Eschatology is one of those theological terms that cause most people's eyes to glaze over and their attention is diverted to something that sounds more interesting. But in fact, a lot of people are very interested in it. Eschatology is that part of theology that focuses on death, judgement, the destiny of the soul and humankind, and more specifically, what many conservative Christians refer to as "The End Times." It is one of the aspects of the Christian faith on which the disagreements over how to interpret the parts of the Bible that deal with it become extremely divisive. And it is one of the focal points of dominion theology which has produced the pseudo-Christian, white, Christian nationalist sect.
Instead of dismissing this as some kind of religious obsession that has little to do with the real world, the fact that Biblical eschatology is being taken out of context and used as justification to completely alter the political foundations of the United States of America is good reason to become informed, in order to call it out, demonstrate the danger it poses to American democracy, point out its errors and keep it from capturing control of even a part of our political system, if it hasn't already done that in some ways.
The history of misinterpreted Biblical eschatology, around the world and even in the United States is enough reason to become informed. There's a clear narrative in the Bible passages dealing with the "end times" that produces a consistent, systematic interpretation pointing to exactly what the authors were addressing, in the historical context in which they were written. And that interpretation does not lend itself to supporting dominion theology, white, Christian nationalism, or to any predictions involving the second coming of Christ or the end of the world as we know it.
The Bible Does Not Contain A Road Map to the End of the World
Without going into major detail, the belief that the book of Revelation, along with other parts of the Bible, including prophecy in the Old Testament book of Daniel, and the words of Jesus about the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, which occurred in 70 A.D., is some kind of road map to the end of the world and the return of Jesus, is a major motivation behind the kind of dominion theology that forms the foundation for white, Christian nationalism. They follow what is known as a futurist interpretation of the book of Revelation, believing it was a prophecy written to describe events leading up to the "end times."
People are fascinated by attempts to predict the future and the fact that the predictions don't come true doesn't stop the fascination or interest. It's a financially lucrative business. It's hard to tell how many books and media materials have been sold based on a prediction that someone made to being able to predict the future. Remember the Left Behind series of books by pastor Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins? That's all fiction, based on the futurist interpretation of Revelation. You can go into any Christian bookstore and find a whole selection of books, mostly by Pentecostal or Charismatic authors, who go into great detail describing what the end times will be like according to their perspective of it.
The problem with this perspective is that it deviates from interpreting the Bible literally, in its historical context, according to almost any accepted theological standards. It ignores, or places some very convoluted constrictions and interpretations on key statements from Jesus, and from the Apostle John, who is identified as the likely author of Revelation, which set the historical time frame for the occurrence of events of which they are speaking.
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D.
Three of the four gospel accounts of the ministry of Jesus record his prediction that the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. That's a paradigm shift event which marks the passage of God's covenant with Israel, which was one of revelation of his existence, to God's covenant with humanity by grace through faith in Jesus, which is one of redemption and restoration. It's the historical event which anchors all interpretations of eschatology in the Bible.
In all three gospel accounts, when asked by his disciples to identify when the Temple would be destroyed, he gives a specific answer.
"Truly, I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place," Jesus says, recorded in all three gospels in virtually the same words.
There are attempts by futurists to throw in convoluted and confusing interpretations, to avoid taking Jesus literally. The word "generation," they say, can also be translated "race," referencing the Jewish race, giving the passage an indefinite time frame. Jesus also references the seasonal blooming of the fig tree in this passage as an analogy which futurists claim is a reference to Israel, and therefore, somehow, that is a reference to the modern state of Israel, not established until 1948. But the overwhelming weight of evidence suggests the interpretation is strictly historical.
First of all, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the tearing down of the Temple, occurred in 70 A.D. within the time frame of the generation of which Jesus was speaking. No other New Testament author mentions the destruction of Jerusalem as a historical fact, indicating that they were all written prior to this event occurring. When John writes Revelation, he references the Temple as if it is still standing and also does not mention this prophetic reference which would have established Jesus as a true prophet among the Jews who rejected his gospel. It also means that Revelation was written before the Neronian persecution of the church began in 64 A.D. and establishes that event as the primary focus of the book's writing.
What that essentially means is that Revelation wasn't an "end times" prophecy, but an end of the age, or end of the old covenant, prophecy. The Apostle John makes this very clear at the beginning of the book, starting in the very first paragraph where he says, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what soon must take place," and then again, still in the introduction, goes on to say "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near."
Along with that, are multiple veiled references within the book that cannot be mistaken as identifying marks of Emperor Nero (the "beast," whose number is 666), and Rome (seven horns which are seven hills on which the woman sits, Revelation 17:9-14). Since virtually everything that is known about the history of that period of time, especially with regard to the Christian church and its encounters with the practice of emperor worship, which included bowing down to statues and having a mark placed on the hand or forehead when that occurred, can be identified with the apocalyptic language of Revelation, there is no reason, and no context anywhere, for interpreting it in any way other than its historical context and its original, literal meaning and purpose.
And So What?
What that means is that there is no support at all for any presupposed belief that God is going to grab on to the coattails of some future nation, like the United States of America, and use it to "reclaim territory" he has lost to Satan. Even a futurist interpretation of Revelation doesn't lead to that conclusion. So, in effect, these people are using a distorted version of Christianity, a pseudo-Christian perspective, as a political weapon, claiming that the destiny of the United States depends on overthrowing democratic rule and adopting a theocracy in order to "reclaim" it for God, either in preparation for the second coming of Christ, or to help usher it in, so that he can come to some place that isn't under Satanic dominion.
It becomes possible, with this kind of thinking, to weaponize people's sincerely held religious beliefs to achieve a political goal. I use the term "anti-Christ" or anti-Christian because it completely denies the gospel message of Christ, which is one of salvation by grace through faith, a spiritual transformation which produces virtues and values in living, not one which divides the world and uses violence and overthrow to dominate it. How can you preach that the very essence of God's character is love, which is underlined and emphasized by every New Testament and gospel author, including Jesus himself, but then advocate for the violent overthrow of a national government?
So, by continuing to point out these misrepresentations, misinterpretations and misuse of the Bible and of the Christian faith itself, my hope is to separate people who claim to follow Christ from extremist, right wing politics. There are others who are committed to doing the same, and it is happening. As Trumpism gets more extreme, there are people who see how inconsistent it is with genuine Christian belief.
The other intention is to point out that being a Democrat isn't the opposite of being Christian. Far from it in fact, even those Democrats who don't acknowledge a personal Christian faith still follow a set of values, beginning with integrity, respect for all humanity and a recognition of basic human rights that is consistent with Christian theology. Both Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are Christians, whose faith practice is an important part of their character. They demonstrate the true character of Christianity far more than does Trump, who not only claims not to be Christian by definition, but resists any attempt to follow the values of Christianity. Vice President Harris holds membership in a Baptist church, the largest branch of Evangelicals. And she, too, demonstrates the values and virtues that are inherently Christian.
So we are on the record here.
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