Introduction:
Nostradamus was an ancient psychic and seer who is said to have foretold world events many centuries before they occurred. In the late 1990’s leading up to the turn of the millennium some individuals, groups, and television programs made much of what they saw as Nostradamus’ proclamations that the world would end violently. They believed the coming of the year 2000 would usher in this horrendous calamity.
Many theories or philosophies have arisen over time about the future of this world. The theory of evolution maintains this world and its creatures are in an upward progression to new and better life forms and institutions. Humanists believe man is progressing to new and better forms of life as well. Some think the world will continue on as it always has and scoff at the world’s coming to an end. Some think the sun in our solar system will eventually burn out, which will bring life on our planet to an end. Others believe the world will be destroyed by an atomic holocaust.
God is the only one in the position to really know about the end of the world and the last things. He is the only God. There is none besides him. He has foretold the end of all things from the beginning. He has further declared that what he has said and planned he will indeed bring about and do. You can read this for yourself in Isaiah 46:8-11 below.
Isa. 46:8 “Remember this and become firm; Bring it back to mind, you sinners.
Isa. 46:9 Remember the former things from most ancient times: For I am God, and there is no one besides; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isa. 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will stand, And I will do all my good pleasure;’
Isa. 46:11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, From a far off land a man to carry out my purpose. Yes, I have spoken; yes, I will bring it to pass. I predestined it; yes, I will do it.”
God has made known in his Word the end things from the beginning. We who read, study, and believe what the Scriptures say are also able to know what will happen to this world and about the last things.
Focus:
The aim of this lesson is to learn about the end of the world and the last things which will occur. From the Scriptures we want to answer the questions of what will happen and when.
Searching the Scriptures:
1. From the most ancient times God has made known the coming of the end of the world and the day of judgment.
The following Old Testament passages declared the world would come to an end and there would be a terrible day of judgment.
Joel 2:30 And I will give wonders in the heavens and on the earth, Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
Joel 2:31 The sun will be turned to darkness, And the moon to blood, Before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.Mal. 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and all who do wickedness will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will not leave to them a root or a branch.”
Mal. 4:5 “Behold, I will send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”Ps. 96:13 . . . Before the Lord, for he is coming, For he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in his faithfulness.
Ps. 102:25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth; And the heavens are the work of your hands.
Ps. 102:26 They will perish, but you will remain; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing you will change them, and they will be changed.
Ps. 102:27 But you are the same, And your years will have no end.Isa. 34:4 And all the host of heaven will melt away, And the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll; And all their starry host will fall As a leaf falls from the vine, Or as a fig falls from the fig tree.
Isa. 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, Then look to the earth beneath; For the heavens will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment, And its inhabitants will die just like that; But my deliverance will be forever, And my salvation will never be broken.
Isa. 65:17 For behold I will create new heavens and a new earth, And the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
Isa. 66:22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so your descendants and your name will endure.”
The casting of the fallen angels into hell, the flood at Noah’s time, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah were all preludes to the coming destruction and judgment of the world. This is clarified in 2 Peter 2:4-9 below.
2Pet. 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but handed them over for judgment, holding them in chains of darkness in hell;
2Pet. 2:5 and if he did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2Pet. 2:6 and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example of what is about to happen to the ungodly;
2Pet. 2:7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the conduct of unprincipled men lacking sexual restraint
2Pet. 2:8 (for by what that righteous man saw and heard while dwelling among them he kept being tormented in his righteous soul by their lawless deeds) –
2Pet. 2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptation, but to preserve the unrighteous for the day of judgment while being punished.Read Matthew 24:15-22 below. These verses are woven into the signs Jesus gave his disciples to look for in answer to their question when Jerusalem would be destroyed and what were the signs of his coming and of the end of the age. The destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the world were related events. Thus the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD also served as a forewarning of the coming of the end.
Matt. 24:15“Therefore when you shall see the abomination that causes desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
Matt. 24:16 then let those in Judea flee into the mountains.
Matt. 24:17 Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take the things out of his house,
Matt. 24:18 and let him who is in the field not return back to take his clothes.
Matt. 24:19 And woe to those who are pregnant and who are nursing babies in those days!
Matt. 24:20 And pray that your flight should not occur during winter or on a Sabbath day.
Matt. 24:21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not taken place since the beginning of the world until the present, nor ever will take place.
Matt. 24:22 And if those days had not been shortened, no person would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”
2. Numerous individuals have tried to answer the question: “When will the last day occur?” They made their predictions and declarations, only to be put to shame when their respective date came and passed uneventful with the world still standing. The surest sign that someone is a false prophet is his declaring he knows when Christ will come and the world will end. This is so because God has made it clear that no one but himself knows the time when the world will end.
We do not know when the last day will occur. Only God knows this information. Even the angels do not possess this information. The Lord Jesus stated:
Matt. 25:13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Matt. 24:36 “About that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”1 Peter 1:10-12 informs us that the Old Testament prophets searched their own prophecies to find out the time and the circumstances the Holy Spirit was pointing to concerning, not only the coming grace and suffering of Christ, but of the glory that would follow. Not only did the prophets desire this insight, but we are told that even the angels long to look into these things and the coming glory. The angels’ longing for this knowledge clearly indicates that even they do not know the time of the occurrence or the circumstances of it.
1Pet. 1:10 Concerning this salvation the prophets, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searched and inquired carefully,
1Pet. 1:11 searching into what person or what time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow,
1Pet. 1:12 to whom it was revealed that they were not serving themselves but you with regard to these things, which things now have been proclaimed to you by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit who had been sent from heaven, into which things angels long to look.Since God knows when the last day will occur but he has not told us, we must conclude that this knowledge and information is unavailable to us. It remains hidden from us in the deep mystery of God and in his hidden will. What is more, God does not intend for us to know the time of the end. In so many words the Lord Jesus made it clear that that information is none of our business. As he told his disciples just before his ascension into heaven:
Acts 1:7 “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has set by his own authority.”
We have difficulty understanding the timing of the last things because of the nature of prophecy. In the following passages we will see that two different events were foretold. The impression that is given is that the two different events were connected and would occur together, when in fact the different events were not connected and their occurrences were millennia apart.
Joel foresaw the coming of Pentecost and the last day as occurring together. Yet Pentecost happened about 2,000 years ago and the last day still has not occurred.
Joel 2:28 “And it will come about afterward, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.
Joel 2:29 And even upon the male servants and upon the female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
Joel 2:30 And I will give wonders in the heavens and on the earth, Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
Joel 2:31 The sun will be turned to darkness, And the moon to blood, Before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.”Likewise, John the Baptist foretold in the same breath two different things that Christ would do as though they were connected. Christ would bring about the day of Pentecost and the day of the world’s judgment. Yet these events have been millennia apart.
