The End is Coming - The Big Picture

This old world is dying, not from any other reason than the sin of man. Man's sin brought death to the world (Romans 5:12). Sin broke man’s fellowship with God. God has since allowed the whole of creation to suffer the effects of sin (Romans 8:19-22), but He has always had a better plan that is just as unexpected and just as mysterious as how He sent His Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for mankind (Jeremiah 29:11). His plan goes beyond forgiveness.

In His plan, God the Father is thinking ahead for a bride for His Son (Ephesians 5:25-32). The New Jerusalem shall be the Beulah land (married land, (Isaiah 62:4)) – a place for the bride and the Groom to live forever in the presence of the Father. The bride is the redeemed church in the New Jerusalem, who as individuals recognized their sin, and believed on Jesus’ “once-for-all” perfect payment and ultimate act of love for fallen man. Christians have been bought out of the grip of death and evil. All Christians are the servants of the living God, and are currently displaced citizens of heaven, eagerly awaiting our Hero’s return.

Just imagine a huge mural hundreds of feet long and fifty feet tall. If you were right up close to it, what you saw might not make any sense at all. There’s a horse down here; a cloud up there. But if you backed up enough to see the whole thing, then you could see the story the mural tells from beginning to end. Seeing the Big Picture is the starting point for thinking about the end times. The Tree of Life was there in the Garden, and it will again be there in the New Jerusalem in the New Earth in the sunless New Heavens. God never changed His mind about it. Man would live forever in his sins if he ate it after sinning in the garden. But in that place we will be holy and able to eat of its fruit. His salvation has been woven throughout our history for our good.

Most people are very curious about what is going to happen in the future. This is the part of prophecy that still hasn’t happened yet, and it is exciting just knowing a piece of the future. Some people have spent their entire lives being extra sensitive to the end signs and whether or not Armageddon is right around the corner. I absolutely do think it is good to study and know about what is going to happen in the future, but it is not essential to salvation (1 Corinthians 13:2). It is for our comfort (1 Thessalonians 4:18) and encouragement, so when times are tough we can keep everything in perspective. If we don’t understand something, it’s okay, but be encouraged by what you do know. Jesus has not forgotten His own. He is coming back, and He has already overcome.

Jesus introduces Himself to John in the Revelation saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 1:8) In other words, He is in control, has always been in control, and will finish everything His way. The Tribulation and the Antichrist and the Battle of Armageddon are all “done deals” in His book. None of those things are a threat to Christ’s kingdom because HE WON EVERYTHING when He rose from the dead!

Since the beginning of man, there has been a spiritual battle going on between Satan and God the Father. The land of the living is the battleground for this spiritual battle. It’s not animals or plants or land, but it is the souls of people that are fought for (Ezekiel 18:4 & 13:18). Satan has never ceased luring men to follow his destructive path. “The End” includes the end of Satan and his defeat and his treasured weapon, Death. Satan’s capture ends the Great Tribulation, and Christ will repair the world (Romans 8:19-22; Isaiah 2:4 & 11:6-10) and be High King for 1000 years (Revelation 20:4). When looking from one end of the Big Picture to the other, remember God has never forgotten His intentions of holy fellowship with pure-hearted men and women with sin nowhere to be found. Yes, this world and universe will end (Revelation 21:1), but what is coming is so much better! NO more sin, NO more death, no more evil. “Game Over” for the devil and death (Revelation 20:10,14). But for God’s redeemed people, all things are made new (Revelation 21:5).

Time is running out for this earth, this universe, and for people bound in chains of sin and death. But knowing this gives God’s redeemed people more reason to invest in what is eternal and spiritual (Matthew 6:19-20). The days leading up to the Tribulation will be marked by overwhelming self-centeredness, hatred, and godlessness in the world (2 Timothy 3:1-4). Yearning for God’s truth and looking forward to His glorious appearing, we will survive the tough times and persecutions. In such times our God and Savior will be with us, working His will through us and giving us unexplainable peace and joy. Take comfort that the end is part of God's plan, just like the beginning.

Next time's Blog: Dark Horizon - What will the world be like before Christ's return?


