A Lasting Faith for the Last Days:

Practical Meditations on Eschatology for the People of God

Rev. Charles R. Biggs

 

 

I. Are We Living in the Last Days?

 

Some within, as well as outside of the church are asking if we are living in the last days.  The New Testament Scriptures we are about to consider say emphatically “Yes! We are living in the last days”.  Notice in the following Scriptures how this is the historical context in which Jesus’ Person and Work take on saving significance for his people.  In fact in Acts 2:17ff, the Apostle Peter says that what was prophesied concerning the last days of God’s salvation has come and helps us to interpret the significance of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-15).  The author of the Book of Hebrews compares the time long ago in verse 1, with the last days of God speaking to his people by his Son Jesus:

 

Acts 2:17-23   17 "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;  18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.  19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;  20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.  21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'  22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-  23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

 

Hebrews 1:1-2  1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,  2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

 

The question that should be asked is not whether we are living in the Last Days, but rather, “Knowing we are living in the Last Days as the people of God, how should we then live?”  The word eschatology simply means the “study of last things, or the study of the end, from two Greek words: eschatos, meaning “last”, and logos, meaning “the study of” as in the word biology or theology.  The important thing to note about the study of eschatology in scripture is that it is not so concerned about 'when Jesus will return', as well as all of the speculations that can go along with that.  In fact that is exactly what Jesus does not want to teach us. 

 

It could be said that eschatology is not so much about us finding out the future in the present, as much as it is about the future finding us in the present and informing our lives in light of this future reality in the present.

 

Notice in the following verses that what Jesus wants to teach the people is to be alert, to watch, to be faithful to the Living Jesus, just because they do not know when he shall return.  Practically speaking, Christ’s people are called to faithfulness and preparedness in light of his coming, and they are called to rest in the finished work of Jesus as they proclaim that work to others.

 

Matthew 24:42-44  42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.  43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.  44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

 

Matthew 25:13  13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

 

Mark 13:31-33  31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.  32 "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.

 

 

 

II. Eschatology and the Kingdom of God

 

Eschatology (or, literally "the study of last things") in Scripture is simply about the Person and Work of Jesus Christ and the inauguration of His Kingdom, the pouring out of His Spirit on His People and how they are to understand themselves as a New Creation-People.  That is, eschatology is about what Jesus did when he came the first time in inaugurating his Kingdom here on earth. 

 

Eschatology in Scripture is about the grace that was revealed in Jesus' preaching of the Kingdom, and the manifestation of the Kingdom itself here on earth.  As well, eschatology is also about the grace, as well as judgment that will be revealed when Jesus’ Kingdom will be fully realized when he returns! 

 

Eschatology is not trying to fancifully and creatively try and understand 'when' Jesus will return, but it is about a way of life for Christians until he does return.  Eschatology in scripture is concerned with teaching us an 'eschatological faith'.  That is, a faith that is ever looking to Christ for salvation, living obediently out of gratitude here in the last days, while awaiting his return at any time!  It is living by faith as Paul describes in Philippians 3:20-21.  We are citizens of heaven, while we await a Savior from there.  Notice the dual nature of our citizenship as Christ’s people, as well as the dual nature of our location as the people of God: in heaven, as well as here on the earth.  This should inform our identity as Christ’s people as we await his glorious return.

 

Philippians 3:20-21  20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,  21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. 

 

How is biblical eschatology related to the Kingdom of God?  When Jesus casted out demons, he said the Kingdom of God had come! (Mt. 12:25ff).  In Matthew 12:25, the Pharisees dispute Jesus’ Messianic identity revealed in his miracles.  The Pharisees blasphemously assert that Jesus does his work by the help of Satan, Beelzebul, or the Lord of the Flies indicating their blindness to the reality of the King and the Kingdom of Christ.  Jesus says to them that the miracles point to the greater reality of his Kingship, as well as the fact that His Kingdom has come, and will continue to manifest itself by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Matthew 12:25-28   25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.  26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?  27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.  28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

 

We should appreciate as the people of God that when Jesus healed men of sicknesses, he was beginning the restoration of all creation (Mt. 8-9) because he was undoing the work of Satan, or at least that work that resulted from Satan’s temptation in the Garden of Eden and the coming of sin, death, and misery into God’s world.  As the Great Creator himself (cf. Heb. 1:1-2; John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15ff), he was beginning the restoration of all things, a foretaste of the New Heavens and the New Earth by the Spirit of God in his miracles.  Jesus even reveals the coming of the Kingdom in these last days by calming the great waves of the sea which only God can do (Gen. 1:4-8; cf. Job 38:1-11)

 

Matthew 8:3   3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

 

Matthew 8:13   13 And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.

