The biblical doctrine of the end times (called eschatology, from Greek eschata, "last things") refers to the time and events of the consummation of God's redemptive activity. It involves the "last" or "latter days" (e.g., Isaiah 2:2), the Day of the Lord (e.g., Amos 5:18-19; I Thessalonians 5:2), the "age to come" (e.g., Ephesians 1:21; Hebrews 6:5), the "last days" (e.g., 2 Timothy 3:1), the "last time" (Jude 18), and the "last hour" (1 John 2:18). Although the final consummation is still future, the Scriptures make it clear that the end times began with the first coming of Christ (cf. Hebrews 1:2) and extend to the final divine redemptive activity of the creation of the new heavens and earth. The present age thus belongs to the end times (cf. 1 John 2:18). In addition to the redemptive events of Christ in His first coming, the divine activities of the end times include the personal spiritual regeneration brought about through the Spirit under the New Covenant (cf. Jeremiah 31:31ff; 2 Corinthians 3:6) and the future outward intervention of God in historical action. Prominent among the latter aspect are the rapture of the church (I Thessalonians 4:17), the time of tribulation or divine judgment (cf. Matthew 24:21; Revelation 6:16-17), the return of Christ, i.e., the establishment of the kingdom reign of the Messiah over His enemies (cf. Isaiah 11:1-5; 1 Corinthians 15:24-25), and the final restoration of all things through the judgment of the wicked, the glorification of the righteous, and the creation of the new heavens and earth (Revelation 20:11-21:5). Differing interpretations of these events are held especially concerning the relation of the rapture of the church and the final tribulation period, and the time and nature of the millennial kingdom. Pretribulationalism views the rapture of the church before the eschatological tribulation period, which is usually understood as the seven year period of Daniel's seventieth week (cf. Daniel 9:27). According to midtribulationalism (which some also call pretribulationalism) the church is raptured just before the "great tribulation" that begins in the middle of the seventieth week (cf. Matthew 24:21). Posttribulationalism understands the rapture to take place in connection with the Second Coming of Christ to earth at the close of the tribulational period. Since the Scriptures nowhere explicitly place the time of the rapture in relation to the tribulation period, the different positions are derived from the study of the Scriptures relating to (1) the tribulation (e.g., Revelation 3:10), (2) the question of the imminency of Christ's return, and (3) the events related to the future coming of Christ (e.g., Matthew 24). The millennium (from Latin mille, "thousand"), a concept derived from Revelation 20:1-10, denotes the temporary messianic kingdom reign of Christ on earth before the final judgment and inauguration of the eternal state with the new heavens and earth. For the different interpretations of the millennium (see also DAY OF THE LORD, KINGDOM).

This topic is from the Lockman Foundation.