7 reasons why your end-time view is so vital.

1. How much of the Bible is involved?  “It has been argued that no less than two thirds of the content of the New Testament is concerned directly or indirectly with eschatology” (R.C. Sproul, “A Journey Back in Time,” Tabletalk, January 1999, 5). Some experts estimate that 25 to 30 percent of the whole Bible is so concerned. So, we are not dealing with a fringe issue.Fact is, your view or non-view of eschatology dramatically affects your under-standing, misunderstanding, or lack of understanding of many other important aspects of the Christian faith.  For instance, it impacts on points 2 through 7.
2. How much salvation do we currently have?  The whole of the Bible is concerned with man’s problem and God’s solution.The final outworking of that redemptive solution for those alive and those dead is what salvation and eschatology are both all about. But depending upon your end-time view, your answer to this question will vary from “some” to “most” to “all.”
3. How much of the kingdom do we currently have?  According to your eschatological view, your answer will vary from: “none,” to “some,” to “most,” to “all,” to “all minus—some major parts.”Fact is, the kingdom of God was the central teaching of our Lord and at the heart of his earthly ministry.  It was also the very essence of New Testament Christianity. Today, however, the kingdom is no longer the central teaching of his Church, at the heart of its ministry, nor Christianity’s very essence—an automatic “red flag.”  What has happened?  What has changed?
4. What do you do with the modern-day nation of Israel?  Many believe that Israel has a biblical entitlement to possess the land promised them by God. What say you? Do they or don’t they? Your answer depends on your eschatological view.They further believe that if we don’t support Israel, we’ll be biblically cursed, individually and nationally (Gen. 12:3; Zech. 2:8-9). Will we or won’t we? Others believe that biblical Israel has been replaced by the Church. Most simply don’t know what to think, believe, or do. Or, they don’t care.
5. It’s the focal point of the liberal-skeptic attack on the Bible and Deity of Christ.  “In seminary I was exposed daily to critical theories espoused by my professors regarding the Scriptures. What stands out in my memory of those days is the heavy emphasis on biblical texts regarding the return of Christ, which were constantly cited as examples of errors in the New Testament and proof that the text had been edited to accommodate the crisis in the early church caused by the so-called parousia-delay of Jesus. . . .” (Sproul, The Last Days According to Jesus, 14-15).It is called the “battle for the Bible.” Fact is, liberals and critics, alike, have hit Christianity at its weakest point—the embarrassing statements of Jesus to supposedly “return” within the lifetime of his contemporaries and the “failed,” Holy-Spirit-guided expectations of the New Testament writers that He would (John 16:13).Consequently, in America over the past 75 to 100 years, we Christians have lost half of our people as seminary after seminary, denomination after denomination, church after church, and believer after believer have departed from the conservative faith.
6. It makes a difference in your worldview.Our forefathers in the faith came to this country under a particular, and a historically optimistic, eschatological view to expand the kingdom of God.They believed the world would become a better and better place as it became more Christianized, and as each Christian took responsibility to do his or her part to help make this happen. Hence, they came and founded the great institutions of our country—the government, the schools, the universities—under Judeo-Christian principles—and Christianity became the moral influencer in America.But 50 to 75 years ago all this began to change. Now, we’ve almost given it all away, and without a fight. And we didn’t get pushed out by a more powerful force. We simple withdrew. Into the vacuum gladly came the ungodly forces. Why did this happen?  What can we now do about it?
7. It makes a difference in your life and family.If you have bought into the popular ideas that the Christ will soon return and the world is going to end, these beliefs affect how you and your family think, pray, work, save, plan, invest, and commit or don’t commit to do things in the present—especially things that have long-term payouts.As someone once put it, “Your view of the future determines your philosophy of life.”  And “if there’s no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.” Eschatological ideas and beliefs do have consequences. And for most evangelicals, their worldview is this: “We are living in the ‘last days.’ So, why fuss, why fight, we’re on the next flight?”

Sources:

1 “Unraveling the End” MPC series by John Noe – listen to podcasts on this website

2 Unraveling the End by John Noe