 

Matthew 8:24-27   24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.  25 And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing."  26 And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  27 And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"

 

Matthew 8:28-33  28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.  29 And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"  30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them.  31 And the demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs."  32 And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters.  33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men.

 

From these verses (and there are many more, especially look at Matthew chapters 8-10 and how he gives this same authority to his apostles), we see that when Jesus spoke the Word of power he declared visually that the Kingdom of God had come in Him.  In his preaching, Jesus declared that men repent for the Kingdom of God had come and was also coming (Mt. 3:1-17; Mk. 1). 

Mark 1:15  "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

 

Jesus declared that the last days, or the beginning of the renewal of all things had dawned, or begun in his coming.  But there was also some confusion! (as there is still much confusion today!)  John the Baptist had preached that Messiah would come and set up his Kingdom.  John had preached to the people that Jesus would gather to himself those who repented, but the others he would remove as chaff and destroy them, because his winnowing fork was in his hand (Matt. 3).  Messiah was to preach the good news to the poor, bring salvation to the captives, healing to the sick, and sight to the blind, and bring in the terrible Day of the LORD (Is. 61:1-3; cf. Luke 4:18).  However, Jesus' Kingdom came in an unexpected way.  Even when John was in a dark and gloomy prison, either his faith waned a bit, or his eschatological expectations needed changing.  What is clear from Matthew 11 is that John the Baptist was in prison about to be killed for his faith as forerunner of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God had not come yet in Jesus- -at least in his own eschatological estimation.

 

Matthew 11:2-6   2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples  3 and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"  4 And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see:  5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.  6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

What Jesus communicates to John from the prophet Isaiah is that the Kingdom had come because the manifestation of the Kingdom of God in the blind receiving their sight, the lame were walking, and lepers were being cleansed (Isaiah 29), and he was to believe this by faith.  What Jesus is implicitly communicating to John, and to us today, is that although the Kingdom is coming in Jesus and the beginning of the restoration in the Last Days has begun, yet we are to be a people who live by faith for an indefinite amount of time (“blessed is the one who is not offended by me”).

 

Jesus reveals this delay elsewhere in Luke 4:16-21.  Here Jesus preaches from Isaiah 61:1-3 on the Sabbath.  He tells the people that the prophecy of Isaiah about the coming King and Kingdom is fulfilled in him, yet he leaves out a very important part of Isaiah’s prophecy, implying that there is more to come in the future.  Again, implying that there will be a time period where the people of God must live by faith, trusting the LORD that he will return to be Judge of the earth, but not yet!

 

Luke 4:16-21  16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.  17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,  18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,  19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  21 And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

 

You see Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61, which says:

 

Isaiah 61:1-2  1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;  2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God….

 

Notice by contrasting the Isaiah prophecy with the sermon from Luke 4 that something very important is missing.  Jesus ended his sermon in Luke 4 with “to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor”, yet the end of the prophecy is “and the day of vengeance of our God”.  This teaches us that Jesus’ Kingdom should be understood in the Last Days as a Kingdom that has come in Jesus, but that will come in its fullness in the future.  It suggest to us an interim that Jesus will make clearer as he moves closer to the crucifixion and the laying down his life for his people.  The lesson that we learn (as well as what John learned) is that Jesus’ winnowing fork is indeed in his hand (we know this because when the words is preached some believe and some are judged already, cf. Matt. 13 in the parables), but he is waiting until later to bring about this final judgment.  This is why the Apostle Paul teaches that “Today is the Day of Salvation” in these Last Days!

