The Last Days - Heb 1:1-2
July 17, 2022
not only generation to think we’re in the last days… many have… including early church… every generation since cross is last days generation (BC / AD)… both have
same focus… looking for the coming of Christ… correct focus is always Jesus…
Isa 7:14… “give a sign… virgin will give birth to a Son… call Him Immanuel…”
Mic 5:2… “Bethlehem… out of you a Ruler will come… origin is from antiquity…”
Matt 24:44… “be ready… Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect…”
Acts 1:10-11… “Jesus has been taken… someday He will return from heaven…”
Heb 1:1-2… “long ago God spoke by prophets… in last days, spoken by His Son…”
any theology based in fear is bad theology… distorts Gospel… makes God into something He isn’t… not doom-and-gloom… but joy, excitement, expectation…
Isa 28:21… “He will rise in wrath… to do His unexpected, unfamiliar work…”
Isa 55… “come to Me… listen so you will live… seek the Lord… let the wicked
abandon their ways… return to the Lord… He will have mercy… freely forgive…”
John 1:5… “light shines in the darkness… darkness has not overcome it…”
Rom 5:1-9… “have peace with God thru Jesus… saved thru Him from wrath…”
2Pet 3:11… “since all will be destroyed… ought to live holy and godly lives…”
The goal of studying eschatology is not mere head knowledge or disputes over specific details. The goal is edification that promotes godly living. The goal is allowing the risen Lamb to live His victorious life thru you. The goal is Gospel-centered, Holy Spirit-empowered transformation. And if you are living like that… you will always be ready for the Lord’s return. —Randy Smith
Lifeway Research says over 90% of pastors believe various current events match
description of end times… 56% believe He will return in their lifetime…
John 16:13… “Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth…”
Acts 17:11… “received Word with eagerness… searched daily to see if true…”
It is honest to admit that there is much room for difference of opinion here. Only fools and madmen are positive in their interpretations of the Apocalypse. —Charles Spurgeon
before we dig in too far… let’s answer a common question… is there a difference
between the Rapture and the Second Coming… yes, they are separate events…
1Thess 4:13-18… “we want you to know what will happen to believers who have
died… when Jesus returns, God will bring back the believers who have died… we tell you this directly from the Lord… the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven
with a shout… Christians who have died will rise from their graves… then we who
are still alive will be caught up in the clouds… to be with the Lord forever…”
Rev 19:11-16… “heaven opened… white horse whose rider was Faithful and True… for He judges fairly and wages a righteous war… His title was the Word of God… He will release the wrath of God… He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords…”
We are more sure to arise out of our graves than out of our beds. —Thomas Watson
although the word rapture is not in bible (transporting a person from one sphere of existence to another)… the concept is… in fact, it’s the motto of our nursery…
1Cor 15:51… “we will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed…”
1Cor 15:50-58… “in a moment… blink of an eye… dead will be raised to live forever… living will be transformed… dying bodies transformed into bodies that never die… mortal transformed into immortal… o death, where is your victory… thank God, He gives us victory over sin and death thru our Lord Jesus…”
Rapture and 2nd Coming
at rapture, believers meet Jesus in air… at 2nd coming, they return to earth…
1Thess 4:17… “we who are still alive… caught up in clouds… meet Jesus in air…”
Rev 19:14… “armies of heaven… followed Him on white horses… white linen…”
rapture occurs before tribulation… 2nd coming occurs after tribulation (His wrath)…
1Thess 5:1-11… “for God did not appoint us to wrath… so encourage each other…”
Rev 3:10… “I will keep you from this hour of testing that will come on the earth…”
Rev 6-19… “hide us from the One seated on throne and the wrath of the Lamb…”
rapture is removal of believers from earth as an act of deliverance… the second
coming includes the removal of unbelievers as an act of judgment…
1Thess 4:13-17… “meet the Lord… always be with Him… encourage each other…”
1Thess 5:9… “God has not destined us to wrath… but to obtain salvation…”
Matt 13:47-52… “at end of world… angels separate wicked from righteous… throw wicked into fiery furnace… where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth…”
Matt 24:29-51… “immediately after distress of those days… Son of Man appears… angels gather elect… be alert, stay alert, be ready… wicked thrown into darkness…”
Matt 25:31-46… “when Son of Man comes… sit on throne… goats to eternal punishment…”
rapture will be secret, virtually invisible… second coming will be visible to all…
1Cor 15:50-54… “happen in a blink of an eye (1/10th second, 100 milliseconds)…”
Matt 24:29-30… “all the peoples of the earth will see the Son of Man coming…”
Rev 1:7… “He is coming with the clouds… every eye will see Him…”
rapture is imminent, could take place at any moment… second coming will not
occur until certain other end time events take place… nobody knows when…
Matt 24:42-44… “keep watch… don’t know day… be ready all the time…”
2Pet 3:10… “day of the Lord will come unexpectedly… like a thief in the night…”
Matt 24:15-35… “this age shall not pass away until all these things take place…”
2Thess 2:1-12… “Day will not come until… falling away… man of sin revealed…”
Why it’s Important to Know
many people are afraid of the last days because of the terribleness of God’s wrath… that is not for believers… hard times will come, but man’s wrath is
nowhere near the wrath of God… that’s why sharing gospel is so important…
John 3:16-36… “no judgment against anyone who believes in Jesus…”
1Thess 5:1-11… “God did not appoint us to wrath…”
2Tim 3:1… “hard times will come in the last days…”
2Pet 3… “day of judgment… ungodly destroyed… everything on earth judged…”
Rev 11:18… “nations were filled with wrath… now Your wrath has come…”
can’t find anywhere in Rev 6-19 where the church is mentioned… meaning, we
won’t be here… but others we love will… time to tell them about Jesus…
2Pet 3:9-15… “God doesn’t want any destroyed… while you wait, be at peace, pure and blameless… remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved…”