The Last Things

Introduction

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

We Live in a Timeline

Tonight we study the LAST THINGS

The reason we say the “Last Things,” is because the Bible tells us that we live on a timeline

God exists outside of time—but we do not

Time had a beginning and time will have an end

Creation had a dawn and it will have a Midnight before the New Day dawns

At the end of the timeline is the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ

All things will be consummated

God will have accomplished all His purposes and He will have His glory for all of eternity

Eschatology

This is what the study of eschatology is all about.

It is about the Last Things (the word comes from the Greek word for LAST THINGS)

It is about the End Times

It is about the theological future of the world, as well as the present

For our understanding of the future impacts the here and now

It is about the end of this age

It is about the glory of a New Age and a New Creation

And it is all about the marvelous 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ

What Tonight IS About and NOT About

Tonight we will talk about what we agree on

Christians do not all agree on the timing of Jesus’ return

We do not all agree on the order of events surrounding the return of Jesus

We do not all agree on how to interpret Revelation 20

We don’t be getting into all that

But we do agree that Jesus has made a promise to us

He will come again

That will have an impact on our physical bodies and eternal souls

That will have an impact on every physical body and every eternal soul

Outline

1. The Return of Christ

2. The Resurrection of the Dead

3. The Final Judgment

1. The Return of Christ

The Baptist Faith and Message says that, “God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end.”

The main event of the world’s appropriate end is the PERSONAL, VISIBLE, GLORIOUS RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST.

Personal: The same Jesus who rose and ascended is the One who will return.

Acts 1:11 ESV

and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Visible: All eyes will see Him.

Revelation 1:7 ESV

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

Glorious: His authority and power will be on fully display

Lion, Not a Lamb

See—The 2nd Coming of Christ will be different than the First.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem lowly, meek and mild.

Christ condescended to us by becoming flesh

He lived among us and died among us on a Cross—this was His humiliation

Then He ROSE FROM THE GRAVE and ASCENDED TO HEAVEN—this was His exaltation

When the Exalted Lord over all returns in glory, it will not be lowly, meek and mild

The creatures of the earth will not draw near to admire like the animals of the manger...

...They will tremble.

It won’t just be a wise men coming to bend the knee...

...every man will bend the knee.

Luke 21:27 ESV

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

The Slain Lamb will return as the Standing Lion.

Comfort for Believers

This was a source of great comfort to the disciples of Christ.

John 13:36 ESV

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”

Jesus was speaking about His death and eventual Ascension

Would have been a source of great anxiety to the Disciples

How does Jesus comfort them?

John 14:1–3 ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

The same comfort is available to us tonight.

Christ WILL come again.

How do you know?

Well—what promise has He not come through on yet?

If Christ says He has gone to a prepare a place for us...

...If He says He will come again and take us to Himself...

...Then it is going to happen.

This gives believers future hope—no matter how dark the world seems to be.

A Day is Coming

Whenever my son Everett’s birthday comes around, a countdown ensues

A detailed graphic expressing his birthday wishes is produced and sent out to the whole family

And then he will let us all know periodically— It is this many days until my birthday.

Everett is absolutely sure that day is coming.

He isn’t wishing it is coming.

He is confident that it is coming and that it will be a great Day

Because his Father has promised him it will be!

As it gets closer and closer, the boy becomes more anticipatory...

...more joyful...

...more excited...

This is how we should be with the Return of Christ.

We should be absolutely sure it is coming because of WHO promised it

And We should be getting more and more joyfully exuberant about it as the Day draws near.

In fact—living with hope and anticipation over the Second Coming of Jesus is one of the evidences of salvation

Hebrews 9:28 ESV

so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Who is saved at the 2nd Coming?

Those who eagerly wait for Him.

The distinguishing mark of a Christian is his confidence in the love of Christ, and the yielding of his affections to Christ in return.

Charles Spurgeon

Are you eagerly waiting for Jesus to come back?

Is “Come Jesus Come” the cry of your heart?

It is a great sign for the health of your soul.

It is evidence that you are one of the Redeemed Christ is coming back for.

2. The Resurrection of the Dead

The Dead Will Be Raised

When Jesus returns, the dead are going to be raised.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 ESV

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

All who have died will experience the resurrection of the dead

Believers AND Unbelievers

John 5:28–29 ESV

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Let’s talk about the Resurrection of Life and the Resurrection of Judgment

Christ’s Resurrection Guarantees the Resurrection of Life

For believers, they are resurrected to eternal life.

The Apostle Paul teaches this is guaranteed by the Resurrection of Christ

1 Corinthians 15:21–22 ESV

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Why do we die in the first place?

Because a man named Adam—our original Representative before God—sinned against God and we fell with Him and in Him

We show we are fallen by sinning LIKE Adam

This is what Paul means by “For as by a man came death...”