 

Jesus did indeed bring salvation; he preached the good news; he gathered to himself those who repented; and he released the captives, but the Day of the LORD was to come at a later time.  In other words, Christ's Kingdom would come in two modes, or two acts.  It began to come into the present age with the coming of Jesus, particularly when he accomplished his life, death, resurrection and ascension and sent forth his Spirit who is called the "firstfruits" or "downpayment" of what is to come (Eph. 1:13; 2 Cor. 1:22; cf. 2 Cor. 5:5).  The Kingdom will come again when Jesus will judge the world.  This interim period, called the "last days" is the period when Christ builds his Church and prepares his bride for himself in purity and holiness, while allowing men to repent of their sins and turn to the Living God avoiding the imminent coming wrath!

 

Biblical eschatology is about how the Kingdom of God came in Jesus Christ, but will come fully in the future.  That is why the Apostle Paul says that "Now is the Day of Salvation" (2 Cor. 6:1,2).  It is the time of hope as his people await our Living Hope to return (1 Peter 1:3ff). 

 

 

III. Two-Faced Christianity in the Last Days

 

What kind of faith and attitude of life should the believer have in light of Christ’s First Coming, and with a view to His Second Coming to gather his people to himself and to judge the world?  As Christians, we should be the most two-faced people in the world in the Last Days.  We should be a people who are ever looking back at the completed work of Christ Jesus on our behalf, while awaiting our Savior to return.

 

This kind of two-faced living is possible because of the Holy Spirit who lives within us because of Christ’s humiliation and exaltation on behalf of his people.  In the following scriptures notice that something new has happened in these Last Days because of Christ’s work on our behalf.  Notice how the Apostle Peter calls us to two-faced living in these Last Days because Christ's Kingdom has come, yet has yet to fully come!

 

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

Peter teaches us that we have already been born anew, yet there is much more to be revealed in the last time (Peter uses "last time" and "last days" interchangeably).  Our full salvation, or inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, is a NOW-Reality, but we wait for Jesus to return for it to be completely fulfilled.  This hope keeps us focused on Jesus, the Author and Pioneer of our faith!  This hope is a hope in the last days as we await the imminent and glorious return of our Lord Jesus, when we shall see him face to face!  It is interesting to note comparing 1 Peter 1:3 and verse 5 (above) that there "has been a salvation revealed" (past tense), and that same salvation "has yet to be revealed" (future tense). 

 

We should understand as the people of God this great truth:

 

A lasting faith for the last days begins with a strong, extraspectiive (out-of-self-focused-faith) in Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus is the Savior of sinners.  This is a reality NOW!  But we await this reality to be fully revealed.  As the Apostle John says, we know we are children of God, but we do not know what we will fully be when we see him as he is.  All who have this hope purifies himself as he is pure (1 John 3:2-3).

 

1 John 3:1-3 1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

 

Keep in mind that in speaking of eschatological living we want prayerfully by God’s grace to understand more clearly what the Apostle Peter describes as “now” in his epistle to the persecuted and suffering church.  Notice as you read the Apostle Peter’s First Epistle how he speaks of the "NOW" as well as the "NOT YET": 1 Peter 1:6-“now you have to suffer various trials”; 1:8- “you do not now see him but you believe in him”; 1:12- “the things which have now been announced to you”; 2:10- “now you are God’s people…now you have received mercy from God”; 2:25- “now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls”.  But Peter also teaches us of what is yet to come: 1:5- “a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”; 1:7- “your faith may prove real at the revelation of Jesus Christ for his honor and glory”; 1:13- “set your hope fully on the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 

 

Peter is saying that Christ has been manifested in his Person and Work at the end of the times for our sakes (already) 1:20; but he will be manifested again to reward his people for their faith with an unfading crown of glory (not yet) 5:4.  Also, if our salvation has been accomplished in these last days, how should we respond to suffering?  Notice, that although now we suffer; the Lord has an end, an eschatology he wants us to look to by faith to give us hope now: 4:9- “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers”; 5:10- “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you.”

 

Let these great truths be the encouragement and insight of God’s covenant people who are living in the last days as we await his glorious return.  Let us reflect upon our union with the Living and Resurrected Jesus, as we ponder the reality of our being seated in the heavenly places with him, knowing that our salvation has been fully accomplished in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and that although we will experience real pain, persecution and problems in this world, we have a Living Christ and therefore a Living Hope who will rescue us from sin, death, and misery when he returns for His People!  Amen.

 

 

IV. The Age of the Spirit in the Last Days

 

When Jesus is leaving his disciples in this world to be ascended to God’s right hand, he tells them two important truths about himself.  He gives them a message to declare and a mission to perform until he returns, and he comforts them with the reality of his authority and presence with them until the end of the age.

