Series: Our Great Hope - Message # 4
Understanding the time line of Eschatology
Review – On what things of a prophetic nature do Evangelical, Bible-believing Christians agree?
1. Jesus Christ will return to earth in a visible, sudden, and bodily way!
2. The Return of Christ should be anticipated by Believers anytime.
3. We cannot know WHEN Jesus will return.
4. The Second Coming will set off a series of events that lead to a Final Judgment and the revealing
of a new order of things that is free from evil, sin, and death!
So, what brings us to that final glorious moment and how do we believe that End Time events unfold?
We are not wrong to wonder about this. Jesus’ disciples heard him predict the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and they asked Him - "Tell us, when are these things going to happen? What will be the sign of your coming, that the time’s up?” (Matthew 24:3, The Message)
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I hope that as I have been preaching around the theme of Christ’s Second Coming for several weeks it is becoming more evident to you that this promise is not one to dismiss as irrelevant to your daily life! The promise of His coming is both-
- a powerful motivator to faithful Christian service, and
- a source of great hope.
The downside is that the doctrine can be a source of conflict among Believers. There are four major views of the events of the End Times and how they unfold. People who have become convinced of a point of view are often dogmatic, declaring that their point of view is the only one that any serious Christian could hold! I could not disagree more with that attitude. Great minds and wonderful Christians disagree on the flow of events around the doctrine of the Second Coming. So, as I present the material today, I urge you to a charitable point of view. You may not agree and that is fine with me! As long you agree with the indisputable facts that I outlined last week and in review this morning, you’re on solid ground Biblically.
I am bringing this message for two reasons:
So that you have a framework to understand the prophetic material that comes your way in
Christian literature and in media, and
So that you can read your Bible with greater understanding, being strengthened by this promise!
PRAYER
A kingdom to come? The Millennium
TEXT- Revelation 20:1-11
From that passage, written by John as part of his visions, Christians derive the central theme of End Times doctrines - the Millennium! The name comes from the Latin word for Thousand Years.
A literal reading of that chapter would bring us to this conclusion -
part of God’s plan for this earth is that He will establish His kingdom, with Christ Jesus ruling the world, for a thousand years.
Note the key characteristics of that time according to John:
First, Satan is removed from influencing the world!
The deceiver, during that time, is not allowed to deceive people, drawing them from God.
Second, those who are righteous, who have given their lives for the cause of Christ, join in administering the new kingdom.
Indeed, it is not just John’s Revelation that implies a future Kingdom of God on earth!
Isaiah speaks of a time to come when something like the paradise of Eden is once again brought about by God. He sees a vision of a time, that seems not to be quite Heaven, but which is a time of amazing peace and prosperity. READ Isaiah 11: 6-10; and 65: 19-20
In addition, there are other OT passages that are quite clear about the prophetic expectation of a future glorious age, not in Heaven, but here on earth, not in complete perfection, but when sin is restrained in a significant way. The prophecies of Zechariah include these promises: "And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped." (Zechariah 14:9, NLT)
Paul, too, anticipates a day when Christ reigns. In 1 Corinthians 15, he writes of the resurrected Jesus, that
‘the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to God, the Father, after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For He must reign until he has put all His enemies under His feet.”
A Time of Terrible Testing and Suffering? The Great Tribulation
TEXT - Matthew 24:3-8; 21-22; 30-31
From Jesus’ words, the term ‘great tribulation’ comes to our doctrine. It from the KJV translation of this passage. In the NIV, the phrase is translated, “great distress.” Jesus envisions a terrible time in the world, when there is great sin, awful natural disasters, and widespread spiritual deception. He sets this time as happening immediately before the Second Coming.
So in time lines of End Times events, you will see these two key events - Tribulation and Millennium.
Key Question is – What do Christians believe about all this?
There are three views of the timing of the Second Coming and this Kingdom of Peace, ruled by Christ!
Some believe that the Second Coming will occur AFTER Christ’s kingdom is established on earth. They are called Post-Millennialists.
This view holds that the preaching of the Gospel of Christ gradually spreads over the whole earth, until the defeat of evil is nearly complete, and Christ comes to receive His kingdom. Immediately following the Second Coming, the final judgment occurs and a new Creation is brought into being. The official doctrine of the Roman Catholic church is a form of Post-Millennialism.
Post-millennialists believe that the terrible Tribulation of which Jesus spoke is to be understood in two ways:
a. He was speaking literally of the time that befell the Jewish people who lived during Rome’s war on their nation which ended with the total destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It was an awful era, a time when hundreds of thousands died and the Jewish nation ceased to exist for almost 1900 years, until it was re-established in 1948, following World War 2.
b. They also believe that Jesus’ words can be understood in a symbolic way, describing the experience of sin, suffering, and deception that all ages know.
