SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
ESCHATOLOGY
By: RANDALL J. HILLEBRAND
OUTLINE:
ESCHATOLOGY
I. Hermeneutics and eschatology
A. Literal interpretation
B. Historical interpretation
C. Grammatical interpretation
D. Contextual interpretation
E. Dispensational interpretation
1. Definition of dispensations
2. Dispensations (economies)
3. Means of salvation in each economy — By faith
II. Millennial views
A. Postmillennialism
B. Amillennialism
C. Premillenialism
III. Rapture views
A. Posttribulational
B. Midtribulational
C. Partial rapture
D. Prewrath
E. Pretribulational
IV. Understanding the “Day of the Lord”
A. What is the day of the Lord?
1. Definition — Isaiah 13:6-16,14:1-7; 2 Peter 3:10
2. Characteristics of the tribulation portion of the day of the Lord.
B. When will the day of the Lord occur? — Mal. 4:5; 1 Thes. 5:1-3;
2 Thes. 2:1-12
1. After the coming of Elijah the prophet — Malachi 4:5-6;
Luke 1:13-17
2. After the rapture of the church — 2 Thes. 2:1-3,7-8
3. Like a thief in the night — 1 Thes. 5:1-3
V. Understanding 2 Thessalonians 2
A. Issue: The rapture and the day of the Lord — vss. 1-2
B. Chronology of the onset of: The day of the Lord — vss. 3-12
1. The apostasy must come first — vs. 3a
2. The man of lawlessness is then revealed — vss. 3b-5
3. The man of lawlessness will be revealed after the restrainer is
removed — vss. 6-12
VI. Tribulation Period events
A. Chronology from Matthew 24-25
1. Chronology of tribulation events: Matthew 24:1-31
2. Preparation for the tribulation and related events — Matthew
24:32-25:46
B. Chronology from the book Revelation and other passages
VII. Tribulation period progresses like labor pains (1 Thessalonians 5:3)
VIII. Trumpet Issues Relating to End Time Events
IX. Miscellaneous note on Prophecy
A. Pretribulational rapture
B. Judgment
C. Tribulation period
D. Millennial kingdom
E. Eternity
II. Millennial views
A. Postmillennialism
Second coming: Occurs at the end of the millennial kingdom
Millennial kingdom: Brought into existence by the church — through
its efforts
Israel and kingdom: Israel will not experience the kingdom
promises — the church will
Christ and kingdom: Though absent from the kingdom, He rules in
people’s hearts
Christ’s judgment: Resurrection is to occur after Christ’s second
coming where a general judgment of all people
will take place
B. Amillennialism
Second coming: Occurs after conditions of earth become
increasingly worse
Millennial kingdom: There will be no kingdom on earth
Israel and kingdom: Popular view is that the church fulfills the
promises of Israel in a nonliteral way. They
spiritualize Scripture
Christ and kingdom: Christ will reign spiritually over the church
from heaven
Christ’s judgment: A general resurrection is to occur after
Christ’s second coming where a general judgment
of all people will take place
C. Premillenialism
1. RYRIE:
Second coming: Occurs before the millennial kingdom is
inaugurated
Millennial kingdom: A literal 1,000-year reign of Christ will take
place on earth
Israel and kingdom: Israel will receive and experience the kingdom
blessing promised them in both the Old and New
Testaments
Christ and kingdom: Christ will reign on earth from Jerusalem for
the entire 1,000 years
Christ’s judgment: Christ will judge the church in heaven during
the tribulation period before His return; He
will judge Israel and the Gentile nations after
His return and before the inauguration of the
kingdom; He will judge the unsaved after the
kingdom as well as the fallen angels.
2. The transfiguration of Christ is a picture of the millennial
kingdom. Israel will be present (cf. Matt. 16:28; 17:1-3)
3. ENNS (Based upon The Moody Handbook of Theology, Moody Press, page
390)
The millennial kingdom will be a fulfillment of:
Abrahamic covenant: Promised Israel a land, posterity, ruler and spiritual
blessings (Gen. 12:1-3)
Palestinian covenant: Promised Israel a land (Deut. 30:1-10)
Davidic covenant: Promised Israel a ruler for the throne of
David (2 Sam. 7:16)
New covenant: Promised Israel forgiveness (Jer. 31:31-34)
At the second coming these covenants will be fulfilled when Israel
is regathered (Matt. 24:31), converted (Zech. 12:10-14) and
restored to the land under their Messiah.
