Eschatology

Cloud surfing? Harp strumming? Singing in an everlasting worship service? Melting into nothing in the celestial light of God? Is this how we will be enjoying eternity?

Some guesses about our eternal activities are nebulous, and others cross the border into the ridiculous. None of these pictures inspires me to anticipate eternity with joy. George Orwell observed,

In the wake of events unfolding in the Middle East, many are wondering what the Bible says regarding the final, future salvation of Israel—and how the exigencies that we are all witnessing on our television screens right now relate to that future.

It is also common for evangelicals to raise this concern: Why should we be distressed for the nation of Israel today—when they are a people in unbelief?

To answer these questions, let’s simply consider the bookends of the coming seven-year tribulation, the 70^th week of the prophet Daniel (see Dan. 9:24-27).

Read Part 1.

Did you know that there will certainly be a future end-time spiritual revival upon this Earth? Jesus prophesied in Matt. 24:14, stating:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

What will that look like during the days of the tribulation? Who will be the personalities that will be involved?

It is indeed one of the great untold stories in all of the Bible—to say nothing of the prophetic future.

Did you know that a great end-time revival is promised in Holy Scripture, and that its impact will be such that it will push any previous so-called revivals or awakenings into the shadows forever?

Read Part 2 and Part 1.

As we conclude this short series, I’d like to try to unlock the meaning of an obscure phrase, found twice within the letters to the seven churches of Revelation. which has always intrigued me. The references are quite easy to remember, as they both end in the number nine.

Christ told “the church in Smyrna” (Rev. 2:8):

Read Part 1.

The Lord Jesus Christ made two startling announcements, through the Apostle John, to the recipients of the book of Revelation.

Speaking to His congregation at Smyrna, He stated: “I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9).

Then, He addressed the Philadelphian church regarding “those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie” (Rev. 3:9).

Or perhaps better—the imminence of death as related to prophecy.

The Imminence of Death—note that I didn’t say The Death of Imminence—though some want to quash the latter. Death isn’t a nice subject. Yet it’s one which demands our attention. Barring the Lord’s return for His church—in whatever context we think that will be—we’ll all have to cross the Great River of Death at some point.