Eschatology, broadly speaking, is the study of the last or final things. 1 This may be
ascertained from its title, which is a combination of two Greek words: eschatos (last) + logos
(word) = eschatology (words concerning the last things). 2 We may also consider that eschatology
is a discussion of far more than just the things of the very end—it includes the movement of
events and things toward that eventual end. In other words, eschatology is not just a way of
biblically contemplating future events of the end of days, something that may be found in the last
chapter of any given theology book (yet nowhere else). 3 Instead, eschatology may be seen in a
broader sense as reflecting the interaction between heaven and earth, or as a sort of lens through
which we read the rest of Scripture. 4 Eschatology is a dominant theme for the New Testament
writers, and the conception of the end times is a recurring theme in the New Testament. 5 It is not
wrong to think of eschatology as describing the things of the end, as that is certainly included.
Yet eschatology describes the whole movement in redemptive history that is moving toward the
final goal, toward the eternal new order that God is accomplishing. 6

Personal Eschatology

When we speak of eschatology, we may be referring to things experienced individually as
personal eschatology, as well as things experienced universally by all that we may refer to as
general eschatology. 7 General eschatology may be an unfamiliar term, yet it is vital that
Christians bear witness to God’s purpose in Christ: “and through him to reconcile to himself all
things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col 1:20). 8
The writers of the New Testament wrote with this eschatological anticipation in mind.
The things of the end are upon us with a note of “epochal finality.” 9 The New Testament writers
are therefore very comfortable using language of the “latter days” to describe as having begun
from the days of the early church. 10 Many Christians only associate eschatology with future
events associated with the return of Christ, things which have very little to do with today. Yet a
robust understanding of eschatology shows is not just relegated to the latter chapters of the
Revelation to John but instead running throughout the entire course of the biblical canon. 11
Eschatology is not something reserved for the future or for wild prophetic speculations, it is
firmly grounded in Scripture, and it brings peace and hope for today.
Though eschatology is a term that carries various meanings, its New Testament use
generally describes a radical turning point in history. Something drastic and world-changing has
occurred, and we describe these events as eschatological occurrences. Eschatology includes
concepts such as the advent of the kingdom of God, the revelation of the Messiah and Son of
Man, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the hope of the age to come. 12 The world will often
assume our eschatology will sound like its poorest (yet often most visible) exemplars. The world
is familiar with end time sagas found in Christian books and movies, along with various
apocalyptic theories that try to read Scripture by way of the morning newspaper headlines. 13 Yet
any serious study of the Scripture must eventually grapple with the fact that redemptive history
drastically changed with the work of Christ. Eschatology is therefore doctrinally unavoidable.
The proclamation of eschatology is vital for the Christian witness in our day as much as it was
axiomatic in the proclamation of the early church. 14
So why bring eschatology into this discussion of the Christian witness to an unbelieving
world? Simply put, we include eschatology in this discussion because every person operates with
eschatological convictions, whether they are aware of these presuppositions or not. If Sproul was
right, and everyone is a theologian (in the final analysis), then we must recognize that those
theological beliefs extend into the things of the end as well. 

Convictions

15 The question is not whether we will have theological convictions, but which sort we will have: biblical or worldly. In other words,

there is an eschatology of the world, or a worldly eschatology.
What does this worldly eschatology look like? It is the end of all things, but without
Christ. In Scripture, we see that there were some religious parties (e.g., Sadducees) who believed
in the God of Scripture and yet denied the resurrection (Mark 12:18). That errant belief seems to
have impacted the early Christian church and made inroads into their fellowship, as the apostles
had to reassure that there is a resurrection from the dead in which Christians will take part (1
Thess 4:13,18; 1 Cor 15:12). Peter makes clear that even as the last days are upon us (cf. Heb
1:2), there will be those with a conflicting, worldly eschatology: “knowing this first of all, that
scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will
say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are
continuing as they were from the beginning of creation’” (2 Pet 3:3–4).
The apostle Peter’s description is quite helpful. The world has a worldly eschatology, but
it is a mocking, dismissive eschatology. It may reflect on the things of the end, or consider the
telos of life, but it does not produce godly fruit. It is a perspective of hopelessness, random
chance, and slow decay. The world developed by random chance, it continues in passionless
futility, and it will fade away in pitiless indifference. Those who follow this worldly eschatology
to its logical ends find little hope and ample room for despair. One may consider Friedrich
Nietzsche’s bold proclamation that “God is dead” which was followed by his tragic final years in
a mental asylum.