So why will any person experience a resurrection of life?

Because a Second and Better Adam—a new Representative before God—who did NOT sin lived a perfect life and died as an offering for sin

Then He rose again—proving His offering was accepted and sins had been paid for

Now—if anyone is united to this Better Adam by faith, they will be made alive.

United to Adam? —> DEATH.

United to Christ? —> RESURRECTION.

What is the Resurrection of Life?

But what does that mean? What does the resurrection of life usher us into?

Many Americans believe in heaven and hell.

Most are certain they are going to heaven because they are a good person or because they “believe in God” or “God knows their heart.”

When most Americans think of heaven:

Unlimited leisure and pleasure

A bodiless existence where you float around on a cloud

A really long worship service where you sing Amazing Grace over and over and over

None of this is biblical.

This is folk religion—theology popularized by movies and books and TV and bad preaching

Exclusivity

First of all, no one will experience the resurrection unto life because:

They are a good person

They grew up in church

They are a decent citizen

They are nice to their neighbors

They claim to be religious

God knows their heart

The only people who experience the Resurrection unto Life are those who are united by faith to the One who resurrected 2000 years ago.

Romans 6:5 ESV

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Paradise (Luke 23)

Secondly, the place that Christians who have passed away are right now is NOT the place they will be forever.

Many people think that you die and your body stays in the ground—never to be heard from again, while your soul goes to heaven and lives in the sky forever.

Again—FOLK THEOLOGY

Luke 23:39–43 ESV

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

TODAY you will be with me in Paradise.

Jesus is promising the Thief that when he dies he is going to a place called Paradise

THIS is the current heaven

Until Jesus returns, that is where the souls of believers remain, waiting on the consummation of all things

New Heavens and the New Earth (Revelation 21)

Many think we stay in that state, but the Bible says that is just an intermediate state

A glorious heavenly waiting room until Jesus returns and the dead are raised

But when Christ returns, what Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 4 will take place:

Jesus will descend with the cry of command

The dead in Christ will rise first

THEN: 1 Thessalonians 4:17

1 Thessalonians 4:17 ESV

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Any Christians who are living will be caught up together with the Lord and the Resurrected Believers

And then they will always be with the Lord—coheirs who reign with Him on the New Earth

Revelation 22:1–4 ESV

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

What We Anticipate

This means that what we anticipate is far greater than getting a pair of angels wings (more folk theology!) or getting play golf with Apostle Paul (maybe that will happen...I don’t know)...

We anticipate a state of existence where believers are:

Resurrected

Glorified

Serving God in resurrected bodies

Praising God with perfected, pure tongues

Honoring God forever

In some ways what is coming lacks continuity with this age:

BEHOLD HE IS MAKING ALL THINGS NEW

That communicates a discontinuity

What we have is temporal and fallen

What is coming is eternal and perfect

But in other ways, there is continuity between this life and the Resurrection Life to come on the New Earth:

We will have bodies

We will serve God with them

We will have music

We will have community with one another

We will have access to the Father through God the Son

It is this life without the sin and the suffering

It is this life without the distraction and the interruption

It is this life—resurrected and redeemed in a resurrected and redeemed cosmos

The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Article 10

The Resurrection of Judgment

But not all will experience it.

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Those outside the Son have no promise of Paradise or a Resurrection of Life

This is why Jesus says some will be resurrected to Judgment in John 5:29—

“...and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”

Correcting Folk Theology

Once again, this is where we have to correct folk theology.

Some Americans believe Hell is for really bad people, but not them.

Some Americans think that Hell is a place where sinners go and hang out and cut up.

Some Americans think the Devil is there cackling with his little horns and red tail and pitchfork

In truth, we don’t need to think any of these things because the Bible is straightforward about these things.

The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment.

The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Article 10

The Current Place of Torment (Luke 16)

First of all, many think that the wicked die...

...Their body goes in the ground never to be heard from again...

...And then the soul goes down to Hell and suffers there forever

Not quite the way the Bible presents it

Much like how the Paradise the Thief went to in an intermediate place until the Final Resurrection, there is a current place of torment (but it isn’t the Final Hell)

We this place in Luke 16 when the Rich Man who lived wickedly goes to this place in Jesus’ parable.

What we learn about it:

There is conscious suffering where the rich man feels heat and thirst

It is immediate—he goes from death to this place

It is fixed—there is no getting out

There is memory—he remembers his life and how he got there

That is a terrible place.

Luke 16:24 ESV

And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’

If someone rejects Christ—the only payment for sins, then they will be judged and pay for their sins forever

The wages of sin is death.

If they are not united to Christ by faith, they will be united to a Christless eternity.

