Over Realized Eschatology

Many theologies today suffer from an over realized eschatology. That is to say that many promises of heaven are placed in the current day as fulfillable.

The bible of course has many promises which are fulfilled in heaven which the Christian already gets a taste of partially today. Many theologies miss the distinction between the ultimate reality in heaven and the foretaste in the Christian life.

In practicality it leads to confusion and disappointment. When we read future promises as fulfillable today we have an unrealistic outlook on life.

I have met many Christians in the church today who sound very much like Job's foolish friends. They believe in the real promises of God found in the bible, but completely misunderstand that many of those promises are far more future based than present based.

They cannot understand how people who suffer can be under God's will. If the twelve apostles were members in their current church they would look with great concern if these people truly followed God because they suffered!

You see the greatness of the error. If you follow Christ then you will suffer. It may not be large and it may simply be a few rolled eyes because of coworkers or a few people who think badly of you but you will suffer. If you do not suffer you are not following Christ! A servant is not greater than his master.

And the stark reality of life is that many Christians look so respectable to the world because they are so worldly. It may not seem that way, but they ultimately have no witness in the world which is why the world accepts them so quickly. If they truly followed Christ faith would be at least a bit uncomfortable once in a while.

Co-heirs with Christ

I was listening to a John Piper sermon and heard something that was really incredible so I though I’d post it here. If you ever have some extra time I really recommend: http://www.biblicalpreaching.info/sermons.php

It has a very large amount of sermons by Kent Hughes and John Piper two of the top reformed preachers in America.

Galatians 3:29: "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

1 Corinthians 3:21-23: "So then no one boast in men For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God."

Romans 4:13: "For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith."

This text is so incredible. It defies how we as people think about the world to day. In heaven we will all be heirs to the entire world. That means millions of people will all be heirs to the exact same gift. The whole world will belong to millions of people at the same time. The implication is that we will be so unified in a harmony in heaven that we will be able to share the entire world with millions and millions of people and it still have it belong to us in its entirety. And it gets better:

Revelation 3:20-21:"'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."

Meaning we are sitting on the thrown from which God rules the universe. We will in Christ become co-owners and co-rules of the universe. Millions of us will have absolute wisdom to know how to rule the universe together.

Luke 16:12: "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?"

Everything we own right now is not ours but God’s. But there is coming a day in which we will truly own everything.