--Johnie

The End is Coming - Preface

The end is approaching quickly. Is it from global warming? Will it be from a giant meteor causing atmospheric chaos? What about a "Mega-Earthquake" that changes every mountain range, and every shoreline? Well, it is one day closer with each passing sunset, but it seems so far away. People have been talking about for thousands of years, but what is it the end of? When I say "The End" I am referring to the "end times" as they are described in the Bible. It includes the time period immediately before the Return of Christ, and then His Return. I used to think that when Christ returned, that that would be the end of the earth. The dreaded "End of the World". I want us to walk through the scriptures that deal mainly with seven topics, which will be seven separate blogs.

1. The Big Picture - A basic outline discussing the events before the Tribulation through to the new heaven and new earth.


2. Dark Horizon - What will the world be like before Christ's return?


3. The Coming Storm - The Antichrist's world and the Tribulation.


4. The Rapture - The dead in Christ rise first, and then the living Christians meet Christ in the air.


5. The Millennium Kingdom - Christ reigns as supreme King on this earth for 1000 years.


6. The Last Deception - Satan is released from his prison and Gog and Magog are deceived.


7. All Things New - The marriage of Christ and the Church, a New Heaven, a New Earth, and the New Jerusalem.

Although it is kind of cheesy, I wanted seven topics because of the great emphasis the scripture puts on the number "7". It is the number of perfection. I'm not claiming that anything's particularly special about the series, but I will keep it at seven just because....mostly because I need boundaries.

I feel I have to also add that I am not looking for trouble by starting this series. I know that some people have very strong feelings - very strong - about "being right" when it comes to these topics. Some folks are hard core, no holds barred, when it comes to the timing of the rapture and anything pertaining to The End. (i.e. - pre-trib. rapture, post-trib. rapture, pre-millennialism, post-millennialism, etc..., etc...) I know that my thoughts on the subject have changed over the years, and I'm not nearly as dogmatic as I used to be. We'll just stick with the scriptures. The Bible was given to us as a love letter from our Maker and Saviour, who has overlooked so many things in each one of us. In all the things that are disputable, I hope to approach the subject ready to learn, overlooking differences and instead keep asking God for understanding. Jesus is coming soon. Let's be ready.

--Johnie

June 8, 2009

This world will not last. Invest in the eternal. God likes us. Let's let that encourage us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.


Johnie

Demonic Distortions

Our enemy is Satan, not people. Let me just point that out before I go any further. What I'm about to say will offend some people, but the truth always does. And honestly, I am saying it because the truth is the standard that we are measured against. The topic: How Satan distorts and uglifies the good thing called marriage that God established.

I have read the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and they are quite thoughtful and enlightening. Two demons are corresponding about how to sucker people into falling into Satan's traps. I don't know what demons really say to each other, but I have seen a pattern lately of how Satan is working in the area of marriage. Men and women who reject loving the opposite gender have been fighting for the ability for a long time to get gay marriage legal at least in the law of the land. However at the same time, there are more and more young men and women who are choosing to live together and not get married. Satan is crafty! Satan can convince a a man and a woman that God intended for marriage to reject His holy ways, while at the same time tricking people caught up in the sin of homosexuality that they deserve to get married. Both things dishonor God. Both things are rebellion against His holiness.

Now I must say that there are a lot of folks who are seeking to please God. There are young men and women that are waiting til they are married to be physically intimate. There are homosexuals who fight their urges and reject that "lifestyle". They deserve our encouragement and support.

I have heard it said, "I was born gay" or "God made me this way." I honestly think the first answer could be yes. We all struggle with sin. Sin is passed down to us from our fathers and it is in us at birth. If it were possible to raise a child without any influence of sin around them, they would still sin. And that sin could be anything! I think most parents will agree that their infants are self absorbed, and as they grow up, they are pretty selfish and often rebellious. Hitting a little closer to home, I think all my sin is encapsulated in pride, selfishness, and outright rebellion. It's that way for all of us. But when folks say these sorts of things, they are trying to justify their sin. The sin has them bound as a prisoner, and it owns them. Sometimes, the rebellion gets to the point where God just gives them over to their sin and lets it rule their lives. (Romans 1)

I just wanted to share this because I see this as a clear pattern of how Satan distorts God's ways and mocks his Maker in the process.


Johnie