This past Sunday Dave Oulton, one of our elders, began teaching our adult Sunday school class on the subject of eschatology, the study of things like the return of Christ and the millennium, prophecy and the final events of history. And I think that at the outset, as we did in class, it is important for us to ask the question, why? Why study eschatology? I mean, do we really need to understand these things? They don't seem very practical or useful for my life right now. So why study them?

Well the first answer that comes to mind is that if you choose not to study these things, if you decide to ignore it, then you are going to end up missing out on a significant portion of scripture...

"More than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy. Approximately one-third of it has yet to be fulfilled. Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1,800 references appear in the Old Testament, and seventeen Old Testament books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the New Testament, there are more than 300 references to the Lord’s return – one out of every thirty verses. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven New Testament books refer to this great event. Three of the four other books are single-chapter letters written to individuals concerning a particular subject, and the fourth is Galatians, which does imply Christ’s coming again. For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s second coming." - George Sweeting

The second answer is something Dave already mentioned in class and it is simply that God promises to bless those who read and study these things...

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." - Revelation 1:1-3 (ESV)

As John MacArthur once said, "Understanding Bible prophecy blesses and encourages in two unique ways. First, it serves as a reminder that God controls history. When, you read from the pages of Scripture how He keeps His promises, your faith is strengthened…By reflecting on the fulfilled promises of the past, you can find great comfort as you look toward the future. Second, understanding God's promises for the future provides a solid foundation to which you can anchor your hope—a sturdy shield with which you can deflect your doubts and fears about tomorrow…When you reflect on God's plans and promises for you and for the world, you can face the future without fear."

Now to be sure, working through these kinds of things in class can be very difficult and at times even a bit controversial, but that doesn't mean we should avoid them. Instead, this should be a further reminder of our need to approach such challenging truths prayerfully and with an open mind and a humble heart...

"All portions of Scripture… ought to be approached with deep humility and earnest prayer for the teaching of the Spirit. On no point have good people so entirely disagreed as on the interpretation of prophecy; on no point have the prejudices of one group, the dogmatism of a second and the extravagance of a third done so much to rob the church of truths which God intended to be a blessing." - J.C. Ryle

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