Matt. 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But he who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not fit to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire;
Matt. 3:12 whose winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”In the opening verses of Matthew 24 the disciples asked Jesus about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age. In Matthew 24:15-22, which verses were quoted above, Jesus foretold the coming of both Jerusalem’s destruction and the world’s destruction. But his prophecy made no distinction between the time of their occurrences. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. The world still has not been destroyed.
We have difficulty understanding the timing of related events in the prophecies because the events, like the coming of the last day, are not put into their proper time frames. Centuries or millennia pass between their occurrences, yet in the prophecies their occurrences seem to coincide. Thus we cannot easily tell where the prophecy of one leaves off and the other begins, or whether what is said applies to both related events.
Both John 11:24 and 1 Corinthians 15:22-24 tell us something about the resurrection of the dead. When we put the information about the time of the resurrection stated in these passages together, we learn that the last day will come at the end of time.
John 11:24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.
1Cor. 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
1Cor. 15:23 But each in his own order; Christ the first-fruits, afterwards those who are Christ’s at his coming,
1Cor. 15:24 then the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God and the Father, when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power.In the previous Bible study on the signs of Jesus’ second coming Matthew 24:3 informs us that the disciples asked what would be the sign of his coming and of the end of the age. After providing them with the signs to look for in verses 4-14, Jesus said in verse 14, “and then the end will come.” So if we want to know when the end of the age and the last day will come, we should pay close attention to the signs which point to Jesus’ coming. When we see them, we know the end is near. Jesus said this in the following verses:
Matt. 24:32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
Matt. 24:33 In this way also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near – at the doors!”We can say with certainty that the last day is a specific day that will occur at some time. The following verses refer to it as a certain, specific day.
Joel 2:31 The sun will be turned to darkness, And the moon to blood, Before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
Hebr. 10:25 . . . not forsaking the meeting of ourselves together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and by so much the more as you see the day approaching.
Matt. 24:36 About that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Matt. 25:13 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Furthermore, based on Acts 1:7, we can say the last day is a specific, fixed date which God, who knows all things in advance, has set in eternity. This date is not for us to know. It rests within the hidden will of God.
Acts 1:7 And he (Jesus) said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has set by his own authority.”
The Seventh Day Adventists have had their own beliefs regarding the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. They began with William Miller. He interpreted the 2300 days in Daniel 8:14 as being 2300 years and concluded that 2300 years was the time to Christ’s second coming. Using 475 BC as the initial year, he calculated that Christ would return in 1843. When 1843 came and went, he revised his calculations to 1844. When that also proved to be wrong, he repudiated his calculations. The Seventh Day Adventists, who grew out of his followers, chose to believe that Christ returned, not to earth, but to the heavenly Holy of Holies to purify it and initiate an investigative judgment to determine which hearts were truly Christian. This obviously down plays and ignores the Lord’s omniscience to know all things. This investigation’s end would mark the end of “human probation.” Christ, they say, will then come from the Holy of Holies to annihilate the wicked and to resurrect his people, whom he will take to heaven for a millennium. Satan will be left desolate on earth. Christ will then destroy Satan, purify the earth with fire, and live with his 144,000 resurrected saints on the regenerated earth for eternity.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have also had their own beliefs regarding the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. Charles T. Russell, the founder of this sect, declared that Christ returned to this world, to the upper air, invisibly in 1874 to be the Lord over the earth until 1914. His apostles and dead members were then raised in the first resurrection to be with him in the air. He said a heaven on earth would begin in 1914 when Christ would return to his temple to become King of this world and rule over it through his people. Knorr, a later leader of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, identified this event in 1914 with World War I, which he said fulfilled Matthew 24 and that the witnesses understood this second coming and end did not mean a fiery end of the literal earth. Rather it meant the end of Satan’s uninterrupted rule over this present evil world and the time for Christ’s enthronement in heaven as King. The witnesses look for the battle of Armageddon. In the indefinite but near future Christ will lead his hosts, the witnesses apparently joining them, in the slaughter of all his enemies. They are waiting for a millennium. The survivors of Armageddon, they say, will multiply and populate the earth. Multitudes will be resurrected during a thousand year reign of Christ. This re-creation, as they call it, is the second resurrection and a following millennium is a probationary period which offers every person the chance to confess Jehovah. Those who remain impenitent will not be punished but annihilated, for they say, “a Creator that would torture His creatures eternally would be a fiend, and not a God of love.” Those impenitent are then annihilated a second time, this time never to be re-created. Immortality is supposedly twofold--heavenly and earthly. The little flock of 144,000 will be sustained to live forever by Christ’s heavenly presence and the rest of the millennial believers will live forever on the food of the new earth.
3. The last day will come suddenly at an unexpected time. The following verses state this.
Matt. 24:44 For this reason you also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will come.
1Ths. 5:1 Now concerning the times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for us to write you,
1Ths. 5:2 for you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
1Ths. 5:3 When people say, “Peace and safety,” then suddenly destruction will come upon them, like birth pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall absolutely not escape.2Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will disappear with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up.
4. The Bible informs us what the conditions in the world will be like when the last day comes. Life will be proceeding as it always has. Materialism, worldliness, and godlessness will characterize the people. People will be ignorant of what is about to happen to them. They will refuse to heed the warnings of God’s Word. They will feel carnally secure amid the scoffers and the world’s peace and safety.
Faith will be hard to find in the world. This being true, we should not concern ourselves so much with when the last day will come but with our being found in the faith.
Luke 18:8 “I tell you that he will carry out justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Matthew 24:37-39 tells us that conditions in the world up to the last day will be like those during the life of Noah leading up to the universal flood. Life will be proceeding normally without any unusual forewarnings. Materialism and worldliness will be prevailing. People will be eating and drinking, marrying, raising their families and giving their children into marriage. This will be their aim and concern in life. The life cycle will be continuing as usual. The people will be oblivious to the last day’s coming. They will know nothing of what is about to happen to them. They will have no foreknowledge of the coming of the end. The people will refuse to heed the warnings of the Word of God just as the people before the flood ignored the preaching of Noah.
Matt. 24:37 For just as the days of Noah were, so in this manner will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matt. 24:38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until that day Noah entered the ark,
Matt. 24:39 and they did not know what was coming until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.2 Timothy 3:1-5 reveals what conditions will be like in the home and society. The values and virtues which are the foundation of the family and society will have disappeared. The family and society will crumble in moral decay and collapse. Selfishness, greed, materialism, excessive preoccupation with good times and pleasure, egotism, abuse, brutality, treachery, immorality, disobedience, bitterness, resentment, slander--all will characterize the home and society. While some will outwardly appear godly people, identifying with religion, they will live their own lives without God’s controlling power and gospel influencing them.
