The Doctrine of Last Things

Systematic theology seeks to understand God’s revelation regarding all that it discloses and how everything it reveals fits together in one coherent system of truth. Those things that Scripture reveals include what is yet ahead of us in the outworking of God’s plan of redemption. To know the systematic theology of the Bible, we must pay attention to the doctrine of last, ultimate, or final things. The study of these matters is called eschatology.

Under the heading of eschatology, theologians study the Bible’s teaching on the afterlife, the consummation of the blessed kingdom of God, the return of Christ, final judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and several other issues. As we conclude our yearlong study of systematic theology this month, we will examine these topics and more.

Francis Turretin encourages us to begin learning in this life those things that we will continue to know in heaven and to use this knowledge to motivate our worship in the here and now. We study systematic theology so that we may worship God more fervently and truthfully. May we continue in this all the days of our lives.