7. Eschatology

Eschatology - the study of last things (eschatos is the Greek word for last), dealing with concerns such as the rapture, the tribulation, the return of Christ, the millennium, the judgment, and eternity. In popular thought, eschatology is often equated with prophecy, but most prophecies have already been fulfilled and are not part of eschatology. Prophets in the Old and New Testaments often spoke words of God relevant to their own day, without any reference to what is now future. Although a study of such pronouncements might be a useful study, it does not come under the term eschatology.