Journey to The Journey

Why should we care about end-times?

   40questions on end times  "Christian believers emphasize what Jesus emphasized.  They accept the limited knowledge that Jesus said they have, and they do what Jesus told them to do.  Christians wait for Christ's return, not for the confirmation of their views about the end times.  Christians emphasize what Scripture emphasizes as central, and they refuse to let minor questions become major disagreements that only hurt and divide the church.  Christians care about biblical prophecy because the expectation of Jesus' second coming and of the last judgment is a significant emphasis of Scripture.  Christians care about the end times because waiting for Jesus' return, and anticipating our encounter with the true and living God, shows us who we are: sinners who have been forgiven, who look forward to seeing the almighty God face to face, and who live with joyful commitment to the will of God and to the work that Jesus Christ has entrusted to us."

      As mentioned in previous posts, I'll be sharing end-time resources for the next 6 months in anticipation of our next teaching series over the book of Revelation.  Above was a snippet from another great read on eschatology.  "40 Questions About The End Times" by Eckhard Schnabel provides quick summaries of some incredibly hefty questions.  I dare you to take a glance at some of these questions that Schnabel attempts to answer.

     I see this particular resource as a great benefit to anyone who has never dabbled in eschatology.  You'll discover questions that you didn't even realize you were wanting answers to, especially if you're a Christian.  Schnabel efficiently answers each question with a 3-4 page answer.  However, if you just wanted to dip your toe into apocalyptic research you could simply skip to the last page of each answer and read the 1 paragraph summary.  One could view this resource as the "cliff notes" or a cheat-sheet of eschatology.   I can promise you that reading each of the paragraph summaries will lead you back to the 3-4 page answer.

Take a look at these questions and tell me you're not curious about what the Bible says:

40 Questions About The End Times:

PART 1: GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE
A.  The Future of the World
1.  When do the end times begin?
2.  What is the fullness of time?
3.  What are the signs of the end?
4.  When will the signs of the end take place?
5.  What are the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgements?
6.  Should we understand John's visions literally or symbolically?
7.  When will the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgements take place?

B.  The Future of the Church
8.  Will Christians live during the tribulation?
9.  Who are the 144'000 in Revelation 7?
10.  Will the church disappear in a rapture to heaven?
11.  Will the work of the church bring about a period of faith, righteousness, peace, and prosperity on earth?

C.  The Future of Israel
12.  What are Israel's Old Testament promises?
13.  Does national Israel have a special destiny?
14.  Does the modern state of Israel represent fulfillment of prophecy?
15.  What is Christian Zionism?
16.  Will a third temple be built in Jerusalem?

PART 2: THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
A.  Events before the return of Jesus
17.  What is the "Abomination of Desolation" in Jesus' prophecy?
18.  Who is the "Lawless One" in Paul's prophecy?
19.  Who is the beast in John's prophecy?
20.  Who is the Antichrist?
21.  What is the meaning of the number 666?
22.  Who is the False Prophet?
23.  What is the mark of the beast?
24.  Who is the Harlot of Babylon?
25.  Who are the two witnesses of Revelation 11?
26.  Who are Gog and Magog in Ezekiel?
27.  Who are Gog and Magog in Revelation?
28.  What is the battle of armageddon?
29.  What is the great earthquake?

B.  The Return of Jesus
30.  Why will Jesus return?
31.  How and where will Jesus return?
32.  Will Jesus return soon?

PART 3: THE MILLENNIUM AND THE LAST JUDGEMENT
A.  The millennium and the New Jerusalem
33.  What is the Millennium?
34.  When will the Millennium take place?
35.  What is the New Jerusalem?

B.  The Day of Judgement
36.  When will the Day of Judgement take place?
37.  What will happen to believers on the day of judgement?
38.  What will happen to unbelievers on the day of judgement?

PART 4: INTERPRETING THE END TIMES
39.  How should we view the prophecies of phrophecy writers?
40.  Why should I care about the end times?

     Now come on, some of those had to peak your curiosity a little!  Schnabel is a (spoiler alert) Historic Premillennialist but always does a good job of respectfully presenting different perspectives on various end-time views.  This is a great book to have on your shelf for an end-time reference and I'd encourage you to read it.

     But that's not all folks!  Just in case you aren't convinced that solid Jesus-loving pastors and teachers can have different views on end-time events, you'll need to watch the debate below.  In this 2 hour debate you'll quickly see how persuasive different views (especially on the millennium) can be as well as how they can each be dismantled.  These guys have done more than their fair share of homework and this is worth your time, I loved every second of it!

James Hamilton Jr sam Storms Doug Wilson john-piper-2

      John Piper hosted this discussion with James Hamilton Jr, Sam Storms, and Doug Wilson at his church in 2007.  You'll see some sparks fly, it's good stuff!

 

 

Again I pray these resources are a blessing to you,

Pastor pic 1_2

Cody Parman

 

Previous End-Time posts:

Revelation Is Coming:  "These Last Days, A Christian View of History" (multiple authors), "Are You Ready For The End Of Time? - Understanding Future Events From Prophetic Passages Of The Bible" by J.C. Ryle

Studying End Times: "Kingdom Come" by Sam Storms

 

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