INTRODUCTION TO END-TIMES PROPHECY SERIES

How does human history all end? Is there anyone behind the wheel? We as Christians believe that God is behind the wheel directing history to a time in the future when He returns to set up His eternal kingdom

We believe in the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and all the great events of the end times prophesied in scripture. We refuse to divide fellowship over disputed questions of eschatology that are not clear in the scriptures. We believe in the great resurrection of both the saved and the lost. We believe everyone will stand before Christ in the final judgment to receive their just due. Those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life will inherit their

eternal rewards in the new heavens and the new earth, freed forever from selfishness, sin, demonic influence, control and all evil. The finally unrepentant wicked will suffer the eternal condemnation of hell prepared for the devil and his angels. At that time Christ will reign fully over the restored universe and God the Father will be fully glorified.

7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, I Corinthians 1 As young children in the late afternoon play with one eye on their toys and the other on the front door waiting for dad, so we also should have one eye on the affairs of life and the other on watching for Jesus.

___ The Lord was confused and didn’t know how to present it in an orderly fashion ___ There exists some external key that will unlock the Bible and make it make sense. ___ In God’s infinite wisdom He chose to present His plan of how He will culminate history in a somewhat obscure way for His own reasons. Our task is to pray, study, trust, and be dogmatic on only that which we know for sure.

Answer: No Case study: John the Baptist – Matthew 11:2-5 John the Baptist’s spiritual condition: 28 "I say to you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." Luke 7

 Literal – We start by taking the meaning of words in their plain and normal sense. That is, we do not read into the words.  Grammatical – We follow the standard rules of grammar  Historical – We take the words in their historical context

 Dispensational – That is, a belief that God’s promises to Israel are still in force and have not been transferred to the Church.  Premillennial – The Second Coming of Christ will come before the millennium.  Pre-tribulational – Jesus comes before the tribulation.

 The Nonnegotiables in Eschatology  The Centrality of God’s Kingdom  Overview of the Five Major Events in Eschatology  Ten Eschatological Pockets in the Bible

THE NONNEGOTIABLES Those core issues that we should take a bullet for

Jesus Christ is coming again in judgment to fix what was broken in the fall – II Peter 3:10-13

Jesus is returning physically – Acts 1:11

Israel has not been replaced by the church, she is still the apple of God’s eye – Romans 9-11

 Covenant theology – all the promises made to Israel were forfeited when Israel rejected her Messiah. The Church is now Israel.  Dispensational theology – although Israel rejected her Messiah, God is not finished with her. Israel is on the back burner during the church age but the original promises made to her will be realized when Israel repents and accepts her Messiah during the tribulation.

Healthy Christian living assumes a subtle preoccupation with Christ’s coming – I Corinthians 1:7, Philippians 3:20, Titus 2:13

Eschatology will produce a blessing when accompanied by holy living – Revelation 1:3

The starting point, the Messiah and His kingdom. The Jews of the OT and Christians of the NT see in the future a time when God will establish His rule on earth. Both the Jews and Christians wait for their Messiah. This is called the kingdom or millennial age.  Psalm 2:6-12 – Future Messianic King prophesied  Matt. 4:8-9 – The world kingdoms are under the domain of Satan  Rev. 11:15 – During the end times God will take back this rebellious planet

OVERVIEW OF THE FIVE MAJOR EVENTS OF THE END TIMES #2 – SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION #1 – RAPTURE #4 – THE MILLENNIUM – THOUSAND YEAR REIGN OF CHRIST #3 – THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST #5 – THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH

Key passage: I Thessalonians 4:13-18 Rapture: The coming of Christ for His church. Believers will physically disappear to meet Christ and deceased believers will have their bodies resurrected.

 Pretrib – Christ will come for His church prior to the tribulation.  Partial trib – Only believers watching and praying will be raptured at the beginning of the tribulation.  Midtrib – At the mid point of three and a half years the church will be raptured  Prewrath – All the terrifying judgments are condensed prior to the Lord’s coming. Believers are raptured about three quarters into the tribulation just prior to God’s wrath and the second coming.  Posttrib – The rapture and the second coming are one and the same event. It occurs at the end of the seven year tribulation.

