This week we take a break from our Relationships in the Church series. At Faith Church this past week I gave a Q & A sermon. I asked the congregation for questions ahead of time, and then I attempted to bring biblical theology to bear on their questions. Here’s the next question:
What is Faith Church’s position on “End Times Prophecy” in relation to where we are today, and can we expect a sermon series on it?
Our position on End Times Prophecy is that of our denomination, the Evangelical Congregational Church. The EC Church has 25 Articles of Faith, and while those articles don’t have a singular statement on End Times Prophecy, they do suggest the following:
In Article 2 “Of Jesus Christ,”: “He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, wherein He abideth, our great High-Priest and King, and must reign until all things are put in subjection under Him.“
In Article 15 “Of the Resurrection,”: “Christ did truly rise from the dead and took again his own body and ascended into heaven. Likewise, all the dead shall be raised up by the power of God through Christ, both the just and the unjust; but those who have done good shall come forth unto an eternal life of glory, and those who have wrought wickedness shall be adjudged to everlasting punishment.”
In Article 16 “Of the Final Judgment,”: “God has appointed a day in which He will judge all men by Jesus Christ, to whom is committed the judgment of this world. We must all, accordingly, appear before the judgment seat of Christ who will judge in righteousness in accordance with the gospel and our response thereto.“
In Article 17 “Of Heaven,”: “Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has provided for those who are redeemed by His grace a heavenly and eternal rest, into which He purposes ultimately to gather them and dwell with them in unspeakable glory. There shall be no more sorrow, pain, or death, and the glorified saints shall see God and walk in His light forever.”
As you can imagine, if there is a statement about heaven, there is also Article 18 “Of Hell,” but in my opinion it doesn’t add anything to the statements above. I find those statements above to be rather vague when it comes to the end times, and I am glad for that. Why? Because biblical teaching about End Times Prophecy is notoriously difficult to interpret and conflicted. I appreciate my denomination’s approach.
When it comes to interpreting biblical End Time Prophecy, I believe it is best to summarize that all we can be sure of is that Jesus is coming again. We don’t know when. We won’t know when. We should stop trying to figure it out. Preachers and prophets who focus on the end times are often misguided, deceiving themselves into believing they can figure out the future, thus deceiving others. It seems to me that Christians can become addicted, getting something of an emotional high off end times prophecy. As with any addiction, I believe we need to break free from an addiction to end times prophecy. Instead, we would do well to base our lives on what Jesus taught, “No one knows the day, time or hour,” (Matthew 24:36), and that’s why he taught numerous parables guiding his disciples to be ready for his return at all times.
But some may respond, “What about the Book of Revelation and all it’s amazing imagery about the future? The end times is biblical. We should study it.” Personally, I believe the best way to read the book of Revelation is the preterist interpretational method. The preterist approach asks, “What did Revelation mean to the people who first read it?” Revelation was written by John the apostle, likely in the late first century, 90-100 CE. The church in many places around the Roman Empire at the time was facing persecution, and John was the last remaining disciple. He’s thinking about passing on the faith the next generation. Without anyone left alive who actually knew Jesus, how would the next generation of Christians remain faithful, especially considering that they were facing persecuted? Try to read the book of Revelation from that perspective. Avoid trying to read the book of Revelation as some kind of script for the end times.
I know there is a war in Israel, a war in Ukraine, and numerous other conflicts across the globe, as I write this in early 2024. That doesn’t mean we’re in the end times. World War 2 was a million times worse than what we’re going through. That wasn’t the end times either. We need to stop speculating about whether we are in the end times. Instead, I encourage you to focus your energy on Jesus’ mission in the here and now, to make disciples, to know and love our neighbors. To love God and love people. To bring God’s heart for justice to the world around us. To introduce people to new life in Jesus, who offers them the hope of eternal life and the experience of abundant life.
And no, I have no plans on doing a series on end times prophecy. 🙂
Photo by Apollo Reyes on Unsplash
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