Eschatology review online

By Ron McRay

March 25, 2002

[Editor’s note: Again, I will reprint an article from another author. It is the author’s own thoughts, and do not necessarily agree with mine. But this one is worthy of your reading. Thanks for subscribing to Eschatology Review Online. Write or call me if you need help. Ron.]

KNOWING

Do not believe what you have heard.
Do not believe in tradition because it is handed down many generations.
Do not believe in anything that has been spoken of many times.
Do not believe because the written statements come from some old sage.
Do not believe in conjecture.
Do not believe in authority or teachers or elders.
But after careful observation and analysis, when it agrees
with reason and it will benefit one and all, then accept and live by it.

BUDDA
(563 B.C. 483 B.C.

By including a portion of the writings of BUDDA, I am not advocating or suggesting anyone turn to Buddhism. The teaching of BUDDA was taken from a book, "Wisdom of the Ages" by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, which I commend to your reading.

For half a century, I believed what I heard from pulpits and in church classrooms that the coming of Jesus was yet future. I had even accepted teaching assignments and although it was a long time ago, I feel sure I taught as fact what I then believed. I remember wondering many times: "Why is it taking so long for Jesus to return?" But I will stipulate that my belief was not based upon any kind of analysis and certainly not on observation.

How did you arrive at, or perhaps an even better way of putting it, upon what is the basis of your belief founded? Was your belief based on the songs (that) you sing in the assembly that very often have words to the effect of "Jesus is coming soon" or "When Jesus comes" or other similar words? Have you ever taken a hymn book and gone through it, noting how many songs there are in it that do not mention the coming of Jesus? Or have you ever read through the New Testament and noted how many times some reference is made to the coming of Jesus (being) mentioned in some way or other? Is your belief about the coming of Jesus based upon any kind of analysis or is the way most of our beliefs have come into our psyche…we hear or read something and it sounds good, so it becomes our idea and our belief! Isn’t that how most of our ideas and beliefs get into our minds?

When you read the Bible, is it to verify what you have heard in the assembly from the pulpit or is it to learn what the Bible really teaches? Have you come to the reality that there are subjects in the Bible that are never preached from the pulpit? When a teacher or preacher delivers lessons from one of the Gospels or some apostolic letter in a chronological manner, have you ever noticed that anything that may be controversial is skipped over and no comment is made about that subject matter?

Have you ever been in a study on eschatology? Don’t let that word scare you. The definition of eschatology from Random House Webster’s College Dictionary is: 1. Any system of religious doctrines concerning last or final matters, as death, judgement or after life. 2. The branch of theology dealing with such matters.

When you were baptized into Christ, you received ‘the gift of the Holy Spirit’ or at least that’s what Acts 2:38 tells me. According to Romans, 8:9 "And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." Writing to the saints at Ephesus , Paul told them, "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession---to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1: 13,14). The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 9 verse 28 "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Question! Do you have salvation if Christ has not appeared a second time?

The only purpose of this article is to get you to examine the scriptures to see if the matters I have brought up are true. I have a Table of Eschatological Scriptures in my computer and if you want them feel free to request one via e-mail to <grclark@bigcountry.net> and I will send a copy to you. [George Clark].

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