Eschatology is the study of last days or end times. The word arises from the Greek ἔσχατος (éschatos) meaning "last" and -logy meaning "the study of", and first appeared in English around 1844. The Oxford English Dictionary defines eschatology as "the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind".
Charles C. Ryrie, in his book Basic Theology, writes,
Everyone has some sort of eschatology. For many moderns, eschatology is a study in despair, for all things will end in death—the death of the individual and the death of the universe. Even evolution does not promise immortality. For others the despair is modified by a vague hope in some sort of life after death. For the Christian the Bible provides clear and detailed teaching concerning the future so that he may know with certainty what lies ahead.
Ryrie, C. C. (1999). Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (pp. 508–509). Chicago, IL: Moody Press.
There are a few different systems which will need to be understood as we dig deeper into the Word, and finally we'll look at my system, which will be a little different from anyone else's system. The first three systems revolve around the kind of Millennium (thousand years, or some unspecified time frame) that each envision.
Post-Millennial
A-Millennial
Pre-Millennial
Next, we'll look at systems that teach that the Tribulation will take place, and how some people place the rapture of the church at the beginning, middle, or end of the Tribulation.
Late-Tribulational
Mid-Tribulational or Pre-Wrath Rapure
Pre-Tribulational
And, finally, we'll look at my system, Chronological Pre-Tribulational.
Side - Covenant Theology
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