Prolegomenon
How will the world end? This question does not arise from any current headline or newspaper clipping. Neither is it the product of the pressing worries of the morrow – which are, after all, sufficient for the morrow itself (Matt 6:34). On the contrary, here I am referring more to the End, with a capital “E” – that final day toward which we are all inevitably moving. This is not the product of a morbid fascination, nor is it the rantings of a man on a street corner waving signs warning of impending doom (or, at least, not quite yet). Reflecting on the end is a biblical theme, and one that has strong Reformational roots. Martin Luther accordingly once observed: “There are two days in my calendar: This day and that Day.” It occurs to me that great men of faith regularly reflected on that Day. It also occurs to me that the modern culture has little time for such reflection, even within the church.
When we speak of the end of all things, we are speaking about the concept of eschatology (the study of the last things). Though just as soon as we make this observation, we should quickly maintain that eschatology concerns far more than the things of the very end – it involves the sum total of the things which lead to that end. The things which happen today are not unrelated to the things which happen at the end of the story – they are a part of it and weave together to bring about the finale, the conclusion, that which is yet to come.
Like any good story, there are no random occurrences. This story is a divinely written story, so it is a perfectly written story. It is not perfect in the sense that there are not bad things which happen in the story, as there are certainly bad and evil things in this world. But it is a perfect story insofar as God is in control of the story, determining all the things which occur in the story (Isa 44:6-8; 45:4-7; 46:9-11). We also know that this story works out for the ultimate good of those who are God’s children (Rom 8:28). Since it is a perfect story, we know that the things in our lives thereby have meaning and value. There are no random occurrences, no accidents in the true sense of the word. Even the evil things in this world have a divine purpose in this perfect story (Gen 50; Isa 8; Acts 4).
Reading the Story Correctly
Stories typically have a point or message that is being conveyed (impassioned objections from deconstructionists and reader-response critics notwithstanding). If one reads the Lord of the Rings trilogy and comes to the conclusion that Sauron is the hero of the story, they have likely read the story wrong. This is not to say that there is no room for error here, as there are certainly ways to be wrong in this regard, and one could certainly be wrong in quite fascinating ways. One might maintain that Sauron is representative of a disenfranchised movement operating outside the bounds of normalized society in Middle Earth. One may envision Sauron leading a grassroots liberation movement which draws on marginalized groups of orcs to pursue their self-empowerment in a changing society. One may even go far afield and speak of the Ents for quite a few hours and forget about Sauron altogether.
One could go on, but any further speculation would likely only encourage further academic articles to be written on these themes. Most who have encountered the LOTR books have concluded that Tolkien did, in fact, have a story to tell (a tip-of-the-cap to Hirsch and Vanhoozer), and those readers concluded that Sauron plainly seems to be the evil antagonist of the saga. This may sound quite pedantic. It is clear, after all, that Tolkien meant to tell the story in a certain way (again, ignoring the now-violent protestations from Derrida and Fish). Should one leave the Tolkien trilogy wiping tears of grief from one’s eyes lamenting that Sauron’s plans were foiled, this would surely be cause to assume one may have wildly mis-read the story (or that there are even other more serious issues at play).
In a similar vein, when we approach Scripture – or, may I say, when we are confronted with Scripture – we should leave that story with a certain conviction. When we read what Scripture says about the things of the end, and all the things which lead to that end, we should leave with a certain outlook. That conviction, that outlook, that conclusion, is one of hope. There are related themes to hope – peace, joy, faith, confidence… and these are suitable responses as well. Yet there are incompatible responses: fear, anxiety, anger, distrust, hopelessness… these things are quite incompatible with hope in this case. This is of particular concern for Christians because this is a sure sign that if these latter responses are our response to the story, we are reading the story wrong.
There is a historic Christian reading of Scripture which contains a hopeful view of the end. When I say that it is historic, I do not mean that it is universally held by all who claim to be Christian, nor do I mean that it is the only perspective present throughout the history of the Christian church. What I mean is that it is historic in that it is present throughout the history of Christian thought, and that it is often reflected by the church’s greatest theological minds (such as Augustine). This historic reading of Scripture recognizes that Christ truly has triumphed over the evil rulers and authorities of this age (Col 2:15). So great is Christ’s victory, He has defeated Satan himself (John 12:31; Luke 10:18-19), defeating the power of death through His own death on the cross (Heb 2:14). This historic Christian description of the end is a victory cry. If your description is different, you may well be getting the story wrong altogether.
Passing the Story Along
How then should we convey this story of ‘the end’ and Christ’s victory? Let me suggest two ways not to tell this story, and then humbly suggest one way to tell this story.
First, let us not pretend that the end does not matter. There are many who have encountered the eschatological excesses of the past and become understandably wearied. Some have encountered grainy movies filled with terror-inducing footage meant to intimidate and cause fear. Some have been confronted with complicated wall graphs whose overlapping networks of yarn led them to abandon all hope of comprehending the truth of these things. Some have simply spoken to others who held their views without a shred of Christian charity. Yet I suspect that a significantly larger majority would simply rather not bother with the topic, though they would certainly never articulate this out loud. Perhaps they may describe themselves as a ‘pan-millennial,’ being convinced it will all ‘pan out in the end’ – to which they receive a relieved laugh from those around them whose views are likewise poorly investigated. Such a cavalier attitude toward such an important doctrine may well mean that we have, unfortunately, read the story quite wrong.
Second, let us likewise not pretend that we are on a sinking ship and have songs of glory to sing prior to the impending waves crashing over the deck. Many illustrations come to mind here, not the least of which is the modern caution to avoid polishing brass on a sinking ship. This may be a tempting perspective for a disposable society in which everything has plastic components and built-in obsolescence, yet it is certainly not the perspective gained from a close reflection on Scripture. If we may borrow from two literary greats, we should avoid internalizing TS Eliot’s notion of the world dying with a “whimper,” and perhaps instead reflect on Dylan Thomas’ cry to “rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Christ’s victory is not a sinking ship on which we are passing away our time; if this is how we have read the story, we have likely read it quite wrong indeed.
“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
–– 1 Cor 15:24-26
So then, how then might we tell this story? Tell this story as if all things are made through and for Christ, that He has come to redeem all things to Himself, and that He is returning in glory to vindicate His children and eternally judge sin and evil. Tell this story as if Christ is the conquering King, His victory is won, and His glory is eternal.
SDG,
Josh Howard
Josh Howard serves as the Elder/Pastor at Grace Community Church in Battle Creek, MI, co-hosts the Good Doctrine Podcast, and is an alumni of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (PhD, ThM).
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