INTRODUCTION
1. A precious hope of Christians is the return of Jesus Christ...
a. Promised by angels when He ascended to heaven - Ac 1:9-11
b. Proclaimed by His apostles in their writings - 1 Th 4:16-18
2. Events in the Middle East often spark interest in Jesus’ return...
a. People wonder if the time of the end is near
b. Some often affirm "yes!" with great certainty, only to be proven
wrong
3. What can we know about "The Time Of The End"...?
a. The Bible speaks of resurrections, a millennium, judgment, new
heavens and new earth
b. What does it reveal about the sequence of such events?
c. Can we know when the time of the end is near?
4. Why even bother with such things...?
a. To be aware of other views (especially when a popular view is
proven wrong time and again)
b. To avoid being misled by cults and others who use their views
on prophecy to influence people
[A study of such things is called eschatology, from the Greek word
"eschatos" (last things). The study is complicated by the diversity of
views surrounding it. Here is a summary of four major views...]
I. DISPENSATIONAL PREMILLENNIALISM
A. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES...
1. The kingdom: Jesus failed to establish it at His first coming,
will succeed at His second
2. The church: views the church and Israel as two distinct
identities with two individual redemptive plans
3. The tribulation: a seven-year period (the 70th week of Dan 9:
25-27) containing the reign of the Anti-Christ just prior to
the millennium; restoration of Jews to Israel, conversion of the
remnant of Israel, temple rebuilt, priesthood, sacrifices
restored
4. The rapture: the church (living and dead) is raptured to meet
the Lord in the air either at the beginning (pre-trib), middle
(mid-trib) or end (post-trib) of the seven years of tribulation;
tribulation saints and O.T. dead will be raised at the end of
the tribulation
5. The millennium: Christ will return at the end of the
tribulation to institute a 1000 year rule from a holy city (the
New Jerusalem); those who come to believe in Christ during the
tribulation (including the 144,000 Jews) and survive will go on
to populate the earth during this time; those who were raptured
or raised previous to the tribulation period will reign with
Christ over the millennial population
6. Post-millennium: Satan, bound during Christ’s earthly reign,
will be loosed to deceive the nations, gather an army of the
deceived, and take up to battle against the Lord; the battle
will end in the judgment of the wicked and Satan, followed by
entrance into the eternal state of glory by the righteous
7. Major proponents: John Walvoord, Charles Ryrie, Louis Sperry
Chafer, J. Dwight Pentecost, Norman Geisler, Charles Stanley,
Chuck Smith, and Chuck Missler
-- A visual synopsis of this view can be seen on the web here
B. OBSERVATIONS...
1. This view is highly popular today, mostly due to Hal Lindsey
(The Late, Great Planet Earth), Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
(Left Behind series)
2. A variation was taught among churches of Christ by R. H. Boll
3. It is of recent origin, its distinctive elements first taught
by John Nelson Darby (1830 A.D.)
4. It views the church as either an after-thought or an unrevealed
mystery in the OT
5. It teaches a number of resurrections; at least two for the
righteous and one for the wicked
-- Requires a strictly literal interpretation of OT prophecy and
the book of Revelation
[Most people think of dispensational premillennialism when they hear the
word 'premillennialism'; there is another form of premillennialism that
has been around a lot longer...]
II. HISTORICAL PREMILLENNIALISM
A. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES...
1. The kingdom of God: present through the Spirit since
Pentecost, to be experienced by sight during the millennium
after Christ’s return
2. The church: the fulfillment of Israel (physical Israel has no
distinctive redemptive plan)
3. The tribulation: a time of apostasy and suffering just before
the millennium, ended by the battle of Armageddon and
destruction of the Anti-Christ; many Jews converted at this
time
4. The rapture: living and dead saints to meet the Lord in the
clouds immediately preceding the millennium
5. The millennium: Christ will return to institute a thousand-
year reign on earth; there will be the re-establishment of
temple worship and sacrifice as a remembrance of Christ’s
sacrifice
6. Post-millennium: Satan loosed, the battle of Gog and Magog,
Satan defeated; the wicked dead are raised, the great white
throne judgment, followed by the eternal state
7. Major proponents: George Eldon Ladd, Walter Martin, John
Warwick Montgomery, and Theodore Zahn
-- A visual synopsis of this view can be seen on the web here
B. OBSERVATIONS...
1. Not to be confused with dispensational premillennialism (see
above)
2. Called "historical" (or "classic") because elements of this
view were first espoused by Justin Martyr (165 A.D.)
