ESCHATOLOGY

THE RETURN OF
JESUS CHRIST
 Overview of ESCHATOLOGY

• 1. The Rapture and Great Tribulation

• 2. The Resurrection
• 3. The Return of Jesus Christ
• 4. The Millennium and Future for National Israel
• 5. Future Judgments, Heaven and Hell
• 6. What not to Say about the Future
Parousia
– the coming or arrival of an
important person (esp. the
“Second Coming” of Jesus)
General (or Cosmic)Eschatology
1. Return of Christ (second advent)

2. Millennium

3. Rapture

4. Resurrection and judgment

5. Eternal punishment and new heavens and earth

(eternal state)
The Importance of Biblical Prophecy

• Paul taught detailed events

surrounding the second coming of
Jesus in Thessalonica after
planting a new church there and
only being there three weeks.

• Thus one would have to conclude

that biblical prophecy is important
in the Bible and worthy of study.
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE BIBLE
CAN PREDICT FUTURE EVENTS
• Answer is because it has a 100 percent track
record of doing so
• Daniel predicted Alexander the Great
• Malachi predicted Jesus would be born in Bethlehem
• Jeremiah predicted the 70 year captivity
• Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem in 70
AD
• And the list goes on and on and on
 The Importance of Biblical Prophecy
• J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical
Prophecy lists
• 1,239 prophecies in the Old Testament
and
• 578 prophecies in the New Testament,
for a total of 1,817.
• These encompass 8,352 verses out of
31,102.

• Thus, about 26-27 percent of the

Bible is biblical prophecy
 JESUS’ RETURN
A. A Literal Return Of Jesus To The Earth
• The Bible speaks about the Lord’s return in both Old and
New Testaments.
• We find very clear teachings in the New Testament
regarding the Lord’s second advent.
• Read Matthew 24:44
• John 14:3 (Jesus speaking),
• Acts 1:11,
• Hebrews 9:28,
• 1 John 3:2,
• Revelation 22:20.

• Jesus’ Second Coming

is the dominant hope of followers of Christ.
Paul spoke of the Lord’s return in 1 Thessalonians 4
and said in verse 18, “Therefore comfort one another with
these words.”
We should long for his return.
• In Titus 2:12-13 Paul speaks about the follower
of Christ living soberly and upright “awaiting our
blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
• Believers who are enjoying a life of ease are less
likely to eagerly long for Jesus’ return.
• However, those who are sick, facing death, or
being persecuted for their faith are more prone
to anticipate and look forward to Him coming
again.
 We should long for his return.
• Grudem, says to the degree we long for His return is a
“measure of the spiritual condition of our lives at the
moment.”
• No one would argue that we live in very perilous days and the
days are getting darker spiritually by the moment.
• We have seen radical shifts in our country in this generation in
a palpable movement away from God and the Scriptures to a
more hedonistic, even anti-Christian stance among many.
• This world is under the power of the evil one as 1 John 5:19
asserts, but we do not lose hope for the Bible tells us these
things will happen before the end.
• We eagerly await His coming but we should also live our
lives with planning for the future.
• When He comes again we should be actively engaged in
serving Him.
WHEN IS CHRIST COMING AGAIN
• No one knows the time of His return .

• Since we do not know the time of His

return we should live each moment in
anticipation, and when He comes may He
find us faithfully serving Him.

• The return of Christ gives motivation for

the believer to be faithful and not
compromise.
 WHEN IS CHRIST COMING AGAIN
• There have been many erroneous attempts to speculate when
Jesus would come again.
• The Jehovah Witnesses have made many predictions and each
one was wrong.

1974: There was just a "short time remaining before the wicked world's end" and Witnesses were
commended for selling their homes and property to "finish out the rest of their days in this old
system in the pioneer service."
1984: There were "many indications" that "the end" was closer than the end of the 20th century.”
1989: The Watchtower asserted that Christian missionary work begun in the first century would "be
completed in our 20th century". When the magazine was republished in bound volumes, the phrase
"in our 20th century" was replaced with the less specific "in our day".
 For Rutherford the important dates were:
"WE HAVE no doubt whatever in regard to the chronology relating to
the dates of 1874, 1914, 1918, and 1925." Watchtower 1922 May 15
p.147
Over time, Rutherford replaced 1874, such that his time line was as
follows.

