Why is Eschatology so important?

What is Eschatology?
Eschatology is the study of last things.

• Eschatology deals with the ultimate destiny of mankind.
• Eschatology deals with the ultimate end of the cosmos, the entire creation or world order.
• The Bible IS eschatology, from Genesis – Revelation.
• Every Christian that has ever lived on the earth has an Eschatological worldview.

Our Eschatological worldview permeates and influences the way we view and interact with our world.
Our eschatological framework permeates and influences the way in which we interpret the entire Bible.
Some examples would be as follows:

Some Christians might put pressure on their government to actively war against Islamic Nations in the Middle East, hoping to start an all-out war in Israel.
They might believe that an epic nuclear apocalypse in the Middle East will kill 2/3rds of the Jewish population. This, in turn, will motivate Jesus to return to save the remaining 3rd and wipe Islam off the face of the earth. Perhaps there are millions of people who believe this and hope for it, in fact, try and force their government to pursue it.

Others may ignore the need to look after this planet, after all, why would one engage in environmental efforts to save a planet that is always very soon going to be destroyed by Yeshua?

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However, the Bible does reveal what the pre-70AD Church believed about the Parousia and the effect it would have on the cosmos.
They certainly didn’t believe that the cosmos or physical world would be destroyed at the Parousia, the day of the Lord.
Their beliefs are hidden in plain sight but glanced over by almost everyone.

70AD and the 1st century Church

Nothing has been added to the Bible post-70AD.

For the 1st Century pre-70AD Church, one event towered over everything else.

This was the return of their master who promised to deliver them from their enemies and reward them for their faithfulness in the face of intense persecution.

70AD was the major upcoming event on the pre-70AD  Apostolic church calendar.
All the Apostles expressed their great anticipation of Yehua’s imminent return and they all believed He was coming in their generation and wrote about it. Here is a list of quotes from them.

His return would bring an end to the Mosaic Covenant Age, replacing it with the  Kingdom of God, the age that was, but also yet to come in power, in their generation.

Mark 9:1

1 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
NASB

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

Paul had been told that some in the Church were unsettled and most likely felt like they had been left behind. They were told that he and the other Apostles had been teaching that the Parousia or return of Yeshua had already occurred.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
2 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, ² that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

The literal translation from the Greek is “the day of the Lord is present”
The word come in the Greek means present tense
ἐνίστημι, come (2), present (3), things present (2)

Logically speaking, if the pre-70AD Church believed what we in the post-70AD Church are taught, ie that everything will be destroyed at the Parousia, then the idea that the end had already come in in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3  would be nonsensical as everything was carrying on as normal in the world.
Why would they even raise their concern in the first place?

The idea that the end had come, would make absolutely no sense within our post-70AD eschatological paradigm, as the world was still operating as normal.
The fact that this idea had not occurred to the early Church, proves that they did not believe the same as we have been taught.
But there is more.
The way Paul answers them is very telling.
Paul points out that he had told them that before the day of the Lord comes, the apostasy must happen and the man of lawlessness is to be revealed.
The thought of using the fact that the world had not been destroyed doesn’t even enter his head.
If the pre-70AD Church believed that this physical world would be destroyed, why did Paul not remind them of this? 
That question has to be answered.

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Church Tradition

Church Tradition teaches that one day God must return, destroying this physical Heaven and Earth, bringing about the end of the world.
This belief has held a dominant place in post-70AD Church eschatology and permeated and distorted the whole Biblical narrative.
This understanding has led to a plethora of theories on how these events will play out. Many of those theories have damaged the reputation of the Church, due to one failed prophecy after another about the coming of Yeshua and the end of the world.

This is not what the early church believed, rather they taught that Yeshua would return at the end of the Old Covenant age.

The Church has taught and handed down as tradition that at the return of Yeshua, the Parousia would spell the end of this present creation.

This is not what the pre-70 AD Church taught. What they did teach is hiding in plain sight for those willing to see.
I say hidden, meaning there is an elephant in the room, hidden from the sight of those who refuse to see due to fear and a lack of faith.
The fear of going against the creeds, being called a heretic and being kicked out of the big boys club.
Fear of having to admit that the Church has been wrong for 2,000 years.
A lack of faith to believe what Yeshua did exactly what He clearly said He would.

If we were to look at the pre-70AD Church as a train going through a tunnel we would see.

• That the train going into that tunnel in 70AD, that taught the end of the Old Covenant Age, came out post-70AD teaching the end of the physical world.
• It was not the same train.

There has been a huge paradigm shift and it has changed the whole biblical narrative.
For 2,000 years the Church has taught the soon return of Christ to destroy the earth, over and over and over again throughout successive generations.
The events described in Revelation that were near and soon to take place, when Revelation was written 2,000 years ago, have been reinterpreted throughout the centuries, to match the events each generation sees around them.
These signs were presented as proof that the world was soon going to be destroyed, except in every generation it never ever happens.
Much of the Church lives with their eyes glued to their televisions, searching for the signs of the latest antichrist candidate even though he has been and gone in 70AD.

I do not believe that the pre-70AD Church taught that the Parousia, the return of Yeshua spelt the end of this physical world.
Rather Yeshua came back in 70AD to fulfil the Law and the Prophets and to bring an end to the Old Mosaic Covenant Age and to bring in the New Covenant age, the Kingdom of God.

Eschatology really does matter, it affects the way we live, and the way we interpret the entire Bible whether one wants to believe that or not.