Future Events

For those in Christ’s Kingdom

A Simple Guide to what the Bible Says about the Future

Part 1 – AN INTRODUCTION

By Pastor Dan Kennedy

© January 23, 2011

www.pastorkennedy.com

The Simplest Explanation

If you are beginning to learn the computer, the internet, investing in stocks, growing a garden, cooking, raising children…or a number of other subjects you might walk into Barnes and Noble and look for “A Dummies’ Guide to ______”, which have become a very popular series in putting a complex subject into simple, understandable terms.

Because of questions that you have submitted to me, these next few messages seek to put Biblical concepts about our future and the future of our planet, in as understandable way as possible for everyone:

•  for those just beginning to seek God,

•  for those who are new in their belief in Christ, and

•  for those who may be more mature in their faith and Bible knowledge.

Mysteries Revealed

Events regarding Jesus Christ, the Messiah and the redemption offered through Him, to the whole world (not only the Jewish race) were cloaked in mystery for thousands of years, but it was revealed through the Gospel of Christ (Eph. 3:8-11; Col. 1:25-27). 

Daniel was told to seal up his book until the time of the end when God would reveal the prophesies to those for whom it was intended.

Daniel 12:4

4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

I believe the “last days”, most likely, are upon us, and I believe that God has revealed more to this generation of people than any in the history of the world – and that explosion of knowledge and revelation of Christ’s Coming is growing in intensity.

Accu-Weather Forecasts

Jesus said to the ultra-religious around Him…

“You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (Matt. 16:1-4)

The religious elite in Christ’s day knew how to accurately predict the day’s weather, but not the reality of what was happening around them, most notably, the revelation of the Messiah – right in front of them!

You and I are living in an age, with Doppler radar, satellite imagery, and “computer models”, which give us the most sophisticated weather forecasts of anytime in history!  We know when we should bring an umbrella to work, or leave it home.  We know when the roads will be icy, if there will be a wind storm, or blizzard, with almost pinpoint accuracy.  Never have there been such accurate weather forecasts.  But, just like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, our generation is somehow still not aware of the “signs of the times”!

Twice-Removed Semi-Artificial Lives

We, of all generations, live in semi-artificial conditions more than any previous generations or cultures.  We have artificial light, manufactured heat, pressurized running water, indoor plumbing, spa-like bathrooms, automated, sensing washers and driers, every gadget and cooking device useful for the kitchen, numerous shopping and eating establishments for any need or whim, man-tools to solve every problem, sophisticated computers, 100’s of TV channels, world-wide Internet, international cell phones, prolific cars, trucks, campers, and motor homes of every make and demand, etc., etc. – all for our immediate access and conveniences.  We have made a life of convenience for ourselves and for others, while at the same time, our generation has often isolated ourselves from the reality of God…and from genuine and meaningful interaction with each other.

We often live in comfortable individual houses or apartments unaffected, for the most part, from natural hazards and annoying neighbors.  We may step temporarily outside of our house at night from time to time to survey the sky and stars above with a nasty wind blowing eerily through the trees, and we say to ourselves, “It sure is chilly out tonight, I’m happy we live in a warm house!”  We close the door and turn on the TV, movie, computer, or open a book, to lose ourselves once more from natural reality around us.  We can easily refocus ourselves into ourselves, sometimes to our own harm, our own dissatisfaction, our own corruptness, or our own greed and self-satisfaction.  The condemning clutter and misery of our own heart can, at times, be overwhelming to our busy lives.  On occasion an inner struggle or outward calamity may bring us to God. 

If we turn to God, we begin drawing close to the greatest source of comfort and reality in the universe (James 4:1-10).  God is very easy to forget with all the superficial noise clamoring around us and in us.

The three things known to separate us from God: 

1. 1. The security and comfort of our humanly constructed shelters, preferred modes of transportation, attraction of “things”, and entanglement in the cares of this life, with an emphasis on personal pleasure:  the “world/flesh”,
   

2. 2. The confines of our individual inner emotional world:  the “flesh/soul”,
   

3. 3. The powerful affect of a supernatural dynamic, which is God’s enemy, sent to destroy us: the “devil”.
   

One of the confusing parts, as in any semi-artificial world, is that where we live, can be cluttered or neat, depressing or vibrant.  Our bodies can be residing in a mansion while our heart and mind can be distraught; or, we can live in a hovel and be content and vibrant in our heart.  Our life can swing radically in the arms of these artificial worlds.

The Potential Lack of Electricity Shocks Us!

Has the electricity ever suddenly gone out on you, leaving you and your family sitting in the dark?  Reality hits you like a brick!  “If I didn’t have this one, very valuable resource, we could be living in the stone age!”

If our country were left without electricity, we would be living literally, off the land once again!  Our dependence on electricity and the devices it empowers bring us to a level of artificial heights never before seen since the beginning of creation.