Key passages: Daniel 9:27 – Daniel’s Seventieth Week Revelation 4-19 THE SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION SECOND 3 ½ YEARS THE GREAT TRIBULATION FIRST 3 ½ YEARS

The purpose of the tribulation is twofold. First, it is to finish God’s plan to discipline Israel for her unbelief and rejection of the Messiah (Daniel 9:27) and remove her spiritual blindness (Romans 11:25). Second, it is to judge the unbelieving gentiles nations of the world as they in defiance willfully refuse to submit to God’s rule over their lives bringing an end to this current phase of human history.

7 ‘Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s distress (trouble), But he will be saved from it. Jeremiah “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” Daniel 9 19 “For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. Mark 13

 Day of the Lord – Joel 2:31  The wrath to come – I Thessalonians 1:10  Time of distress – Daniel 12:1

Key passage: Matthew 24:29-30 Second Coming: The coming of Christ to take back possession of planet earth and to judge Satan and the world

Key passage: Revelation 20:4-7 THE THOUSAND YEAR REIGN OF CHRIST Satan is released at end and causes a revolt against God one last time and is defeated. Final Great White Throne Judgment

 Postmillennial view – Sees human history as progressively improving until finally Christ comes after the millennium, that is, in time of peace and righteousness.  Premillennial view - Sees a future seven year period of tribulation on the earth which culminates with the second coming of Christ. Afterwards, the seven year period is followed by the thousand year reign of Christ.  Amillennial view – Sees no literal reign of Christ but rather a spiritual one instead. After the second coming we go directly into the eternal state.

 Key passage: Revelation 21:1-22:5

TEN ESCHATOLOGICAL POCKETS IN THE BIBLE The following passages are offered as an overview of the richest passages in the Bible which deal with the issues of the end times.

 Key concept: Future Russian attack on Israel  Prophecy about Gog (leader of Russia) and Magog (Russia) with a middle eastern ally, will attack Israel. God intervenes and destroys the alliance.

 Key concept: Future coming kingdoms  Prophecies regarding the four great kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.  Culminates in a future revived ten nation Roman confederation as the Anti- Christ’s powerbase.  Daniel 9:27 is seventieth week being the tribulation.

 Key concept: The Second coming and millennium

 Key concept: The signs of the end times  This passage is called the Olivet Discourse. (It is called this because it is a discourse of Jesus which took place on the Mount of Olives.)  It discloses the signs of the end-times, the tribulation, second coming and judgment.

 Key concept: The Judgment Seat of Christ  This passage describes the believer’s future judgment (Award’s Banquet).  It does not determine whether one will go to heaven or not, that is assumed. Rather, it is a judgment based on works for what was done during a Christian’s life for the purpose of rewards.

 Key concept: The future resurrections  This passage describes future order of resurrections.

 Key concept: The rapture of the Church  This passage describes the rapture and day of the Lord (tribulation)

 Key concept: The tribulation

 Key concept: Explanation of God’s timing in end-times matters

 Key Concept: The tribulation, Second Coming, millennium, Great White Throne Judgment and the New Heavens and New Earth

 Preterist view – Sees all the events described in Revelation as occurring during the Roman empire.  Historical view – Sees each one of the seven churches as both literal and representative of a consecutive church age.  Idealist view – Revelation is not to be interpreted literally but rather symbolically depicting spiritual warfare between the forces of good and evil.  Futurist view – Although Rev. 1-3 is past actual history, Rev is all future and describes literal events.

 The Rapture – 4:1  The Seven Seals – Chps. 5-6  The 144,000 Jewish evangelists – Chp. 7:4  The Seven Trumpets – Chps. 8-9  The Two Witnesses – 11:3-12  The Seven Great Personages – Chps  A one world government – 13:1-2 (Daniel 7)

 The Antichrist’s fatal head wound and resurrection – 13:3-6  The False Prophet – 13:11-15  The 666 mark of the beast – 13:16-18  The Seven Bowls – Chps. 16  The Battle of Armageddon – 16:13-16 (Zech. 14:12 nuclear destruction)  The fall of Babylon – Chps  The Second Coming - 19:11-21

 The Millennium – Chp. 20  The Great White Throne Judgment – 20:11-15  The New Heaven and New Earth – Chp. 21