 

Matthew 28:18-20   18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

 

Jesus sends the apostles out founded upon two realities: All authority has been given to him, and he will be with his apostles until the end of the age.  What age is Jesus speaking of?  The age he is speaking of is the present age that the Apostle Paul will elaborate upon more fully in his letters when he interprets the resurrection and ascension of Christ for the churches then, and for us today- -both who live in the Last Days, and also in this present age.  Jesus is referring to the Last Day when he will return in a glorified body to make his people as he is!  That is why he encourages his apostles that he will be with them in this present age. 

 

The Apostle Paul speaks similar language in Ephesians chapter 1, as he prays for the Church at Ephesus and encourages them to persevere in their faith in Christ.  Notice the comparison again between Christ’s Authority, or “incomparably great power for us who believer” and the promise of his present by the Spirit “not only in the present age, but also in the age to come”.

 

Ephesians 1:19-21- "[I pray that you may know] his incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the age to come."

 

Perhaps this passage from the Apostle Paul’s pen can be understood more clearly in light of the Biblical teaching of two ages: this age and the age to come- "This age", or "the present age" is described and characterized by sin, the fall, death, and the devil's dominion over the age (that is why Paul calls the devil the "god of this age" in 2 Cor. 4:4). 

 

2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

 

In contrast to the present age characterized by sin, death and the devil, "the age to come“ or the "future age" is described as the time of the reign of Christ, the completion of his saving work for his people, and the sending forth of His Holy Spirit.  The "age to come", "future age", or "Age of the Spirit" has intruded upon the present age in the coming of Christ and His Kingdom, thus the reason why it was important for him to face the devil in his temptation in the wilderness as well as to cast out demons and to heal the sick.[1]  In Christ’s Kingdom, the beginning restoration of all things had begun in his Person and Work on the earth.  The "Age of the Spirit" has dawned in the present age, as the present age passes away (1 John 2:15-17). 

1 John 2:15-17  15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  16 For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world.  17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

 

The contrast in this passage from the Apostle John shows the impermanent, defeated nature and character of this present age, or world-order.  This world literally is passing away.  It is not here where Christian’s should have their hope- -but in the world that is to come in Christ.  These two ages overlap now, since Jesus came into this world to redeem sinners, defeat the devil in his life and death, and to undo what Adam did. 

 

 

V. Our Comprehension of the Eschatological Tension

 

Because these two ages overlap, Christians presently experience joy, but we also experience persecution; we experience strength from the Spirit, but also experience weakness; we have the life of Christ within, but unless Christ returns first, we will die and our bodies return to dust; we have confidence of being renewed, but we still suffer.  The overlapping of the present age characterized by sin, death, and devil, and the age to come with the dawn of a new creation, a new age, and we as new creations experience the conflict of these two ages as we live by the Spirit each day of our lives. 

 

In light of these two ages, Paul tells us to live putting on the full armor of God so that we might be able to stand upon Christ's victorious resurrection, living by His powerful Spirit, so that we might continue to journey in the present age, even though we know we are citizens of the age to come (Ephesians 6:10-18; cf. Philippians 3:20,21).  We are presently saved and the Devil has been defeated (Heb. 2:14-18; Col. 2:13-15), but we will be ultimately saved and the Devil will ultimately be defeated when Christ returns and all things will be restored in the New Heavens and the New Earth, the full revelation of the Age to Come (cf. Rev. 19-20). 

 

 

Our hope is that when Christ returns, the present age will be completely in the past and we will live fully in the Age to Come, or the New Heavens and New Earth in the very presence of the Living God.  Then there will be no more persecution, conflict, death, suffering, or an sin whatsoever.  From all of the pain we have experienced in the overlap of the two ages, God will wipe our tears from our eyes as he promises in Revelation 21:1-7.

 

Revelation 21:1-7 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: 4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.

 

5 And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true. 6 And he said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

 

What hope for the people of God in this present age!  This explains the conflict, as well as the joy in the Christian life between the First Coming of Jesus and his completed work on our behalf and our living in the Age of the Spirit as the Church with the indwelling Spirit of which was spoken by the prophets Jeremiah (31:31-34) and Joel (2:28ff) (which indicates that the two ages are not only a New Testament concept but were insinuated in the Old Covenant, cf. Rom. 16:25-27).

