Preparing Eschatology 101 and need help!

ryan · Post by **ryan** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 1:22 pm

Hi all,

The Sunday School class that I teach has expressed interest in knowing more about eschatology, so I'm preparing an eschatology 101 overview, of sorts, in which I'll briefly lay out the differing views. I wanted to keep it fairly simple, which is proving easier said than done!

As part of the lesson, I need to address the differences in hermeneutics, ie. literal vs non-literal interpretations, when looking at Old Testament passages/prophecies. Unfortunately, I think this is the first time most of the class will have heard anything about the majority of the lesson (mostly dispensational backgrounds), so I'm trying to think of a simple way to illustrate the different in hermeneutical approaches.

Does anyone have any suggestions for an OT passage I could use, and demonstrate how the two approaches would interpret it? If I had to pick just one (or two) examples, what should they be... so that the point could be made the easiest?

Thanks for any help! I really appreciate it.

-Ryan

jeremiah · Post by **jeremiah** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:16 pm

hey ryan,
my vote would be isaiah 13. in speaking of the destruction of babylon by the medes, isaiah uses the same language jesus did in the olivet discourse: the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light, and the stars...it's also an example of an ot prophet using "the day of the Lord" as synonymous with God coming in judgement to a particular nation. and not literally the Last Day. joel 2 and 3 is another one with similar language with regard to tyre (i think). another one could be isaiah 34, in speaking of the destruction of edom, the language of smoke ascending for ever and ever is used, as in revelation 14. those i would think are the big two , and the most obviously not literal. and finally, revelation 18 might be a good example of demonstrating that smoke rising (like in sodom and gohmorrah, abraham saw the smoke rising) is a sign that judgement has occurred, and its done. hope this helps.
grace and peace...

jeremiah · Post by **jeremiah** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:50 pm

you may be aware of this place, but in case you aren't : blue letter bible.org is the place to go if you want online access to popular dispensational commentaries, as well as some other classic ones(spurgeon, matt henry, martin luther). once you have the chapter opened up. you can left click on the verse number, pick a commentary and it will take you to the archive.
regardless of the commentaries, it is a great resource for internet study. http://www.blueletterbible.org/index.cfm

grace and peace is with us...

ryan · Post by **ryan** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:28 am

Thanks for the input, Jeremiah!

Bart · Post by **Bart** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 9:27 am

Hi Ryan...

First thought may be a bit picky... don't set it up as literal 'versus' nonliteral. We believe in both. The Bible uses both. We do not want to come to the Bible with a bias... we want the Bible to lead us and we need to willing to go where the Bible leads.

Second thought... sometimes an illustration is helpful... ask the class if they know the difference between literal and non literal in the following statements:
1) "Last night I was outside on my deck and saw a falling star, it was amazing."
2) "Yesterday I was watching golf on TV and saw the biggest falling star ever!" (What am I talking about? - Tiger Woods! - Not a statement about seeing a real falling star fall and hit the golf course!)
The class will know the difference. Knowing the difference comes with familiarity, context, and letting the Bible interpret the Bible - all cannot be derived from simple exegesis.

Third and possibly last thought... to your question on verses. Investigate the OT verses on the coming of Elija before the Messiah. John the Baptist in fact said he was not Elija. Jesus said he was... If you can accept it! All dispensationalists and premillennialists accept that John the Baptist was not literally Elija! Therefore, the Old Testament verses surrounding the return of Elija were/are also not taken literally.

I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to plug Steve's book. Buy the book. Take it to the class. Recommend it. It is an excellent Book.

For additional info on this site I would recommend listening to ... under TOPICAL LECTURES > WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE - ESCHATOLOGY > 02 and 03 are just what you are looking for.

God be with you,
Bart

jeremiah · Post by **jeremiah** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 10:25 am

Bart wrote: John the Baptist in fact said he was not Elija. Jesus said he was... If you can accept it! All dispensationalists and premillennialists accept that John the Baptist was not literally Elija! Therefore, the Old Testament verses surrounding the return of Elija were/are also not taken literally.

excellent point bart, thanks for that. and as a reminder, the term eschatology has been become far too unbalanced in it's scope today. that is, classically, the study of last things(not just end "times") enveloped jesus' second coming, our only blessed hope of the resurrection, final judgment, and the new heavens and new earth.
grace and peace...

ryan · Post by **ryan** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 6:57 pm

Thanks again, guys... really appreciate the help!

The Narrow Path Ministries