Victorious Eschatology and Prophecy

Many today wonder if the total eclipse of 2024 is a prophetic sign of judgment coming to America, of Christ’s soon returning, etc. As prophetic people, we need to discern what these signs in heaven might mean and the signs of the time.

However, we do need to have a victorious eschatology. Eschatology, a branch of theology, refers to the study of the end times, death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and humankind. Our eschatological view shapes our perception of current events, influencing our emotions, actions, and prophecies.

Prophecy, a divine gift, is not meant to instill fear but to prepare and equip us. The Holy Spirit, our divine guide, resides within all born-again believers, revealing things to come. Understanding these prophecies empowers us, giving us the knowledge and foresight to confidently navigate the future.

“But when the truth-giving Spirit comes, he will unveil the reality of every truth within you. He won’t speak his own message, but only what he hears from the Father, and he will reveal prophetically to you what is to come. He will glorify me on the earth, for he will receive from me what is mine and reveal it to you.” John 16:13–14 TPT

Prophecy throughout Scripture relates to spiritual visions seen in the spirit realm with images, symbols, and metaphors revealing what is in the spiritual realm. What is seen and what happens in the spirit realm then correlates to what events will happen in the natural realm.

For example, in Revelation, John sees a swarm of locusts in the spiritual realm and correlates it with a huge army bringing destruction to the natural realm. In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar could not understand his dream until Daniel, who could see in the spirit realm, explained what the dream meant in the natural realm, i.e., the four kingdoms that would be destroyed by the kingdom of God.

It’s crucial to delve into the Scripture and identify the context in which a symbol, image, or metaphor was first used. The Bible should be its own interpreter. We need to apply Scripture consistently, whether it’s spiritual to spiritual or literal to literal, to gain a comprehensive understanding of prophecy.

We must also consider the difference between the Old and New Testaments and whether things were written before or after the cross. Things relating to and after the cross refer to the New Covenant. The Bible discusses and reveals the spiritual realm in layers of meaning. There may not be just one revelation or understanding.

When Jesus is speaking in the New Testament, we must consider who He was speaking to. Jesus used parables to reveal spiritual things, relating them to the natural realm.

In 2019, the Lord gave me a Scripture for that year.

Arise, shine, for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:1-3

We should not be preaching doom and gloom! Our focus should not be on the activities of the kingdom of darkness but on promoting the kingdom of God and His truth and light.

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” Matthew 11:12

We must prepare ourselves because the enemy’s intent and key strategy in these last days is to cause us to leave or deny our faith in Christ. We must hold onto our faith and carry out God’s divine assignments. His church is a restraining power on the earth, and God needs all of us to take our place to thwart and restrain the enemy’s power and bring people out of darkness.

1 Corinthians 14:3 tells us that prophecy is for edification, exhortation, and comfort to men. We are to prophesy this to people and over cities and nations. After the disciples received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached a sermon from Joel 2:28–32 and declared that in the last days, God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and there shall be prophecy, dreams, and visions.

These are exciting times. We are going to see a billion-soul harvest, and a revival is beginning to sweep the globe. We do not need to fear because Jesus has said He would never leave or forsake us and that He would be with us even till the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). As we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author, and finisher of our faith, we receive His peace, joy, and everything He is and has.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

But so many Christians have a pessimistic worldview because of everything we see in the media and on the internet today. But things have improved since Jesus came into the world over 2,000 years ago. We must, therefore, continue to advance the kingdom of God and not lose sight of the fact that we are gaining ground. Jesus Christ is Lord, and the kingdom of God is constantly growing and expanding as we share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Recently, the Lord spoke to me while driving to an evening service. He directed my attention to the opposite stream of freeway traffic. In the darkness, I could see the headlights of the cars along the road. The more cars, the brighter the road. We are the light!

We are here on earth for such a time as this, and we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, a place of victory. We are Christ’s bride, and God will bring a triumphant bride even as great darkness moves on the earth.

Until I read the book Victorious Eschatology by Dr. Harold Eberle, I believed what teaching I received in the 1970s about a future seven-year tribulation, the church’s rapture, and the return of Christ. These teachings instilled fear and prompted many Christians not to occupy till Christ comes. Their sole focus was on waiting for His return, and when the church would be raptured, i.e., pre-trib, mid-trib or post trib instead of advancing God’s kingdom!

