Eschatology: The Study of a Great Beginning

The Eschatology of John Part 1: There is One Hope

Eschatology is not just the study of the end; it is the study of a great beginning.

A Quick Introduction to Eschatology

Here is The Lexham Bible Dictionary’s definition of eschatology:

Eschatology: the study of the end times, including death, the intermediate state, the afterlife, judgment, the millennium, heaven, and hell. Also refers to the time of Jesus’ second coming. The word eschatology comes from a combination of Greek words meaning “the study of last things.”— Page Brooks¹

As you can tell from the list of subjects above, this is a complicated topic, and you probably know people who have divided over opinions concerning all of these subjects. Broadly speaking, there are four approaches to the study of eschatology, and most of them have to do with when Jesus returns in respect to the millennium.

Of course, these views of eschatology view passages like Revelation as a code that represents future (to the audience) events. The Bible Project acknowledges three other ways to read Revelation: (1) poet or theopoetic, (2) theopolitical, or (3) pastoral or prophetic.

Four Views of Revelation

These four major views are postmillennial, premillennial, amillennial, and preterist.

These views primarily concern themselves with determining when the eschatological program would reach its fulfillment and how the prophecies would be fulfilled.

That being said, there are similarities between the groups. Postmillennialists and premillennialists may both hold to a literal thousand-year reign. Amillennialists and preterists may hold to a figurative understanding of the millennium. The four views all have different opinions on what percentage of Bible prophecy was fulfilled in the past, is being fulfilled in the present, and how much will be fulfilled in the future.

A Bit on Preterism

I was raised a strong partial preterist, but I adopted full preterism in 2015. This led to me being disfellowshipped by my family, which I wrote about in a book called How a 25-Year-Old Learned He Wasn’t the Only One Going to Heaven.

Here’s an article on that view that I wrote a few years ago if you’re interested:

What is Preterism?

For the last few years, though, I have been dissatisfied with the idea that everything is in our past. That is, while some have argued that God is basically done with us, I just don’t believe that’s the case, and I think that’s because we have a great grasp on the end as an end, but we need to talk about the end has a great beginning and what that means for our future. Yes, for our future.

This post is the first in a series of articles in which I take you along with me through a study of the eschatology of John. We’re going to start by looking at Paul’s writings to demonstrate the connection between Paul and John. Then we’ll look at the Gospel of John. After we look at the Gospel of John, we’ll turn our attention to 1 John in which we will spend most of our time. Finally, we’ll explore how these themes appear in Revelation.

I’m going to be honest with my questions and frustrations. I’m going to tell you when I don’t know what’s going on. And I’m going to invite you to comment, critique, and engage in meaningful conversation in the comments below.

With that being said, let’s hop into a very important question: what is the hope of John and Paul?

There is One Hope

What is the One Hope?

there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4–6

so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, Ephesians 1:18

What is this one hope? What is the hope to which he has called you?

To put it in one word, our one hope is the mystery.

But that doesn’t really help us out, does it? I’ll give you a hint: the answer is in Ephesians 4:4-6, but to get the answer let’s go to Colossians.

In Colossians 1:5, we read that this “hope” is “laid up for you in heaven” and that it is something they heard “in the word of the truth, the gospel.” Later in the same chapter, they were encouraged to not shift from this hope that is promised by the gospel, but this doesn’t really tell us what this hope is (Colossians 1:23).

Finally, we come to Colossians 1:25-27, which says,

I became its minister according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The one hope is Christ in you. Note that this is not Christ in just Jews or Christ in just the Gentiles. Instead, as Ephesians 4:4-6 puts it, it is the truth that Father, Son, and Spirit are above all and through all and in all.

Eschatology, then, is ultimately about the formation of Christ within us (Galatians 4:19). Just as Paul was in labor pains to bring forth children of Christ, see the passage just referenced, he argued that the whole creation was looking for the revelation of the children of God (Romans 8:18-23). Paul goes on to argue that this hope of glory would be realized in the children of God being conformed to the image of the Son, which means that Jesus is the firstborn within a large family (Romans 8:29).

The One Hope in Colossians

Some questions we may have at this point relate to the first two passages we noticed in Ephesians and Colossians. Let’s start with Colossians.