2Tim. 3:1 Know this for sure! In the last days times that will be hard to bear will be at hand.
2Tim. 3:2 For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, braggarts, arrogant, having abusive mouths, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked,
2Tim. 3:3 without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, savage, not lovers of what is good,
2Tim. 3:4 betrayers, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
2Tim. 3:5 having an appearance of godliness although they have denied its power. Now turn away from these people!The signs of Jesus’ coming that we studied in the previous lesson, which will continue to the end of time, also enlighten us to what the conditions in the world will be leading up to the last day.
Within society there will be wars, rumors of wars, revolutions, riots, racial and ethnic hatred and fighting, chaos, breakdown in law and order, extreme wickedness of all kinds, general lovelessness and selfishness, materialism, hedonism, spiritual ignorance of what is coming, unpreparedness, false teachers and false religions with some even performing miracles.
Within the visible church there will be an abundance of false teachers and false doctrines which come from demons, the influence and power of the great Antichrist, persecution of the true Christians and church, many deserting the faith in the apostasy and turning against their Christian family members and friends, scoffers who mock the coming of the last day, while a small remnant of true Christians carry the gospel into all the world.
In nature there will be earthquakes, famines, droughts, epidemics and plagues of disease, fearful events on the land and the sea--hurricanes, typhoons, tidal waves, severe thunder storms, tornadoes, floods; in the heavens--eclipses of the sun and moon, falling stars, comets, meteor showers. These will cause fear and anxiety and perplexity among the people of the earth.
Jude 14-16 indicates that leading up to the last day the world will be characterized by thorough ungodliness. People will be grumblers, complainers, and faultfinders who love to boast of themselves and flatter others for their own advancement. They will love carrying out their evil desires.
Jude 14 Now Enoch also, the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied about these men, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with tens of thousands of his holy ones,
Jude 15 to carry out judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they committed in ungodliness, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Jude 16 These are grumblers, complainers, living according to their own lusts, and their mouth speaks arrogantly, flattering others for the sake of their own advantage.1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 tells us that up to the last day people will be feeling safe and secure. They will be living carnally secure in the understanding that they and their world are safe and at peace, so they have nothing to worry about, to be alarmed over, or fear.
1Ths. 5:1 Now concerning the times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for us to write you,
1Ths. 5:2 for you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
1Ths. 5:3 When people say, “Peace and safety,” then suddenly destruction will come upon them, like birth pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall absolutely not escape.2 Peter 3:3-9 tells us that scoffers will mock the coming of the end of the world, for they will see nothing but the world continuing as it always has in the past. They will deliberately forget, reject, and put out of mind, that the Word of God remains true and accomplishes what it says. His Word created the world from the waters, but then destroyed the world again in the waters of the flood, and has reserved this world for final destruction. Though from our human perspective many years have passed since the Lord said he would destroy the world, to the Lord these thousands of years are no more than a day or two. The only reason he has not yet destroyed the world is because he is being patient with us sinners and giving us time to repent of our sins, to believe in Jesus Christ, and to be saved from the horrible day which is coming.
2Pet. 3:3 Know this first of all, that in the last days scoffers will come with their scoffing, conducting themselves according to their own evil desires
2Pet. 3:4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue in this manner from the beginning of creation.”
2Pet. 3:5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was composed out of water and by water,
2Pet. 3:6 by means of which the world at that time was destroyed when it was flooded with water.
2Pet. 3:7 But the present heavens and the earth are being reserved by the same word for fire, being preserved for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
2Pet. 3:8 Now do not let this one thing escape your notice, beloved, that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day.
2Pet. 3:9 The Lord is not slow with his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, not desiring any to perish but all to come to repentance.While the conditions in the world will be as the preceding Bible passages in this section just described them, the last day will come upon the people of the world suddenly and unexpectedly, as we learned in the preceding section above.
5. The last day is called the end because on the last day the present heavens and earth will cease and God’s wrath against this sinful world will be completed.
The heavens and the earth, which were created in the beginning, will pass away. This will mark the end of this universe. Creation marked the beginning; destruction will mark the end. The heavens and the earth will cease to exist as they do now. They will perish and disappear forever. We are told this in the following passages.
Luke 21:33: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.”
2 Peter 3:10: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will disappear with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up.
Hebrews 1:10,11 which quotes Psalm 102:25,26: You, in the beginning, O Lord, laid the foundations of the earth, And the heavens are the works of your hands; They will perish, but you indeed remain continually, And they all will become worn out like a garment.
The Vision of the Seven Last Plagues reveals the final outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth and the enemies who oppose him and his church. This vision is introduced in Revelation 15:1. Its vision of the last day begins with Revelation 16:16,17. These verses tell us that the wrath of God is poured out on this sinful world on the last day and is then completed, finished, and comes to an end.
Rev. 16:16 And he gathered them together to the place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon.
Rev. 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
6. On the last day Christ will appear in connection with the destruction of the universe amid lightning flashes and peals of thunder. This world’s inhabitants will experience horrendous catastrophes and suffering. They will be terror stricken, seek to flee, and cry out for annihilation. Mourning the coming of their judgment, they will be bombarded with hail and curse God. Very quickly the dead will be raised and the believers on earth will be changed. All will be judged. The angels will cast the wicked into hell and gather the elect into heaven. The last day and the final judgment will not be a long, drawn out process. Rather it will happen quickly. We know these things from what follows.
What happened at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was not only a forewarning of the coming destruction on the last day but foreshadowed the events of the last day. The two events are interwoven and related in Jesus’ prophecy. What the Jews of Jerusalem experienced in the destruction of Jerusalem foreshadowed what the people of this world will experience on the last day. The world’s population will see and experience terrible catastrophes and suffering that surpasses our imagination. Look at what the following passages state.
Matt. 24:15 “Therefore when you shall see the abomination that causes desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
Matt. 24:16 then let those in Judea flee into the mountains.
Matt. 24:17 Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take the things out of his house,
Matt. 24:18 and let him who is in the field not return back to take his clothes.
Matt. 24:19 And woe to those who are pregnant and who are nursing babies in those days!
Matt. 24:20 And pray that your flight should not occur during winter or on a Sabbath day.
Matt. 24:21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not taken place since the beginning of the world until the present, nor ever will take place.
Matt. 24:22 And if those days had not been shortened, no person would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”Luke 19:41 And when he approached (Jerusalem), after he saw the city he wept over it,
Luke 19:42 saying, “If you had known on this day, even you, the things necessary for peace – but now it has been hidden from your eyes.
