We desire a healthy church. And we know a healthy church consists of healthy individuals. At it's core, eschatology plays a key role in healthy discipleship. So what is it and how do we put it into practice? ‍

‍

What is Eschatology‍

Eschatology is the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind. By definition, it means study of last things. In Greek it is the word estos which means the end, the last, the furtherest, the final. The furthest point you can see on the horizon or the last thing that's visible

‍

Why Eschatology Matters‍

Why would the study of end times matter to people? The reason it matters is because people live their lives according to their end goals. Their behaviors, their thoughts, are all shaped by how they envision the end. Think of a player on a team envisioning victory and winning a prize. They will work towards that goal. They will train, and push hard to help accomplish it.‍

‍

Why Teach Eschatology‍

Our human minds are wired to reason and place understanding around our actions. If we don't have a clear understanding of what the end will look like, we will make one up. And this is why many Christians have an American Eschatology formulated, vs. a Christian one. The Bible says the truth sets us free. When we live by the truth of what the Bible says and live with the end in mind we are challenged to live different, to invest different, to view day to day life with a sense of the eternal reality and not just the here and now.

‍

Teaching eschatology doesn't just point us to truth, but answers many of the questions that people have. Questions like why, where, who, and what does this life even mean? It reveals the point of it all.

‍

It points out that life is meaningful and that Jesus is the key to everything. Everything happens because of him and all of God's promises are true and will come to pass. When we live in light of what God has promised, the options of following after other religions or following after our own ideologies are broken. We are now shaped by Jesus himself allowing his Spirit to live within us.‍‍‍

‍

Even while knowing that the end matter, some are not aware that we are living end times. How do we know that we are living end times?

‍

How Do We Know We are Living End Times?

Simply put, Jesus died and resurrected. In him all promises have been fulfilled and we are only, but waiting for his return. If we know it matters and know that we are living these end times, why not teach it?

‍

‍Why Don't Churches Don't Want to Teach About End Times?

For years the church has debated on views of the afterlife. Heaven, hell and what happens in between death, and the promised resurrection have been topics that seem complicated to explain. The truth is that as Christians we all agree that there is a heaven, a hell, and that resurrection will happen. We sometimes focus so much on what we don't agree on that we neglect to preach on what we do agree on.

‍

Heaven, hell, and the resurrection are meant to produce hope, not fear or confusion. They are meant to help us live holy lives by recentering our priorities. As pastors and leaders we are called to model Jesus from the pulpit and we do this by studying, preaching, and modeling Christian Eschatology centered around God's promises and the person who is Jesus. By doing this we live out what the Bible says and produce healthy Christians, hence a healthy church.