Chapter Ten - The End-Time Scenario
Please note that this chapter should be read in conjunction with the course, Bible Prophecy.
I will acquaint the readers with end-time events according to the premillennial scheme. The amillennial viewpoint is far more simplistic, as most end-time events are located in the brief period which closes this age (the "spiritual millennium") and witnesses the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the premillennial scheme differentiates between so many events that its final scenario is stretched out for seven and one thousand years. Premillennial eschatology is so complex, and so many conclusions depend on other conclusions, that the novice is overwhelmed at first by its scope. Nevertheless, if you choose a literal interpretation of most eschatological passages in Scripture, you are left with a premillennial chronology.
This chapter is divided into the following 13 main sections:
Erroneous Interpretations of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ;
The Study of Bible Prophecy;
Signs of the Second Coming of Christ;
God's Dealings With Israel;
The Present Church Age;
The Second Coming of Christ;
The Anti-christ;
The Great Tribulation;
The Battle of Armageddon;
The Millennium;
After the Millennium;
The Judgments of God; and
The Eternal State.
1. ERRONEOUS INTERPRETATIONS OF THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
There are many erroneous interpretations of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ. Therefore, it is necessary to refute such teachings before proceeding further with the study of this doctrine. Five of these will be dealt with briefly:
The coming of the Holy Spirit;
The conversion of the soul;
The destruction of Jerusalem;
The coming of death; and
The conversion of the world.
1.1 The Coming of the Holy Spirit
It is taught by some that the return of Christ is the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Some have referred Matthew 16:28, "there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom" and John 16:16, "again a little while, and you will see Me." This view must be wrong due to the following reason:
The promise in Matthew 16:28 more naturally means Christ's reappearance after His resurrection.
Jesus promised that He would send the Comforter, but He does not send Himself (John 14:16; 15:26).
He declared that the Spirit's descent was conditional on His withdrawal (John 16:7).
Many other promises of Christ's return were uttered after the day of Pentecost.
1.2 The Conversion of the Soul
Some people think that the return of Christ is the conversion of the soul. They have referred to John 14:23, "both the Father and the Son coming to dwell in the believer." This view is unscriptural due to the following reasons:
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ but Christ and the Holy Spirit are never confused.
The animating dynamic of the Lord Jesus Christ's indwelling and influence in the believer is the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9f; Galatians 2:20; 4:6; Philippians 1:19; cf. Acts 20:28 with Ephesians 4:7, 11).
The authors of the Epistles spoke of the Lord's coming as still future.
Therefore, the coming of Christ into the life of a repentant sinner is not His coming in the eschatological sense of that term.
1.3 The Destruction of Jerusalem
Some believe that the coming of Christ is the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and Matthew 16:28 is interpreted in that manner. This view is also false due to the following reasons:
The book of Revelation and 1 John were both written a number of years after the destruction of Jerusalem; yet each of them has a number of definite predictions of the Lord's second coming (1 John 2:28; 3:2f; Revelation 1:7; 3:11; 22:12, 20).
At the destruction of Jerusalem Israel was scattered, but at the return of Christ Israel will be gathered to Palestine.
1.4 The Coming of Death
Some have taken Matthew 24:42, "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming," to refer both to death and to the return of Christ. This view is also false due to the following reasons:
When the believer dies, the Lord Jesus takes his soul to Himself, this is not to be confused with the return of Christ.
We must not apply Scriptures that speak of Christ's return to death because the two are very different.
Death is in the Bible treated as an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:25f; Hebrews 2:14f), but the Lord's return is represented as a blessed hope (Titus 2:13).
At death the grave is occupied; at the Lord's return the grave is abandoned (John 5:28f; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).
If death and the second coming are the same, then such Scriptures as Matthew 16:27f; 1 Thessalonians 4:16f; Revelation 1:7, will recognize the absurdity of this interpretation.
1.5 The Conversion of the World
Some think the reference is to world conversion when they pray, "Thy kingdom com" (Matthew 6:10). They hold that as the world accepts the principles of Christ, Christ comes. This view is also false due to the following reasons:
The Scriptures teach that there will be a great falling away from the faith in the last days (Luke 18:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; 1 Timothy 4:1).
Sound doctrines will not be tolerated and damnable heresies will be introduced (2 Timothy 4:1-4; 2 Peter 2:1f).
The conditions of the days of Noah and of Lot will again prevail (Luke 17:26-30).
Difficult times will exist (2 Timothy 3:1). This does not look like a converted world at the time of Christ's return.
The Scriptures represent Christ's coming as something sudden, as the lightning (Matthew 24:27), and unexpected, as a thief (Matthew 24:43; 1 Thessalonians 5:2), and the resurrection as "in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:52). This too does not fit in with the idea of a gradual conversion of the world.
The Bible associates the conversion of the world with Christ's return, but it represents it as taking place after the event (Isaiah 2:2-4; Zechariah 8:21-23; Acts 15:16-18; Romans 11:12, 25).
It is clear that the coming of Christ is not the conversion of the world.
2. THE STUDY OF BIBLE PROPHECY
3. SIGNS OF THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
6. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
10. THE MILLENNIUM
14. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY
Bible Prophecy, Chapters 1 to 12, Bible Studies On the Internet, 1998 Internet Edition, by John Fok.
Things to Come, Chapters XIII to XXXIII, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1st printing 1964, 1996 reprint, by J. Dwight Pentecost.
The Bible and Future Events, Chapter 3 to 9, Academie Books, Zondervan Corporation, 1973 Edition, by Leon J. Wood.
Lectures in Systematic Theology, Chapter XL to XLVII, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1992 Edition, by Henry C. Thiessen.