Bryan Chapell discusses Christian viewpoints on the Last Days

“Are We Living in the LAST DAYS? Four Views of the Hope We Share About Revelation and Christ’s Return” by Bryan Chapell (BakerBooks, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

When will Christ return, and how? Is it a “secret Rapture” where Christ doesn’t touch down but takes all believers with Him in an instant, setting off a very specific series of events leading to the end of time? Premillennial Dispensationalists believe this, and they are the most vocal among Evangelicals and Charismatics. One of the most respected proponents is Dr. David Jeremiah, who has several books asserting that “all Bible-believing Christians” ascribe to this view. Most of my beloved Sunday School class firmly agrees. Yet, as the author explains, “people can get so attached to a particular view of end-time prophecies that if you don’t agree with them, they think you don’t believe the Bible. You might not even be a Christian. Few of these people are aware that these perspectives are not shared among all serious Christians, but result from views of biblical prophecy whose foundations predetermine our conclusions.”

In truth, the vast majority of Bible-believing Christians since the Book of Revelation was written have believed that the “thousand-year reign of Christ on Earth” began symbolically with Jesus’ triumphant resurrection. It’s only been in the last century, since the influence of the Scofield Reference Bible, the Left Behind book series and Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth, that PMD became so well-known.Godly interpreters have at least five ways of thinking about the vivid spiritual-warfare imagery of Revelation: The Near View (also known as preterist, or past, which believes the prophecies were fulfilled as it was being written); The Long View (or historic, which assets that the prophecies of the Apocalypse were an outline of church history, taking place over more than two millennia that climax with the physical Return of Jesus); The Future View (Dispensationalist, which sees current events are signs being fulfilled close to the Last Days); The Symbolic View (idealist or amillennial, which assigns a symbolic understanding of Revelation as the constant spiritual battle between God and satan); and the Mixed View (whose advocates are less vocal but see good points in all these views). And there’s Postmillennialism, which was very popular in 1900, that saw the spread of Christ’s influence on humanity as an upward trend leading to His return.

The Bible marks “end times by more expansive epochs”. Christ’s appearance is imminent. Anticipating the specific time is where the conflict among Christians comes. The most important thing for all believers is that Christ who loves us is coming back, in some fashion, and time will end. Bring the lost to Christ and disciple them while we still have time to do so.

If you have struggled with understanding the different viewpoints of the End Times and the validity of other viewpoints, be sure to get a copy of this book!