Eschatology

Regardless of the position that you hold regarding eschatology, your salvation rests upon your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and his Victorious Resurrection from the grave. I certainly do not believe that a person's view of eschatology should ever become a test of Fellowship in the gospel.

How a Believer interprets apocalyptic prophecies should have no bearing on whether or not they fellowship with others that disagree with them. If you have turned from your sins and called Upon Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation you are a child of God and you are my brother or my sister. W e will be enjoying one another's company for eternity and so it should not be a big problem for us to have Fellowship in the Here and Now with each other.

Author: Douglas E. Nevill

Eschatology is the study of "last" things. The Greek word "eskhatos" means last and, of course "ology" means the study of.

The current views of eschatology are framed around what is called "the millennium". The millennium refers to the 1,000 year reign of Christ on the earth. This reign of Christ on earth is mentioned in many Old Testament prophecies, but the 1,000 years is not clearly prescribed there. The belief of His reign lasting 1,000 years is recorded in Revelation 20:1-7.

There are three common, contemporary views of eschatology today. They are covered only briefly below.

Amillennialism

Amillennialism is the belief that the1,000 years are symbolic, and are happening right now. The "millennium" is Christ's current spiritual reign through the Church and in heaven, lasting from His resurrection until His final return.

Amillennialism has been the majority view of end-times prophecy throughout church history. Because it is so deeply rooted in Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, and Catholic traditions, many of the most famous theologians in history held this view.

Prominent amillennial teachers and authors can be categorized into modern scholars, popular contemporary pastors, and foundational historical figures.

Modern Theologians & Scholars

These authors have written the definitive text books, commentaries, and systematic defense arguments for amillennialism used in seminaries today.

Dr. Kim Riddlebarger: A former dispensationalist who wrote A Case for Amillennialism, which is widely considered the most accessible and thorough modern book defending the position.

Anthony Hoekema: Author of The Bible and the Future, a foundational 1979 work that remains a gold standard for explaining the "already-not yet" tension of the Kingdom of God.

G.K. Beale (Greg Beale): A premier New Testament scholar whose massive commentary on the Book of Revelation argues heavily for an amillennial, symbolic framework.

Postmillennialism

Postmillennialism is the belief that Christ returns after the millennium. The Church successfully spreads the Gospel, ushering in a 1,000-year golden age of peace and justice, after which Christ returns.

Prominent postmillennial teachers span centuries, ranging from America's greatest historical theologians to highly visible modern pastors and Christian Reconstructionists.

Douglas Wilson: The pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, and founder of Canon Press. He is arguably the most influential modern voice popularizing a Calvinistic, culturally aggressive postmillennialism through his writing and media output.

Jeff Durbin: The pastor of Apologia Church and founder of Apologia Studios. His widespread media platform heavily promotes a postmillennial, theonomic framework alongside first-century preterism.

Dr. James White: A famous Reformed apologist and director of Alpha Omega Ministries. For decades, he identified as an amillennialist but publicly shifted his views to postmillennialism, citing a need for an eschatology focused on long-term multigenerational faithfulness.

Joel Webbon & Dale Partridge: Modern podcasters and network leaders who explicitly teach a "Postmillennial Christian Nationalism," arguing that the church's job is to disciple nations into obeying Christ's laws.

Premillennialism

Premillennialism is the belief that Christ returns before the millennium. Society grows worse, Christ returns physically, defeats evil, and rules on Earth for 1,000 literal years.

Followers of Jesus that hold this position typically do not believe that Christ's Second Coming has occurred yet. They still typically expect a rapture or snatching away of believers in Jesus, followed by a 7-year tribulation on the earth, followed by the physical second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, followed by a 1,000 year millennial reign of Christ. This is the most prevalent position of Evangelical Christians especially in the US today.

Because this view has been highly influential in modern Western evangelicalism, its teachers are usually divided into two distinct theological camps: Dispensational (which includes a secret "rapture" before a seven-year tribulation) and Historic (which teaches the church stays through the tribulation).