 

This teaching of the two ages includes the real tension of being a true believer, passing from death to life, yet still mortifying, or dying to our sin.  In other words, this helps to understand the way the Apostle Paul teaches the real tension between offering our bodies to our new LORD (and Master) who is Christ, opposed to our old lords (and masters) who were sin and the devil.  Paul begins in Romans speaking of Justification by faith in chapter four.  He proceeds to establish the once and for all character of our justification as Christ having reconciled God to us and therefore we have peace with God in Romans chapter five.  In addition, we are united with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection in chapter six, but we still struggle with real sin in this life according to chapter seven (cf. with the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit in Gal. 5:17-18).  However, our hope is in chapter eight where we clearly see that although there is a tension between this present age and the age to come, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:28ff), because he who began a work in us if faithful to bring us into his presence (Phil. 1:6). 

 

 

VI. Our Eschatological Union with the Risen Christ

 

We should keep in mind that in speaking of eschatological living and faith in the Last Days we have in mind what the Apostle Paul calls being “in Christ” throughout his letters, and understand our union with Christ as central to our understanding of who we are as Christians.  Our union with Christ helps us to understand that we are united to the Living Christ by His Spirit and he is a “man of two ages”.  That means that Christ became a man in the present age in order to defeat the devil, redeem his people, and to receive the Holy Spirit as a glorified man so as to be the first man of the Age to Come (Heb. 2:14-18; John 7:37-39; Acts 2:33)!  What an incredible truth!  That is why the Apostle Paul, when speaking of Christ’s resurrection into the Age to Come, speaks of him as the first-fruits of those he will resurrect on the day he returns.

 

1 Corinthians 15:20-26   20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.  23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.  24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.  25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

 

As Christians we are united with Jesus Christ in his resurrection.  The Apostle Paul uses other language as well describing this close Holy-Spirit union.  Paul says we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph. 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12).  Our life is also hidden in Christ and this reality encourages us to set our minds on where Christ is and where we are, as well as to meditate or reflect upon who we are as Christ’s Last-Days-People who await the glory to be revealed (cf. Romans 8:17-24).

 

Colossians 3:1-4  1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 

The eschatological focus of Paul, as well as all of the NT writers is that Christ’s work has been accomplished in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension (Acts 2:14-41).  This means that we are already now realizing the promises of our salvation by the application of His Spirit as Paul teaches in Ephesians 1:3-14.  Notice the work God has done for us in Christ and the present tense reality of this gracious work!

 

Ephesians 1:3-14   3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,  4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love  5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,  6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 

 

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,  8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight  9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ  10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.  11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,  12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.  13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,  14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

 

 

We are a people living in the Last Days with a view to the Last Day

 

Practically, this means that we should have an eschatological faith.  This present age is characterized by walking by sight, but as partakers and citizens of the 'Age to come" we must learn by grace to walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:5-7).  This is an eschatological faith that is centered on the Person and work of Christ in our behalf as we look by faith to his return.  Jesus is the Author, better the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:1-3).  He is our champion and all of his blessings by the Spirit are a reality NOW (Heb. 12:1ff; cf. 1 Peter)!  In Hebrews 11, the “cloud of witnesses” who looked to the promises of God by faith had an eschatological faith, that is why they are effective witnesses to us.  This is our great hope knowing that we live our Christian life not by sight, but by faith in the promises of God because of his accomplishment in Christ, the down-payment of the Spirit in our lives, and the ability to live according to God’s commandments, with an eschatological faith that Christ will return for us on the Last Day. 

 

Again, we live in the Age of the Spirit now.  That is, we live in the Last Days prior to the Last Day when Christ will come and judge the wicked and renew all things.  The believer’s hope and life should be lived with this constantly in mind.  It is an eschatological faith that does not look within, but looks to Christ and his righteousness, sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).  It is an eschatological faith that knows God is faithful and as he has fulfilled his promises in the past, so he will ultimately deliver us and bring us into his presence forever!  What great hope for the Christian!  Although we do not see him, we love him with an eschatological faith- - a faith that looks to his work on our behalf because he first loved us and looks constantly for his return, working now to please him in the calling which he has given us to perform in this life.

