Genesis And End-Time Events
Introduction: Tonight we're going to be looking at Genesis
and End time events- might ask - why Genesis? - thats the
book of beginings, I thought this series was about end-time
events
- Let me try to answer the question: Why begin a study of
end-time events with "the beginnings"?
1) because Scripture is a unified whole (it all fits
together)
- i.e. Pastor's message - Luke 1 (read 26-33) - that
is not just the story children recite at
Christmastime - ITS ESCHATOLOGY
- one of our goals in this series is to help us
understand how the various parts of the Bible fit
together
- How does man being given dominion in Gen. 1 affect
the condemnation in Rom. 1 that man worshipped the
creation instead of the Creator
- what if anything does that have to do with living a
feeling oriented lifestyle?
- How does the fall of man explain the significance of
the marriage supper of the lamb?
Point - Looking at the beginnings should help us tie some
things together and see Scripture as a unified whole
2) to gain a fuller understanding of the significance of
end-time events
- the fact taht the millennial kingdon will take place
on this earth does not seem that significant until
we realize that God promised Abraham in Gen. 12 that
his people would have a land
- thats why the Jews have fought over seemingly
insignificant pieces of land for years and thats why
the millennial kingdom beeing set up on this earth
is so critical
Point - end-time events will become more significant in our
thinking if we understand their roots
3) - to realize and accept our responsibility in the
"end-time" process
- one of the best things you can do for a production
worker is let him see how his job fits into the
overall production of the product
- it can be pretty boring assebling brake shoes all
day, but if he sees that his job is necessary for
the overall operation of that car, and that him
failing to do his job will hinder the work of
others, then it will be easier for him to work
hard at his job with care and enthusiasm
Point - Tonight and throughout this study we are going to
see how our present responsibilities as believers
fit into the overall plan and program of God
Tonight I'd like us to look at 4 truths from the beginnings
that will help us understand the end
I. The Lord Is King Forever
- One of the misconceptions about prophecy is that this
world is out of control and the end time events are where
God brings the whole thing back under wraps.
- The problem with that is that the Scripture clearly
teaches that God has been the king, is the king, and will
always be the king
- here's a couple of trues about God's kingdom (we're going
to study this subject in more depth in two weeks)
A. exists without interruption
Psalm 10:16 - The Lord is king forever and ever
Jer. 10:2-5, 10 (read)
B. includes all that exists
I Chron. 29:11 - "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and
the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty;
for all that is the heaven and in the earth is thine. Thine
is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above
all"
Thats great news for all believers. While God is
certainly not responsible for all that happens today,
there is nothing that happens that is outside of His
control.
- that means two things
1) everything that happens in your life happens
for a purpose
- the existential view of life which says life
is meaningless is terru\ibly depressing, but a
believer doesn't have to life that way because
the God of heaven is king
2) God won't give you more than you can handle
- realize there are some here going through
deep waters
- remember, God is faithful and won't
permit you to be tempted more than you
are able, but will provide a way of
escape that ye may be able to bear it
- Now if I said that, you'd say, "thats
nice pastor, but you don't have any
control" but God can make that promise
because he's the king
Might say - thats great (and it is) - but what does that have
to do with eschatology?
Answer is - Because god is King from everlasting to
everlasting, He has the right to delegate authority
ITS THAT VERY ISSUE THAT MADE END TIME EVENTS NECESSARY
(that brings us to our next point)
II. Man Given Dominion & Responsibility
- One of the verses I asked you to read for tonight was
Gen. 1:26
- (diagram) - verse has implications to all of human
history
- Read verse
A. made in the image of God
- very broad subject, but for our concerns:
- able to think rationally
- morally responsible
- has a conscience
B. A "dominion haver"
- under God's rule, man was said to have dominion
over the other aspects of creation
- as a result, he was to rule over and subdue his
world, the animal kingdom, and his own physical
body
- he was to name the animals
- love his wife and meet her needs
- dress the garden
- obey God's commands and enjoy His fellowship
Therefore, it was God's intent that:
1) man be God's representative, ambassador, ruler
under God and that man would:
2) subdue his kingdom
Point - thats why Romans 1 is such a sickening
passage where God reports that man exchanged
the truth of God for a lie and worshipped the
creature more than the Creator.
