What in the World is Going to Happen?
Tonight-starting a new study-"What In The World Is Going To
Happen?"
Let me give you "the plan" for this series:
1) want to study what the Word of God says about
end-time events
2) planning to go approx. 16 weeks (ending sometime
in the spring)
3) plan to get all the staff members involved
I. Striking a Balance in Studying Prophecy
-In this series-we want to avoid 2 extreemes:
A) prophecy is everything
-some believers get so carried away with prophecy
that thats the "only note on their piano"
-in 1988, Edgar Whisenant sold over 4.3 million
copies of a book predicting that the rapture would
come in 1988
-when that didn't happen, he printed a sequel in 1989
-point-some folks make prophecy their singular
pursuit - want to identify every event in the news
as some fulfillment of prophecy, and on and on
-problem is that often times individuals like that
are viewed, (maybe we should say,set themselves up
to be) the real spiritual ones
-Pastor taught us something in the Hebrews study that
helps balance that out - INPUT - Heb. 6:1-2 -
passage identifies eschatology as some of the basics
of the Christian life, its not the real "meat, only
for those who are super-spiritual"
-Point-those who view prophecy as being the most
important thing in the Bible to the exclusion of
other things are out of balance
B) Prophecy is nothing - On the other hand, some hold
the position that prophecy isn't worth studying
INPUT - some reasons people who hold this position
might give?
a. too hard to understand
b. irrelevant (no application to today)
What Scripture would we have to remember to counter
that? - II Tim. 3:16 - All Scripture is given...
****So we want to maintain a balance. We want to study what
the Scripture says about this because its part of the
Bible, but we aren't going to make this the only part of
our Bible study die
There is another way to look at the balance and that is:
C) "Hyper-applicational Approach"
- this is the mystical view of prophecy which likes
to chill and thrill
- its an emotional approach instead of a biblical
exegetical approach
- people who study prophecy this way want to twist
every detail of prophecy to fit some current
situation today.
- these are the kind of folks who said the UNIVAC
computer was one of the beasts in Revelation
- or the scorpians look like F2 fighters
- we're talking about making the Bible say something
that it never said
- that kind of stuff can really get an audience
going, but I'm sure you recognize that thats an
improper use of the Scriptures
On the other hand:
D. "Non-applicational" approach
- In this approach, prophecy has no application
to contemorary life
- its a dry, intellectual study that isn't
geared to changing people
- you'll see below that we certainly intend to
make this study practical
**** So we also want have a balance in the way we make
applications. We're not going to identify the antiChrist and
the ten toes of Daniels Statue. But we are going to talk
about present day applications.
II. Goals for This Study
A. Learn basic prophetic timetable
- If I asked you to list 8-10 end time events in
chronological order, would you be able to do it?
- if I asked tonight, what is the next scheduled
event on the prophetic timetable?, would you be
able to answer?
- If I asked, What is the difference between the
GWT judgement and the Bema seat judgement?...
- Now I realize that some folks are here who could
answer all those questions, others are here who
would say, "I don't have the foggiest idea of what
you are talking about"
- one of our goals is that everyone in the study will
learn at least a basic outline of 8-10 end time
events
- at this point, I probably need to say a word about
rote memory. You may have reacted to this point by
saying, "well, thats just rote memory". While I
realize that rote memory:
1) is not the only kind of learning and
2) it is not always the best kind of learning,
3) sometimes it is a key first step to other
kinds of learning.