I personally believe that Post-Millennial ignores too many key points of the Scripture and thus I reject this view of the End Times.
Another view that I find interesting, but which does not deal with the Bible in a way that seems faithful to a solid, literal reading of the Word is called - Amillennialism.
In this view, which I will drastically over-simplify, the doctrine of a millennium is spiritualized, and is understood to symbolically describe the spiritual experience of Christians in this present age. The tribulation is likewise understood only symbolically as describing life on earth, apart from knowing the Savior.
Amillennialists do believe in the Second Coming of Christ, but as the final event of this present world, an event that brings us to the Final Judgment of God, and the creation of a New Heaven and Earth.
One is called Historic Pre-Millennialism.
This view is the one that I believe most accurately describes the events of the End Times. During the time in which we now live, the Church Age, evil continues to worsen, and by the grace of God many are called to faith in Christ. Near the end of the age, there will come a time of testing on the earth that endures for 7 years, when Evil comes to its full expression. Sin and suffering like has never been experienced in all of history befalls the Earth.
God makes His Presence known with natural disasters and the witness of those who are godly and filled with His Spirit, but the world turns to follow their own way.
At a moment, known only to God, Jesus Christ will return. At that moment, those who are living Believers will be transformed into immortality and those who have died in faith will be raised from the dead to share in the glory of the Kingdom that Jesus will establish on earth.
That kingdom will persist for a thousand years during which the world sees the fruit of righteousness. At the end of that time, there is a short time when humanity is deceived by the Devil, a terrible rebellion, and the end of this creation, with a final judgement.
Another view of End Times, a form of Pre-Millennialism, is the one that is popularized by most TV preachers and by the best-selling series of books and movies you know as Left Behind. This view is a form of Pre-millennialism that appeared about 200 years ago and is called, Dispensational Pre-millennialism
There are two important differences in this understanding.
A. The “Rapture,” that moment when Believers are transformed to their immortal state, is moved to be the first event that triggers the End Times events. In this view, a distinct 7 year time period of Tribulation precedes the Return of Christ.
B. This view also holds that after the Rapture removes all Believers from the earth, God returns to Jewish people who believe in Jesus, to be His people of covenant. These Messianic Jews show His goodness and glory. Dispensational millennialists hold that the Temple will be re-built and the Jewish priesthood will function once again in Jerusalem.
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I have had to simplify these points of view almost to the degree of ridiculousness to cover them today.
I don’t want to create the impressions that people just pick and choose whatever appeals to their fancy at the moment. Each view grows out of a way of interpreting the whole of Scripture.
But I will tell you that because it was the earliest view of the first century church and, because it grows out of the most literal reading of the Bible, I believe that Historic Premillennialism has the most credibility.
I also hold this view because I believe that since the first coming of Jesus - there is no longer a distinction between Jew and Gentile, that all those of faith in Christ, regardless of race or heritage, are God’s people, but on this matter, as with others, I have no desire to be quarrelsome!
It is clear to me that as the time of the End nears, there will be a simultaneous surge in evil and a growth in numbers of Christians, including large numbers of Jews who become followers of Christ, saved by the Grace of God.
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Let me close with this encouragement. Prophecy has two functions - to warn, and to encourage!
Jesus Christ will come again. If you are not living in fellowship with Him, if you love this present world and are a captive of its pleasures and illusions, then the prophecy is a source of fear for you. But, it need not be. Rather the promise should encourage you, should give you reason to live sacrificially with great devotion.
Jesus challenges us with these words - "Hold on to the truth you have until I get there. “Here’s the reward I have for every conqueror, everyone who keeps at it, refusing to give up: You’ll rule the nations, your Shepherd-King rule as firm as an iron staff, their resistance fragile as clay pots. This was the gift my Father gave me; I pass it along to you—"
(Revelation 2:25-27, The Message)
“I see what you’ve done. Now see what I’ve done. I’ve opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don’t have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn’t deny me when times were rough. “And watch as I take those who call themselves true believers but are nothing of the kind, pretenders whose true membership is in the club of Satan—watch as I strip off their pretensions and they’re forced to acknowledge it’s you that I’ve loved. “Because you kept my Word in passionate patience, I’ll keep you safe in the time of testing that will be here soon, and all over the earth, every man, woman, and child put to the test. “I’m on my way; I’ll be there soon. Keep a tight grip on what you have so no one distracts you and steals your crown. “I’ll make each conqueror a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, a permanent position of honor. Then I’ll write names on you, the pillars: the Name of my God, the Name of God’s City—the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven—and my new Name."
(Revelation 3:8-12, The Message)
Let us pray.