What do those who belong to Jesus have to look forward to? Not in this life, but after death, and after Jesus’s second coming, when he restores all things. What is the Christian hope?
As part of a potential Stream podcast series, I decided to survey several Christians to see what a (non-scientific) sample of Christians think. I spoke for several minutes each with two men and got one-line responses from several people sitting together in a group.
Some of the primary ideas that came up were being in the presence of God forever, freedom from pain and suffering, and seeing again Christian loved ones who have died. When I asked specific questions of the two men, I found that yes, they had some concept of rewards — crowns, one said. Yes, they had some concept of new bodies — free from suffering, the other said. They weren’t sure that the concept of believers reigning on the earth (Revelation 5:10) will be a future reality. One had a concept of the new heaven and new earth, while the other said that he only thought of heaven and not of being back on earth in regard to the final destiny of believers.
Why Should We Care About the End?
Why does this question matter? My final interviewee turned the tables one me and asked me why this topic mattered to me. He had just explained why the topic wasn’t something he gave much thought to. Growing up he had found discussion of eschatology (the study of end times and God’s ultimate plan for creation) to be contentious, to not lead people to be focused on caring about the here and now, and to involve multiple, mutually exclusive answers. But I seemed to find benefit from or have interest in the topic. Why?
Everything will be as it should be.
I explained that my interest started because my church pastors/elders encourage the study of eschatology. They teach that God’s ultimate plan to redeem all of creation is an important part of the Gospel. I also explained that I’ve found eschatology to be the most complete answer to the question, “why would a good, all-powerful God allow so much suffering in the world?”
This question apparently plagues many people and for some is a stated reason that they have turned away from the faith. In fact, when I recently had a conversation with a cashier that led to discussion of her faith, she said this objection to God was part of what had been keeping her away from church. A former coworker at a previous workplace told me she wouldn’t believe in a God who allows so much suffering. This objection seems commonplace, and since I started studying eschatology, I realized that eschatology offers an answer.
The Typical Answer is the Free-Will Defense
I’ve found that the prevailing answer to this question that I hear from Christians on the problem of evil is not eschatology. It’s the free-will defense. The free-will defense says that God allows humans to choose to do right or wrong because choice is required for love. Humans can choose, they often choose wrongly, and those wrong choices are the source of evil in the world. In addition, evil spirits have choice, and they can cause suffering. In addition, because humans disobeyed God, God cursed the earth, and so the earth is not in the perfect, fruitful state which He originally intended. The earth doesn’t produce as much food as easily as was intended, humans die, and women suffer in childbirth because of God’s response to the disobedience of humans.
This answer is good, but it only presents the source of the problem. It’s not a fully satisfying answer without the solution.
What I told that cashier, and what I told my curious interviewee, is that the world is messed up right now because humans make bad choices. God has a plan to make the world as it should be, to make every wrong thing right. He’ll judge every person who has ever lived and bring justice to every situation. He will come back as King and rule and reign from Jerusalem. Everyone will learn the ways of God. No one will harm anyone else. Wild animals won’t be dangerous. Humans who belong to God will see God and be one with God and have perfect relationships with each other. Everything will be as it should be.
Why God is Waiting
But God hasn’t made all things right yet. He’s waiting because when that decisive moment hits the earth, many will not be ready. He wants to give everyone a chance to turn to Him and surrender to Him, before it’s too late.
When I understood this, it gave meaning to the current suffering. Suffering is not just a consequence of human wickedness. God hasn’t eliminated suffering yet because He’s merciful. He’s good and patient and He doesn’t want people to receive the consequence of their unforgiven moral crimes because they haven’t turned away from them towards God. He wants to give them time to come to Him so He can have mercy on them.
And that’s why the world is full of suffering, and yet God is still all-powerful and good. And knowing that answer about God’s plan for creation is one reason of many why it’s a good idea to study what the Bible says about what’s to come.
The Power of Questions
Doing these short, experimental podcast interviews taught me of how easy it can be to talk to people about spiritual topics if I’m able to get them thinking with an interesting line of questions. A podcast offers a good excuse to open up. Probing questions can lead people to think through their beliefs. Who knows? This might be a good way to share the Gospel.
Aliya Kuykendall is a staff writer and proofreader for The Stream. You can follow Aliya on X @AliyaKuykendall and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.