This week we completed our current survey of reformed theology as it relates to eschatology. During this last week we explored two major topics within this field both of which come with much debate and variation as it relates to biblical interpretation. These two topics are the Rapture and the Millennium. Both are difficult to understand and therefore there is a LOT of diversity of thought in “where” Christians are as regards the theological timeline. All Christians believe in a coming rapture. That is why it has been a part of our creeds since the second century, “we believe in Jesus Christ… who will come again to judge the quick and the dead.” What does the rapture signify? Is the coming of Christ preceded by wickedness so great that He must whisk us away to safety and therefore we are raptured from earth into heaven? Or is the the coming of Christ preceded by His Church victoriously overrunning the world with the gospel and Christ returns as the victorious King in which we meet Him in the air welcoming Him as He unites Heaven and Earth? Obviously both ideas are wildly different but are based on the same idea of the Return of Christ. We seek unity on this doctrine.
Regarding the Millennium or 1000 year reign of Christ, there is also much difference in theological conviction. Some believe it is still to come and Satan is currently in charge, other’s believe we are already in the Millennium and that Christ is reigning in both heaven and on earth, and some even believe it exists only in Heaven with Christ and is not an Earthly reality. Again we strive for Biblically based unity on this doctrine.
The reasons we’ve spent so many lectures exploring the topic of eschatology is that we seek to plant a reformed Church in the twin cities of Centralia and Chehalis in Lewis County Washington and we want to have unity as believers specifically as it relates to the end of all things. While we certainly don’t need to all hold the same views to have unity, some views are more compatible than others. We are holding these roundtable discussions with the hopes of planting a distinctly and unashamedly reformed church. A church that is unafraid to embrace the big idea that God is truly sovereign. We believe that God is glorified when we understand His majesty, His dominion, and His sovereignty. While it is our conviction that Reformed Theology brings God this glory most biblically and faithfully, there is currently no reformed church in our parish. Therefore, Reformation Roundtable seeks to prepare the soil of Lewis County so that God in His good pleasure, might bring the glories of the reformation.