3. It was taught among churches of Christ by: Barton W. Stone,
Moses E. Lard, David Lipscomb, James A. Harding, and T. W.
Brents
4. This view is free from some of the troubling aspects found in
dispensational premillennialsm (especially in regards to the
church as an after-thought)
5. It teaches two separate resurrections; the righteous are raised
before the millennium, the wicked afterwards
-- Its interpretation of OT prophecy and the book of Revelation is
not strictly literal
[Another view that was once very popular is that of...]
III. POSTMILLENNIALISM
A. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES...
1. The kingdom of God: a spiritual entity experienced on earth
through the Christianizing affect of the Gospel
2. The church: the fulfillment of Israel (similar to historical
premillennialism)
3. The millennium: an era (not a literal 1000 years) during which
Christ will reign over the earth, not from an literal and
earthly throne, but through the gradual increase of the Gospel
and its power to change lives; after this gradual
Christianization of the world, Christ will return and
immediately usher the church into their eternal state after
judging the wicked
4. Post-millennium: Christ returns, the righteous and the wicked
raised, followed by the final judgment and the eternal state
5. Major proponents: Rousas J. Rushdoony, Greg L. Bahnsen,
Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., David Chilton, and Gary North
-- A visual synopsis of this view can be seen on the web here
B. OBSERVATIONS...
1. This view was very popular prior to the world wars of the
twentieth century
2. It was taught among churches of Christ by: Alexander Campbell,
Tolbert Fanning, J. W. McGarvey, Robert Milligan, and E. G.
Sewell
3. It does not necessarily hold to a literal 1000 year reign of
Christ (similar to amillennialism)
4. It teaches just one resurrection, the righteous and wicked at
the same time
-- Its interpretation of OT prophecy and the book of Revelation is
not strictly literal
[A fourth view that was once the most dominant view is referred to
as...]
IV. AMILLENNIALISM
A. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES...
1. The kingdom of God: a spiritual reality that all Christians
partake in and that is seen presently by faith, but will be
grasped by sight at the consummation
2. The church: the eschatological fulfillment of Israel, the
visible manifestation today of the kingdom foretold by OT
prophecy (along with John the Baptist and Jesus)
3. The millennium: not a literal 1000 years, but a long period of
time between the first coming and second coming of Christ;
inaugurated with Christ’s resurrection - in an "already/not yet"
sense, Christ already reigns over all and is already victorious
over Satan
4. Post-millennium: Satan loosed, battle of Gog and Magog, Christ
returns, Satan defeated, the righteous and wicked dead are
raised, the great white throne judgment, followed by the
eternal state
5. Major proponents: Anthony Hoekema, William Hendrikson, Gregory
K. Beale, Robert B. Strimple
-- A visual synopsis of this view can be seen on the web here
B. OBSERVATIONS...
1. This view is perhaps better termed Nunc-Millennialism or
Inaugurated Millennialism
a. "Amillennialism" suggests a lack of belief in the millennium
b. Though "a" can mean "in" (rather than the commoner "none")
c. This view holds the millennium of Rev 20 is now, just not a
physical kingdom
2. Popularized by Augustine (400 A.D.), and remains the dominant
view among Catholics and some Protestant denominations
(Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican)
3. It was taught among churches of Christ by: Foy E. Wallace,
R. L. Whiteside, C. R. Nichol and most in the churches of
Christ since the early twentieth century
4. It teaches just one resurrection, the righteous and wicked at
the second coming of Christ
-- Its interpretation of OT prophecy and the book of Revelation
may be literal or symbolic, depending on the context
CONCLUSION
1. This survey is not intended to be exhaustive...
a. There are variations in each of the four views
b. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Seventh-Day Adventists have
their own peculiar views
2. But perhaps it helps to identify areas to examine regarding the end
times ...
a. The meaning of the expression "last days" in the Bible
b. The interpretation of prophecy in the OT and Revelation
c. The relationship between the church and the kingdom of God
d. The meaning of the millennium in Revelation 20
e. The doctrine of the resurrection and concepts of the rapture
f. The role of Israel in God’s plan for the future
3. In the meantime...
a. Are you ready for whatever comes?
b. Are you watching for the Lord’s return? - 1 Th 5:1-6; 2 Pe 3:10-14
c. Are you working for the Lord now? - Mt 24:44-51
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is
not in vain in the Lord. - 1 Co 15:58
"THE TIME OF THE END"
Are We In The Last Days?