That eternity begins in the intermediate place of torment

Resurrection to Judgment

The souls of the wicked do not remain there forever

Their bodies are raised at Christ’s return as well but it is not a Resurrection to Life

It is a Resurrection to Judgment

Revelation 20 tells us what it will be like:

Revelation 20:11–15 ESV

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Body and soul, the unbeliever experiences the Second Death.

The descriptions in the NT are visceral:

Destruction

Perishing

A punishment of eternal fire

The gloom of utter darkness

A place for weeping and gnashing of teeth

A lake that burns with fire and sulfur

These are images of pain

These are images of torment

Hell is unspeakably horrible, and it is described in bracing terms so that we might avoid it at all costs and run to Christ for refuge.

Kevin DeYoung

If you are here and you are an unbeliever...

Thank God you are not in Hell and turn to Christ!

If you are here and you are a believer...

Thank God for your salvation and testify to it that others may be saved!

3. The Final Judgment

Now—an important question is—Who gets to decide who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell?

Who has been given the authority of Final Judgment?

Acts 17:31 ESV

because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Christ is the One who will judge the world.

We know this because He is the One who was raised.

Resurrection = Proof of His authority to Judge

NT Images of Christ the Judge

God judges through Christ Jesus (Romans 2:16)

The Judge separating sheep from goat (Matthew 25)

The Judge separating wheat from tares (Matthew 13)

The Judge separating good fish from bad (Matthew 13)

The Judge comes on the clouds in glory to gather the elect (Matthew 24)

The Judge opens the seals of judgment in Revelation 6

In Revelation 14, He is the Judge plunging His sickle into the Earth

But none is more vivid than this:

Revelation 19:11–16 ESV

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

The blood on His robe is not His

He is done with that

This is not the Slain Lamb—This is the Lion

The blood is the blood of His enemies, which He defeats and judges

You can see the reality—Christ will judge all men in righteousness, just as the BFM says

Judgment is Hope for the Christian Life

Sometimes I think we view these as unfortunate images

Things to apologize for

In truth—the Final Judgment is a great hope for our souls

The Final Judgment promises us that God’s justice and righteousness will be fully established and realized on the earth in the end

All attempts at justice and judgment in this age are fallible and temporary.

Only through the Final Judgment will there be Final Justice

Sometimes you may look in the world at current events and suspect you are seeing God’s judgments active in the nations (YOU ARE!)

His active judgments are previews of the Final Judgment on the way!

This is what we see in the seven seals of Revelation 6

As the seals are opened...

We see humanity conquering each other

Making war on each other

Suffering famine

Experiencing death

These are God’s active judgments in the nations

But when the 6th seal is opened—It is Final Judgment:

Revelation 6:12–17 ESV

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

When the wrath of the Lamb comes, the unjust world will try to hide.

But there will no hiding.

All will be made right.

And the only reason that you and I will not cry out for the rocks to fall on us that day is because boulder of our sin already crushed Jesus

He was judged for us

It is only by THAT mercy that we go free

But we will be free indeed

The Blessed Hope

For the unbeliever, the Christ’s Final Judgment is like a thief busting in your house in the middle of the night:

1 Thessalonians 5:2 ESV

For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

But this is not the case for a believer.

We are ready.

For us, this image of Final Justice is a blessed hope.

Titus 2:13 ESV

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

We live and work in our lives in light of this blessed hope.

Jesus will return and save us.

Jesus will return and vanquish evil.

We live our lights in the LIGHT of that future event

We are able to rejoice in suffering because we know that all will be made right SOON

We are able to not grow weary in doing good in this fallen world because we know another world is on the way

We are able to wait on God’s justice and avoid the sin of revenge because we know Christ will vindicate His Church

And as we rejoice and labor and wait—God is sanctifying us.

This is what living with blessed hope looks like.

And what Scripture teaches us is that as we live with blessed hope, God’s love is perfected in us.

And as that love is perfected, we grow more confident for the Day drawing near.

1 John 4:17 ESV

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

Conclusion

As we close—I want you to do a mental exercise with me.

Understanding “The Last Things,” if you knew Jesus would come back in the next few days, how would you change your life?

What would you change?

What would you start doing?

What would you stop doing?

What would you start saying?

What would you stop saying?

What are you currently worrying about that would become nothing but an afterthought?

In reality, there are a few things that probably need to occur before Jesus will return.

There are things we see in Scripture that haven’t quite happened yet—like the appearance of a Final Man of Lawlessness

But it doesn’t change the fact that we should live this way all the time!

We should always live as if the Return of Christ is imminent!

Whatever you would change—change it anyway.

Because you never know...

...Tomorrow COULD be the day.

Live in light of the Blessed Hope.