Reflecting on last things can make the spiritual horizon wide and give the heart much confidence.
However, the Bible’s information about events in the distant past or in the distant future is limited. About some times like the life of Jesus there is a lot of information; whole Bible books and many chapters are dedicated to it. With the last things, however, this is only partially the case. If one wants to represent the information distribution graphically, then perhaps something like this:
The further we look towards the beginning of all things, the less information we find about this in the Bible. The same is true for the last things. This does not mean that there is no or only unreliable information, but only that there is less information on this than on other topics. So the available information wants to be carefully evaluated.
Where do we read about “last things”?
There is no lack of references to the Bible in any teaching. Bible texts are quoted, interpreted, compared, but… Which texts actually speak of last things? And which passages speak of penultimate things? Can we also distinguish the last things from the penultimate things? Can we tell the way from the goal?
The first verses of the Bible do not describe the earliest events; there are several verses that can be placed chronologically even before Genesis 1:1 (e.g., John 1:1-3 Col 1:15-16). Likewise, the last chapters of the Bible do not reveal the furthest view into the future. Again, there are several passages that take place after Rev 22 is concluded (e.g., 1 Cor 15:24-28). Revelation does not have the last word in all things. This is a significant realization that really helps when considering these issues. Where are the final statements about last things now? These are the questions that need to be addressed as we strive to see through.
The understanding around temporal processes has a greater importance in the Bible. The faces of Daniel(Dan 2 and Dan 7), for example, give clear historical sequences of future events. The same can be said of the book of Revelation. There are many more such accounts of future events in the Bible. But when do these events take place? And in which order? What outlook did Bible writer A have, and what outlook does Bible writer B have? Are they all talking about the same events? Are they all talking about the same time? Or would you have to clearly distinguish between different times and terms? Can it be that one Bible writer sees further than the other? Can this be seen from Scripture itself? These are questions of a systematic theology and of one’s own understanding of the Bible. There is a more detailed article on this here.
When you start comparing different points of view, you quickly realize that “time” plays an important role. On the one hand, it is about concepts of time, such as “eternity” or “age”, but on the other hand, it is also about the assignment of biblical passages to certain times. These times are often not interpreted or interpreted very differently – which is probably one reason for the different interpretations. Is a biblical passage a description of an intermediate station in the history of salvation, or is it a final station? And why would that be? The answer can completely change the overall understanding.
Example “Sheep and goats
In his end-time discourse(Mt 24 and Mt 25), Jesus speaks figuratively of a judgment in which sheep and goats are separated(Mt 25:31-43). What is meant by this? Is this about a terminus or an intermediate station? Let’s compare different interpretations:
Representatives of a heaven-and-hell doctrine interpret thus:
- This concerns the final judgment
- This is at the end of all time
- The court concerns individuals
- The court judges people according to their faith
In contrast, proponents of all-out reconciliation say:
- This is the judgment before the throne of glory when the Son of Man appears(Matt 25:31 cf. Dan 7:13). This does not refer to the final judgment before the great White Throne(Rev 21:11-12), which follows much later. The two thrones and what takes place there are different.
- This is not at the end of all times, but merely the conclusion of the current age – which the disciples explicitly asked for in Mt 24,3. Jesus’ speech is an answer to this question and describes what happens at the conclusion of this age before the new messianic age then begins.
- Judgment concerns whole nations(Matt. 25:32), not individuals
- Here, people are not judged by faith. The Son of Man judges nations by how they have dealt with Israel, Jesus’ brothers(Matt 25:34-43, cf. Gen 12:1-3), before Israel, the people of the saints of the Most High, is given dominion over all nations(Dan 7:27).
The difference in interpretation is striking: the heaven-and-hell doctrine interprets the text as “last judgment,” in direct contradiction to the context – this interpretation must be read into it completely before it can be read out. It’s about differentiation. Advocates of an all-around reconciliation read this text quite differently and in a more differentiated way when they recognize it as an “intermediate judgment” and “judgment of nations.” The rationale is taken directly from the context and is supported with a reference to the prophet Daniel (given by the use of the phrase “Son of Man”).
Considering the time factor in context
The example can illustrate that the interpretation of a biblical passage in its own context also has to do with the time of which the context speaks. Jesus speaks in his discourse of the consummation of our current age (cf. Mt 24:3 “conclusion of this eon”). He explains what the transitional period to the Messianic Kingdom of Heaven(Mt 25:1 Mt 25:34) looks like. Only much later follows the time of a new heaven and a new earth. If this is so, then his end-time speech speaks only of an intermediate stage of salvation history.
Intermediate station or end point?
In every judgment, in every statement of salvation, in every resurrection, we should ask: What is this talking about? When does this take place? If only references to the establishment of the Messianic kingdom can be found back in the Gospels, how is it that these were extended from a heaven-and-hell doctrine to all eternity? These are the kinds of questions that help in examining the different views.
Hymenaeus and Philetus
If we take a biblical truth and assign it wrongly in time, we turn the true statement into a falsehood. Just as Hymenaeus and Philetus had strayed from the truth when they claimed that the resurrection was already over – and thereby shattered the faith of some(2 Timothy 2:15-18). The resurrection is a fundamental biblical truth. Talking about it was correct. However, the chronology was wrong when they claimed that the resurrection was already past. In doing so, both men turned truth into falsehood.
If we take a biblical truth and assign it wrongly in time, we turn the true statement into a falsehood.
With this example, Paul explains to his co-worker Timothy the importance of “cutting the word of truth in a straight line”(2 Timothy 2:15). The Concordant New Testament translates, “Prove thyself approved unto God, an unashamed workman, rightly cutting the word of truth.” From this verse, the term “scripture division” has been established. It describes the attempt not to use words outside their context and therefore to consciously perceive differences.
Proponents of an all atonement point out this connection and hold that the heaven-and-hell doctrine often disregards time indications from the context (see the “sheep and goats” example here above), resulting in gross misinterpretations. As a result, as with Hymenaeus and Philetus, the doctrine of heaven and hell shatters the faith of some. To speak of judgment is correct, but the interpretation should be based on the context.
