Guide
What does the Bible say about the end times?
A balanced overview of biblical eschatology: the return of Christ, the tribulation, the millennium, final judgment, and the major interpretive frameworks.
The Bible speaks about the end of the present age in multiple places: Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Matthew 24, the letters of Paul, and Revelation. These passages have generated more debate and more bestselling books than almost any other biblical theme.
This guide provides a balanced overview of what the Bible says, the major interpretive traditions, and where Christians agree despite their differences about timelines and details.
What Jesus said about the end
In Matthew 24, Jesus describes wars, famines, earthquakes, false prophets, persecution, and the abomination of desolation. He says the sun will be darkened and the Son of Man will come on the clouds with power and great glory. He warns his disciples to be ready because no one knows the day or hour.
The challenge of Matthew 24 is determining which parts refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and which parts refer to the final return. Many scholars believe Jesus is addressing both events, near and far, in a single discourse.
Revelation and the apocalyptic genre
Revelation is the Bible's most extended treatment of the end times, but it is written in apocalyptic language full of symbols, numbers, and visions. Readers who take every image literally will reach very different conclusions from those who read the symbols as representing spiritual and political realities.
The major interpretive frameworks include preterism (most of Revelation was fulfilled in the first century), historicism (Revelation maps church history), futurism (most events are still to come), and idealism (Revelation describes the ongoing spiritual battle between good and evil).
The millennium and interpretive frameworks
Revelation 20 describes a thousand-year reign of Christ. Premillennialists believe Christ returns before the millennium. Postmillennialists believe the millennium is a golden age of Christian influence before Christ returns. Amillennialists believe the millennium is a symbol for the current church age.
Each view has been held by serious Christians throughout church history. The differences are significant but do not divide the church on the essentials: Christ will return, the dead will be raised, and God will make all things new.
What all Christians agree on
Despite deep disagreements about timelines, all orthodox Christians confess that Christ will return bodily, that there will be a final judgment, that the dead will be raised, and that God will create a new heaven and a new earth. These are stated in every historic creed.
The purpose of biblical eschatology is not to satisfy curiosity about the future but to shape how believers live in the present. Jesus ended his eschatological teaching with the command to watch, be ready, and be faithful. That is the point.
Key passages
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."
Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."
I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.
"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.