 Each time the Watchtower has predicted an occurrence, it

has not eventuated as foretold, a 100% failure rate.
 Does this inspire confidence in Watchtower interpretation?
 Jehovah's Witnesses promoted these falsehoods in the
past, and continue to zealously advocate current doctrine
as unfailing truths.
William Miller
• a Baptist farmer in the 19th century predicted when
Jesus would come again and many believed him
• After his prophecies of the Second Coming did not occur
as expected in the 1840s,
• When the day came and went he revised it and then the
same result.
• He responded that the reason He did not come was the
church was improperly observing the Sabbath day and
• this was the beginning of the Seventh Day Adventist
denomination.
• New heirs of his message emerged, including

• the Advent Christians (1860) and

• the Seventh-day Adventists (1863).
 • Edgar Whisenant said Jesus would come
again on September 12, 1988.

• was a former NASA engineer and Bible student who predicted the Rapture would
occur in 1988, sometime between Sept. 11 and Sept. 13.
• He published two books about this, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988
and On Borrowed Time. Eventually, 300,000 copies of 88 Reasons were mailed free
of charge to ministers across America, and 4.5 million copies were sold in
bookstores and elsewhere.
• Whisenant was quoted as saying "Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong; and I say
that to every preacher in town" and "[I]f there were a king in this country and I
could gamble with my life, I would stake my life on Rosh Hashana 88."
• Whisenant's predictions were taken seriously in some parts of the evangelical
Christian community. As the date approached, regular programming on the
Christian Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) was interrupted to provide special
instructions on preparing for the rapture.
• When the predicted rapture failed to occur, Whisenant followed up with later
books with predictions for various dates in 1989, 1993, and 1994.
• Whisenant continued to issue various rapture predictions through 1997, but
gathered little attention.
• It is hard to see how people could believe such false prophets when the Bible
clearly says no one knows the time.
 The Final Results
• Believers agree on the final outcome of the
return of Christ-unbelievers judged,
• believers rewarded,
• we will live with Christ in a new heaven
and
• new earth,
• God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit will be worshipped forever
• with no more suffering, sin, or pain.

The Biblical Studies Foundation

DISAGREEMENT OVER THE DETAILS OF
CHRIST’S RETURN

• Some of the points of disagreement involve

the rapture,
 millennium,
the great tribulation,
and the place of the Jews or Israel.

• It is not a salvation issue; however, the

disagreements are at times intense among
believers
The Biblical Studies Foundation
 Could Jesus Come At Any Time?
• There are disagreement whether Christ could return at any
time though there are passages that encourage us to be
ready because Christ will return at an hour we do not
expect.
• Some Christians say that could still could come at any time
while others say that He could not return for at least a
generation since it would take that long to fulfill some of
the predicted events that must occur before his return
Christ’s return is imminent; He could come at any time.
• The early church believed in the imminence of Christ’s
return as seen in verses like James 5:7-9, 1 Peter 4:7,
Revelation 1:3;22:7.
• The writers of Scripture were not mistaken because God
does not view time as we do. One day is like a thousand
years and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8).
Signs That Precedes The Coming Of Christ
A .Preaching of gospel to all nations
(Mark 13:10-Matt24:14)
B .The great tribulation
(Mark 13:7-8/Matt24:15/Luke 21:20-24/Mark
13:19-20)
C . False prophets working sign and wonders
(Mark 13:22/Matt 24:23-24)
D .Signs in the heavens
(Mark 13:24-25/Matt 24:29-30/Luke 21:25-27)
E .The coming of the man of sin and the rebellion
(1John 2:18/2 Thess2:1-10)
F .The salvation of Israel
(Romans 11:12/Rom 11:25-26)
 POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO THESE SIGNS
A .Preaching of gospel to all nation
• This sign has probably not been fulfilled since there are many
language groups and tribes that have still never heard the
gospel however in Col 1:5-6 Paul speaks that the gospel has
been preached to every creature under the heaven.
• In Col 1:23 Paul does not mean that every creature alive has
heard the proclamation of the gospel , but the proclamation
has gone forth to the whole world and that in a
representative sense at least, the gospel has been Preached
to the whole world or to all nation.
• Therefore though, it is unlikely but possible that this sign was
initially fulfilled in the first century and has been fulfilled in
a greater sense many times since then.
 The Teaching of the Rapture
(All evangelicals agree that it will happen)
• For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who
are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who
have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with
a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are
alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
(1 Thess 4:15-17)

• Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed – in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For
the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we
will be changed (1 Cor 15:51-52).
 RAPTURE VIEWS
• Three major views of
“when”
• Pretribulational view
(Rapture at begining the of 7
year trib.).
• MidTribulation?Prewrath
View ( is in the middle or
somewhat after the middle of
the 7 year tribulation Period)
• Posttribulational view
(Rapture at end of 7 year
trib.).
 What is the Tribulation?
• The “Tribulation” or “Great Tribulation” is an unpredicted time of
suffering and trial in the world that immediately precedes the
second coming of the Lord.
• Jesus stated, “For then there will be great suffering unlike
anything that has happened from the beginning of the world
until now, or ever will happen.” (Matt 24:21-22).
• Then one of the elders asked me, “These dressed in long
white robes – who are they and where have they come
from?” So I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.”
Then he said to me, “These are the ones who have come
out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! (Rev 7:13-
14)
 What is the Tribulation?
• What do we know about this “great tribulation”
• It’s a period that lasts 7 years long (Dan 9:27; Rev 13:5)
• It is a time of God’s wrath (Rev 6:17) and involves at least
three series of judgments from God toward the world that
are global in nature (Rev 6-18).
• The suffering and conflict will be greater than has ever been
seen
• It involves a unique manifestation of evil driven by the Devil,
the AntiChrist and the False Prophet (Rev 13).
• People will be faced with a stark choice to repent and
worship God or follow evil and receive the consequences of
this choice.
What is the Tribulation?
• There have been violent and intense persecution during
Roman rule around 66-70AD over Christians and also
persecution of christians in the former soviet union,in
communist china and
muslim countries.
• To tell christians who lived in this era that the great
tribulation has not yet happened will be much difficult.
• Once again though we may think that Jesus’ word
indicate the likelihood of yet greater persecution
coming in
future,it is difficult to be certain of this.
The Biblical Studies Foundation
 Rapture Views
• Basic Arguments for the Postribulation View (Developed in
part from George Ladd, The Blessed Hope)
• 1) There is only one “coming” of Jesus and both the Rapture and Conquest of Jesus
must be in the same event after the tribulation.
• 2) The resurrection mentioned in Revelation 20 at the second coming of Christ in
glory suggests that the Rapture which includes the resurrection is there (one
resurrection of saints) .
• 3) Saints (or elect) are seen in the tribulation period in Revelation and this must be
the church (Also Matt 24 seems indicates believers go through). The church does
not have to be removed from the tribulation to protected from God’s wrath through
it.
• 4) The pretribulation position is a relatively recent development (in part promoted
by the writings of JN Darby) not seen in the writings of the early church fathers.
• 5) The Parable of the Wheat and Tares (Matt 13:24) suggests that believers and
unbelievers will be together until the “end of the age.”
 Rapture Views
• Basic Arguments for the Midtribulation/Prewrath
View
• 1) The Rapture is said in 1 Cor 15 to occur at the “Last Trumpet”. In
Revelation there are a series of seven judgments that start with the
blowing of trumpets. The seventh trumpet sounds about half the way
through this.
• 2) There is an emphasis in Revelation on 3 and one/half years in the seven
year judgment (Rev 11:2-3; 12:6, 14; 13:5 cf. Dan 9:27).
• 3) The church is delivered from the wrath of God which starts at the mid-
point of the tribulation (Rev 15:1).
• 4) The prewrath rapture view is a development which sees the church
going through the midpoint of the tribulation period and undergoing
persecution but being taken our sometime prior to the end of the seven
year period and before a great outpouring of God’s wrath
Rapture Views
• Basic Arguments for the Pretrib Rapture
View
• 1) Daniel’s 70 week prophecy he states are for “his people”
(Dan 9:24). This must refer to national Israel and since the
first 69 weeks primarily refer to the time when God is
focusing His program on the nation of Israel it makes sense
that the 70th week would as well. The 70th week, a seven
year period, is the same length of time of the tribulation
period and the Daniel’s events fit well with a future
tribulational framework (abomination of desolation (Matt
24:15), etc);
Rapture Views
• 2) While the church is explicitly mentioned many times in
Rev 2-3 it is not explicitly mentioned once in chapters 4-
19. It is true that believers are described Rev 7:9-17 but
they are not described as the “church.” During Rev 4-19 the
focus appears to be on the tribes of Israel (Rev 7:1-8)
• 3) In Rev 3:10 it appears to me that the church is to be kept
from the hour or time of trial that is coming on the whole
world, not protected through it. We are not just kept from
the trial but kept from the time of it. The phrase “to test
those who dwell on the earth” (cf. Rev 6:10; 8:13; 11:10;
13:8, 14; 17:2, 8) is God’s purpose for the event and refers
to the unbelieving world some of whom will turn in belief
to God;
• ;
Rapture Views
• 4) lastly, the church is not appointed to wrath (1 Thess 5:9),
and it is clear that even from right at the start of the
tribulation God’s wrath is unleashed in terrifying force
(Rev 6:16-17).
 Discussion Questions

• 1. Why do you think the Bible gives us prophecies

about the future to think about?
• 2. What are the most important things to know
about the future and how can we live our life in
light of them?
• 3. How do rewards for the Christian motivate us
to serve God?
• 4. How has and does “date setting” for the Lord’s
return hurt the church?