Tag Archives: Eschatology

Ready for the Alarm?

Bible General, Church Bulletin, Eschatology, ,

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Alarm_Clock_3.jpg5:00 AM comes early at the Evans house. The alarm sounds and we soon rise to begin the day. Both of us head to work and  the children must be readied for school. Getting out of bed later than 5:00 always causes trouble.

I awoke one day this week four short minutes before the alarm went off. It occurred to me that an alarm clock offers several lessons about our spiritual life. Let me share some of them.

An alarm clock teaches there is an appointed time for all.

As the clock ticks slowly by it is moving toward a set time; a point when its alarm will sound. Nothing stops it. Even a power outage will not stop the constant movement toward the appointed time. The alarm is going to sound.

The Bible is clear. We all have an appointment to face. Hebrews 9:27 says it is “appointed for man to die once.” Jesus said that appointed time is set by the Father who alone knows the time (Matthew 24:36).  Just as my alarm clock testifies to a set time to alarm, so also has the creator set a time for me to die.

An alarm clock is not affected by my wants and desires.

Most mornings, I’d love to sleep in a few more minutes. Maybe I was late to bed the night before or perhaps a hard time left me in need of more sleep. Maybe I’m just feeling lazy. Regardless, that alarm will sound at 5 AM whether or not I am ready for it.

We all face death. The Lord is coming. Time is running out. Our preparedness, or lack of preparedness, is irrelevant. There’ll be no gentle reminder that minutes remain. Only a certain passage from this life into the next. Many will not be ready (Luke 23:30). Even though there’s ample opportunity to prepare, some will not be ready for His return (Matthew 25:1-13).

An alarm clock can be ignored.

It is possible to hit the snooze button so many times that the alarm will cease to sound. It is possible to turn off the alarm. But ignoring the alarm does not stop time nor does it change your responsibilities. You will still be late for work. You will miss that important meeting.

It is possible to ignore God’s plan warnings. Jesus is coming again (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Many of our friends are sleeping through the alarm right now. They are ignoring the most important alarm they will ever face.  The result? Eternal punishment (Revelation 20:15).

 An alarm clock can be changed and the snooze button can be used.

Finally, there is at least one important difference between an alarm clock and the coming of the Lord.  Not so with God. Some today teach the concept of the rapture. The idea that if you are not ready when the Lord comes you will still have another chance 7 years later. This celestial snooze button is false. The secretive rapture does not exist.

The Lord is coming. Are you ready?

 

Apocalyptic Literature

Church Bulletin, Eschatology,

The Bible can be understood. God would never tease mankind by giving him a message only to make it incomprehensible. We can know the truth (John 8:32). But some sections of Scripture are more challenging than others. For example, “the abomination of desolation” from Mark 13:14 can be studied and comprehended but against “Thou shalt not steal” from Exodus 20:15 it appears a greater challenge. Many such passages in Scripture, like Mark 13:14, are in the category of apocalyptic literature. It is important to have a grasp of the nature of such writing in order to better understand it. Other forms of Bible literature include the narrative (stories), parables, letters (epistles), prayers and so forth. But our purpose here is to give some understanding to apocalyptic literature.

“Apocalyptic” comes from “apocalupis” (ah-pock-ah-LOOP-es) from the Greek.  It is the very first word of the book of Revelation and it is from  the word that the book gets its name. It most commonly means a revelation, unveiling or disclosure of something unknown. In the study of types of Bible literature it has come to mean passages that may offer some glimpse into the future by using fantastic, vivid imagery. The future is often in view but not always (c.f. Acts 2:17-21 from Joel 2:28-32 which is fulfillment of apocryphal language).

Continue reading Apocalyptic Literature →

The Rapture Package

Church Bulletin, Eschatology, ,

There is much talk about the “Rapture” and the events associated with the return of Jesus in judgment. People like to talk about the “signs of the times” and speculate that the return of Jesus must be very soon because of unfolding world events. At the moment of this writing tensions are high on the Korean Peninsula because of the shelling of a South Korean island. Within the next day or two some rapture based group will cite the conflict as a sign of the end of time. While the Rapture is an interesting and provocative subject it is not Biblical. The concept is not found in Scripture. In fact,  the very opposite is true.

The “Rapture Package” is made up of several curious doctrines all built upon figurative passages from throughout the Bible. The books of Daniel and Ezekiel are most commonly cited from the Old Testament while Matthew and Revelation are cited from the New. The doctrines invoked in this system of dispensational theology include, but are not limited to, the Rapture, Armageddon, the Beast, the Antichrist, a period of tribulation following (or followed by) a 1,000 year physical reign of Jesus in Jerusalem. Only after this 1,000 year reign do the saved go to Heaven and live forever in glory.

Continue reading The Rapture Package →

Is There A Middle Ground Between Heaven and Hell?

Bible General, Doctrine, Eschatology, Missions, Salvation, Sin, , ,

This is a question  that pops up in some form from time to time. The questioner wants to know what will happen to people who have  never  heard of God, Jesus Christ, the Bible and salvation. I am going to try and offer a reasonable answer to the question.

Let me say in the opening that people who ask this question do so out of a love of others. They are horrified at the idea that a person without the Scriptures could be lost. Surely, they reason, there must be some other divine plan for those legitimately ignorant of the Gospel. They seek some hope from Scripture for these unknowing souls.

They also seek a theodicy ((“A vindication of God’s goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil”, American Heritage Dictionary)) to explain how a loving and just God could sentence someone to eternal hell if that person didn’t even know of God. For the most part, those who ask this question are not trying to prove some point or pursue a hidden agenda but are truly interested in the souls of men. Let’s examine their novel thought closely. Continue reading Is There A Middle Ground Between Heaven and Hell? →

Does 1,000 Years Equal One Day?

