An Introduction to the End Times

 

What is ‘The End Times.’
‘The End Times’ in Christianity has been a hot topic for many years with many differing views being proposed.

However, with all these different views, there is one absolute certainty that all born again Christians know and that is that Jesus Christ is returning, the second coming of Christ, and the evidence suggests that He is coming soon!

There are many Bible verses both in the Old and New Testaments that refer to ‘The End Times’ and this is a topic that is worthy of a series of teachings, but for the purposes of this workshop we will mention only a few scriptures that will pique our interest in the topic for our future walk to Christian maturity!

The study of ‘The End Times’ is commonly referred to as Eschatology. This word is made up of the Greek word ‘eschatos’ which means, the last things, the final things or the end of things and ‘ology’ which in the English language means ‘the study of.’ Hence for our purposes Eschatology is the study of ‘The End Times.’

When will Jesus come again?
We don’t know. The Bible clearly states that only God the Father knows the day and the hour, but it will come suddenly like a thief in the night. It will be a terrible day for the unsaved.

Matthew 24:36-39 (NKJV)

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the daythat Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

We don’t know when this day will be, but we must recognize the signs of the end times and we must be ready, we must know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We must be born again. Our spiritual zeal as born-again Christians should always burn with an intense flame! If we are not born again, we will not enter heaven!

John 3:3 (NKJV)

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The Age of Grace
Since the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension or His return to heaven, the world has been living in a time of God’s grace. This means that God has not yet brought His judgement upon all mankind, and He has not yet poured out His wrath! This will only happen when Jesus returns. A number of happenings or events need to take place before Christ’s return. The Bible prophecies regarding the end times primarily relate to the time of Tribulation that is coming on the earth, this being the seven years immediately before Jesus returns to earth.

The Rapture of The Church
This is time when Jesus comes specifically for His Church and all believers that are alive on the earth will be caught up in the clouds with Jesus together will all those who have fallen asleep (died) in the Lord. This will occur before the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation period.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (NKJV)

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Christ’s Judgement of His Church (believers).
This is where the believers will stand before God to be judged for their actions whether good or bad. This is not a judgement of punishment, as all unbelievers will face, but a judgement to determine reward, our crowns of glory, for the righteous acts we have done in Christ Jesus!

Romans 4:12 (NKJV)

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

2 Timothy 4:8 (NKJV)

Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

1 Corinthians 3:13–15 (NKJV)

13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

We have seen that when Jesus comes for His church at the Rapture, all true members of the church, both dead and alive, will be changed to receive new resurrection bodies fit for us to be with the Lord forever. While the world is
enduring the Tribulation, the raptured believers will be judged for their works. Unbelievers will be judged later, as we will see.

Matthew 12:36 (NKJV) – Jesus speaking

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Romans 14:12 (NKJV)

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV)

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

The Great Tribulation – a period of seven years
This 7-year period begins at or shortly after the rapture of the church. Satan is unrestrained and the Holy Spirit is removed. Satan will wreak havoc throughout this time and this period will culminate with the Second Coming of Jesus and Battle of Armageddon.

Revelation 3:10 (NIV)

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

When will the Age of Grace come to an end?
The church age will end with the Rapture of the church. There will still be grace for salvation during the Tribulation, but this will be a time of the worst suffering that the world has ever known, for God is judging the earth. As mentioned before, only the Father knows when the Rapture will occur, but the Bible tells us there will be signs that will tell us that the Lord’s second coming is near. These signs will happen in what we call ‘The End Times’ and during these times a number of ‘End Times’ events will take place.

What are the signs of the End Times?
Now, let’s have a look at what Jesus said about ‘The End Times.’

Matthew 24:3-8 (NKJV)

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

In the above verses Jesus is talking to His disciples about the signs that will come when ‘The End Times’ are upon us.

Let’s take a look at one more Bible passage from the New Testament and see what the signs of ‘The End Times’ will be.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NKJV)

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

In the above five verses it is the Apostle Paul telling us about what men will be like in the ‘last days’ or ‘end times’ and he goes on to warn us that these days will be perilous or dangerous.

From verses 2 – 5 he gives us a list of nineteen evil and ungodly characteristics of what men will be like during the ‘end times.’ Men in these verses refers to mankind, both male and female!

If we look around us at the world today it becomes quite evident that we are very much into the ‘end times’ already!

