Jesus' Teaching about the Future
The Message of Jesus
March 29 and March 30th, 2003
Jesus’ Teaching about the Future
-In light of the present world situation and controversy, this is a very interesting subject.
-The people of Jesus’ day were interested as well because they were being occupied by the Romans and they knew there were prophecies concerning their future.
-In this study we all know great people who believe all sorts of different things about just how all of this will come to pass and when.
-I don’t want to get caught on the specifics of how as much as what we should be doing in light of the fact that He is coming.
-The one thing that is indisputable and everyone pretty much agrees on; JESUS IS COMING BACK!
Acts 1
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with a water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
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-Jesus is coming back. Every eye will see Him and everyone will face the consequences of their choices about Him.
-He made the point to His disciples who didn’t know what was coming next, after being with Him for about three years, (that should be very encouraging to us all), that they shouldn’t get consumed by trying to work everything out as much as to be consumed with reaching the world.
-We should be about the Father’s business and get this message to all people.
Matthew 24
24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ, a’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ b spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ c
30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
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-Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the end and when the temple would be destroyed.
-If you look at the judgments that He spoke of, they are the very same things Revelation talks about in the seals and trumpets and all.
FALSE CHRISTS/ANTICHRISTS
WARS
FAMINES EARTHQUAKES
PERSECUTION
THE ANTICHRIST
THE SKY BEING AFFECTED
-Whatever the events of the future hold, it is important to see that in both instances, much of what was said was literally, historically fulfilled within 50 years of Jesus’ prophecy.
-Jerusalem was ransacked and the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.
-The Christians were persecuted in grotesque ways and Neron Kaiser was literally the beast and his name was literally 666 in Greek.
-They understood that and when Revelation was written it made sense to the hearers.
-It is the “REVELATION” the unveiling of Jesus Christ, not the hiding or muddying of Him.
-That is a whole different subject. I don’t want to look at the events of our future as much as how we should behave in the meantime.
-Someone said that even if this isn’t the last generation, its your last generation. We need to live and act like it.
2 Peter 3
3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. a
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. b That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
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-What was Jesus’ perspective of the future and what did He tell us to do in light of it?
-Let’s summarize what Jesus said to His disciples and therefore us as well.
John 14
/“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God a; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. [4]/
-Someone has rightfully called this;
THE GREATEST PROMISE EVER MADE
BY THE GREATEST PERSON WHO EVER LIVED
ABOUT THE GREATEST PLACE EVER IMAGINED
-Jesus is giving His disciples final instructions in these chapters before He goes to the cross.
-You can hear the emotion and intensity in His words.
-He prays for them and us in chapter 17.
-Here in 14:1-3 He is saying;
· DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE FUTURE
· THERE IS A PLACE FOR YOU IN MY FUTURE
· I AM GOING TO CREATE OR PREPARE A SPECIAL PLACE FOR YOU
· I WANT YOU TO BE WITH ME
· I’M COMING TO GET YOU AND TAKE YOU THERE
-He is preparing a place for us while the Holy Spirit prepares us for that place.
-In 1 Corinthians 15 it says literally that we will not all sleep but in a moment, an atomic second we will be with Him.
-I wish we knew more about that place.
-We know God is present there.
-It is described as a city with architecture that is beyond our wildest dreams. (It is much better than Oz!)
-We know that we are new creations in Christ and God isn’t just renovating heaven but He is making a new place for us.
-It is a brilliant glowing place. The word used to describe it is “phoster” “splendor or radiance”.
-We will have the fullness of ZOE. That isn’t just eternal life in the sense of long life, it is a quality of life. IT IS LITERALLY God’s life. It is living in His Life.
Psalm 36
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
Psalm 46
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
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-The emphasis is that it is the river of His delight.
-The atmosphere is “PURE JOY”.
More than a prophetic time clock that marks off world events and the alignment of all of the right circumstances it seems from the teaching of Jesus that the end is linked with the message reaching everyone.
“No matter what your end-time position, there’s no debate that it is later than it has ever been. A sense of urgency has always played a major role in missions motivation. Postmillennialists are driven to plant the kingdom. Premillennialists are driven to reach as many as possible before the Lord comes. All are driven to reach people before they die without Christ.”[6]
“The early church lived in this dynamic tension regarding Christ’s return. They never heard the terms premillennial, postmillennial, or amillennial. But they awakened each day with dual thrills in their hearts: Jesus will probably come today, and if He doesn’t, the gospel will be further advanced by nightfall than it is now. Evidently, through many centuries of systematizing our theology, we have polarized these hopes. But why should we? The early church lived in the healthy tension of planting the kingdom while waiting for Christ’s return. We can too.”[7]
Most Christians would like to be able to have a firm grasp of what awaits the earth, both good and bad. Reading scriptures in Revelation, Thessalonians, and Jesus discourse in the gospels wet our appetites to put it all together in charts and graphs (as many have). It is commendable to study to show yourself approved. At the same time it is dangerous to let an obsession with “getting it right” paralyze your effectiveness as a Christian.
Recently while hearing a discussion on the book of Revelation I wrote in my notes a summary to myself in light of what I had just heard. I now pass it on as good instruction to all believers in this present age as we wait for the return of Jesus.
· LIVE HOLY
· STAND FIRM AGAINST FALSE TEACHING
· FOCUS MY LIFE ON GLOBAL EVANGELISM
· YOU COULD ADD FROM HEBREWS, ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER
· YOU COULD ALSO ADD FROM ALL OF SCRIPTURE, LIFE GOES ON- DON’T GET SO APOKALYPTIC THAT YOU GET CRYPTIC
Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
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a Or in
[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version, Ac 1:4-11. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.
a Or Messiah; also in verse 23
b Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
c Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version, Mt 24:1-31. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.
a Some manuscripts be burned up
b Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version, 2 Pe 3:3-13. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.
a Or You trust in God
[4]The Holy Bible : New International Version, Jn 14:1-4. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.
[5]The Holy Bible : New International Version, Ps 46:4. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.
[6] David Shibley, A Force in the Earth (Lake Mary, Florida: Creation House, 1997), 105-106.
[7] Ibid., 111.