Eschatology,

From time to time we hear people suggest that a 1,000 years is the same with God as 1 day. Is that really true?

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8)

So yes, in a sense 1,000 years equals one day. However, as with most Biblical passages, we must look at the context to gain the proper understanding of what is said.

In 2 Peter 3:1-13 the writer is rebuking people who reject the idea of a coming final judgment. The scoffers argument is that nothing has changed and the world continues on as before. Since judgment has not yet happened, they reason, it never will. But Peter is arguing that God is not bound by any arbitrary time lines. He will do things in his own way and in his own time.  Judgment will come when God is ready for it.

Now, is Peter making a statement that every single day for God is 1,000 years in length? No.

When the Son of God said that he would rise from the grave in three days (Matthew 12:40; John 2:19) he did not mean three thousand years. If that were the case what did Mary see in John 20? In Genesis 7:4 we have God speaking to Noah about the coming flood. God said, “For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights and every living thing I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” If 1,000 years always equals one day then we should be looking for rain in about 2,000 years! And when the rains come they will be here a terribly long period of time!

So who would believe this kind of silliness? Probably no one. But I offer this as an illustration to show that we must use caution in interpreting the Bible. Often people who strive to determine the time the Lord will return use the 1,000 year equation as part of their date setting. For example, we have written before on the 1,000 year reign of Christ which sometimes is brought into this discussion. Some try to make the Creation week more palatable for our scientific enlightened minds and the equation is used to stretch creation into a 6,000 time table.

God, who created time, is himself not subject to time. But when he speaks to man he uses things we know and understand. Hence God speaks about hours, days, weeks and years. Let’s not take Peter’s single restricted use of this phrase out of context.

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What thoughts do you have about this article? Please feel welcomed to comment below. I am really interested in your thoughts.

The Beasts of Revelation 13

Book Review, Eschatology, Web sites, ,

Articles on the subject of Revelation and prophecy accrue many hits to Preacher’s Study. I’ve come across an article that you should read if this area interests you.

Wayne Jackson discusses both Revelation beasts and offers careful study to help understand them.

Jackson mentions a couple of books in his article. I would add Simon Kistemaker’s Exposition of the Book of Revelation as another well balanced view of this great book. Jesus gave the message of Revelation to John with the intent that John should write ot down and give it to us. Let us carefully study this great book.

1,000 Year Reign Comments

Administrative, Doctrine, Eschatology, , ,

Some good discussion is occuring under the comments section of our article on the 1,000 year reign of Christ. If this is an area of interest I invite you to go to the article, read it and consider the comments at the bottom. You are more than welcomed to participate in the discussion there.

This particular article is always among the most viewed article on the site and is frequently searched for. Please take a look.

Why A Thousand Years?

Eschatology

thousand-boxWhy are present day Christians so enamored over the idea of an earthly, physical reign of Christ upon David’s throne in Jerusalem? Previously in [cref the-thousand-year-reign-of-christ] we showed from the Bible that there is no such physical reign. Our Lord ascended back into heaven and will return again in the clouds where we (the faithful) will be with him forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The idea of a literal thousand year reign is especially odd since it comes from a passage filled with fantastic figurative language (Revelation 20:1-6). It is a gross error of the principles of Biblical interpretation to cherry-pick a term or phrase from a figurative passage and suddenly declare it to be literal.

Christians come from the world. We bring our own baggage and past issues with us when we come to Christ. While we seek to walk, talk and think like our Lord we sometimes often fail. John tells us that even while we are walking in the light, we are still in need of forgiveness (1 John 1:6-10, esp. vs. 7). Some of the baggage we bring with us is the fleshly, temporal desire for wealth, power and comfort. I believe that such an outlook lies at the root of our longing for a literal palace to live in after becoming victorious over our enemies.

“Chiliasm” is the term academics and theologians give to the materialistic view of the return of Christ. It has been around for many years and has undergone some change through time but remains essentially the idea that Jesus will return just before the evil forces of Satan gain global victory and will defeat him and his minions. The victorious Lord will claim his throne in Jerusalem where he will rule over a period of Christian peace for 1,000 years.

Notice the deep materialistic view.

  1. Victory or revenge over our enemies;
  2. Jesus is visible and faith gives way to something more tangible;
  3. The righteous enjoy immeasurable wealth in the kingdom of the Lord.

It may be that the materialistic, physical view is so popular because we are unable to get our minds around the glorious thought of eternity. Vengeance is handled by the Lord – he has repaid (Romans 12:19). The beautiful New City of Revelation 21 is so magnificent that we can not fully appreciate it. It outshines anything that has ever been upon the earth or ever will be. It is not the earth for the earth has passed away (2 Peter 3:10).

Let us release our earthly bonds and look not to physical Jerusalem but to the New Jerusalem where nothing that defiles can ever enter (Revelation 21:27).

Your thoughts and comments are always welcomed.

Man of Sin and the AntiChrist

Bible General, Eschatology,

There has long been disagreement among Christians concerning the identify of the AntiChrist. We have before posted teaching about the AntiChrist in [cref identity-of-the-antichrist] and in [cref identity-of-the-antichrist-2]. However there is a doctrine that links the AntiChrist with the Man of Sin from 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. We should be able to study the two and see that they are not the same. While I plan to write a post which strongly points out those differences, I want to suggest you visit a site that offers a very good lesson on the Man of Sin and tries to identify him.

Wayne Jackson began the Christian Courier website some years ago and, with his sons, has done a fine job bringing many Bible teachings to us. Please take time and carefully review his study about the Man of Sin. I think you will see that he draws some very reasonable conclusions.

I am also very interested in your comments. If you will post your comments here (click on the link below), I can use your thoughts to help build my post on the subject.