United Methodists and the Last Days

Some people were recently surprised when I said that the interpretation of the Book of Revelation assumed in the Left Behind series was outside of mainstream Christianity and Methodism. So, what do United Methodists believe about the end-times? As in many other areas of theology, United Methodists do not have a clearly defined doctrine of what happens during the end times (eschaton). Our Articles of Religion are silent on the topic. In 1968, when The Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church, we received their Confession of Faith as part of our doctrinal standards. That document does contain an article on the end times.

Article XII — The Judgment and the Future State
We believe all men stand under the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ, both now and in the last day. We believe in the resurrection of the dead; the righteous to life eternal and the wicked to endless condemnation.

Notice that it states that there will be a Final Judgment. The article is silent on all of the details. Wesley believed that when we die we will go to an Intermediate State (Paradise for the Righteous and Hades for the Accursed). We will remain there until the Day of Judgment when we will all be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in Heaven and the Accursed will depart to Hell (see Matthew 25).

To better understand all of the fuss about end times you need to have an understanding of some of the often confusing terms that are a part of the discussion. These explanations are extremely simplified and do not allow for all the variances within each group.

Eschaton
Fancy fifty-cent word from Greek meaning Last Thing. By the Eschaton, people are referring to things like the Return of Christ, the Final Judgment, and the General Resurrection.

The General Resurrection
This refers to the event when all the dead are raised and restored to a bodily state. This time with a spiritual body rather than a physical body.

The Millennium
The Millennium refers to a thousand-year reign of Christ. It is only mentioned one place in the Bible. (see Revelation 20:1-6).

Amillennialism
Amillenialists believe that the Thousand-year reign is to be understood in a spiritualized or symbolic sense. They believe in the Eschaton (Return, Resurrection, and Judgment) but view most of the images and events in the apocalyptic writings as having symbolic meaning.

Post-Millennialism
Postmillennialists believe we are now in the period of the Millennium. Rather than a literal Thousand-year reign, it is seen as a symbol of the Age of the Church. Postmillennialists general hold either a Historicist view of the Book of Revelation or a Preterist view (didn’t I say this could get confusing).

Pre-Millennialism
Premillennialists interpret Revelation 20 literally to mean that Christ will return before the Millennium for the Thousand-year reign. Premillennialists tend to break up into two groups, the Pretribulationists and the Posttribulationists (see below). Premillennialists follow a Futurist interpretation of the Book of Revelation.

The Tribulation
The Tribulation will be a period (seven years) during which evil will run rampant (i.e., the age of the Antichrist). Pretribulationists believe that Christ will return before the Tribulation and Rapture the faithful (this is the view of the Left Behind series). Posttribulationists believe Christ’s Return is at the end of the Tribulation. Most of the early church writers who were Premillennialists were also Posttribulationists.

Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts presents the following explanations for the different ways of interpreting the Book of Revelation.

Preterist
All of the events of Revelation were fulfilled dring the period of the Roman Empire. Preterists include F. F. Bruce, William Barclay, R. C. Sproul, and James M. Efird. (Most United Methodist theologians and biblical scholars would fall into this category).

Historicist
Revelation is a panorama of church history from the apostolic era until the consummation. Most of the reformers were historicists, e.g., Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and John Wesley. (While this view was extremely popular amongst our Reforming ancestors it is rarely held by theologians and biblical scholars today).

Idealist
Revelation is not a representation of actual events, but is rather a symbolic depiction of the spiritual warfare between good and evil. Charles Fillmore was an Idealist. (Some United Methodist theologians would fall into this category).

Futurist
Beginning with chapter 4, Revelation describes future events accompanying the end of the age. This view has become particularly popular since the early 1900s and is held by people like J. Vernon McGee, Hal Lindsey, and J. Dwight Pentecost. (While this view is widely held among today’s popular writers, such as Tim LaHaye, there are not many noted theologians or biblical scholars who hold this view).

Now there are many other terms and even other groups I haven’t mentioned (e.g., Midtribulationists — don’t ask).

Practical Considerations — The Bottom Line
When people get all upset and worked up over this I usually ask them to take a deep breath and consider that in all practicality it doesn’t matter. What does matter is your relationship with God now. The fact is, just as many people we love have already died, there are others of us who will die in the weeks and months ahead. It doesn’t matter if we die in a car accident tomorrow or if we are Raptured at some point. What does matter is that one day we will stand before our Lord and Judge to give an account of ourselves.

Grace and Peace,
Alan

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You can see the entire Articles of Religion at... http://www.crivoice.org/creed25.html

For the Confession of Faith see... http://www.crivoice.org/creedeub.html

Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, ISBN 978-0785244929

Wikipedia has a series of articles on Christian Eschatology that will provide you with a much more in-depth look at all of these matters. Start at... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology

Some easy-to-understand commentaries on the Book of Revelation...

Revelation of John (The Daily Study Bible Series — Rev. ed) by William Barclay. 2 volumes. ISBN 0-664-24115-8 and 0-664-24116-6

Revelation for Today: An Apocalyptic Approach by James M. Efird. ISBN 978-0687361724

Daniel and Revelation: A Study of Two Extraordinary Visions by James M. Efird. ISBN 978-1579106744 (This is a classic work by Efird that covers the two major apocalyptic writings in the Bible).

For a sermon John Wesley published on the Last Judgment, see... http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/15/