Nihilism

Yet some may push back here and insist that one certainly can have a worldly
eschatology without necessarily spiraling into outright nihilism or psychosis. After all, people
can still be good to one another, try to make our world a better place, and seek to pass on good
things to their children, all without believing in God, right? After all, people routinely do nice
things even if those things are not truly good in an ultimate sense (see Rom 3:10–12), right?
Perhaps so, but not in any way that makes logical sense. After all, if there is no God, why is it
better for me to do nice things for people? If worldly eschatology is true, how is there any
ultimate reason why I should not cheat, steal, and hurt others all for the sake of my personal
pleasure or gain? On what basis does life have any meaning if worldly eschatology holds true?
Scripture presents a biblical eschatology that is, as should be no surprise, the very
antithesis to worldly eschatology. Biblical eschatology presents the saga of a God who created
all things good (Gen 1:31), of a creation that fell headlong into sin (3:22–24), and of the promise
that God made to set all things right again (3:15). This promise that God made to crush the
serpent’s head is the promise that sets the stage for the eschatology that proceeds through the rest
of Scripture. The whole of Scripture may be read in this eschatological light, all the way through
to the consummation that we have in Jesus Christ. Christ is the conquering one who has defeated
the serpent (Matt 12:22-29; John 12:31) along with every evil power and authority (see Col 2:15;
Heb 2:14). Christ is the fulfillment of every promise: “for all the promises of God find their Yes
in him” (2 Cor 1:20). This is the antithesis of worldly eschatology: all things do find their end,
but they find their end in Christ. Paul notes this theme in a pivotal chapter written to the
Corinthians: “then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after
destroying every rule and every authority and power” (1 Cor 15:24).

1 So Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine
(Grand Rapids: Inter-Varsity Press ; Zondervan Pub. House, 1994), 1091.

2 Grudem, 1091.Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1091.
3 See, for example, Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for
Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 906. Horton accurately contends that
eschatology is not merely a bookend to systematics, observing that eschatology precedes
soteriology.
4 These references refer to the ongoing programs of R. Scott Clark and G.K. Beale,
respectively.
5 G. K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament
in the New (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), 129. Beale advocates that eschatology is the
dominant theme of NT theology, the lens through which we view the storyline of Scripture.
6 Geerhardus Vos, The Pauline Eschatology (Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 1995), 1.
7 Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1091. So also “Eschatology,” Walter A Elwell and Barry
J Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1988), 716; Alan
Cairns, Dictionary of Theological Terms (Greenville: Ambassador Emerald International, 2002),
148.
8 N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God, 1st North American edition
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 461. Wright anchors his understanding of eschatology in the
biblical covenants (even defining eschatology itself as a function of covenant), thus tying
eschatology to a historical-redemptive thematic description through which one might understand
the biblical narrative into which eschatology is expressed. Ibid, 247, cf. 260.
9 Vos, The Pauline Eschatology, 5.
10 Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology, 130.
11 Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans,
2000), 6; George Eldon Ladd, The Presence of the Future: The Eschatology of Biblical Realism
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1974). Hoekema thus describes the protevangelium as the
“mother promise” which sets the tone for Old Testament theology; The Bible and the Future, 4-
5.
12 Robert Maddox, “Sense of New Testament Eschatology,” The Reformed Theological
Review 36, no. 2 (May 1977): 42.
13 Craig L. Blomberg, “Eschatology and the Church: Some New Testament Perspectives,”
Themelios 23, no. 3 (1998): 3.
14 Donald Joseph Selby, “Changing Ideas in New Testament Eschatology,” Harvard
Theological Review 50, no. 1 (January 1957): 21.
15 R. C. Sproul, Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology
(Orlando: Ligonier Ministries, 2019).