Rule 1: We always keep the end in mind
Rule 2: We Major on the majors, minor on the minors
Rule 3: We trust the Story the Bible is telling
Rule 4: We believe with both our minds and our hearts
Rule 5: We research before we repeat
Today we are talking about “END TIMES”
- But that is not its proper name
Eschatology:
The study of the last or the end of things—namely, the end times, or the final judgment and destiny of humanity.
- The Christian hope is concerned with eschatology or the science of the last things.
- Understanding end times theology
Eschatology starts in Genesis with God’s promise to bring the world BACK TO RIGHT
Some of you are asking…
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THIS COMPLICATED STUFF
- Don’t have to be a scholar in the end times
- But should have a general understanding of what the Bible is saying
Think of it this way…
Eschatology informs life today
- How you view your role in God’s kingdom today should be informed with how God’s Kingdom will be brought here in the eventual future
With all that said, I want to focus on two of our rules for the road
Rule 1: We always keep the end in mind.
Rule 3: We trust the Story the Bible is telling
What is the End is the story of the Bible telling us
Things we know for certain:
1: Jesus is coming back physically
(Ascension of Jesus)
Acts 1
11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”
When Jesus returns, it will be physical and Forever
2: Jesus will rule over creation on earth with us
Revelation 21
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
We don’t “GO TO HEAVEN FOREVER” but come back here to a new heaven and earth
3: We are in the “Last Days”
Hebrews 1
1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.
That means, since Jesus ascended to heaven, we have been on the countdown to the return of Jesus to reign physically over the world
4: The Great Commission is still our Command until Jesus Returns
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Regardless of how bad things may be, we are still called to make disciples
- If we’re not, we don’t trust in Jesus
This is how we KEEP THE END IN MIND
By focusing on the fact that God:
- Has a plan
- Will come through
- We can trust Him
That is NOT how I going to do that today
My goal is to teach you both WHAT to think when it applies, but also HOW to think
The rest of this message will be based on RULE #2
Rule 2: We Major on the majors, minor on the minors
- What does this have to do with the end times?
What are the Majors?
- What we just talked about. Those things are certain
- If you don’t agree, you probably do not believe in the Bible for other things either
Other majors
- Historic Christian doctrine
- Nicene creed
What are the Minors?
What exactly will the RETURN of Jesus look like?
Jesus is returning to his church. All Christians agree on that. But there is no universal consensus as to what that second coming will be like.
- What do you mean?!
- I saw the “Left Behind” Movies
There are 3 historical views about what the return of Jesus will look like
I think it will be helpful for us with a visual aid…
Why do each have “Millennialism” in the title
- It all comes down to this passage
Revelation 20
4 Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.
This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea.
To summarize…
The Millennial Kingdom and reign takes place when Christ is in power for 1,000 years, while Satan waits in prison for his last stand against the people of God and is then thrown into Hell
Lastly, here is a visual of what each of the three views believes…
Let’s briefly look at each one
Dispensational Premillennialism
States that Jesus will literally return to the earth before (pre) the millennium begins and that He himself will inaugurate and rule over it.
Things to know…
1: Newest End Times View
- Mid 1800s
- Made popular in America because of the Scofield Reference Bible
- The view the “Left Behind Series” is based on
2: Believes in 2 returns of Christ
- A “Secret” rapture of the church
- A return with the Saints to establish the Millennial Kingdom here on earth
3: Believes the world will continue to get worse
- Leading to the return of Jesus to the church
4: Believes there is a difference between the Church and Israel
- When Israel rejected the Messiah, God chose the Church as “Plan B”
- The secret rapture of the church is to remove the church so that God can “Deal with the nation of Israel”
5: Interprets Apocalyptic scripture literally
- Passages in revelation pertaining to the end times are seen as literal disruptions of events that are going to happen in the future
- Bowls, Seal, Judgments, Etc
Here are some questions that anyone who believes this view should think through
1: Is it being faithful to the Bible text to take something that was meant figuratively as literally?
2: Is the Church God’s Plan B?
3: Does God still have promises for ethnic Israel even if they do not accept Jesus as Lord?
4: Why do sin and death continue after Jesus returns to establish his Millennium Kingdom
5: Why will there be animal sacrifices in the Millennium Kingdom
6: Does the rapture happen before, after, or midway through the tribulation
7: If Revelation only speaks of the end times, then does it matter to any other generation except that one?
Postmillennialism and Amillennialism
States that we are currently living in a figurative millennium at the end of which, Jesus will return to establish His kingdom, cast the Devil into hell, and judge the living and the dead
Why is “Figurative” not heresy?
- 70 years in Daniel’s vision
While these two views are similar in the way they view the millennium, they are different
Postmillennialism:
An optimistic view of the future, and how the world will end
- Believe that the great commission – make disciples of all nations – is actually going to be fulfilled; that the nations will overwhelmingly turn to Jesus before He returns.
- When a postmillennial prays the Lord’s Prayer, there is the real expectation that the following line will come to pass before Christ returns: “Your kingdom come, you will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Amillennialism:
Believes that Christ is ruling spiritually now, right now, from Heaven
- His reign began when He conquered sin and death on the cross and ascended to the right hand of God the Father. His reign will be completed when He returns, as judge of all men.
Things to Know
1: Both of these views take a “METAPHORIC” view of much of the revelation
- Believes that revelation was not written as a “GUIDE TO THE FUTURE”
- Instead written to PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS as a metaphor for how God was going to really do away with the evil of the world written to
Other things that are seen as metaphors in these views
- Mark of the beast – an allusion to the mark the Believer receives
- The Antichrist
- Some believe he will be a real person; some say there have been MANY antichrists
2: Amillennialism is the OLDEST view
- Still helped by much of the church, especially outside of America
- Most of the reformers held this view
- Postmillennialism has varied in popularity
3: These views believe the GREAT TRIBULATION is in reference to the suffering through the last 2000 years
- “Wars and rumors of wars”…
Here are some questions that anyone who believes this view should think through
1: Which parts of the Bible are meant metaphorically vs literally?
2: Is there a distinction between the Church and ethnic Israel?
3: Why are some Bible passages like Revelation 20 seemingly more difficult to explain in this view?
KEY POINT:
ALL THREE OF THESE VIEWS ARE COMMONLY HELD VIEWS BY HISTORIC, FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS
- They are NOT a reason to disagree and dislike someone
- To say that your view is the ONLY right view requires you to disagree with MANY of the smartest Christian thinkers in history
Challenge points:
1: Why do you hold your current view?
- Can you argue it from scripture?
- Can you talk through
2: How does your view of the end times lead you to respond to the Great Commission
In the End, God Wins
- He will make it ALL RIGHT
- Regardless of how it comes about, we spend eternity with Jesus