What Does the Bible Say About the End Times?

What does the Bible Say About… The End Times? July 25, 2021 Our Mission: • God’s people live under his _____________ and ______________________. (Revelation 7:1-8) • God will _______________ his people to face persecution and ____________________. (Revelation 12:17-13:18) • The Church’s job is to stay true to _________________ by staying faithful through suffering and temptation. (Revelation 14:1-5) • God will __________ the Beasts and _____________ the church. (Revelation 20:11-12, 21:1-4) The Question Behind the Question: • God is supposed to be in control, but it doesn’t always look like it to us. • We want to know that things are going according to __________, and we want to know our role in that __________. Reading Revelation 1: • Revelation uses complex, ____________ images to drive home ____________ points about the future. (Genesis 41:32) The Plan: (Matthew 24:4-14) 1. Human sin will cause widespread ______________________. 2. God will send signs to call humanity to __________________. 3. The church will testify through ________________________. Conclusions: 4. God will ____________ the world and establish his kingdom. Reading Revelation 2: • Revelation uses vivid _____________________ to show us the _______________________ of world events. (Revelation 17:1-6) • God is in control, even when the Beasts seem to be __________. • We cannot defeat the Beasts by acting ____________. We must follow ___________________. • Our job is to point _____ the Beasts and point _____ the Lamb. Discussion Questions • Now read the Letter to Pergamum (Rev. 2:12-17). How is this church doing with their mission to stay true to the Gospel? • Now read the Letter to Thyatira (Rev. 2:18-29). How does this letter resonate with the themes of “our mission?” 1. Getting Started: • What did you find most interesting about the sermon this week? The most helpful, eye-opening, or troubling? • What is your experience with the Book of Revelation? Do you find it fascinating? Bewildering? • Why do you think people find End Times speculation so compelling? 3. Going Deeper • If Jesus were going to write a letter to the Church in America, what might he say? How are we doing with our mission? • Where do you see beasts in the world around us? How do they tempt us to act in beastly ways? • How do we testify against those beasts? What does it look like to follow the Lamb instead of the beasts? 2. Into the Bible (Revelation 2) • • The Book of Revelation begins with seven letters. Read the letter to the Church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7). Where do you see the themes of “our mission” reflected in this letter? Now read the letter to Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11). How does this letter connect with the themes of “our mission?”