There are differing views related to end-time prophecies. Dr. Eberle’s book holds to the partial preterist’s view, which says there is no obligation to fit any specific passage into the future or the past. Still, one can freely understand each passage’s context and historical setting. They look for indications about whether a prophetic passage will be fulfilled very soon, within that generation, or a long time off. They also consider the historical record to see if any events corresponded to the prophetic passage. It is important not to force passages into predetermined expectations.

We must also consider the Hebrew mind and thought versus the Western or Greek mind and thought. Thinking in Hebraic terms is more pictorial and relational than Western thought, which is more literal and concrete. We need to think like the Jews of that time did.

The Jewish mindset of the day was looking for the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth. But Jesus refers to His coming kingdom as spiritual. He comes into His kingdom after His death, resurrection, and ascension, sitting down at the Father’s right hand.

Jesus made the Jewish religious system obsolete, as we see in Hebrews 8:7–13. Jesus established a new covenant and abolished the old system. In the 70^th week mentioned in Daniel 9, we see that it is Jesus who fulfilled the words of Gabriel when he said that in the middle of the week, he would put a stop to sacrifice and grain offerings.

He ended the yearly sacrifices through His eternal sacrifice on the cross. The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70 is a consequence of that occurring in the natural realm and refers to God’s judgment on His people first for not receiving the prophets and Jesus as Messiah.

Jesus talked about these times and what they would look like in Matthew 24:4–14. He said the end will not come until the gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations. We see this occurrence through the church’s persecution in the book of Acts.

The prophecy in Daniel 9 of God’s favor upon the Jews for 70 weeks was completed in the first century. That last week began with Jesus’s ministry on earth and ended with the stoning of Stephen and his death. The Jews still have God’s promise for a future spiritual awakening, however.

What many think refers to the great tribulation that they believe will take place in the future before Christ’s return actually refers to the tribulation experienced by the Jews during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, as history attests. In Matthew 23:36 and Matthew 24:34, Jesus states these events will occur within a generation. So, the partial preterist view sees the destruction reported in Matthew 24 already fulfilled.

When Jesus came to the earth, He established the kingdom of God, which will continue to grow until it fills the whole earth, as seen in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2 (Matthew 13:31-32).

Time does not permit me to discuss prophecies from the book of Revelation. In summary, Eberle believes that Revelation 7–18 refers to three sets of God’s judgment, i.e., the early Jews and Jerusalem in AD 70, the Roman empire destroyed in AD 476, and the third refers to the whole world, corresponding to God’s actions before Jesus returns. These judgments happen to all nations until they turn towards God and are progressively subdued under Jesus. However, these do not refer to the final judgment when all nations will stand before Jesus, as discussed in Revelation 20. Revelation 19-22 reveals future events.

The truth about the book of Revelation influences our worldview, guiding our lives’ overall direction.

Therefore, I will encourage you to study these things further, as the Bereans did in Paul’s day, searching the Scriptures to find out whether these things were so (Acts 17:11). We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to bring revelation and understanding to the Scriptures we read.

The church will arise as victorious, unified, and powerful before the return of Jesus Christ. Jesus states that His return will be when everything is happening as usual, like in the days of Noah, eating, drinking, and giving in marriage when wickedness abounded before the flood and without warning signs (Matthew 24:36–44; Genesis 6:5–12; 2 Timothy 3:1–9). However, we can see how the enemies of Jesus are progressively being placed under His feet. Then the end comes when all this earth’s kingdoms become our God’s kingdom.

In Matthew 24:35–51 and chapter 25, Jesus discusses His return and the final great judgment day and says that no one knows the day or hour, not even the angels nor the Son but the Father alone. It will be a surprise and come when we do not expect it and with no warning. As the body of Christ here on earth, we are to continue to do the will of our Father and be ready for Jesus’ return at any time (Matthew 25:1–30). Christ will return when the world is ripe for the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21). When Christ returns, He will subdue all remaining evil and establish His perfect will worldwide.

God is at work on the earth today, and we are to partner with Him and release His glory on the earth! I release now the Spirit of revelation, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. I pray that you would be strengthened with might in the inner man. Go forth now and release His kingdom and glory everywhere you go!

Eberle, Dr. Harold, and Dr. Martin Trench. Victorious Eschatology, A Partial Preterist View, Third Edition. (Yakima, Washington: Worldcast Publishing, 2022).

Share this: