inaugurated eschatology will be on the final...

Gregg has been thinking interesting thoughts this week. I haven't decided what I think about his theories yet but in some sense I hope he’s right because there are some shockingly beautiful places on this earth and I would hate to see them wiped completely out, whether by God or by us. I do think that the human race should be taking better care of the planet. There are a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that if the end times aren’t all that close at hand, we need a place to live!

As for myself, Gregg brings to mind something I’ve been pondering lately. It’s about how the Kingdom of God is present now and has not yet arrived, all at the same time. Jesus said that the Kingdom is already present (Mk 1:14-15) and that satan’s end has come (Mk 3:26) even though it doesn’t feel like it some days. And, he said that the Kingdom is still an age to come (Mk 10:29f) making me think that there's more good stuff in store. In my New Testament class recently we had a discussion about how the Kingdom of God is like the difference between D-Day (the invasion at Normandy on June 6, 1944) and V-Day (the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany on May 7/8, 1945). It’s like Christ fought and won the final invasion battle but the surrender hasn’t been accepted or signed yet. In that sense, the kingdom has come, it’s here and happening now, but also isn’t fully realized yet.

I don’t much care about eschatology (the study of end times) like some do but this has made me hope that if and when the end times come, we will get to keep a few things. Maybe some of what makes us feel secure, loved and full of faith, experience peace, be joyful, and touch true happiness will remain because they are the Kingdom that is a part of us, within us now. Maybe that means that the seeds of love, peace, joy and happiness I’ve sown over the years won’t be fried in the fire but will be refined and made full at that time. I don’t know but I hope so.

I might be a little weird but I am looking forward to a day when God’s all-consuming white-hot fire comes and burns away all the muck that has landed on top of my peace and joy. It will be a lot easier to find that way. :) I don't know if that will happen in my lifetime or when I cross over from here to there at the end of it all. I don't really care because I have enough of the Kingdom in me to have faith, hope and love and that's good enough for now.