A few days ago, I wrote a blog regarding  interpretations of what the scriptures may or may not say about the end times.  Among other points, I tried to explain that in Jesus' Olivet Discourse the references to the 'end of the age' were not references to the end of history.  Rather, it is a discourse on the end of the blood sacrifice age.  With Jesus being the final sacrifice for sins, and then subsequent destruction of the tabernacle in Jerusalem, this 'age' ended in the first century.

But why does it matter?  Am I just trying to prove my theological superiority over much of modern evangelicalism.  Well, I can get cocky sometimes, but there's more to it than that.  Bad eschatology causes real problems in the here and now.  First of all, it makes believers look kinda stupid sometimes.  Taken to its extreme, there are the date setting false-prophets whose prophecies come and go unfulfilled.  There's those who believe these heretics, sometimes to the point of giving away all earthly possessions and putting their pets to sleep so Fido doesn't have to fend for himself after the 'rapture'.  This makes great humor for late night TV, but the problem is, the general public is good at over generalizing; we must all be as nuts as these other guys.

Even more open minded folks can be misled by bad eschatology.  It is the very fact that some people read the Olivet Discourse as an end of history prediction that atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell uses to defend his thesis in his classic work Why I am Not a Christian.  If it is understood as a statement regarding the end of the world, Jesus did, as Russell asserts, get it wrong.  The world did not end during the lifetime of 'this generation' he was addressing.  But it is well documented that the temple age did.

Furthermore, a hyper-focus on how close the end is near can lead believers into inaction.  I have a friend who refers to this mindset as the "the rapture's coming so let's not do anything" mentality.  When the book 88 Reasons Jesus Will Return in 1988 came out, another friend said, "I don't believe Jesus will return on September 13 (of 1988), but I'll be staying home just in case."  Staying home?  Why?  Sue and I were juggling in the Windham Mall, and we were both still very much earth bound the next day. 

Much popular eschatology today also focuses on the nation of Israel.  Dispensationalists say that the Hebrew people are still God's chosen.  Well, kind of... Christians of all ethnicities are saved by grace alone, but Israel will all be saved after Christians are raptured away.  The Jews, they say, will suffer horribly under the reign of Anti-Christ, but be saved for their perseverance.  Hmmm... So we're saved by grace, then the Jews will be saved by works?  I thought the old covenant was, well, the old one.  And, by the way, don't the Jews have just as much access to God's grace as the rest of us?  My Jewish friend and Baptist Pastor Fred Shapiro would say so!

Now understand, the nation of Israel has been a loyal political ally to the USA for 70 years or so.  They are the only true democracy in the Middle East, and the Hebrew people have suffered as much as any ethnic group in all of history.  I believe our country's alliance with Israel is good politics.  But there is the mindset among some Christians that we must never question anything Israel does.  To do so would be to bring a curse on our country.  But the fact is, Israel, like all governments, isn't perfect.  It is more godly to speak the truth in all circumstances.  If Israel has unjust policies toward the Palestinians who live among them, we not just have the right but the responsibility to say so.

So my minority / somewhat contrarian view of current events and prophecy is more than just a 'I'm right, you're wrong' arguing point (although a part of me truly does like the whole "I'm right" feeling).  It effects, sometimes intentionally, sometimes subconsciously, how we live and think.