Our special roundtable presentation has to be called off, almost as quickly as the dramatized way you hear it happen in the interchange between Keith and the Retrobots. The cancellations actually started the day before, but the last ones were called in within the final couple hours before we hit the record button.

Since the topic we planned on was geared to our panel of guests, we fall back on a last moment topic. Escatology is a huge area of study, and our time is limited. Still, we give it as much as we can, before Nathan has to run.

Main Topic

So, what exactly is Escatology. No, it’s not the study of really curvy cats. Although that would make a lot of sense. It is actually the study of last things. Or the study of end times.

Most of the time attention is given to what happens at the end of the world, raptured saints, the return of Jesus, and all like that there. We aren’t going there today. That is known as a global end time.

There’S another kind of end time. A personal end of time. Here’s a spoiler alert for you, we all die. Sooner or later, we will all come to a day where our bodies stop, and our time on earth is no more. When that happens, and we’ve reached our personal end… what comes next?

The biblical worldview has a few things to say on death and resurrected bodies. We have enough time to examine five of these points. Hebrews 9:27 states that we die, then are judged.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once,

and after that comes judgment,

Hebrews 9:27 (ESV)

People die once. No second times through on this merry go round. God only allows us one shot at this physical life. There’s a lot to explore, do, and enjoy, but when it’s over, all that remains is judgement on how well we spent our time here. There’s judgement, no grace or mercy. We have that now. God grants all kinds of grace in this life, but only judgement remains when we account for what we did here.

1. The body returns to dust, the spirit to God.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 (ESV)

and the dust returns to the earth as it was,

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

When the body dies, the part that is spirit, or our soul, is torn away as the bond that holds it together is broken. The body begins it’s journey back to dust, and to the earth swhere it came. The spirit returns to God.

Wait. Does this mean that all people go to heaven? It says the soul returns to God, right? Yes… then the judgement. If all souls return to God, it is at this point they will be judged, and there are only two options. Two destinations, and one is already set, unless a choice of faith is made during your life.

2. Spiritually: born dead.

Ephesians 2:1-6 (ESV)

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience�

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ– by grace you have been saved–

6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

This claim is that it’s our physical nature to be self serving to our passions and desires. We are easy prey to sin and rebellion. Simply put, verse 1 states, you were dead in trespass and sin. It’s only by God’s love, grace and mercy that he even offers to take us out of it. We have abundant grace and mercy now. All we can count on when our soul returns to God is judgement...