 

 

 

VII. No Time for Rest as the Pilgrim People of God in the Last Days

 

Another way of understanding our living by faith in the last days is to consider how the Book of Hebrews teaches we as a people to think eschatologically (that is, as a people who understand they live in the last days between the time of Jesus' first coming in grace and his second and final coming to judge the world and renew all creation).  In Hebrews 4, the author tells us that we can rest in Christ’s work on our behalf NOW, but the author encourages us to persevere by His grace in the covenant community in order to enter into God’s ultimate rest.  Hebrews 4:3 says: "Now we who have believed enter that rest..."  In the context, the contrast is between Israel entering into their physical rest in Canaan by faith (some did not enter in by faith), and we who enter into 'salvation-rest' by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

 

 Hebrews 4:1-13  1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.  2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 

 

3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.  4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."  5 And again in this passage he said, "They shall not enter my rest."

 

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,  7 again he appoints a certain day, "Today," saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."  8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.  9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,  10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.  11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.  12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

 

The author of Hebrews wants us to continuously fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Pioneer of our faith that has gone before us to be with the Heavenly Father.  The author of Hebrews wants us to continue to persevere by his grace and strength, while resting in Christ Jesus' completed and perfect work on our behalf!  Even though we have entered into our “rest” in the sense that Christ has “sat down” at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 1:3; 10:12), he wants us to understand as a covenant people living the Last Days that our faith must show itself to be genuine by keeping our eyes on Jesus who will be revealed on the Last Day.  Then, we as his Last Days people, shall fully enter into his rest (4:9-11).

 

The author of Hebrews wants us as the children of God to be reminded that just as good works are characteristics of a true and saving faith, so perseverance is a characteristic of faith as well.  As children of the Living God who are citizens of heaven, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus who sat down at the right hand of the throne of God when he fully accomplished our salvation.  In light of this reality of the ministry of Christ and the giving of his Holy Spirit, we are to remember to be obedient to his Living and Active Word (4:12-13).

 

No matter what your challenge or difficulty today, you can persevere by faith, by fixing your eyes on He who completed his work on your behalf; Who is ever interceding for you (Heb. 7:25); Who will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5); and Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8)!  His victory and strength is our encouragement as well as our endurance in the Christian race!

 

In the Book of Hebrews we are taught to think like pilgrims, sojourners who have entered into our rest by faith in Jesus, but to remember at the same time that we have an eternal city built by God, and have yet to fully enter the Heavenly City described in chapter 12.

 

Hebrews 12:22-29  22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,  23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,  24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.  25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.  26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."  27 This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken- that is, things that have been made- in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.  28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,  29 for our God is a consuming fire.

 

Notice in the above verses that we await the Heavenly City of the Age to Come to be fully revealed.  Notice how we have a great and perfect Mediator in the New Covenant.  God has not changed, he is still a consuming fire just as he revealed himself to be in the Old Covenant (Heb. 12:29), yet the Mediator has changed.  We have a better, more perfect Mediator in Christ who shed his precious blood once-and-for-all for our sins and therefore as his Last-Days-People, no matter how difficult the circumstances or temptations we face, we are to listen to his voice revealed in Scripture!  By listening to His voice, we are to be encouraged, as well as warned, that we must not rest now (save in the work of Jesus Christ), but we should continue to journey with our eyes on the Heavenly and Unshakable Kingdom of the LORD God.

 

The author of Hebrews also encourages us as Last-Days-People that our High Priest has entered the Most Holy Place in heaven and has made atonement for our sins- - NOW, according to chapters 7-9.  We have been released from the power of death and the devil (Heb. 4:16-18) and have access to God, but we still await the triumphant return of our High Priest.  In Hebrews 9:24-28 we should appreciate the completed work of Christ, while we “eagerly await” his second appearance, not to take away sin, but to save fully those who are waiting upon him (v. 28).

 

Hebrews 9:24-28   24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.  25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,  26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.  27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,  28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

 

The teaching of Hebrews is to help us to think eschatologically as a pilgrim people in the wilderness, a people on the way that have yet to arrive, a holy nation and people of God (1 Pet. 2:5ff).  Our salvation has been accomplished but we are awaiting the day when we enter into the full and glorious presence of the Lord.  Sin no longer has dominion, but it still remains in us.  We have passed from death to life NOW- - but we still await to fully pass from the remaining elements of death to the full eternal state.

