Eschatology

 “Unless I am convinced
by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.”

Lately I’ve been doing a good deal of study in the writings of protestant reformer Martin Luther. As to why – I simply felt drawn to him, and have found he has a lot of well grounded and educated things to say more so then many modern pastors. Though I myself am not Lutheran, I have come to appreciate his writings  in very high regards. Luther himself almost never seemed to go into eschatology, however he did invent the idea of “Scripture Alone”. The point of this radical idea of his time was simply; “Let’s just stick with the facts of the record, scripture being the only record not people’s opinions based on their own imagination”.

Any time we encounter Revelation, in particular, we must never forget this. I have heard it all from pre-tribulation to Elaine White to Jesus being an Alien… To be honest, what’s sad is I have found ‘Jesus being an alien’ has a much stronger argument then pre tribulation… only because it is based on more then 2 verses found in the Bible and less ado about how it makes people ‘feel’. That doesn’t amount to much to be honest. The fact is the Devil’s greatest achievement is to hijack eschatology itself in a very broad array of ways, and on such large scale. He could not have done it if people were so naturally prone to hearing someone talk about the Bible rather reading the thing for themselves. Oh sure, no one would ever admit to that…  🙄

The only eschatology theory I have ever heard that holds the most biblical water is called Pre-Wrath. It constantly points to scripture itself, and the goal of it was to simply tell what revelation talks about as a time line or series of events. Details on when or how certain things happen it leaves open as it should….  I realize their are those who need programs and pre set packages otherwise they are incapable of functioning. All of these schools of thought, including pre wrath, strike me as nothing more then a “Label”. If you are such a person (which don’t feel bad, most people are) then you may want to look at Pre-Wrath.

Let me ask you something, instead of worrying about other people’s interpretation of revelation. Instead of trying to find some secrete message or hidden mystery, or twist the book in some way to conform to what makes you feel more comfortable about it. Instead if anything else, why not just read the book itself and take it at face value?

Symbols and things, I think is what turns people off of that. Yet every symbol or metaphor found in revelation relates to another symbol found in the Bible itself and alone. Their really is no other source to interpret scripture other then scripture alone – it explains and interprets itself. God did not leave us to our own devices to understand his book. It is only when one reads the bible, one can understand it. When we off track from that we come up with some very strange and even false ideas.