- recently heard a professor tell his class, anything
you remember from this class is a fringe benefit,
the real value is in the process of learning
- thats overstated - over the years I've had
individuals encourage (make) me memorize:
1) certain Bible verses
2) where things are found in the Scripture
3) key ideas and concepts
- I have found that that material has stuck with me
over the years
- so if we're going to spend 12-16 weeks on this
topic, we ought to come away with a basic timetable
of endtime events
Let me give you a basic outline of some of the end-time
events (some will know all of these, some will need to
begin to work on them - we'll talk about them
specifically as the weeks go by, define them, put
Scripture with them--my intent here is just to give you
the big picture)
10 Great End Time Events
1. Rapture
2. Tribulation
3. Bema Seat Judgement
4. Marriage Supper of The Lamb
5. The Revelation of Christ
6. Battle of Armegeddon
7. Millennial Kingdom
8. Battle of Gog and Magog
9. Great White Throne Judgement
10. Eternal State
B. Gain A Greater Appreciation of Jesus Christ and a
more balanced view of who He is
- INPUT - who can tell me the name of the book of
Revelation? - (not "The Revelation of St. John the
Divine") - The Revelation of Jesus Christ
- while learning a basic timetable and some the
end-time facts are important, thats just the
means directed at the end of learning more
about the Lord Jesus Christ
- Paul said "That I might know Him, and the power
of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His
sufferings, being made conformable unto His
death" (Phil. 3:10"
- How can a person get to know more about the
Lord Jesus Christ?
1) study all the things He did before coming
to earth - Bible has a lot to say about
that
2) study what Christ did on the earth in the
gospels
3) study what Christ is doing now one additional way that is sometimes neglected:
4) study what Christ will do in the future.
Much can be learned about the Lord Jesus
Christ through studying prophecy. One of
the greatest values is that the prophetic
literature presents a very balanced view
of who Christ is. Sometimes individuals
want to be topical Bible
students...prophetic literature in
general and the book of Revelation in
particular won't allow that.
Its true that Revelation pictures Christ
as the Lamb, the only One who is worthy
to open the seals. But that same book
pictures Christ as the judge, in one
place with a sword coming out of his
mouth.
- Some folks only want to talk about the God of
love and mercy. In this study we will see mercy
for people standing in the place of mercy, but
we'll see judgement for individuals standing in
the place of judgement
- I'm convinced that one of the great needs for
churches today is a balanced view of God. Its
especially essential for our young people, but
its important for all of us.
- another side of this is that our interest in
and dilligence towards this series will be a
demonstration of our love for Christ.
- when you love somebody, you want to know what
they are doing and what their plans are
- Kris and I - long distance dating, spent hours
on the phone, doing what? - talking about what
each other were doing. When you love somebody,
you want to know about that.
- our problem is that we're not that concerned
about prophecy, what Christ is doing and what
He will be doing because we are pretty happy
with our things
- Paul said there is a special crown for those
who love Jesus' appearing--I'm not sure how
many of us are going to get it.
- its pretty easy to get caught up with the
world's pleasure and the world's treasure and
the world's applause , and the world's pride
- to the point that this world becomes pretty
comfortable
- thats why a guy like Jerry Walden could make
the statement he did - remember - he said a
day doesn't go by where I don't pray - Lord,
couldn't you come today?
- thats not some cop out on life, thats a
biblical view that this world is not that
great, and that we need to be as busy as we can
about preparing ourselves for his coming and
rescuing others.
Point-this study will give us the opportunity to
learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ-and I'm
sure you believe that is a worthy goal
C. Gain a greater understanding and appreciation for
prophetic literature
- if we are to grow in our understanding and
use of the scriptures, somewhere along the
line we must learn some things about
prophetic literature
- 1/5 of the O.T. is classified as prophecy
- So a significant portion of our Bibles are
prophetic
- there are 2 kinds of prophecy
1) foreteling - predictive
2) forthtelling - teaching (didactic)
- Point I want to make here is that some
believers lack confindence when they are
reading or studying these portions of their
Bibles, and therefore miss the instruction
and blessing that these portions were
intended to give
- We hope that when we're done with this
series, you'll think of the subject of
prophecy as one that evokes confidence and
courage
Can I give you 1 reason why that ought to happen?
Because so much of the prophecy in the
Bible has already come true!
