On End Times
March 8, 2025
I remember as a kid looking up from my absorbing imaginative play, realizing that I was alone and trying to locate my parents...and coming up empty. After searching for them for a half a minute and still not finding them, panic gripped my heart. Not the panic of, "Oh no, my parents have abandoned me," but rather the panic of, "Oh no...The Rapture has happened, and I've been left behind!"
This sort of thing happened on more than one occasion, and suffice it to say, none of those times had the Rapture actually occurred; my parents were just around the corner chatting with some friends, or something simple like that.
Years later, I'd stumble on articles about some teacher who had "cracked the code," examining the Bible from this or that angle, piecing together these verses with those, overlaying current events, and would reveal that they knew precisely when Christ was going to return. The first few of those that I encountered, I half-believed, and grew anxious as the day approached...and then I'd feel a profound let-down when it passed uneventfully. After a handful of times with that happening, though, I stopped paying attention.
Even so, I was always wondering about what The End would be like, and was fascinated by the book of Revelation. I'd never heard the words "Pre-millennial Dispensationalism," but that was what I was taught, what I believed, what I heard and read. When the Left Behind series came out, I imbibed that like a...well, maybe not quite like a man dying of thirst, but certainly like a welcome morning cup of coffee. I would anxiously await each next installment, and would read Revelation through the lens the authors gave me in those novels. And there were other authors I'd read, who'd hold the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other, explaining how current events were a fulfillment of biblical prophecy, and make projections about what was going to happen, interpreting the Bible through the news and various "signs".
It was all very thrilling, looking at various world rulers and wondering, "Could this be the Antichrist?" or hypothesizing with other believers about what might end up being the "Mark of the Beast" (credit cards? micro-chips in the back of our hands?) Interestingly, though, the thing that more-or-less defines the different ways that people interpret Revelation - the Millennium - wasn't really even on my radar.
"The Millennium" refers to the 1,000-year reign of Christ described in Revelation 20:1-4. The question is, when does this happen? Pre-millennials believe that the Great Tribulation will occur, after which Christ will return and then reign on earth for a literal 1,000 years. Post-millennials believe that the 1,000 years refers to a time period where the Church has brought about societal reform and created a sort of utopia, after which Christ will return. A-millennials believe the 1,000 years is symbolic, indicating the period between Christ's ascension and His return - the present time.
We Lutherans hold to the third view...a fact that utterly blew my mind when I encountered it, and took quite a bit to wrap my head around and eventually come to embrace. I mean, all it takes is a minute to look around at the world and see that Christ is obviously not the one in charge here...right?
So, to try to go into all of the details and explain everything is not only way beyond my ability, but is also not the point of this blog. I'll add some links in the "To Learn More" page, if you're interested.
But after looking at the scant support there is for a "secret rapture" of believers before the final return of Christ (which is easily refuted by looking at the context or the relevant verses and the rest of Scripture), and after puzzling over the conflict between the idea that there is more that has to happen before Christ can return and the many clear passages that show His return as being imminent, sudden, and a surprise (no one knows the day or hour)...I let go of my former beliefs, and now whole-heartedly confess what my Lutheran brothers and sisters confess, having been convinced of their truth by the Scriptures themselves.
I've stopped looking at the news and using it to interpret the apocalyptic passages in the Bible. I've stopped sweating in fear of what the 7 years of the Great Tribulation might be like, and worrying about whether or not I'll have to experience it. I don't bother wondering if this or that political figure is the Antichrist (psst: he's already been identified) I don't get caught up in supposed astrological signs or suggestive coincidences. I don't fear missing the Rapture, or get bogged down in thinking something has to happen with Israel before Jesus can return.
But rather, I have hope: I have hope that today could indeed be the day when Christ returns. I have hope that today could be the day when our tribulation is ended. I have hope that today could be the day when we finally see Him face to face. There is great comfort in this.
It may be that I will have to walk through some truly horrific things before the end...but then our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the ages have sometimes had to endure atrocities beyond our modern comprehension. It may be that Jesus will not return before I die (and that, too, could be at any time.) But I know that He is seated at the right hand of the Father, with all authority having been given to Him, and He is working all things together for our ultimate good. He has not left us orphans and abandoned us, but nourishes and sustains us in this life, until we finally come to life everlasting.
-M
PS: Is this topic central to our salvation? No, in some ways I suppose not. We can of course get this wrong and still be saved. That in no way means, though, that it is unimportant or not worth wrestling with (nor does the fact that people disagree about it mean that the truth can't be known with certainty.) It impacts how we live today, it impacts our view of life as we look ahead, and it affects how we handle the Scriptures, both in Revelation and in the rest of the Bible. All of God's Words matter. These too.
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