III. Rapture views
NOTE: The second coming of Christ and the rapture are two different
events that will take place seven years apart. At the rapture
Christ will meet the resurrected/raptured church in the air
(1 Thes. 4:16-17). At His second coming He will come back to
earthy to the Mount of Olives (cf. Zech. 14:3-4,9; Acts 1:8-11;
Rev. 19:11-19; 20:4)
A. Posttribulational
1. Rapture and second coming happen at the same time (1 Thes. 4:15;
Matt. 24:24)
2. Saints are mentioned during tribulation period, so the
church is present (Matt. 24:22)
3. It is assumed that a resurrection will take place at the
beginning of the millennial kingdom, thus they equate this with
the resurrection which takes place with the rapture (Rev. 20:4)
4. That the church will not be preserved from the wrath of God
during the tribulation period
5. The Scriptures do not teach imminency, therefore the rapture can
be after the tribulation
6. Posttribulationalism was the position of the early church
B. Midtribulational
1. The last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52 is the same as the
seventh trumpet of Revelation 11:15
2. The church is promised deliverance from the great tribulation
which takes place during the last half of the tribulation period
3. The resurrection of the two witnesses pictures the rapture of
the church, and their resurrection occurs at the middle of the
tribulation period (Rev. 11:2; 12:6).
C. Partial rapture
This view teaches that only believers who are worthy will be taken
out of the world before the tribulation period begins. This will be
a time of purging (cf. Heb. 9:28) and those raptured will be taken
because of their abundance of good works. [One problem with this
view is that Hebrews 9:28 is referring to the second coming and not
the rapture.]
D. Prewrath
1. The rapture of the church will occur immediately prior to the
beginning of the day of the Lord
2. The Day of the Lord commences sometime within the second half of
the seventieth week
3. The cosmic disturbances associated with the sixth seal will
signal the approach of the Day of the Lord
4. The Day of the Lord will begin with the opening of the seventh
seal (Rev. 6:17; 8:1)
5. The seventh seal will begin the trumpet judgments which will
begin the day of the Lord — His wrath. The rapture will take
place on that day (Luke 17:22-36)
6. Matthew 24-25 answers the questions asked by the
disciples, “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end
of the age?” In Jesus’ answer He tells them of the coming
tribulation [Mat. 24:1-35], the rapture [Mat. 24:36-41] and
second coming [Mat. 25] in chronological order
Point D is based upon and/or taken from The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the
Church by Marvin Rosenthal, Thomas Nelson Publishers, pp. 60, 111, 117.
E. Pretribulational
1. Ryrie
a. The tribulation is the great day of God’s wrath and believers
will be spared from this (1 Thes. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 6:16-17)
b. Jesus promised the church of Philadelphia that they would be
kept from this hour of temptation which will come upon the
whole world (Rev. 3:10)
c. Second Thessalonians 2:1-12 lays out the sequence of end-time
events. The church will be removed when the Holy Spirit
(restrainer) is removed
2. Hillebrand
a. The church is not mentioned in Revelation 6-18 because it has
been removed from the earth. It is mentioned in Revelation 2,
3 and 5, and not again until Revelation 19 where it talks about
the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and Christ’s second coming
b. The tribulation period is the 70th week of Daniel which is
focused on Israel and not the church. With the Holy Spirit
(the restrainer) gone from the earth, the tribulation period
will revert to the Old Testament economy
3. Enns (Moody Handbook of Theology, Moody Press, page 391)
Nature of trib: Outpouring of God’s wrath, judgment,
punishment
Scope of trib: The whole earth is involved
Purpose of trib: To judge the living on the earth
Unity of the trib: It is the 70th week of Daniel
Exemption of the trib: Church is the bride of Christ, the object
of His love, not His wrath
Sequel of trib: Signs of Matthew 24 were given to Israel
for second coming, but no sign given to
the church for the rapture since it will
happen suddenly
Material above — except where noted — based upon and/or taken from
A Survey of Bible Doctrine by Charles C. Ryrie, Moody Press, pages
162-171.
4. Pretribulational: Other arguments
a. His imminent return
1. He is coming quickly — Rev. 3:11; 22:7,12,20
2. Watch for the Lord — Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:3,10,13; Acts 1:6-7
3. We eagerly wait for rapture and heaven — Php. 3:20
(cf. 1 Thes. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:50-52)
4. Waiting for Christ’s return — 1 Thes. 1:3,10
5. Live godly until the (undefined) coming of Christ —
1 Tim. 6:14
6. Strengthen your hearts, Christ’s coming is near — Jam. 5:8
b. Thessalonians thought they had missed the rapture —
2 Thes. 2:1-2,5 (cf. 1 Thes. 4:13 – 5:1ff)
c. Rapture presented first before day of the Lord — 1 Thes. 4:13 –
5:1ff
d. Church is not mentioned in Revelations 6-18 but seen at
Christ’s second coming — Rev. 6-18; 19:7-9
e. The focus of the tribulation is not the church, but on Israel
and the Gentile nations — Dan. 9:24; Rev. 12; Matt.
24:22,24,31; 25:32; Rev. 6:15-17; 11:18;16:19; 18:3,23; 19:15
f. Believers will not see the wrath of God — Rom. 1:18; 2:1-11;
5:9; 9:22; Eph. 2:3-7; 5:6; Col. 3:6; 1 Thes. 1:10; 2:16; 5:9;
Rev. 6:15-17; 11:18; 14:10, 19; 15:7; 16:1, 19; 19:15; (cf.
Gen. 18:23-33)