These following modern teachers are highly visible on television, radio, and through extensive book publishing ministries:

John MacArthur: Pastor of Grace Community Church and host of Grace to You. He is a self-described "Leaky Dispensationalist" who teaches a traditional premillennial view but rejects some of the more extreme, rigid divisions of classic dispensationalism.

David Jeremiah: Pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church and host of Turning Point. He is one of the most prominent modern defenders of classic dispensational premillennialism, writing numerous bestselling books on the end times.

Alistair Begg: While he holds a Reformed theological view, Begg has historically described his eschatological view as leaning toward Historic Premillennialism, focusing on a literal future kingdom without the complex charts of dispensationalism.

Jack Hibbs: Pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. He is a highly visible, politically active modern pastor who frequently teaches a pre-tribulation, dispensational premillennial view, linking current global events directly to bible prophecy.

Preterism

Preterism is the belief that most or all biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled in past history.

The term (Preterism) comes from the Latin prefix praeter, which means "past" or "beyond". Instead of looking forward to a future Antichrist, Great Tribulation, or apocalyptic war, preterists look backward to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70 by the Roman Empire as the primary fulfillment of these prophecies.

Preterist teachers are theologians, historians, and authors who teach that most or all biblical prophecies—including the Book of Revelation and Jesus’ Olivet Discourse—were completely fulfilled in the first century, specifically during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Because preterism is divided into two distinct theological camps (Partial Preterism and Full Preterism), the prominent teachers are separated by whether they believe the Second Coming of Christ is still a future physical event.

Prominent Partial Preterist Teachers (Mainstream/Orthodox)

Partial preterists teach that Revelation 1 through 19, the Antichrist, and the Great Tribulation happened in the first century. However, they remain strictly within mainstream Christian orthodoxy because they still look forward to a future, literal physical return of Christ, a bodily resurrection, and a final judgment.

Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry Jr.: He is arguably the most prominent and widely read academic defender of partial preterism today. He has written definitive books like Before Jerusalem Fell (arguing Revelation was written before AD 70) and The Beast of Revelation (identifying Nero as the Beast).

R.C. Sproul (1939–2017): The beloved founder of Ligonier Ministries and a towering figure in modern Reformed theology. In his landmark 1998 book The Last Days According to Jesus, Sproul defended the partial preterist framework as the most faithful way to handle Jesus' prophecies without compromising the authority of scripture.

Gary DeMar: For decades, he was the president of American Vision and wrote the highly popular Last Days Madness series. His teaching focused heavily on explaining the historical fulfillment of Matthew 24. (Note: DeMar has faced significant controversy in recent years within Reformed circles over whether his views have shifted closer to full preterism).

Dr. Keith Mathison: A respected theologian and professor at Reformation Bible College. While he is a partial preterist, he famously edited the book When Shall These Things Be?, which serves as a major academic critique defending partial preterism while thoroughly condemning full preterism as a heresy.

Hank Hanegraaff: Known for decades as "The Bible Answer Man" on Christian radio, Hanegraaff shifted his eschatology to partial preterism, outlining his views in his book The Apocalypse Code. He later converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, which heavily utilizes a historical-preterist view of Revelation.

Jeff Durbin: Pastor of Apologia Church. He uses a blend of partial preterism and postmillennialism on his massive media platform to argue that Christ already defeated the old covenant system in AD 70 and is now successfully expanding His kingdom across the earth.

Other Positions on Eschatology

There is a another view of future events that has been rising of late.

Little Season Eschatology

It is the view that Jesus returned within one generation as he promised in the New Testament; that Jerusalem was destroyed along with the temple in Jerusalem by the Romans (which occurred about 70 AD) and that the first resurrection followed and the literal 1,000 year reign of Christ has also been completed.

They believe that we are presently living during the time of Satan deceiving the nations (Rev. 20:7-10) which will culminate in the final battle that will be faced on the Earth.

(Please note that this is the view to which the author of this website adheres.)

Learn more about little season eschatology.

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