Luke 19:43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will put up a rampart and will surround you and press in on you from every side,
Luke 19:44 and dash you to the ground and your children within your walls, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”Luke 21:20 “And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that her desolation is near.
Luke 21:21 Then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains, and let those within the city get out, and let those in the country sides not enter into the city,
Luke 21:22 because these are days of punishment in order that all things that have been written may be fulfilled.
Luke 21:23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great calamity upon the land and wrath for this people,
Luke 21:24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword and will be scattered as captives into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”The ancient historian Josephus recorded what happened at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Roman legions under Titus crushed the Jewish revolt and surrounded the city, laying siege to it after many had fled for refuge within its walls. Thousands died in an ensuing plague. The hundreds who tried to flee the city were captured by the Romans and crucified, as many as five hundred a day. Starvation was widespread and mothers ate their own children to stay alive. When the Romans occupied the city, the population was slaughtered. Over a million Jews died during the siege, falling to starvation, disease, crucifixion, or the sword. Another one hundred thousand were taken prisoners. The Romans set up their standards in the ruins of the city which they had burned and made sacrifices to their gods, thus fulfilling what Daniel had foretold would happen in Daniel 9:27 and 12:11, and which Jesus referred to in Matthew 24:15 and Luke 21:20.
The widespread catastrophes and suffering are described in the following verses. There will be flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, a severe earthquake. The sun will be darkened and turn black, ceasing to shine. The moon will turn blood red and will not give any light. The stars will fall from the sky and will look like they are plummeting to earth. The whole universe will fall apart, with the planets being shaken out of their orbits. The physical forces within nature will cease to function. The heavens will pass away with a deafening roar and in fire. The elements will melt in the terrific heat. The earth will be rocked by a gigantic global earthquake that will level mountains and sink islands. The earth will be demolished and flattened. Everything will be burned up by fire and consumed. The earth’s atmosphere, the sky, will recede and roll up like a scroll, disappearing.
Matt. 24:29 Now immediately after the tribulation of those days, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL FROM HEAVEN, AND THE POWERS OF THE HEAVENS WILL BE SHAKEN.
Rev. 6:12 And I looked when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood,
Rev. 6:13 and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, like a fig tree drops its late figs when shaken by a strong wind,
Rev. 6:14 and the heaven was split like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved from their places.Rev. 16:18 And there were lightning flashes and crashes and rolls of thunder, and a great earthquake occurred, such as has not occurred from the time when man came upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it – so severe.
Rev. 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And Babylon the great was called to remembrance before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the rage of his wrath.
Rev. 16:20 And every island vanished, and the mountains were not found.2Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will disappear with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up.
2Pet. 3:11 Because all these things will be destroyed in this manner, what sort of people ought you to be in a holy way of life and godliness,
2Pet. 3:12 while looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by being burned up and the elements will be melted by intense heat.The people living on the earth will be in anguish and perplexed. They will be trying to understand what is happening to their world as they see the oceans and seas rampage violently. When they see the universe falling apart, they will faint in terror and fear what is about to happen to them. They will try to run and hide to flee the wrath of God and his judgment. They will cry out to be annihilated rather than have to face his punishment.
Luke 21:25 And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and there will be upon the earth anguish of the nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and rolling waves,
Luke 21:26 people fainting from fear and expectation because of what is coming upon the inhabited earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.Rev. 6:15 And the kings of the earth and the great men and the military commanders and the rich and the mighty and every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
Rev. 6:16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,
Rev. 6:17 because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”Huge hailstones weighing about 100 pounds will fall on the people. Their last words will be curses against God as they refuse to repent even at the very end.
Rev. 16:21 And huge hailstones about a hundred pounds each fell out of heaven upon people. And the people blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, because the plague was extremely severe.
The world’s inhabitants will see Christ returning in the sky on the clouds with power and great glory with all his holy angels. From one end of the sky to the other he will be seen visibly by all. One part of the world will not be able to forewarn the other part of the world of his coming. All will see him sit on his heavenly throne in glory. They will mourn that their judgment has come. Meanwhile, the Christians will look up and rejoice in expectation of Jesus’ coming to bring them their glorious salvation in heaven.
Luke 17:24 For just as the lightning when it flashes from one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
Luke 21:27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Luke 21:28 Now when these things begin to occur, stand erect and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is drawing near.Matt. 24:27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matt. 24:30 And at that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the nations of the earth will mourn. And they will see the SON OF MAN COMING UPON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
Matt. 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the heavens to the other.”By the power of Jesus’ command all the dead will be raised at the same time. Everyone--those who are still living and those who are resurrected, will see Jesus with their own eyes. And the unbelievers will mourn for the day of their judgment has come. This is revealed in the following passages.
Dan. 12:2 And multitudes who are sleeping in the dust of the earth will awake, these to everlasting life, but those to disgrace and everlasting extreme hatred.
Acts 24:15 . . . having a hope in God, which even these men themselves embrace, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I indeed will raise him up on the last day.
John 5:28 Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in their graves will hear his voice
John 5:29 and will come out – those who have done good deeds to a resurrection of life, but those who have committed evil deeds to a resurrection of damnation.Rev. 1:7 BEHOLD! HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see him, even every one who pierced him, and all the nations of the earth will mourn because of him. So indeed it will be. Amen.
When Jesus returns in glory on the last day, he will come to judge the world and to bring salvation to the believers who wait for him.
Matt. 25:31 When the Son of Man shall come in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his throne of glory;
Matt. 25:32 and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, . . .From heaven the people will hear a loud command, the voice of an archangel, and the final trumpet call of God, which summons all from their graves in the great resurrection and all to stand before him for the judgment. All will be gathered before Jesus. His holy angels will then separate the wicked from the righteous by faith. The angels will cast the wicked into hell, the fiery furnace, but will gather the elect believers into heaven. The believers who are resurrected will join those believers who were still living on earth for the ascension into heaven. Together the angels will gather them up and all the believers will join the Lord in the air to be with him forever. This is made clear in the following passages.
Matt. 25:32 . . . and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
Matt. 25:33 and he will put the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.Matt. 13:40 Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
Matt. 13:41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all that causes sin and those who commit lawlessness,
Matt. 13:42 and they will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matt. 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Matt. 13:49 So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and separate the wicked from among the righteous,
Matt. 13:50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.Matt. 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the heavens to the other.
1Ths. 4:13 We do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who are asleep, so you do not grieve as the rest who have no hope.
1Ths. 4:14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
1Ths. 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are living, who remain until the coming of the Lord, shall absolutely not precede those who have fallen asleep.
