Eschatology 101 | End Times Bible Prophecy As Jesus Taught It
- Summary: Many are fascinated by the study of end-times Bible prophecy and the signs of the end. Brittanica.com has this definition: "Eschatology, the doctrine of the last things." Charts, graphs, and timelines by the dozen are produced by
Bible teachers poring over the Book of Revelation, the seven seals, and the like. However, many are likely to be surprised at the content of some of Jesus' teachings about the last days. Come and see in the following message by Pastor Jim Feeney concerning the Lord's emphasis on important issues at the end of days.
Matthew 24:3
- •• Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are parallel chapters, covering Jesus' teachings and prophecies about the end times. We will focus today on Luke 21.
- • They asked Jesus about "the sign" of the end times. Likewise today, there is much interest in the bible's teaching on the signs of the end of the world we live in.
• But Jesus replied, not so much by giving them details as by telling them how to be victorious in the end times.
- •• “Watch out that you are NOT DECEIVED.”
- • Paul later warned about end-time "doctrines of devils" (1 Timothy 4:1) such as forbidding to marry, abstaining from foods, and more.
• Jesus here warns about false Christs (Sun Moon, Father Divine...) — “I am He.” He also warns us to watch out for false end-time prophets (Matthew 24:24).
• “The-time-is-near” kind of teaching will be commonplace in the latter days. Much of the end-times prophecy teaching heard today focuses on predictions of the imminent Second Coming of Christ. Yet Jesus Himself warned against dwelling on the timing.
- •• The solution is simple: “Do not follow them” — that is, the false Christs, whose message often includes the ear-tingling "The time is near!"
- •• Do NOT be FRIGHTENED, Jesus said, by awesome events in the end times (or any other times).
- • The 9.2 Alaska earthquake in 1964 (“great earthquakes”) did not mean it was the end (as I write this 41 years later).
• The killer tsunamis in Asia recently do not necessarily mean the end of the world is near — “the end will not come right away”, even after numerous cataclysmic events.
- •• If “Jesus Christ...the Lord of all” is your Lord, then hear His encouragement: “Do not be frightened.” And yet some teachers of end times prophecy succeed primarily in leaving their audiences or readers scared half to death! Remember — Jesus said, "Do not be frightened!"
- •• Don’t worry about how to respond to terrible persecution in the last days.
- • Some might ask here, what about the rapture of the church? Note: no Rapture-escape is even alluded to here — contrary to much of today's end times prophecy teaching!
• (13) Persecution becomes an occasion for witness.
• (15) Jesus will give you wise words to speak in your defense.
- •• The end times will be hostile times:
- • Expect betrayal, even by family and friends.
• Expect the hatred of “all men.”
• “They will put some of you to death ... but not a hair of your head will perish” — suggesting possible physical martyrdom, but eternal life.
- •• The solution: “By standing firm you will gain life.”
- • Endure to the end, another of the Gospels states.
• Don’t give up! Don’t fall away.
- •• Earth- and heaven-shaking signs will occur. For believers, those are not times of fear.
- • These specific signs of the end of days signal the Lord’s soon coming.
• Our proper response? Stand up, look up, rejoice, get ready! Here He comes!
- •• Jesus closes with some exhortations on proper end-time attitudes and conduct:
- • “Be careful” — no room for a casual, nonchalant approach to our faith.
• Avoid harmful conduct like “dissipation, drunkenness.”
• Don’t let the “anxieties of life” bog you down and turn your focus away from Jesus.
• If we don’t heed these warnings from the Lord, the end times will come upon us “unexpectedly like a trap.”
• “Be always on the watch” — including taking your own spiritual pulse often. “How’m I doing?”
• “...and PRAY” — concerning these things, and just pray — period!
- •• The goal, the object of our prayers, is that we live in such a way that the Lord allows the believers alive in the end times to “escape all that is about to happen.”
- • Conclusion: we will be wise not to focus overly much on eschatological signs and prophecies, nor on the antichrist and the final tribulation. Are we living in the end times? I can't say with any certainty. But I can say that our energies will be best expended in efforts to live godly, faith-filled, Christ-centered lives, and thereby to be ready when Jesus does come the second time.
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BONUS! For those desiring an in-depth study of the end times, I highly recommend Bible teacher Elton McMillan's website. I believe it's among the very best end-time Bible studies available today. Elton's many excellent, descriptive charts and artwork are best viewed on your desktop or laptop computer. You'll find this free treasure trove of last-days teaching at The End Times Explained Step by Step | Bride of Christ
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©2005, 2015, James H. Feeney.
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Pentecostal Sermons and Bible Studies
by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.