One day, you and I will not have electricity or the comforts it brings – guaranteed!  We will not have the security of our home, our business, our cars, or our entertainment.  One day you and I will not have earthy physical life!  The semi-artificial worlds, in which you and I may continually live right now (and depend on so much for our temporal security), will be no more.  We will then begin another life in a whole new world.  This is the world for which Jesus Christ says that we should be preparing.  Remember there are three parts to us:  Body, Soul and Spirit!  Let’s not leave out the Spirit in our concern for the demands of our body and soul!

“Be Prepared” – Scout’s Motto

God is not trying to hide future events and dynamic life from His Children:  He wants us to understand, be aware, and be ready for what may happen at any time.  Christ’s Coming will be a great surprise…but if you are prepared, you will be ready to meet Him!

Luke 12

39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1–11

The Day of the Lord

5 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Five Wise and Five Foolish

In Matthew 25, Jesus told the parable of the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins – waiting for the wedding processional and the groom’s coming.   The five foolish ones were “unprepared” for how long they had to wait for their master’s coming and suffered terrible consequences; the five wise were prepared and participated fully in “the groom’s” return.

Jesus Christ put it very succinctly in his story on the abundance enjoyed by the rich man, blinded by his wealth and driven by his desire for security and pleasure.

Luke 12:15–21

15 And he (Jesus) said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Physical Death should Focus Our Reality toward God… but, sadly, many times it does not.

Our physical bodies are not eternal.  If they were, we could brag about our successes and show off our accomplishments – about how great our bodies and minds are!  But, since we are mortal – ones who will die, we must also look for spiritual realities, that which supersedes physical life. 

The Three Primary Reasons I teach “End Time” events from a Biblical Perspective:

1.   None of us live for eternity in this human body!  We are all going to die sometime (or will be gathered together with Christ at His return if we are true believers in Jesus Christ); and, if this is the case, we had better be prepared for this event!  What will happen to you and me when we die?  There is an end of life for all things and there is an end to the systems of this world as we know it.  Since the Scripture speaks of such an end, then we, as those who faithfully study and teach the Bible, reveal what we understand the Scripture discloses about the “end times”.  We must be ready to come Face to face with God!

2.   The Bible, which I believe to be God’s Holy Word, was written under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit by some 36 to 40 authors over a time span of some 1,500 to 2,000 years on several continents.  Never in the history of the world has such a Book been written, cohesively agreeing with itself, even though very diverse writers wrote it: kings and shepherds, prophets and physicians, over such long spans of millennia and cultures.  Its prophecies have sustained 100% accuracies.  It gives to us clear information about the “end times” and if we are wise we will seek to find out what it says and means.  We should be aware of and open to what the Bible says regarding “end time” events. 

The Bible is God’s trusted handbook to reveal to us the reality of spiritual life, and it also reveals to us God’s Plan for our future.

o  The Bible has been proven true in its historical evidence.

o  The Bible has been proven true in archeology.

o  The Bible has been proven true in its Prophetic Predictions.

o  The Bible has been validated for centuries, as a primary source for Spiritual Life.

o  The Truth of the Scripture has been validated, first-hand, in the personal lives of those who have believed on Jesus Christ as their Savior and who have been born into God’s Family by the Holy Spirit.

o   The Bible should be our Primary Resource for seeking to understand Future Events.

3.   Israel’s reemergence as a nation in 1948 after its people’s dispersion across the world, for two thousand years, is not just by chance.  We are reading the fulfillment of Old and New Testament prophecies about Israel’s rebirth into the nation after centuries of the Jewish people being disbursed into seeming oblivion throughout the world! This “regathering” to reestablish nationhood and the establishment of Jerusalem as its capital, has not happened to any other people group in the known history of the world.  Why has the “Middle East” become so important?  It is because this has been planned and foretold in the Scripture, and we are now experiencing the parts being put into place for the final events of world history. 

Jeremiah 16:14–15 - The Lord Will Restore Israel

14 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.

(See also Jeremiah 24:6; 30:3; 32:37, etc.)

Ground Rules for Our Search for Biblical Truth about the Future

Since we will be looking at what the Bible says about our long-term future, we will be discussing Biblical Truth from one distinct perspective:

•  We will begin by taking the most obvious meaning of the passage, without trying to modify its meaning, unless it is obviously a “spiritual picture” of something, or there is an obvious mystery shrouding the passage.  We will also compare the meaning of related passages that could offer further insight into its interpretation.

Areas We Hope to Cover in the Coming Weeks

These are the areas (including different theological positions) we hope to cover in the next few weeks:

1.   The Blessed Hope – what the Bible says about our hope of being “caught up” to be with Christ.
   

2.   The Tribulation Period – what the Bible says about the coming period of the greatest turmoil and “time of trouble” that the world has ever seen.
   

3.   The Glorious 2nd Coming of Christ – what the Bible says about Christ’s Visible 2nd Coming.
   

4.   The Millennial (1,000 years) Reign of Christ on earth.
   

5.   The New Heavens and New (renovated by fire) Earth.
   

Where will you and I spend eternity?

Conclusion

o  Most people try to plan out their future, if they can.

o  Many people try to find out their future through a variety of means – some not so good.

o  The Bible gives us an understanding about our future, so we should learn what it says and “be prepared”, understanding the times in which we live.