What Modern Eschatological Preaching Gets Wrong

It’s another Sunday. You walk out of church feeling like your pastor has become fixated on the end of the world. You know the Bible teaches on the end times, so it must be worth considering. Yet somehow, when the topic comes up in church, it always feels like doom and gloom. Repent! The world is going crazy! Signs are everywhere! There’s another earthquake or war! All you can do is repent and wait.

These themes have been all too prevalent in modern eschatological preaching. They leave you thinking, “If the end is near, what else matters?” You drive home with your family, shoulders slumped, wondering why you’ve been working so hard if it’s all going to burn. You wonder why you should bother discipling your kids—or worse, you wonder if you should just discipline them harder so they’ll be ready for the rapture.

Poor kids. They don’t even know their parents have quietly written off their future. There’s no hope left for this world, or so the preaching implies.

The Essence of Modern Eschatological Preaching

The feelings that arise from endless eschatological doom-preaching are common in the modern church. The preaching leaves people in one of two camps:

Extreme impatience. (Usually the longtime faithful who have already lived a long, fulfilling life and just want to go to heaven).

Sadness and hopelessness. The kind of resignation that comes from unanswered questions and unrealized dreams.

The reason modern eschatological preaching leads to these two outcomes rests in a faulty delivery that has become all too common. Think about how many times the pulpit has preached about decay, signs of the times (wars, natural disasters, rebellion), tribulation, and individual repentance. While the Bible certainly addresses these things, this narrow emphasis leaves out other vital theological truths and the possibility that there could be hope in such turbulent times.

But, before we can consider these things, we must call out an underlying assumption that too many have fallen into. Beneath conversations about the end times is a perceived mindset of defeatism and passive withdrawal. Author Michael Clary calls this “Loser Theology.”

Loser Theology is, in eschatological terms, a practical dispensationalism. It is the idea that the church on earth will inevitably decay, society will ultimately collapse, and our cultural duties are pointless. If things get worse no matter what you do, why does anything matter? My ultimate home is in heaven, not earth, so who cares anyway?

This is the essence of Loser Theology, and it explains why so many end-times sermons leave well-meaning Christians with their chins on their chests. Note the fruit of this kind of thinking: broken families, disengaged fathers, abandoned institutions, and a church that looks more like spectators awaiting collapse than soldiers occupying ground for King Jesus.

This is not a rejection of biblical eschatology or the reality of coming judgment. The problem is a truncated version of eschatology that ignores the full counsel of God.

How Should Christians View the End Times?

Earlier we hinted that other theological truths should surround eschatological preaching and that there should be hope. So, here we go!

In a discussion on the second coming of Christ, two points must form our foundation:

The disciples believed and preached that the end of the world was coming soon (1 Peter 4:7).

No one knows the day or hour when Jesus will return (Matthew 24:36).

If the disciples were preaching that the end was near 2,000 years ago, and no one knows exactly when it will be, we must guard against two extremes: date-setting, and assuming the world will end before we finish the work God gave us to do. God’s patience with humanity is an invitation to faithfulness, not an excuse for paralysis.

At the same time, we must protect against living as if the world will never end. Jesus said if a homeowner knew when a burglar would arrive, he would keep watch. “You must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected” (Matthew 24:44). Watchfulness is required, but watchfulness does not mean hiding under the bed.

Knowing this, we must consider the broader perspective of Christian living. In the beginning, one of man’s primary duties was to work and keep the Garden (Genesis 2:15). Mankind was tasked to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it (Genesis 1:28). In the New Testament, Jesus told his followers to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Paul tells the Corinthians to stand strong, always abounding in the work of the Lord, because their labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Before Jesus’ coming, during His life, and after His death, the life of the Christian is one of faithful, active work.

To illustrate this, look at the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. A rich man gives money to three servants based on their skills. Two servants worked with the talents; one hid his. When the master returned, he praised the two who worked and scolded the one who hid it out of fear. The principle, as expressed in the KJV of Luke 19:13, is: “Occupy till I come.”

We are the servants. While Jesus is seated in heaven, we are to work until His return, at which point it will be revealed what kind of work each builder has done (1 Corinthians 3:13).

As opposed to Loser Theology, biblical hope produces holiness, diligence, and confidence—not paralysis. Christ’s victory is already secured. We are not called to manage decline, but to advance His kingdom through ordinary means: family worship, honest work, truthful speech, and building what is good. When Jesus died, was buried, and rose again, He forever defeated sin and death. The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you (Romans 8:11). We have not lost. On the contrary, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

Whether Jesus comes back next week or in 2,000 years, we are to be ready, doing our work, advancing the Word of God with hope and confidence in our Lord.

The Particular Call to Fathers

What does this all mean for fathers?

Fathers are the primary builders in God’s design. You are called to build a family, build a legacy of faith, and build up your local church and community. Loser Theology tells you that building is pointless because the building is going to burn down anyway. But biblical eschatology tells you that you are building with materials that will either survive the fire or be consumed (1 Corinthians 3:12-14).

Your daily, mundane faithfulness is not a distraction from the end times; it is your occupation until the end times. When you sit down to lead family worship, when you discipline your children with grace and truth, when you go to work and do it honestly as unto the Lord, you are occupying till He comes.

To repurpose a quote from C.S. Lewis on the threat of nuclear war:

“If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about the end of the world.”

If the Lord comes back in our lifetime, let him find us doing sensible and human things...

Fathers, do not let a distorted view of the future rob you of your duty in the present. Your children need a father who is looking at the horizon with hope, not one who is staring at the ground in defeat.

The Line in the Sand

There is a profound difference between biblical watchfulness and eschatological defeatism.

Biblical watchfulness says, “Jesus could return at any moment, so I will live with integrity, preach the gospel, and faithfully steward what God has given me today.”

Eschatological defeatism says, “The world is getting worse and Jesus is returning soon, so I will withdraw, stop building, and just wait to be rescued.”

The first produces active, hopeful soldiers for the Kingdom. The second produces frightened sheep huddled in a bunker.

We draw the line here: We will not let a pessimistic view of the future justify a lazy, disengaged present. We believe in the return of the King, but we also believe in the mandate of the King to subdue the earth, disciple the nations, and raise up a godly seed. We will occupy till He comes.

Closing Encouragement

If you have been sitting under preaching that has left you feeling hopeless, paralyzed, or convinced that your daily work as a father doesn't matter because the end is near, I urge you to repent of that passivity. Do not let the enemy use a misapplication of prophecy to steal your joy and your diligence.

Look to the empty tomb. The same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in you. You are not fighting for a lost cause; you are fighting from a won victory.

So get up, father. Lead your family. Do your work. Love your wife. Train your children. Build what is good, right, and true. And when He comes, may He find you exactly where you are supposed to be—faithful, working, and occupying for the Kingdom of God.

In the words of the hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers..."