Eschatology

Question 1

Biblical eschatology

Answer 1

is the study of the completion of
the Triune God’s redemptive plan and purpose for
creation and history to save a people for his own
possession and for his own glory.

Question 2

Inaugurated Eschatology

Answer 2

“Already, Not Yet”

“[The kingdom of God] is both the reign and the realm of God for, although in
the present age the locus of the kingdom in the world is diffuse, it is defined by
the presence of Jesus at the right hand of the Father. It is both present and
future until its consummation at Jesus’ return” (Graeme Goldsworthy,“ Kingdom of God,” in NDBT, 620-21)

Question 3

Day of the Lord

Answer 3

It is a predominant biblical theme/pattern/convention for portraying the future events that
precipitate the consummation of all things and the establishment of the new heaven and
new earth.

Question 4

Amillennialism

Answer 4

This view denies that Revelation 20:1-6 teaches a literal 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on earth before the final judgment and the eternal state.

Question 5

Postmillennialism

Answer 5

This view believes that Jesus Christ will return after the Millennium. This
position does not require the Millennium to be a literal 1,000 year earthly reign
of Christ with his saints.

Question 6

Premillennialism

Answer 6

This view holds that Jesus Christ will return in order to establish a
Millennial earthly reign with his saints. Hence, his return is prior to the
Millennium. Not all Premillennialists affirm a literal 1,000 year reign of
Christ with his saints on earth.

Question 7

“Classical” or “Historic” Premillennialism

Answer 7

Christ’s return follows the Tribulation

Question 8

Pretribulational Premillennialism

Answer 8

Pretribulationists believe
that the coming (parousia) of Christ will take place in two
stages. First, Christ returns prior to the Tribulation and gathers
the living believers (the rapture) to himself as deliverance from
the onset of the Day of the Lord (1 Thess 4:13-5:11; 2 Thess
1:5-2:12). Second, Christ will return at the end of the
Tribulation in a visible, bodily form in order to establish his
Millennial kingdom with his saints

Question 9

The Intermediate State

Answer 9

Sheol: The Place of the Dead

• Oftentimes understood as referring merely to the “grave” or
“death” (Job 17:13-16; Isa 14:11; Hos 13:14).
• The righteous and the wicked are both said to “go down” to Sheol
(Gen 37:35; Num 16:30).
• A conscious and “bodied” (not fleshly) existence (1 Sam 28:13-16)
• OT eschatological hope for a bodily resurrection (Job 19:25-26;
Ezek 37; Dan 12:2)

Question 10

The Intermediate State: 3 Guiding Propositions

Answer 10

1) OT/NT both portray the immediate separation of body
from soul at death

2) OT/NT both depict the believer’s experience of the intermediate state as one of
conscious blessedness in Heaven.

3) OT/NT both teach that the unbeliever’s experience after death is one of
conscious torment in Hell.

Question 11

Resurrection

Answer 11

1) The Resurrection body will consist of the
same body that died (continuity).

2) The Resurrection body will be
transformed into a perfected state of
glorification (discontinuity).

Question 12

The Eternal State:

The Lake of Fire

Answer 12

1. Hell is about the Justice and Glory of God.
2. Hell is eternal.
3. Hell (Lake of Fire) is a place of conscious and
   physical punishment, misery, and torment

Question 13

The True Meaning of “Heaven”

Answer 13

The New Heaven and the New Earth is God’s creation renewed and
restored from the curse and presence of sin, death, and evil.

Question 14

What is Eternal Life? 5 points

Answer 14

1. Characterized by Peace, Joy, and Love
2. The Fundamental Task is Worship
3. Resurrection Bodies will Preclude Marriage
   • “Eternity means civilization, architecture, banquet
   feasting, ruling, work–in short, it is eternal
   life” (Russell Moore, Theology for the Church, 912).
4. The Beatific Vision: Seeing the Face of God
   • Revelation 22:4: “They will see his face . . .”