1Ths. 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a cried out command, with a voice of an archangel, and with a trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
1Ths. 4:17 Then we who are living, who are remaining, will be carried away into the clouds at the same time with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
1Ths. 4:18 For this reason, encourage one another with these words.The measure by which all will be judged is whether the person believed the gospel of Jesus Christ or not. His faith, or the lack of it, will be determined by his works, which are his fruits of faith or his lack of them.
Mark 16:16 The one who believed and was baptized will be saved; but the one who did not believe will be condemned.
Rev. 20:11 And I saw a great white throne and him who was sitting upon it, from whose presence the earth and the heaven fled away, and a place was not found for them.
Rev. 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged in accordance with the things which were written in the books according to their deeds.
Rev. 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, each one according to their deeds.Matt. 16:27 For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will repay each person according to his deeds.
Matt. 25:31 “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his throne of glory;
Matt. 25:32 and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
Matt. 25:33 and he will put the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
Matt. 25:34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come! you who are the blessed ones of my Father, inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you from the beginning of the world.
Matt. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
Matt. 25:36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
Matt. 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and we fed you, or thirsty and we gave you a drink?
Matt. 25:38 And when did we see you a stranger and we invited you in, or naked and we clothed you?
Matt. 25:39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and we came to you?’
Matt. 25:40 And answering, the King will say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, as much as you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Matt. 25:41Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been kept in readiness for the devil and his angels.
Matt. 25:42 For I was hungry and you did not give me anything to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me a drink,
Matt. 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
Matt. 25:44 Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and we did not help you?’
Matt. 25:45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, as much as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’
Matt. 25:46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”Not much time will elapse when all the above occur on the last day. Christ’s coming, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment, and the destruction of the world coincide. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 indicates the Lord will come down from heaven with a loud command and the voice of an archangel and the trumpet call of God and the dead will be raised. 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 indicate in a flash, within the blinking of an eye, the believers who are living will be changed to immortality and the dead will be raised imperishable. Matthew 24:27,29-31 indicate at the time the heavenly bodies go dark and are destroyed Christ will be seen in the sky and will appear like the lightning which flashes across the sky. He then with the loud trumpet call will send his angels to gather his elect from the world.
7. There are two different sets of passages which depict what will happen to the heavens and the earth on the last day.
The first set of following passages state the heavens and the earth as we now know them will pass away. They will perish and cease to exist. God will create a new heaven and earth, which we are to look forward to.
Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.
Ps. 102:25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth; And the heavens are the work of your hands.
Ps. 102:26 They will perish, but you will remain; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing you will change them, and they will be changed.Isa. 65:17 For behold I will create new heavens and a new earth, And the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
Isa. 66:22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so your descendants and your name will endure.”
2Pet. 3:13 But according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
Rev. 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea exists no longer.
The second set of following passages state the heavens and the earth will be transformed and changed in their form.
Ps. 102:25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth; And the heavens are the work of your hands.
Ps. 102:26 They will perish, but you will remain; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing you will change them, and they will be changed.
Ps. 102:27 But you are the same, And your years will have no end.Hebr. 1:10 YOU, IN THE BEGINNING, O LORD, LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;
Hebr. 1:11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU INDEED REMAIN CONTINUALLY, AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME WORN OUT LIKE A GARMENT.
Hebr. 1:12 AND LIKE A CLOAK YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP, LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED; BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.The next passage in this second set states the creation will be liberated from its present corruption because of sin and brought into the glory to come. They will not cease but be changed in their form and substance.
Rom. 8:21 . . . that the creation itself also will be freed from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
The last passage in this second set states the form of this present creation is passing away, not the creation itself. Its form will be transformed and changed.
1Cor. 7:31 . . . and those who make use of the world as though not making full use of it; for the outward form of this world is passing away.
Thus there are two theological opinions based on the Scriptures about what will happen on the last day to the heavens and the earth. Based on the first set of passages one opinion is that the present heavens and earth will be annihilated and cease to exist. Based on the second set of passages the second opinion is that the heavens and the earth will not be annihilated but will be transformed in their substance and changed in their form. The writer of this Bible study favors the opinion that the present heavens and earth will not be annihilated but will be transformed.
2 Peter 3:6,7 below is especially interesting. The verses state that the world was destroyed by the waters of the flood at the time of Noah. We know the flood waters did not annihilate the world. This being true, destruction is not necessarily synonymous with annihilation. As the flood changed the form of the world, this writer believes the fire of the last day will change the form of the heavens and the earth. This world can perish in its present condition and form, without necessarily perishing in its substance, as happened in the flood. Without being annihilated it can be renewed in its form, condition, size, and shape, which Hebrews 1:12 and Psalm 102:27 and 1 Corinthians 7:31 seem to indicate.
2Pet. 3:6 . . . by means of which the world at that time was destroyed when it was flooded with water.
2Pet. 3:7 But the present heavens and the earth are being reserved by the same word for fire, being preserved for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.The bottom line, however, is we cannot be certain whether the heavens will be annihilated and perish or whether they will be transformed and changed in form and substance. Only the last day will reveal what will happen to them.
8. The end of the world will serve several purposes on the last day.
The destruction of the world on the last day will vindicate our Lord’s unchangeable, truthful Word. Though scoffers ridicule God’s promise to destroy the world, the destruction of the world will show God’s Word was truthful and was carried out.
2Pet. 3:3 Know this first of all, that in the last days scoffers will come with their scoffing, conducting themselves according to their own evil desires
2Pet. 3:4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue in this manner from the beginning of creation.”Num. 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; Nor a son of man that he should be sorry. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not carry it out?
Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.
The destruction of the world on the last day will reveal God’s omnipotence and holy will.
Ps. 115:3 Now our God is in heaven, he does all that he desires.
On the last day the righteous holiness of God and his justice will be revealed when he comes to judge the world.
Ps. 5:4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; No evil dwells with you.
Ps. 5:5 No braggarts will stand before your eyes; You hate all workers of iniquity.
Ps. 5:6 You destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord detests the man of bloodshed and deceit.Lev. 19:2 “Speak to all the assembly of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, because I the Lord your God am holy.’”
1Pet. 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God; and if it begins first with us, what is the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
1Pet. 4:18 AND IF THE RIGHTEOUS IS HARDLY SAVED, AT WHICH PLACE WILL THE UNGODLY MAN AND SINNER APPEAR?2Pet. 2:9 . . . then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptation, but to preserve the unrighteous for the day of judgment while being punished.
Rom. 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you also, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
2Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, in order that each one may receive the things according to which he had done in the body, whether good or bad.
Rev. 6:9 And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony which they held fast.
Rev. 6:10 And they cried out in a loud voice, saying, “ How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”The last day will serve the purpose of our Lord’s grace and mercy bringing us our salvation, which will then be revealed and verified. The believers will be raised to eternal life and their bodies will be glorified with Christ’s glory.
