Eschatology refers to the study of the last things, and it is often broken into two categories: general eschatology and personal eschatology. General eschatology is the study of the major end-time events that happen to the entire world, including the second coming of Jesus, the millennial reign, the final judgment, and the new heaven and Earth. Personal eschatology is the study of events that happen to individuals as and after they die.
In the two earlier editions of Father-Son Theology, general eschatology and personal eschatology were separated into two volumes. Many readers got bogged down in the extensive material required to cover general eschatology. Therefore, in this edition of Father-Son Theology, the material on general eschatology has been shortened and the two areas of eschatology, general and personal, are joined in this one volume. For those interested in further study on general eschatology, I recommend another book, Victorious Eschatology, that I co-authored with Dr. Martin Trench.
In Section A of this volume, we will begin by explaining the two primary interpretive frameworks through which Christians read the Bible: the dispensational and covenantal frameworks. You will see that the framework a Bible reader chooses determines their understanding of general eschatology.
Section B explains a third framework called the “progressive fulfillment framework” (abbreviated PFF), which I believe leads to the most biblically accurate understanding of eschatology.
Section C explains how each framework leads to a specific understanding of the Jews, which is a central element of every eschatological view.
Section D explains the flaws of the covenantal framework.
Section E explains how a biblical framework reveals biblical truths.
Section F explains how each framework leads to a specific view of the Kingdom of God and the millennial reign of Jesus.
Section G explains how one’s framework determines their understanding of Satan’s involvement with this world.
Section H explains how one’s framework determines their understanding of the new heaven and Earth.
Section I questions the traditional view that believers will spend eternity in a spiritual world called heaven and, instead, explains how our eternal existence will be in the new heaven and Earth.
Although general and personal eschatology overlap, we will then focus on topics more closely associated with personal eschatology:
As mentioned, we will shorten this volume on eschatology by leaving out discussions of certain end-time events, in particular, events that dispensational Christians envision happening during and around a seven-year-long tribulation in the future. These topics include the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, and Armageddon, which are topics typically sensationalized in modern popular Christianity. These topics capture the imagination but do not add much to a scholarly discussion of eschatology.