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As I reread the Baptist Faith and Message statement regarding Last Things, I noticed the end-time issues not addressed by the Baptist Faith and Message, yet issues evangelicals commonly identify as events of the end times. The BFM does not mention the rapture, the tribulation, the Antichrist, or the millennium. Further, the BFM does not discuss the number of comings of Christ, the number of resurrections, nor the number of judgments—all areas of disagreement.

The BF&M article on Last Things is a generic expression about end-times that Baptists from differing understandings of end times can endorse with a joyful spirit.

Throughout our history, Baptists affirmed a wide range of belief systems about the last things. B.H. Carroll, the founder of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, espoused postmillennialism. Pastor-theologian Herschel Hobbs affirmed amillennialism. Popular pastor W. A. Criswell taught pre-tribulational, premillennialism. James Merritt, former SBC president, holds the view of post-tribulational, premillennialism. (Since I am not ashamed of my views, I publically state that, like James Merritt, I affirm the post tribulational, premillennial understanding.)

The BF&M highlights the irreducible minimum of orthodox beliefs about Last Things: personal return of Christ, resurrection of believers and unbelievers, judgment of all individuals, and eternal destinies of hell and heaven.

What are the keynotes about Last Things according to the Baptist Faith and Message?

First, the BF&M accentuates the purposeful meaning of history. History is not cyclical, a pagan understanding of history expressed in some forms of Greek philosophy and Eastern religions. Neither is history evolutionary, progressing upward to a higher status. The Bible affirms that the God who created historic time also directs history towards a purposeful conclusion. Thus, history is purposive, yet also linear between the two terminal points of creation and consummation. Further, God, according to His plan and timing, will consummate cosmic history.

Second, the BF&M highlights the personal return of Christ as the central core of Last Things teachings. Christ will return personally. He will not send an ambassador. Christ will return visibly, a teaching that rules out the multiple “secret” comings of some sect groups. Christ will return gloriously, not in the manner of a humble birth, but in the style of a glorious King. The three major New Testament words for the return of Christ express the truth of the personal, visible, and glorious return of Christ. Christ’s return is a Coming (parousia), a term that described the arrival of a great dignitary. Christ’s return is a Manifestation (epiphany); at his Epiphany, Christ will manifest His deity. Christ’s return is a Revelation, another term underscoring His deity.

Third, the BF&M affirms the bodily resurrection of all persons. Christ will raise both believers and unbelievers (John 5). The Bible does not describe the nature of resurrected unbelievers. Paul detailed four qualities of the resurrected body of believers: incorruptible, glorious, powerful, and spiritual (that is, a fit instrument for the Spirit). If I die before the return of Christ, my burial functions as my continual testimony to belief in a future resurrection.

Fourth, the BF&M acknowledges the returned Christ as judge of all. In contrast to some human courts, the divine Judge operates on the principle of righteousness (justice). The judgment does not determine final states; the judgment reveals the basis of God’s righteous judgment. Christ judges each person according to his or her deeds (Rev. 20:12-13). The judgment reveals the unrighteous deeds of believers and reveals the rewards granted to believers.

Finally, the BF&M briefly details eternal destinies. God assigns the unrighteous to hell, a place of eternal punishment. The BF&M rules out annihilationism, a denial of the eternal nature of hell. In hell, unbelievers endure conscious punishment forever. Eternal hell is the ultimate in wastefulness, loneliness, hopelessness, and sinfulness. In contrast, biblical teachings describe heaven as a temple (cube), garden, and a city (vibrant community). Heaven is a place of rest, reward, and service to God. As SWBTS theologian W. T. Conner stated, “Heaven is no lazy man’s paradise.” The greatest joy of heaven is dwelling forever with the Lord.

At times believers manifest an unbiblical emphasis in relation to Last Things. We focus on when Jesus fulfills the teachings about Last Things. The New Testament emphasizes the teachings about Last Things as a call to holiness for believers. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (and 1963 version) lack this vital call to practical holiness. The Baptist Faith and Message 1925, however, beautifully expressed the practical benefit of the teachings about Last Things in the article “The Return of the Lord.” “It is the duty of all believers to live in readiness for his coming and by diligence in good works to make manifest to all men the reality and power of their hope in Christ.” Amen.

Mark Rathel is associate professor of theology at The Baptist College of Florida.