And in the second half of verse five we are warned to stay away from such people. Bad company corrupts good character! We, when we become born again, are God’s children and are thus children of the light!

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV)

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

1 Thessalonians 5:5 (NIV)

You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

The light of course is Jesus, who is the light of the world!

John 8:12 (NIV)

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Bible tells us that there will also be physical signs of the earth being in stress during the end times.

Matthew 24:4-8 (NKJV)

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

So, from this we can see that besides the deterioration of man’s behaviour, the earth itself will be deteriorating with devastating effect.

As already mentioned, a number of significant events will also take place during these times. In recent years, there has been a marked increase in all of the signs that Jesus mentioned, as the scene is being set for the Tribulation period.

The Second Coming of Christ and The Battle of Armageddon
The Battle of Armageddon will take place at the end of the Great Tribulation period on the plains of Megiddo and at the second coming of Christ. It is the final showdown in this age between good (Jesus) and evil (Satan).

Satan will muster His forces through the Antichrist and his earthly forces against the Lord, but he will not prevail. The Lord, coming with His angelic hosts and the resurrected Church will destroy this vast army of the nations that will come against Him.

Revelation 16:16 (NKJV)

“And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.”

Revelation 19:19 (NKJV)

“And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”

Matthew 24:29–31 (NKJV)

““Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Psalm 145:5-9 (NIV)

5 Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor

and sing for joy on their beds.

6 May the praise of God be in their mouths

and a double-edged sword in their hands,

7 to inflict vengeance on the nations

and punishment on the peoples,

8 to bind their kings with fetters,

their nobles with shackles of iron,

9 to carry out the sentence written against them—

this is the glory of all his faithful people.

Praise the Lord.

The Separation of the Sheep from the Goats – Matthew 25:31-46
This is the separation of the nations and their judgment for how they treated Israel during the Tribulation period. The sheep are believers and the goats are the non-believers.

The sheep will enjoy eternal life and will inherit the kingdom that Jesus will set up, and the goats to eternal punishment in Hell with the devil and his fallen angels.

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
This is the celebration of the Church as the Bride of Christ and will take place just after Jesus returns to the earth. The Old Testament saints will be invited to enjoy this supper.

2 Corinthians 11:2 (NKJV)

“For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

Revelation 19:6–9 (NKJV)

“And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’”

The Kingdom Age and Millennial Reign of Christ
Following His return to earth, Jesus will reign for 1000 years on earth, from Jerusalem. This is the glorious Kingdom age foretold in many of the Old Testament prophecies. During this time, Satan is bound and put into the abyss along with his fallen angels.

The martyred believers from the tribulation will join the raptured church and together will rule and reign with Jesus for 1000 years. The believers from the Old Testament period will also be resurrected at the time of Jesus’ return.

Revelation 20:4 (NKJV)

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Satan is Released from the Abyss (Rev. 20:7-9)
At the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be released to deceive the nations once again. People born during the 1000 years will need to make a choice about who they will follow. Some will choose God, and sadly others will reject Him.

Revelation 20:7–9 (NKJV)

“Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.”

Great White Throne Judgement
There will be a judgment of all unbelievers before Jesus’ throne.

The books that contain the deeds of men are opened and the dead stand before God to be judged and if their names aren’t found in the Lamb’s Book of Life, they are cast away forever into Hell.

Revelation 20:11–15 (NKJV)

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And

the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Destruction of Present Heavens & Earth
At the end of the judgement of men, the present earth and heavens will be destroyed by fire.

Matthew 24:35 (NKJV)

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

2 Peter 3:3–7 (NKJV)

“knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

The New Heaven, the New Earth, the New Jerusalem and Eternity
After the destruction of the old heaven and earth, God will provide the new created heaven and earth and all God’s children will live in eternity with Him and Jesus will rule as the Lord of Lords and the King of kings from the New Jerusalem!

Who knows what great works and blessings He has in store for us for eternity? No more tears, no more sickness, no more death!

Revelation 21:1–5 (NKJV)

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven

saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.””

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly

I pray that you would give be wisdom and discernment to recognise the signs of the End Times and that you would help me to prepare to be rapture ready. Strengthen my faith Lord to withstand and overcome all that the devil will throw at be during these times and fill me continually with your Holy Spirit and to be always dressed in the full armour of God! Let me always keep my eyes on Jess and not on the things that are happening in the world. Amen.

To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!