This week's Feature Article by Leith Anderson

Part 5 of 5 on Sermons People Want to Hear

Everyone wonders about the future. Will I marry? Who will that person be? Will there be children? Where will I live? Will I be rich? Will I be healthy? Will I be happy? Who will win the election? Will the stock market go up or down? When and how will I die?

Most of the time most of these questions are not answered in advance. As Christians we learn to live by faith—that is, we trust God for the direction and destiny of our lives. God knows what we don’t know and he controls what we can’t control.

But there are some things about the future that God has chosen to tell us in the prophecies of the Bible. Biblical prophecies are not given to satisfy our curiosity. Prophecy is given to teach us that God controls history and that history is going somewhere. God was the Lord of yesterday. God is the Lord of today. And God is the Lord of tomorrow. He is the sovereign king of the past, present and future. They are all connected.

Sometimes we may think that human history is chaotic nonsense. It has come from nowhere and is going nowhere. But that’s not true. God has a plan. God’s plan is all coming together, even the parts that seem like nonsense all fit into God’s plan! Biblical prophecy should give us great hope and comfort. We can trust God to make everything work together for good in the end. Even though we cannot control the future, we can trust God for complete control and for great good.

In a survey of “Sermons People Want to Hear” the topic of Bible prophecy was high on the list. So let’s take a look at what’s up for history-to-come.

First of all and most important of all is the really big event—Jesus’ return to earth. By far, this is more important than anything else predicted. Every other Bible prophecy connects to and is dependent on Jesus’ return, but every other prophecy is dwarfed in comparative importance. Never get caught up in overemphasis on anything else. There may be uncertainty and differences of interpretation on all the lesser and more obscure biblical predictions about future events, but not this one. The return of Jesus Christ to earth is Number One.

Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection it was time for him to go home to heaven. Jesus and his followers gathered together on the Mount of Olives just outside of Jerusalem. The record of what happened appears in Acts 1:3-11:

After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Just as the first coming-to-earth of Jesus was predicted thousands of years in advance, so the second coming of Jesus was predicted thousands of years in advance. Here’s what we know:

1.) It’s a sure thing. It is a biblical promise from God.
2.) The date is unknown to us. According to Jesus, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” (1:7). God has deliberately kept the date a secret. We’re not told why. Perhaps it would have been bad for previous generations to know that there would be a 2000-year wait. Maybe God wants it to be a surprise. Just be sure to never believe anyone who tells you that they know what Jesus says they can’t know. There have been a lot of badly mistaken teachers and preachers who have claimed to know the date, and every one has been wrong. Never believe the date-setters because they are clearly unbiblical and contradicting Jesus.
3.) Jesus’ return will be like his departure. Jesus’ departure was simple, public and visible. His body left the ground on top of the Mount of Olives and he ascended until he disappeared. While every detail may not be exactly the same, Jesus’ return will be similar. He will physically come to earth from heaven. It will be a public event. If you are around and have a camcorder you will be able to record it on videotape.
4.) Last time Jesus came as a poor peasant; next time he will come as a conquering king.
5.) The purpose of Jesus’ return. He will reunite with Christians. He will right the injustices caused by sin. He will judge evil. He will take over the ruling of the world. He will tie up the loose ends of history. He will fulfill the purposes and plans of God.

The expectation of Jesus’ return makes a difference in the way Christians live right now. We are
to live good and godly lives in anticipation of Jesus coming back. In Titus 2:11-14 we read:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

As Christians we can and should live godly lives now and look forward to Jesus coming back to earth. This is the really big event of all of future history and Bible prophecy. If you don’t understand or don’t remember any of the other future predictions, remember this one. And never even think about making the other predictions anything close to as important as Jesus’ return!

The Bible predicts that near the really big event of Jesus’ return to earth are two significant but less important events—the Rapture and the Tribulation. Bible scholars and students differ on the chronological order of these nearby events. Some insist that the Rapture precedes the Tribulation; others insist that the Tribulation precedes the Rapture. Personally, I don’t think that the Bible clearly explains the order. It’s good enough for me to just know that they will happen.

The Rapture is the amazing future event when Christians will go to meet Jesus and welcome him back to earth. We will all be members of the welcoming committee for Jesus. It will be similar to biblical times when a king went out to war with his army. When they returned home in victory, the citizens of the city would all leave home and go out to meet the king and his army. Then they would all march back into the city together.