INTRODUCTION
1. In our previous study, we illustrated the diversity of views related
to the end of time...
a. Dispensational premillennialism
b. Historic premillennialism
c. Postmillennialism
d. Amillennialism
2. Perhaps some of the confusion is due to misunderstanding phrases like
"last days"...
a. Many people wonder if we are living in the "last days"
b. If we are, doesn’t that suggest the time of the end is at hand,
within our lifetime?
[It is important that we understand and apply Bible terms in Bible ways.
How then do the Scriptures use eschatological expressions such as the
"last days"? Let’s first take a look at a few...]
I. THE LAST DAYS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
A. USAGE OF THE PHRASE "LAST DAYS"...
1. By Jacob, telling his sons of things to come - Gen 49:1
2. By Moses, speaking to Israel in the wilderness - Num 24:14; Deu
4:30; 31:29
3. By Isaiah, to foretell the establishment of the Lord’s House
- Isa 2:2
4. By Jeremiah, in reference to Judah, Moab, and Elam - Jer 23:20;
30:24: 48:47; 49:39
5. By Ezekiel in reference to Gog and Magog - Ezek 38:8,16
6. In the book of Daniel, in regards to Persia, Greece, and others
- Dan 10:14
7. By Hosea, in reference to Israel - Hos 3:5
8. By Micah, likewise prophesying of the Lord’s House - Mic 4:1
B. MEANING OF THE PHRASE "LAST DAYS"...
1. The Hebrew is akharit hayyamim
2. Variously translated as latter days, days to come, in the
future
3. It may refer to the end of the age, the eschaton, or to the
distant future - NET
4. In prophetic language denoted, not the future generally, but
the last future, the Messianic age of consummation...But we
must not restrict "the end of the days" to the extreme point
of the time of completion of the Messianic kingdom; it embraces
"the whole history of the completion which underlies the
present period of growth" - Delitzsch
C. OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THE PHRASE "LAST DAYS"...
1. It was used to describe events prior to the coming of Christ
- e.g., Dan 10:14
2. Though it could simply mean "in the future", it often had
Messianic connotations
3. It described events at the beginning of the Christian age - Isa
2:2; cf. Lk 24:46-47
4. The phrase therefore encompassed the entire age of the Messiah,
not just the end
[In the Old Testament, the expression "last days" often looked forward
to a period of time beginning with the first coming of Christ. This is
confirmed as we now look at...]
II. THE LAST DAYS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
A. OCCURRENCE OF THE PHRASE "LAST DAYS"...
1. Peter’s quotation of Joel’s prophecy - Ac 2:16-21; cf. Joel
2:28-32
2. Paul wrote of things to come in the "last days" - 2 Ti 3:1
3. The writer of Hebrews tells how God now speaks to us in "these
last days" - He 1:2
4. James wrote as one living in the "last days" - Jam 5:3
5. Peter wrote of scoffers to come "in the last days" - 2 Pe 3:3-4
B. PHRASES SIMILAR TO THE "LAST DAYS"...
1. "The ends of the ages" - 1 Co 10:11; He 9:26
2. "The last hour" - 1 Jn 2:18
C. OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE "LAST DAYS"...
1. It is clear that we are now living in the "last days" - Ac 2:
16-17; He 1:2
2. The "ends of the ages" has come upon us - 1 Co 10:11
3. It began with the first coming of Christ - He 9:26
4. The apostles spoke of things yet to come in the "last days"
- 2 Ti 3:1; 2 Pe 3:3-4
5. Even so, we are also living in "the last hour" - 1 Jn 2:18
6. We have been living in the "last days" since the first coming
of Christ!
CONCLUSION
1. From the New Testament we learn that...
a. We are now living in the "last days", the "ends of the ages"
b. Even though the "last days" have encompassed almost two thousands
years
2. This does not discourage the informed Christian...
a. A thousand years is as a day to the Lord, and vice versa - 2 Pe 3:
8-9
b. The "last days" could end tomorrow, or another thousand years from
now, if the Lord wills
3. In faith and hope we still look forward to...
a. The "last day"
b. The "end of the age"
c. The "day of the Lord"
-- Phrases we shall consider in another study
4. In which great events will occur...
a. The coming of the Lord
b. The resurrection of the dead
c. The judgment of all mankind
d. The "new heaven and a new earth"
-- Events we shall examine in a later study
Will we be ready for the events of the "last day"? It all depends on
how we are living in "the last days"...
Executable Outlines,
Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2006
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