 

The author of Hebrews completes the book with the greatest encouragement imaginable for those who are sinners, yet at the same time are citizens of the Heavenly City who still must persevere in the difficult wilderness of suffering found in this fallen world.  He says:

 

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

 

 

 

VIII. Last Days Identity as the People of God

 

As we have been studying, the question that should be asked by Christians today is not whether we are living in the Last Days (we are! according to Acts 2:16ff), but rather, “Knowing we are living in the Last Days, how should we then live?”  As we have learned, the study of eschatology in scripture is not primarily about 'when Jesus will return', in fact that is exactly what Jesus does not want to teach us (cf. Matt. 24).  Rather, eschatology (or, literally "the study of last things") in Scripture is about what Jesus did when he came the first time in inaugurating his Kingdom here on earth. 

 

Further, eschatology in Scripture is about the grace that was revealed in Jesus' preaching of the Kingdom and the Kingdom manifesting itself here on earth; eschatology is also about the grace, as well as judgment that will be revealed when his Kingdom is fully realized when he returns!

 

We have learned that eschatology is not trying to fancifully and creatively try and understand 'when' Jesus will return, but it is about a way of life for Christians until he does return.  Eschatology in scripture is concerned with teaching us an 'eschatological faith'.  That is, a faith that is ever looking to Christ for salvation, living obediently out of gratitude here in the last days NOW, while awaiting his return at any time!  It is living by faith as Paul describes in Philippians 3:20-21.  We are citizens of heaven, while we await a Savior from there. 

 

In light of our study thus far, what kind of identity do we have as the people of the Living God living in the Last Days?  In other words, how does Biblical eschatology form, as well as inform our identity?  We have an eschatological identity as the People of God that is revealed to us NOW because of the completed work of Christ in his humiliation and exaltation.  What is our eschatological identity as a people of God and what does it mean to be a holy people, consecrated to the LORD in these Last Days?  Our eschatological, Last-Days-identity as the People of God is formed, as well as informed in several ways.  I would suggest to you that preaching, publicly joining a faithful congregation of believers, partaking in the Lord’s Supper, as well as worship are all practices we do as a Last-Days-People.

 

(1) Preaching is eschatological.  When we hear the sermon preached on the Lord’s Day, the pastor stands in the stead of Christ proclaiming what God has done in Christ's completed work and the hope of the imminent return of our savior.  When he preaches this is eschatological because he declares to us the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and how he has conquered death, hell and the devil on our behalf, that we have been forgiven of our sins, and that we can live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit as we await His return. 

 

Preaching is eschatological because the hope of Christ’s return in the future interprets our present circumstances in his completed work (1 Peter 1:3-9), and it points us forward by faith to think on the day when Christ will preach and teach us himself in Paradise in the presence of God.  Preaching teaches us to hear and to follow the risen Jesus Christ NOW, as we patiently, expectantly, and alertly await his return for us!  Preaching unites the People of God in the Last Days and is vital for our spiritual growth.  This office of preaching is given to Christ’s people to encourage them to endure and to teach them the truths concerning Christ and His Work so that they might mature.  The Apostle Paul explains this truth to us in Ephesians 4.

 

Ephesians 4:11-16  11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,  14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,  16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

 

(2) Publicly joining a faithful congregation of believers is eschatological.  It is a confession before men, publicly recognizing our sins, submitting to one another out of love for Christ, especially his elders, or undershepherds who are under Christ's authority, and showing forth in the visible church that we are identified and confessing members of the Kingdom of God in this present age.  Our joining a congregation of believers and submitting to the authority of the elders in the church is for the Apostle Peter the same thing as submitting to the authority of God himself.  Peter says that it is humble and shows forth to the world our submission to God, as the elders of the Last-Days-People are in submission to God as well.

 

1 Peter 5:1-11 1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:  2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;  3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.  4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

 

5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."  6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 

 

Joining a congregation is eschatological because by faith in Christ’s righteousness alone, our names are publicly written down in the book of church membership, but we look forward to the Last Day when our names will be publicly displayed as written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and how Christ Himself will confess us publicly before God, men, and a heavenly host of angels.