- thats why the issue of self-control is such a
dominant theme in Scripture
- From the very beginning, God wanted men and
women who would accept the responsibility of
controlling themselves and their worlds for
His glory
(Pete Rose Article?)
Of course, that explains why every man and woman has
to be judged. That explains why believers
must appear before the judgement seat of
Christ to receive the things done in their
bodies, whether they be good or bad
- it explains why God wants us to face
temptations, and handle them
- it explains why he wants us to face trials,
and handle them
- it explains why he wants us to bring into
captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ
- it also explains why it will be so great
some day when you and I are glorified, and
the curse of sin is removed, and we are
able to rule and reign with Christ as joint
heirs, finally fulfilling the role for
which we were created
You know the story doesn't end there. We have to talk about:
III. Satans's False Kingdom
A. Timing?
Sometime bewteen the creation and Genesis 3, Satan
and his host fell
B. Source
Isaiah 14 and 28 make it clear that Satan fell
because of his pride and desire to usurp God's
authority
- said I will exalt my throne above the stars of God
- I will be like the most high
Its at this very point that we see a:
C. Great contrast develops
between:
1) man - the "dominion haver" who rules and subdues
his life and world under God &
2) Satan - the "dominion usurper" who attempts to
rule and control his world apart from God's
authority
It wasn't long at all before those two contrasts collided in
an event that would have cataclysmic effect on all of world
history.
IV. Man's Fall & Its Results
- You know the passage in Genesis 3. Satan comes as the
serpent and he begins to question God's goodness by
asking if there are tress they are not allowed to eat
from.
- Next, he casts doubt on God's Word by saying that they
shall not surely die.
- Last, he completes his lie by telling of all the benefits
of eating from the forbidden tree.
- In other words, they are given a:
A. choice
- who's kingdom are you going to follow?
- God's true and righteous kingdom or my false
kingdom
- Adam and Eve both made the wrong choice, a decision
that affected mankind more than any other
- man who was supposed to represent God had now
betrayed Him
- who was supposed to subdue the creation had now
been fooled by it
- the terrible results of that act can hardly be
overestimated
- God comes and He says this: read Gen. 3:15
B. Results
God (not Satan) declared war!
1. war between Satan and Christ
throughout history Satan has tried to cut off the
line of Christ
- of course the first attempt was the murder of
Cain and Abel
- I John 3:12 tells us that Cain was "of the
wicked one"
- we'll be studying one of Satan's last ditch
efforts Sunday morning when we look at
Herod's wicked command to have all the male
children under two years of age in the
region of Bethlehem killed
2. war between Satan/his followers and believers
- the passage speaks about Satan's seed
- the passage we just spoke about in I John
refers to Cain as being "of the wicked one"
- early in Jesus' ministry, he told the
Pharisees that they were the generation
(offspring) of vipers(Matt. 3:7). Later
he said it plainly in John 8:41 when he
told them they were of their father the
devil
- he also said there was no neutral ground -
Matt. 12:30 - "He that is not with me is
against me, and he that gathereth not with
me scattereth abroad"
if you think that is bad news, consider this:
3. all men born sinners
- Rom. 5:12 - Wherefore as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and
so death passed upon all men, for all have
sinned
- we see that all through the book of Genesis
- its not long before the whole human race is so
wicked that God must destroy them with a flood
except for a few who were on his side
- even after that event, the people turn right
around and begin building a city and a tower to
make a name unto themselves
- in other words, there's a war between Satan and
his followers and God & His followers---and you
and I were born on the wrong side
- we were born sinners, not just in the sense
that we would sin after we were born
- but that we were born totally depraved,
not because we were as bad as we could be
- but totally depraved in that all parts and
aspects of our lives were tainted by sin
- we could no longer act correctly
- we could no longer reason correctly
- in fact, the situation was so bad that Jeremiah
said:
Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful and
desperately wicked
Paul said we were "by nature the children of
wrath" naturally (Eph. 2:3)
small wonder that Jesus said - "He that
believeth not is condemned
already" (John 3:18)
- so there's a war all right - and you and I were
born on the wrong side!