Since Jesus is coming from heaven to earth, we’ll all take a supernatural journey into the air to meet him there. Exactly how this works we really don’t know. It promises to be a fabulous experience. And, since we don’t know when Jesus is returning, we need to be ready to welcome him on a second’s notice. He could return today—and Christians could be raptured to meet him at any time. The Apostle Paul explains this in I Thessalonians 4:16-17:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

It will be thrilling. It will be better than a tourist trip to the International Space Station. But the most wonderful and exciting part of the Rapture is not the journey—it’s Jesus!

The other significant event near the return of Jesus will be the Tribulation. This is a period of about seven years when the problems of our world will really heat up. God’s restraint against evil will be lifted. Evil enemies against God will become political and religious leaders of the world. One of these leaders is called the Anti-Christ. God will pour out unprecedented judgments against evil people and governments. It will be absolutely frightening and literally earth shaking. There has never been anything like it before and there will never be anything like it again. You really don’t want to be here for these worst years in human history.

Some of the awful details are described in the book of Revelation. Righteous saints will be severely persecuted by the enemies of God. At the same time, these same saints will be preserved against the wrath of God that is zapping the unrighteous. It will be worse than any science-fiction movie imagining a war of the worlds. This will be all-out war between good and evil, between God and Satan.

The descriptions of the Great Tribulation are peppered throughout the Bible. Jesus gave us one of those descriptions in Mark 13:19: “those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.”

Sometimes Christians worry about the Tribulation, but I don’t think we should. God promises in Romans 8:1 that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We may trust God that he will never harm us. However, there is never a guarantee that we are exempt from the evil behavior of others.

Recent stories from the People’s Republic of China report terrible persecution of Christians by the anti-Christian Communist leadership. These stories reminded me of a communication that come out of China years ago when Christians there asked American Christians when the Great Tribulation began so that they could estimate how long it would last.

The Great Tribulation will be a great clash between good and evil when God will clobber those who are bad and give special grace to those who are good.

Remember, the really big event is the return of Jesus to earth. Near this return will be the Rapture and the Tribulation. After the really big event will be the Millennium.

The Millennium is a 1,000-year period when Jesus will rule as king of this world. The Bible doesn’t give all the details, but it promises to be the best time in a long time. There will be a world government. It will be a monarchy. Jesus will be the absolute sovereign king. Christians will hold government posts. There will be a direct link between heaven and earth. The way I understand what the Bible teaches and anticipate what will happen, we will be able to return from heaven to earth to share in this amazing millennium.

It won’t be heaven. It will still be earth. People will be born. Sin will be a choice. Even though Jesus will be on earth and run the earth there will still be the option of not believing in him or following him as Savior and Lord. In other words, all our concerns about government will be gone. Satan will be locked up and unable to corrupt our world. But people will still have the choice to sin and many will exercise that choice.

At the end of the Millennium Satan will break free and will find plenty of recruits willing to rebel against Jesus. He will lead a final cataclysmic conflict between himself and God called the Battle of Armageddon. God will win and this long great era of earth’s history will be over.

This is described in Revelation 20 at the very end of the Bible. It is what is called apocalyptic writing and it is often symbolic and sometimes difficult to understand, but you can get the idea of what to expect. St. John is writing based on a vision of the future that was given to him by God. We find this vision explained in Revelation 20:1-10:

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

After the Millennium and the final defeat of Satan comes the next predicted event—the Great White Throne Judgment. It is the final judgment by God to determine the eternal destiny of humans. Not too many details are given, but it is clear that the actions of this life determine our eternal destiny in the next life. There is a double basis for God’s sentence: human sins for which sinners may be condemned; and being named in the book of life because of personal faith in Jesus. Here’s what Revelation 20:11-15 says:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Does this short version of Bible prophecy answer all our questions? Probably not! Scholars have studied the Bible for centuries trying to find all the answers. The truth is that God hasn’t given us all the answers. God wants us centered on him, not the future!

I like the way one Bible student approached the return of Jesus. He said, “I’m not on the ‘Time and place committee’. I’m on the welcoming committee.” God wants us to look forward to welcoming Jesus back to earth and then trust him for working out the details that we cannot fully understand.

One thing is for sure—a Christian never needs to be troubled by fear of the future. When we read and talk about the future we should be encouraged and comforted, but not afraid. We are Christians if we have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives. Then we can trust God for the present and the future.

St. Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 4:16-18:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

It doesn’t say, “scare one another with these words;” it says, “comfort one another with these words.” Be comforted. Be blessed. Be assured that the future of every Christian is in the trustworthy hands of a good and loving God!