1) Jesus would be born of a virgin
(Isa. 7:14) - (over 600 years before
Christ!)
2) born at Bethlehem - Micah 5:2
3) led to slaughter of children by
Herod (Jer. 31:15)
4) called out of Egypt - Hos. 11:1
5) made a triumphal entry into
Jerusalem - Zech. 9:9
6) betrayed by a friend - Ps. 41:9
7) for thorty pieces of silver - Zech.
11:12
8) was spit upon and scourged - Isa.
50:60
9) no bone was broken - Psalm 34:20
10) given gall and vinegar to drink -
Ps. 69:21
11) garments parted by lots (Psalm
22:16-18)
12) died in the place of sinful man -
Ps. 53:4-6
Point - prophetic literature ought not to be
something we're afraid of--instead it ought
to produce confidence and courage
Think of it, predictions that were made hundreds and
in some cases thousands of years before, being
fulfilled to the Word
- that would be like you finding a document that had
come over with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower
- and it talked about some of the people that would
born in this new land. And it had your name on it,
your date of birth, described your house, your
parents, told about your bratty little brother...
- you say - that would be amazing - but let me ask
you this - what if there was more that hadn't
happened yet?
- what if it went on to say, If so and so is at
the Burger King parking lot at 9:00 p.m. on
November 29th, something wonderful will happen
- would you go? (Of course you would,
because the document had been right in the
past)
- Of course you see the point--we can come to this
study with great confidence, knowing that many
Bible prophecies have already come to pass with
amazing accuracy which could only be true if the
God of heaven had inspired the prophecies and were
in control of the outcome
D. Learn present Biblical applications of end time
events
- there are dozens and dozens of practical
applications of end-time events. As we study,
we'll be looking for ways to change and grow just
like we do in all our studies.
- INPUT - if we just gain knowledge without taking
this step, what will be the result? (Pride -
because knowledge puffs up)
- I'm sure nobody would think this, but it would
certainly be wrong to approach a study like this
with the thought, "O good, now I don't need to
change for a while"
E. Exercise hermenuetical muscles
- hermeneutics is simply the science and art of Bible
interpretation
- every believer has the right and responsibility to
study and understand the Scriptures
- from time to time we'll talk about some principles
of hermeneutics
- we'll learn that our hermeneutics don't change when
we study a different type of literature like
prophecy. We'll also see that what separates us
from other groups often is hermeneutics.
- we'll also have the opportunity to look at some
difficult passages, and exercise those
hermeneutical muscles
F. Provide comfort in sorrow
- prophecy is always given for a reason, or in a
definite context
- Jesus didn't just walk along the road and say to
the disciples, I think I'll give you a little
prophecy today
- there was always a purpose, it was given to meet a
need
- One of those purposes is to provide comfort in
sorrow
- one of the best passages we have on the rapture of
the church is I Thess. 4 -, that passage starts
with "But I would not have to to be ignorant
brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that ye
sorrow not even as others who have no hope"
- many here tonight have believing loved ones who
have passed away
- some of us may have to face that situation soon
- understanding end time events can be a great
blessing and comfort in times of sorrow
G. Provide conviction for service
- In some ways, this series fits in nicely with the
end of stewardship month
- II Cor. 5:9- "We have as our ambition, whether at
home or
absent, to be pleasing to Him".
- Why? - because of the next verse - For we must all
appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that
everyone may receive the things done in his body,
whether it be good or bad
the more we learn about what will will happen in the
future, the more we will be motivated to use our time
wisely now
- going right along with that one:
H. Be better motivated and prepared for evangelism
- The study of prophecy is not all good news
- learning about and thinking about the ultimate end
of individuals who don't trust Christ as personal
Savior is not pleasant.
- However, even in that there is good news because
those individuals can be saved if we will
faithfully share the gospel. I'm sure all of us
would say that we can do a better job in that area
and I trust that will be one of the results of our
study.