Saturday March 29th, 2025
I wanted to provide additional thoughts on the selection of the site name which I believe is warranted.
The name was selected based on my reading and interpertation of Scripture and eschatology, which is the study of final things.
Systematic theology is the study of all the individual aspects of theology. The definition of theology is the study of God.
To help clarify things, I will provide an outline based on R.C. Sproul's Everybody's a Theologian and the areas of study.
1. Theology Proper - study of God Himself, the first person of the Triune Godhead
2. Anthropology and creation - study of man and God's creation
3. Christology - study of Jesus Christ, the second person of the Truine Godhead and His work
4. Pneumatology - study of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Triune Godhead and His working
5. Soteriology - study of salvation
6. Ecclesiology - study of the church
7. Eschatology - study of the end things
The name choosen refers specifically to eschatology. Views of eschatology differ in views of whether things are getting worse (pessimistic) or getting better (optimistic) and the whether the millenial reign will be literal or spiritual. There are many unique views of eschatology and in full is beyond the scope of this as I desire to make this as clear and concise as possible.
At the moment I currently subscribe to the view of the millenial reign which is referred to as postmillenialism which states Jesus Christ will come back after the millenial reign. His coming will usher in the New Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21:2. This New Jerusalem is literally heaven on earth - no crying, dying or anything evil. It important to note that there is a ramping up of the millenial reign, which is to say that things get better and better until the point where Jesus physically returns and makes all things new.
As I stated in the about me section, are things getting better and better or worse and worse? Before you answer that question think of the past 2000, 100, 500, 100 years and how things have changed since then. With that answer in mind does it make sense that things are going to get worse and worse or better and better? I believe strongly that the answer lies in the second part of
Revelation 21:2 ...coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. In preparing for weddings are brides dressed up in their best dress with no expenses spared or are they dressed in filthy rags? The goodly apparel refers to state of earth when Jesus comes back for His bride, this means she will be beautiful adorned that is earth is in utter subjection to Christ. it will be overly, if not completly Christian.
Another point to make is that even though the millenial reign is viewed as a golden age of Gospel success, which I do not and most postmillenials think is current, but a time to come. That being said Jesus is still reigning from heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, until all His enemies are made His footstool as regarded in Psalm 110:1–7.
Psalm 110:1–7 is commonly heralded as a compelling case for postmillenialism and is the most referenced Old Testament verse in the New Testament with around 28 references. With multiple instances of Jesus Himself quoting during His earthly mission.
Next comes the second peition in the Lord's prayer -
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
From what we infer and understand from Scripture, heaven is perfect as it is the dwelling place of the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost. Satan was not able to reside in heaven after he was cast down for his pride in Luke 10:18"...I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."
With doing basically inference, it would not align with Scripture that when Jesus Christ comes back, He is going to come back to the worst state of the earth that it had ever been. What about the second peition in the Lord's prayer above and also the reference to Revelation 21:2 and His bride adorned for Him? To me and many others this is such a plain and consistent reading of the texts that no other assumption can be made other than that eschatology has to be optimistic.
I desire that this may be edifying to you and by the grace of God I will return to this and provide some additional thoughts as it comes about. Soli Deo Gloria
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