Hebr. 9:28 . . . so also Christ, who was offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear for a second time apart from sin to those who eagerly await him for salvation.
Phil. 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Phil. 3:21 who will transform our lowly body into conformity with his glorious body according to the power that enables him to even subject all things to himself.1Cor. 15:50 Now this I affirm, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
1Cor. 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
1Cor. 15:52 in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we indeed will be changed.
1Cor. 15:53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Cor. 15:54 Then when this perishable will have put on the imperishable and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the statement that is written: “DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP in victory.
1Cor. 15:55 O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”
1Cor. 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
1Cor. 15:57 but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.The last day will serve the purpose of bringing about the glorification of our God and Savior by all.
Rom. 14:11 For it is written, “ ’As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.’ ”
Rev. 5:13 And I heard every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, saying, “To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!”
Phil. 2:9 For this reason also God exalted him to the highest place and gave to him the name that is above every name,
Phil. 2:10 in order that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Phil. 2:11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
9. The Bible urges us to have the following attitudes toward the coming of the last day:
The Bible urges us to be watchful and alert, because the end is near. It is the last hour. The apostles thought the last day could possibly come while they were living. Consider how much closer the coming of that day is to us.
Matt. 24:42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
Matt. 24:43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what guard watch the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have permitted his house to be broken into.
Matt. 24:44 For this reason you also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will come.”Matt. 25:13 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Acts 20:31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease admonishing each one with tears.
1Cor. 16:13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Col. 4:2 Be busily engaged in prayer, being on the alert in it with thanksgiving, . . .
1Ths. 5:6 . . . so consequently let us not sleep like the rest, but let us be on the alert and self-controlled.
1Pet. 4:7 The end of all things is near. Therefore, be reasonable and self-controlled for prayers.
1Cor. 7:29 But this I say, brothers, the time is short; so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none, . . .
James 5:8 You also, you be patient; strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near.
1John 2:18 Little children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. From this fact we know that it is the last hour.
The Bible urges us to wait eagerly for the coming of the last day, to rejoice that the day is at hand, and to look up with joyous anticipation when we see Christ coming in his glory.
Rom. 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this time now are not worthy to be compared to the glory about to be revealed to us.
Rom. 8:23 . . . and not only this, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, also groan within ourselves, while we eagerly await our adoption of sons – the redemption of our body.
Phil. 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice!
Phil. 4:5 Let your gentleness be known to all people. The Lord is near.Luke 21:28 Now when these things begin to occur, stand erect and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is drawing near.
10. A millennium will not take place as so many believe it will.
An explanation of millennialism, which is also called chiliasm, follows:
A millennium is a thousand years. Millennialism embraces the hope of a future golden age of unprecedented prosperity and peace on earth before the end of the world. Christ with his Christian people, including the risen martyrs, are supposed to rule visibly here on earth for a thousand years. The ungodly and wicked will be suppressed. The church of God and his people will enjoy a heaven on earth throughout this period until the end. There are varieties of millennialism. The most fantastic variety expects in addition to spiritual blessings carnal delights and pleasures during Christ’s thousand year reign with his church on earth after a universal conversion of the Jews and the fall of Antichrist. This reign will also control secular matters. This variety of millennialism espouses two future visible returns of Christ and two resurrections of the dead, whether or not the kingdom of Christ is established in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. A more subtle variety of millennialism does not teach two visible returns of Christ in the future or two resurrections of the dead but holds the hope of better times for the church on earth before the world ends. Millennial teachers have different opinions in the fundamental ideas of millennialism.
Millennialism is not taught in the Bible. The Bible explains the verses which are supposed to uphold the millennial teaching as describing in earthly terms the spiritual glory and blessings of the kingdom of God and the New Testament Church through the preaching and the spread of the gospel of Christ. Amos 9:11-15, Isaiah 2:2-4, Isaiah 11:1-9, Zechariah 9:9-10 are examples of such passages.
Though there is a divergence of opinions among those who espouse millennialism, there are some commonly held elements. The late Professor Gawrisch of the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in his series of lectures entitled “Eschatological Prophecies and Current Misinterpretations” listed them as follows:
A final period of tribulation and confusion
The appearance of Elijah as the forerunner of the Messiah
The appearance of the Messiah for the overthrow of his opponents
A final attack on the Messiah and his followers by his enemies
The destruction of the Messiah’s adversaries through a divine intervention
The restoration of Jerusalem
The return of the dispersed Israelites
A worldwide kingdom of glory with Jerusalem as its center
The resurrection of former generations of Israelites to participate in this kingdom
The renewal of the world
The general resurrection
The final judgmentThere are basically two kinds of millennialism: premillennialism and postmillennialism. Premillennialism is the belief that Christ will return before the millennium and inaugurate it. Postmillennialism is the belief Christ will return at the end of the thousand years of Christian world domination and peace.
A brief history of millennialism follows:
The millennialism so popular among so many within the visible church today is not new. The hope of a millennium on earth began with the Jews during the intertestamental period before the coming of Christ. The majority of Jews ignored the messianic prophecies which foretold the coming of a suffering servant and priest. Those Jews emphasized those prophecies which spoke of the Christ coming as a victorious, conquering king. Those prophecies which held out the hope of the salvation, peace, and glory in the coming Christ’s spiritual kingdom of grace they misinterpreted as meaning there would be a restoration of Israel as a political power on earth as it had been at the time of David and the rising of a righteous, prosperous society on earth. The Jews became more and more millennial, dreaming of a prosperity and paradise on earth, which would last for a thousand years. They understood that the coming of Christ meant the coming of a visible kingdom on earth, which would fulfill their every carnal, materialistic desire and dream. They would enjoy unprecedented abundance, peace, and pleasure as God’s people. Their expectations were recorded in the Jewish apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. For example:
I Enoch 10:18-11:2 states: “Then shall the whole earth be tilled in righteousness and shall be planted with trees and be full of blessing. And all desirable trees shall be planted on it, and they shall plant vines on it: and the vine which they plant thereon shall yield wine in abundance, and as for all the seed which is sown thereon each measure (of it) shall bear a thousand, and each measure of olives shall yield ten presses of oil...And all the children of men shall become righteous, and all nations shall offer adoration and shall praise Me, and all shall worship Me. And the earth shall be cleansed from all defilement and from all sin, and from all punishment, and from all torment...And truth and peace shall be associated together throughout all the days of the world and throughout all generations of men.”