Colossians 1:5

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel (Colossians 1:5).

If the hope of Colossians and Ephesians is “Christ in you” then how was this hope not already realized? Weren’t they already in Christ and wasn’t Christ already in them?

This is where we get to the funny way the church talked about the realization of eschatological blessings called “the already and the not yet.” Here is an excerpt from a resource I have describing what this means:

“Already/not yet” is the view that the kingdom of God has already been inaugurated in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ but will not reach consummation until his return in glory. — David Nah²

This concept can be best seen in Colossians 3. Notice Paul’s emphasis of the already (italicized) and the not yet (bold).

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Colossians 3:1–4

They had already been raised but the life had yet to be revealed.

Thus, their hope was laid up for them in heaven (Colossians 1:5).

In Colossians 3:5-11 we see Paul’s hope clearly laid out; we also see how this hope should inspire the Colossians to live for Jesus:

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, enslaved and free, but Christ is all and in all! Colossians 3:5–11

Colossians 1:23

In Colossians 1:21-23, we pick up another key idea concerning the formation of Christ within the church. As you read, pay attention to the themes of separation and reconciliation, Jesus’s flesh, and not shifting from the hope.

And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in [the body of his flesh—marginal notes, NRSVue] through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a minister of this gospel. Colossians 1:21–23

The first two of these themes will be significant as we study John’s writings. I wanted to introduce the material from Paul so that we can understand that Paul and John didn’t differ in their understanding of the one hope. Instead, because of their varying backgrounds and audiences, they emphasized different aspects of this one hope.

We’ll cover these themes more specifically as we study John. For instance, the “prologue” to the Gospel of John teaches that Jesus took on flesh to dwell in us so that we could become children of God through faith, grace, and truth.

Why does Paul emphasize that one must stay steadfast in the faith and not shift from the hope? We already saw the answer in Colossians 3, but Paul wants them to keep their eyes on the hope because the hope will conform them to the image of Christ.

The One Hope in Ephesians

Following the declaration that there is “one hope” in Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul delivers a similar line of thinking to the passage we studied in Colossians 3 (Ephesians 4:11-16). There are several significant points made in this passage, so I’ll break it up for you:

He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…

The building up of the body of Christ seems to be the same thing as the formation of Christ in you.

until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

This passage is extremely important because of its connection with 1 Corinthians 13 (see verse 16). We may have to cover that in the conclusion to this series. Or you can watch this:

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ

Again, they were to grow up by speaking the truth in love.

from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. Ephesians 4:11–16

These teachers were to promote the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Here’s an earlier passage in Ephesians that teaches something similar. As you read it, notice the connection between the body of Christ and the temple. This will be important for our study of Revelation in the future:

…and might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone; in him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. Ephesians 2:16–22

In Short…

In short, the one eschatological hope of Paul was the formation of Christ within the church. He wanted them to experience the realization of the truth of Christ in you. To do this, they were to look to Christ who Paul said “is above.” This upward hope would bring about the realization of these promises through the Spirit. They had cast off the old self and, through the Spirit, were being renewed daily as they were conformed to the image of Christ.³

Here are three passages from the writing of John that demonstrate the connection between John’s and Paul’s one hope:

On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you…Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. John 14:20–23

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1–3

I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. Revelation 21:22 (Go back and reread Ephesians 2:16-22 in the previous section)

So what does all of this have to do with the title? How does this relate to eschatology being the study of a great beginning?

…even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:5–7

We’ll keep this passage in the back of our minds as we study the eschatology of John. In the next post, we’ll start with an overview of the Gospel of John.

If you want this series to continue, please like, comment, or message me to let me know of your continued interest. Also, ask questions, point out typos, and engage in kind discussion.

A Few Questions You Might Answer

1. Did you learn or see anything new in today’s study?

2. Was there a point that resonated with you?

3. What do you think about this understanding of the “one hope”?

1. Brooks, Page. “Eschatology.” Ed. John D. Barry et al. The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016: n. pag. Print.

2. Nah, David. “The Already and the Not Yet.” Lexham Survey of Theology. Ed. Mark Ward et al. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018. Print.

3. 2 Corinthians 3 is also about the transformation of the body of Christ. It talks about life, death, glory, and seeing God face to face. You should read this chapter.