The Final Score

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4) Imagine you recorded the Super Bowl (or the World Cup final) to watch later.

Before you watch it, your friend calls you and says, "It was an amazing game! Your team was losing the whole time, but in the last 10 seconds, they scored and won 24-21!" Now, you sit down to watch the game.

In the third quarter, your team fumbles the ball. The other team scores. It looks like a disaster. If you didn't know the ending, you would be stressed, angry, and throwing things at the TV. But because you know the final score, you can relax.

You might smile and say, "Just wait. The comeback is coming." This is the purpose of Eschatology (The study of End Times). Many Christians are terrified of the End Times. They obsess over charts, the Antichrist, and "666."

They treat the book of Revelation like a terrifying horror movie. But the Bible was not written to scare you; it was written to prepare you. It is the spoiler alert. It tells us that no matter how bad the world gets—no matter how much war, disease, or evil we see— Jesus wins.

We do not know when the game will end (Jesus said even He doesn't know the day or hour), but we know how it ends. This knowledge gives us a "Blessed Hope" (Titus 2:13) that keeps us calm when the world is panicking.

(Tap to expand) Theologically, while Christians disagree on the timeline (the "When"), almost all agree on the "What." The Return ( Parousia ): Jesus is not gone forever. He is coming back physically to earth.

The Resurrection: We will not float around as ghosts forever. We will get new, physical bodies that cannot get sick or die (1 Corinthians 15). The Restoration: God is not going to throw the earth in the trash can.

He is going to renew it. Revelation 21 describes a New Heaven and a New Earth . The Big Debate (Views on the Millennium): Premillennial: Jesus comes back before a literal 1,000-year reign. (Things get worse, then Jesus fixes it).

Postmillennial: The church makes the world better and better until Jesus returns. (Things get better, then Jesus arrives). Amillennial: The "1,000 years" is symbolic of the current church age. (Good and evil grow together until the end).

You don't need to pick a side to be a Christian. You just need to believe the King is returning. Reflect on this: Does thinking about the future make you fearful or hopeful? Fear says: "What if the Antichrist comes?"

Hope says: "The King is coming to wipe away every tear." Shift your focus from the crisis to the Christ. 👣 Take a Step Live with one eye on the plow (doing your work today) and one eye on the sky (waiting for Him).

You are on the winning team. When you see bad news on TV, remind yourself: "This is just the third quarter. I know the final score."