II Baruch 29:5-30:1 states: “The earth shall yield its fruit ten thousandfold and on each vine there shall be a thousand branches, and each branch shall produce a thousand clusters, and each cluster produce a thousand grapes, and each grape produce a cor (about 120 gallons) of wine. And those who have hungered shall rejoice; moreover, they shall behold marvels every day....And it shall come to pass at the self-same time that the treasury of manna shall again descend from on high, and they shall eat of it in those years, because these are they who have come to the consummation of time. And it shall come to pass after these things, when the time of the advent of the Messiah is fulfilled, that He shall return in glory.”
By the time of Christ’s birth only a few of the Jews were looking for the true redemption of Israel, such as Simeon and Anna; see Luke 2:25-32 & 36-38. Jesus’ disciples also looked for the coming of this visible kingdom of God on earth. Even up to the time of his ascension into heaven they were expecting the appearance of this millennial kingdom of God on earth; see Acts 1:6. Failing to understand the prophecies of the Christ who would come as the suffering servant and priest to redeem the sinners of the world, and looking only for the appearance of a great, victorious king who would restore Israel’s prosperity and power, the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant when he told them of his coming suffering and death; see Matthew 17:22,23; Luke 9:44,45 & 18:31-34; Mark 9:30-32. His suffering and death must have seemed out of place to the disciples and impossible to their concept of what the Christ would be and accomplish. Peter went so far as to even try to prevent Jesus from going to Jerusalem to suffer; see Matthew 16:21-23.
The dream and the hope of this coming millennium continued on after Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Indeed, the apostolic church was even troubled by false teachers who claimed Christ had come already at one point in the first century but that those early Christians had missed his coming; see 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3. After the death of the apostles the hope of the millennium lived on in parts of the early church, but it was certainly not a prevailing opinion. George Murray, a church historian and millennialist himself, was quoted by Professor Gawrisch as saying, that while premillennialism was prevalent in the church his remarks to that point are “not to be understood as if chiliasm (millennialism) had ever formed a part of the general creed of the church. D. H. Kromminga, a Reformed professor and premillennialist, was also quoted as saying, “Chiliasm never found creedal expression or approbation in the ancient church.” The writings of the Apostolic Fathers--Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Papias, Ignatius, Barnabus, the anonymous Shepherd of Hermas, and the Didache, do not reveal millennialism was prevalent in the post-apostolic church. Dr. Albertus Peiters, a church historian, was quoted as having written in 1958, “So far as the available evidence goes, there is no ground for the assertion that millennialism was prevalent in the church during the sub-apostolic period, ending with the year 150 AD. Not only was there very little of it, so far as the literature indicates, but what little there was can be traced definitely to non-Christian Jewish apocalyptic sources.” Millennialism is found in the writings of Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, who lived from 70-155 AD, of whom the ancient church historian Eusebius said his beliefs were “rather too fabulous” and he “seems to have imagined (them), as if they were authorized by apostolic narrations.” Millennialism was also advanced by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Montanus, and Lactantius. It was strongly opposed by Jerome (331-420) and Augustine (354-430). Martin Luther treated it as heresy. His sermon of 1539 was quoted as stating, “This false notion is lodged not only in the apostles (Acts 1:6), but also in the chiliasts, Valentinians, and Tertullians, who have played the fool with the idea that before Judgment Day the Christians alone will possess the earth and that there will be no ungodly.” Among those of Martin Luther’s day who held millennialistic dreams were Carlstadt, Zwingli, the Anabaptists, the Zwickau prophets, Thomas Muenzer, and others. The Mennonites, who were Anabaptists, held to the millennial teachings. And millennial teachings have been upheld by some Lutheran theologians of the 1800’s and within the past Iowa Synod, the American Lutheran Church, and the Lutheran Church of America, which through mergers over the years have led to the present Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The Scofield Bible is thoroughly millennialistic and has greatly contributed to the popularity of millennialism today. The millennial dream is found within Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, as it is among the Christian Fundamentalists also, who are found in the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Pentecostal churches. It has been espoused by various popular evangelists and writers like Hal Lindsey also.
Though the church did not accept millennialism as a whole, it did maintain a healthy expectation that Christ could appear in his glory almost any day. See 1 Peter 4:7 and the numerous passages which were quoted under #9 above.
Jesus dealt with this millennial conception of the kingdom of God, as we will now see below.
The Jews looked for the appearance of the millennial kingdom of God on earth. They asked when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus told them the kingdom of God did not come as a visible kingdom on earth but it came invisibly as a spiritual kingdom within the hearts of God’s people, as recorded in Luke 17:20,21.
Luke 17:20 Now, after he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation,
Luke 17:21 nor will they say, ‘Behold, here it is,’ or, ‘Behold, there it is,’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”Those Jews had asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. After telling them the preceding, Jesus told his disciples in Luke 17:22-25 below that after his ascension into heaven they would wish to see him and his kingdom. They would not see him here or there on earth, however, because they would not see the kingdom of God that he would bring until they saw him appear visibly across the heavens, which earlier passages in this study make clear will not happen until the last day.
Luke 17:22 And he said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
Luke 17:23 And they will say to you, ‘Behold, there he is!’ or, ‘Behold, here he is!’ Do not depart nor run after them.
Luke 17:24 For just as the lightning when it flashes from one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
Luke 17:25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.In Luke 17:26-29 below Jesus compared his bringing the kingdom of God to the destruction of the earth brought on by the Noahacian flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Both events prefigured the destruction of the world at the last day and what would happen when Christ Jesus would appear visibly to bring the kingdom of God. What Jesus said makes it clear that the kingdom of God will come suddenly and unexpectedly when the world is destroyed at the last day.
Luke 17:26 “And just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
Luke 17:27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:28 It was the same as in the days of Lot; they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;
Luke 17:29 but that day when Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”Thus the answer Jesus gave to the Jews’ question of when the kingdom of God would come does not leave room for a thousand year reign of his on earth prior to the destruction of the world on the last day.
Earlier in this study Matthew 24:36 & 25:13 told us that Jesus said no one, not even the angels in heaven, know the time when the last day would come. If there were a millennial kingdom preceding the last day of destruction and judgment, as many suppose, people could then calculate and know when the last day would occur. Since Jesus said no one knows that day or hour, it is impossible for a thousand year millennium to take place before the last day. The millennium is an impossibility.
Jesus told Pilate in John 18:36 below that his kingdom was not of this world. Jesus’ statement does not allow an earthly kingdom for a thousand years.
John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.”
An earlier part of this study discussed what the conditions in the world will be up to the time of the last day when Christ and the kingdom of glory come. Those conditions do not allow for a millennial kingdom of unsurpassed peace, righteousness, abundance, and the rule of the church over all things on earth. Rather the opposite is true. We Christians will experience tribulations on earth, not have a heavenly life on earth, before we see the glory of the kingdom of God. Consider what Acts 14:22 states.
