… eschatology is so deeply and inextricably interwoven into all of Scripture that it’s virtually impossible to trace the storyline of God’s redemptive purposes without understanding something of its meaning and direction. Eschatology enables us to see the unified purpose of God in summing up all things in Christ. There’s something profoundly edifying and spiritually exhilarating in tracing God’s work from Genesis to Revelation and seeing how the various pieces, people, events, and books of the Bible tie together.

One day, heaven’s risen and reigning King will return—suddenly, physically, triumphantly—to the earth he made. He will extend justice to his enemies and mercy to his ex-enemies. All things will be made new. So Christians have always hoped and believed.

But here the consensus screeches to a halt. Exact details become strikingly debatable (and publishable). Will Jesus secretly snatch away his church seven years prior to his climactic return? Will his return launch a 1,000-year earthly reign before the final judgment and eternal state? Or is the so-called millennium happening now via his heavenly reign? And if so, should we expect the world to become largely “Christianized” before he comes, or not?

In his new book, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative (Christian Focus, 2013), former premillennialist Sam Storms makes a substantial case for amillennialism—the belief that, among other things, the 1,000 years of Revelation 20 symbolize the reign of Christ and his people throughout the present church age. Regardless of your position, Storms has produced a careful and comprehensive volume that deserves serious consideration.

I corresponded with Storms, lead pastor for preaching and vision of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, about panmillennialism, whether eschatology should be a test of fellowship, weaknesses in his own position, and more.

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Why is our eschatology important? Can’t we just be “panmillennialists”—you know, those who believe everything will pan out in the end?

I’m tempted to say, yes, we can just be “panmillennialists” on the assumption we all affirm the reality of the personal and physical return of Jesus Christ to consummate his kingdom on earth. Far too much time and energy are spent hashing out minute and ultimately unimportant details regarding events surrounding the second coming of Christ, when our hearts should be united in the expectation of his return.

However, eschatology is about more than the end of history and the appearance of Jesus. It’s also about fundamental principles of interpreting Scripture, the nature and aim of our Lord’s first coming, the kingdom of God now and not yet, as well as the identity of God’s covenant people and how we should be living (and what we should be expecting) as we await our Lord’s return. Failing to grasp what Scripture says on this and other related topics has led many in church history into either fanaticism or fatalism. They become either aggressive activists who frighten Christians with end-time scenarios that have no basis in the biblical text or passive naysayers who miss out on the life-changing and sanctifying influence of genuine hope.

I should also mention that eschatology is so deeply and inextricably interwoven into all of Scripture that it’s virtually impossible to trace the storyline of God’s redemptive purposes without understanding something of its meaning and direction. Eschatology enables us to see the unified purpose of God in summing up all things in Christ. There’s something profoundly edifying and spiritually exhilarating in tracing God’s work from Genesis to Revelation and seeing how the various pieces, people, events, and books of the Bible tie together. And that’s a tall order in the absence of a basic understanding of eschatology.

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