- we scattered rather than gathered with Christ
- we were in the grip of the wicked one according
to I John 5:19
- thats why it was so important that you and I be
born again
- because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ
we were bought back and put in a position where
we could please God
(talk more about that in a minute)
Another result was
4. death
- remember Satan said that they wouldn't
surely die
Of course death simply means separation, and
they immediately died in the sense that they
were:
a. separated from God
the joy of that intimate fellowship was now
lost
b. physical death
Satan said they wouldn't die, yet Genesis 5
is written to show how much of a liar Satan
is:
"Adam lived 930 years, and he died"
"Seth lived 912 years and he died"
"Enosh lived 905 years and he died"
- and on and on and on
worst aspect was:
c. possibility of the "second death"
- where the individual was eternally
separated from God without any remedy
whatsoever
V. Implications To The Future And The Present
A. dominion
1. present - At our IFRBC conference Dave Jeremiah
said, "The biggest problem with us believers
today is the issue of self-control"
- I think he's right
- God wants believers who, under his
Lordship, can gain control of the various
areas of their lives
- individuals who are controlling their
finances, instead of letting finances
control them
- individuals who are growing and handling
relationship problems instead of letting
those problems handle them
- individuals who are growing in their
control of their thought life instead of
being controlled by lusts of the flesh
- one of the questions tonight is, are you
growing in control of your world or is
your world, problems, lusts controlling
you?
2. future - II Timothy 2:12 - If we suffer, we shall
also reign with Him
- that dominion will be completely restored
in the millennial kingdom when believers
will rule and reign under the Lord Jesus
Christ
B. the war
1. present - I wonder how many individuals who would
indentify themselves with Faith Baptist Church
leave home every morning recognizing that they
are in a war?
- I think we'd have to spend a lot less time
convincing folks that the world is bad if more
folks were aware of the war
- this isn't just a theme for the end times--its
a theme throughout the Scriptures
- good news is, if you've trusted Christ as your
Savior, the war is now winnable
- the old man was crucified according to Rom.
6:6, and now you're a new man--no longer a
slave to sin
- you have a new capacity and ability to be
changing, growing, and to be pleasing to Him
- if you want it to, that can result in great
spiritual victory
- When we sing #496 (Victory In Jesus), thats not
some pie in the sky by and by song--thats for
here and now
- Paul said in I Cor. 2:14 - "Thanks be unto God
who always leads us in triumph in Jesus Christ"
- Some of you know all about that. You can look
back over this year and see definite examples
of ways you've changed and grown
- yes, there's a war, but the believer can be
growing and taking strides at winning that war
2. future - of course the time is coming when God
will end the war by casting Satan and his host in
the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11)
Paul concluded the book of Romans with this verse
"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under
your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you. Amen"
C. death
we said before that death means separation
1. present
one of the results of being born a sinner is that
there can be no fellowship with God. I Tim. 2:5
says that God is on one side and you are on the
other.
- but after trusting Christ as Savior,
a. fellowship is possible
I John 1:3 - That which we have seen and
heard declare we unto you, that ye also may
have fellowship with us, and truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with his
son, Jesus Christ
- another result of salvation is that death has
no sting.
b. death has no sting
Satan lied when he said, Thou shalt not surely
die. But there is an answer for death, and
that is the resurrection.
thats why Paul could write, O death, where is
thy sting? O, grave, where is thy victory?...
But thanks be to God, who giveth us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ
2. future
of course believers need not fear the second
death either. Paul said, What shall separate
us from the love of Christ?...For I am
persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor
angels...shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in christ Jesus