Acts 14:22 . . . strengthening the souls of the disciples by encouraging them to persevere in the faith, and that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.
When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the last time to be crucified, those who were following him did not expect his crucifixion but that the millennial kingdom of God would appear at once. As soon as he entered the city they expected the beginning of the thousand year reign of Christ and of Israel and the visible kingdom of God to appear. Luke 19:11 clarifies this.
Luke 19:11 Now while they were listening to these things, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.
Because his followers expected the kingdom of God to appear when he entered Jerusalem, Jesus told them the Parable of the Ten Minas. See Luke 19:12-27 below. His parable clarified he would leave to be made king in heaven, receive his kingdom, and then return. While he was gone his disciples should be good stewards of what he entrusted to them. When he returned he would come in judgment, at which time his disciples would have to give an account of what they had done during his absence. His enemies, the Jews, who did not want him for their king, he would judge, kill, and condemn to hell. These points, which Jesus made because his followers were expecting the millennial kingdom of God to appear in Jerusalem, do not allow for his coming to establish a thousand year millennial kingdom before the end. His points clarify that when he does come and bring the kingdom of God it will be a time of judgment and retribution.
Luke 19:12 So he said, “A certain nobleman traveled to a far away country to receive a kingdom for himself, and to return.
Luke 19:13 Then when he called ten of his slaves, he gave to them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’
Luke 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and they sent ambassadors after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be king over us.’
Luke 19:15 And it came to pass when he returned after receiving the kingdom that he said to summon to him those slaves to whom he had given the money, in order that he may learn what they had gained with their business undertaking.
Luke 19:16 The first slave arrived, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten additional minas.’
Luke 19:17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you were faithful in a very small matter, have authority over ten cities.’
Luke 19:18 And the second slave came, saying, ‘Your mina, Master, has made five minas.’
Luke 19:19 Then he said also to this slave, ‘And you be over five cities.’
Luke 19:20 And another came, saying, ‘Master, behold your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief;
Luke 19:21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man. You take up what you did not store up, and you reap what you did not sow.’
Luke 19:22 He said to him, ‘By your mouth’s words I will judge you, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I am indeed an exacting man, taking up what I did not store up and reaping what I did not sow?
Luke 19:23 And why did you not put my money in the bank? And when I came I would have collected it with interest.’
Luke 19:24 And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
Luke 19:25 And they said to him, ‘Master, he already has ten minas.’
Luke 19:26 He answered, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
Luke 19:27 However, bring here those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them and strike them down before me.’ ”Jesus taught there will be one general resurrection of the dead both of the righteous by faith and the wicked. At that time all will be judged. He will come to raise his believers so they can reign with him in heaven. Jesus did not teach that there would be two resurrections of the dead. He did not say the purpose of his coming would be to first raise his believers, so they can reign with him on earth for a thousand years before judgment day, and that he would then appear a second time to raise the rest of the dead for their judgment. The following verses clarify this.
John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I, I will raise him up on the last day.
John 5:28 Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in their graves will hear his voice
John 5:29 and will come out – those who have done good deeds to a resurrection of life, but those who have committed evil deeds to a resurrection of damnation.1Ths. 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a cried out command, with a voice of an archangel, and with a trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
1Ths. 4:17 Then we who are living, who are remaining, will be carried away into the clouds at the same time with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.Philippians 3:20,21 clarify that our citizenship is in heaven. In heaven we will reign with Jesus in glory, not on earth.
Phil. 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Phil. 3:21 who will transform our lowly body into conformity with his glorious body according to the power that enables him to even subject all things to himself.Millennialism portrays those who will enjoy the kingdom of God will have an abundance of earthly prosperity. This dream is very carnal and materialistic in nature. Matthew 5:3, on the other hand, states that those who will enjoy the kingdom of God are poor in spirit, unconcerned about what they have on earth.
Matt. 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Millennialism upholds two advents of Christ: one to initiate the millennial kingdom on earth, the other to initiate the day of judgment. Scripture speaks of two advents of Christ. Hebrews 9:28 states that he came once to redeem us and that he will come a second time to bring us our heavenly salvation. No mention is made of an advent to usher in a millennial kingdom on earth.
Hebr. 9:28 . . . so also Christ, who was offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear for a second time apart from sin to those who eagerly await him for salvation.
The Lutheran Confessions state this about the millennium in the Augsburg Confession, Article XVII: (We) “condemn also others, who are now spreading certain Jewish opinions, that before the resurrection of the dead the godly shall take possession of the kingdom of the world, the ungodly being everywhere suppressed.”
Applying the Scriptures:
1. Past television programs highlighting the prognostications of psychics have broadcast the message that unless the human race changes its ways, this world will end in a terrible catastrophe. What do you think of this message in light of our preceding study of the Scriptures? Is it true that the fate of the world depends upon what the human race does or does not do?
2. Evaluate the evolutionary theory’s belief that this world is progressing upward to new heights of life and development. The world is not in a gradual decline and winding down to its eventual end.
3. Over the years many have believed, including Christian groups, that nuclear war will bring about the destruction of this world. What do you think of this in light of our preceding study? Will nuclear war be the cause of this world’s destruction?
4. The year 2000 was chosen by some to be the year of the end. What do you think about this and those who declared this?
5. Evaluate the millennial hope and dream from a scriptural standpoint. Does it promote a carnal dream for life on earth or a spiritual hope for a life with the Lord in heaven? Does millennialism direct the faith of Christians earthward or heavenward?
6. As a follow up to the above question, is the hope of millennialism materialistic or spiritualistic?
7. Many believe a rapture will take place seven years before Christ returns to the earth. Christian believers will be whisked off the face of the earth to join Christ in heaven and to be spared from the following horrible seven years of tribulation, during which time the Antichrist and False Prophet will rule. These seven years are called the Great Tribulation of pestilence, bloodshed, and starvation. Is this rapture a possibility? Why or why not?
8. We looked at the conditions that would exist at the time of the coming of the last day. How do those conditions, like materialism, compare to conditions today?
9. To what extent does the following reflect our feelings? “Each new day we see is just like the day before it. The disturbances we see in the world continue without let up, and each day brings more suffering, pain, and hardship. And our sinful nature daily rears up its ugly head to stir up strife and more trouble and wickedness, all of which we are sick of. Will this never end? How we yearn for our heavenly dwelling to see righteousness and love prevail and the wickedness and tribulations end. But we are not left here without hope. The last day is soon coming when our Lord will act to end this evil world of tribulations and to free us from its hardships. With hope we look for what great things our Lord will yet do on the last day for us who believe in him.”