eschatology (idea)

In Christian theology, doctrines of the "last things". Eschatology is a relatively young field in systematic theology, having only been recognized as such since the 18th century.

Eschatology is divided roughly into two categories: personal and cosmic.

Personal Eschatology pertains to the last things wrt a particular individual, and speaks to matters such as:

• The immortality of the soul
• The meaning of death
• The nature of heaven and hell as entered into by the individual
• The resurrection body
• The criteria for judgement

Cosmic Eschatology asks the questions that make for New York Times Bestsellers.

• What will the governments and nations of the last days be doing?
• Who is the anti-Christ? Who is the beast?
• What is the agenda and modus operandi of the antichrist?
• What signs should be expected as the eschaton approaches?
• Are there certain conditions for which God is waiting before the last-days events will be set in motion?
  • The "perfection/restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21)?
  • Completion of the Great commission - that every people group will have heard the gospel (Matthew 24:14)?
• What will the great tribulation be like? Will there be one per se? How long will it last? (Conventional wisom: seven years)
• What about the rapture?
  • Will the rapture be Pre-trib (before the 7 years), Mid-trib (3.5 years in), or Post-trib (the end of the 7 years)?
  • Will it take place at all?
  • Do those converted during these seven years have a qualitatively different salvation than those saved during the church age?
• What is the meaning of the Millennium in The Revelation of St. John?
  • Per Premillennialism, is it ushered in by the bodily return of the Christ to sit upon David's throne?
  • Per Amillennialism, is it either spiritual or allegorical in refernce to the church's spiritual victory that is not manifest in the natural world?
  • Per Postmillennialism, is it ushered in by the church's completion of The Great Commission? (This theory is related to dominion theology)
• What is the nature and essence of the Kingdom of God as it will be revealed in the eschaton?
• What is the nature of that Kingdom as it relates to the People of God awaiting its consumation?

Ultimately, an eschatology is fundamentally important to the application of the rest of a theological system to the real world. It tells you whether things are getting better or the world is going to hell in a handbasket, what part the church is expected to play (or not play) in this, and even what the encounter of day-to-day Christian life should be like.

For example, if one accepts dispensational premillennialism, then one naturally expects widespread apostacy in the church, rejection of the gospel, and general ineffectiveness of Christ-centered ministry. If one accepts Gordon Fee's interpretation of the role of the Holy Spirit as the (at least partial) realization of the eschatological Kingdom, then one expects the supernatural to be commonplace in the church.