POSTED 01 JANUARY, 2006

What Happened to our Eschatology?

by J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

Eschatology is a buzz word that can confuse many people if not defined and used properly. The Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms provides a thorough, yet brief definition of “eschatology”:

“Eschatology…is the theological study that seeks to understand the ultimate direction or purpose of history as it moves toward the future, both from an individual perspective (What happens when a person dies?) and from a corporate perspective (Where is history going, and how will it end?)”[1]

Eschatology, derived from the Greek word eschatos (escatoß), meaning “last,” is often considered to be the study of end things. Almost every Jewish or Christian religious movement has had to deal with eschatology somewhere along the lines of the development of its theology, and the emerging Messianic movement today is no exception. We all have to deal with the questions of what will happen in the future, how or when the Kingdom of God will be consummated on Planet Earth, and what the final fate for us as individuals will be. Admittedly, these are not easy questions, and they are often surrounded in controversy.

History has borne out that many new religious movements arise as a result of some kind of eschatological teaching. Recalling my family’s initial involvement in the Messianic movement over ten years ago, there was an incredible amount of end-time speculation going on in 1996-1997. The Middle East Peace Process was gaining momentum, President Clinton was meeting frequently with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and P.A. Chairman Arafat. Some believed that the peace agreement of September 13, 1993 had actually started the Seventieth Week of Israel and were looking for animal sacrifices to begin on the Temple Mount any day. Some were looking at potential “antichrists” among European royalty to rise up and take control of the situation. And, a few we encountered claimed to know the date of Yeshua’s return.

We sit almost ten years after those events, and it is absolutely safe to say now that the peace agreements made between Yitzhak Rabin and Yassir Arafat did not begin the Tribulation period. Both of these men have now experienced their own personal eschatos. The Abomination of Desolation did not take place on the Temple Mount, nor has any European prince arisen as “the antichrist.” Anyone claiming that Yeshua would have returned on any of the proposed timelines in connection to the events of the mid-1990s has been proven false. Furthermore, we now sit six years on the opposite side of Y2k, which many “prophecy buffs” automatically assumed would cause it all to “come down,” even if their own predictions failed. As a consequence years later, many, many people in the Messianic community have become disenfranchised with even examining the end-time message of the Bible.

There have always been those throughout history who have believed that they were the last generation, and that God’s Kingdom was coming in their lifetime. An early example of this is the Essene community of First Century Israel (B.C.E-C.E.). While often accredited for being responsible for the composition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essene community is the first major example that we see in history of an “end-time sect.” The Essene community believed themselves to the final generation, seeing the corruption of the Sadducees in league with Rome, and Pharisaical sects that they believed were too legalistic, or too liberal. Their literature reflects on their beliefs that a messianic figure would come and redeem Israel from Roman oppression and reestablish the Davidic dynasty. Their example reflects on the fact that they were waiting in the desert for things to “come down.” The problem with the Essenes is that when things finally did “come down” and the Jewish revolt of 66 C.E. failed, they found themselves slaughtered and eliminated. The only religious sect that survived the times were the Pharisees, who became responsible for continuing the Jewish faith, and those Jewish Believers in Yeshua who had seen the destruction coming.

This is a First Century example that helps us gain a perspective on the times in which our faith was birthed. We often do not consider the passage of time the way God does, because our human minds are too simplistic to grasp what He sees. Consider the fact that some may say that the Apostle Peter was incorrect in asserting that his generation was living in the “Last Days,” in what he spoke to those assembled at Shavuot/Pentecost:

“But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: ‘Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT and they shall prophesy. ‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED’” (Acts 2:14-21).

It is obvious that Peter is quoting a large portion of text from Joel 2:28-32, describing end-time events that are to occur. Those who believe that the Bible has major contradictions would say that Peter was wrong in saying this, not because of Joel’s prophecy about people receiving the Holy Spirit and prophesying, but because he says, “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls” (Joel 2:30-32). It is obvious to anyone who reads the Bible that this has yet to happen.

J.K. McKee (B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic apologist. He is a 2009 recipient of the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award for Greek. He is author of numerous books, dealing with a wide range of topics that are important for today’s Messianic Believers. He has also written many articles on theological issues, and is presently focusing his attention on Messianic commentaries of various books of the Bible.

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