about the future in this world, that have still to come to pass, and which will lead to a third most significant event, the biblical Millennium.

First, the Jews who have generally rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah Jn 1:11 will eventually acknowledge their mistake Zec 12:10, Rom 11:15,23 and embrace Him.  This will be accompanied by many other signs that God is at work.  Not least among these has been the Bible’s prediction of their return to their own land after almost 2000 years of exile, followed by the predicted re-birth of the Jewish state of Israel in one day Isa 66:8, which happened in 1948.

“Who has heard such a thing? who has seen such things? Shall the Earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once?”

Isaiah 66:8

Since then, more Jews have acknowledged Jesus, Yeshua, as their Messiah than in the long period of their exile from the land of Israel.

The second basic event is the fall of spiritual Babylon, which will also take place in one day or hour Rev 18:10.

“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine … the kings of the earth … standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.”

The Book of Revelation 18:10

Proper exegesis of Scripture reveals this spiritual Babylon to be papal Rome.  Even if people do not admit this, let us consider what is likely to happen when the Jews are converted to Christianity.

An explosive mix

Will Jewish Christians accept the Roman Catholic pope in Rome as the head of the Christian church on Earth?  Think about it.  Even now, the Jews know too much about the Roman papacy to submit to this.

The onlooking world will be astonished at the national Jewish conversion, and it will be just as astonished when these Jewish Christians repudiate the Roman Catholic pope in Rome. What will be the outcome? It will be a global cataclysm described in various ways in Scripture.

“Whose voice then shook the Earth: but now God has promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.”

Hebrews 12:26

Jesus described it thus:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.”

Matthew 24:29

This is such a significant time that Jesus described it as Earth-shattering and even shaking the heavens.

These two future events will usher in the biblical Millennium, a time of global prosperity Rom 11:15, Rev 11:15 because the true Gospel will expose false religion for the fakery that it is. With proper biblical preaching, Satan’s influence on the Earth will be curtailed to such an extent that it is described as binding Satan and confining him to the bottomless pit for this lengthy period of time Rev 20:1-8. The future is bright for the Christian church on Earth.

This part of eschatology is misunderstood by many and ignored by others.  It appears that it is not far away because of the fulfilling of associated prophecies.  The world is now a global village and false religion is finding it more difficult to hide from the truth.

What about yourself?  Who will you believe?  It is time to become the children of truth by following the Lord Jesus Christ.  Do not be on the wrong side of history, nor the wrong side in eternity.

Update:

15 Jul 2024: imagine the international turmoil if US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump had been killed in the assassination attempt on his life. How much more so when the Roman Catholic pope in Rome is exposed for what he is.