The end is the new beginning

If there were no future, writes Paul, it would be foolish to believe in Christ (1. Corinthians 15,19). Prophecy is an essential and very encouraging part of the Christian faith. Bible prophecy announces something extraordinarily hopeful. We can draw a lot of strength and courage from her if we concentrate on her key messages, not on details that can be argued about.

The purpose of prophecy

Prophecy is not an end in itself - it articulates a higher truth. Namely that God reconciles mankind with himself, God; that he forgives us the sins; that he makes us again friends of God. This reality proclaims prophecy. Prophecy exists not only to predict events but to refer to God. She tells us who God is, what He is, what He does and what He expects of us. Prophecy calls on man to achieve reconciliation with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Many specific prophecies were fulfilled in Old Testament times, and we expect more to be fulfilled. But the focus of all prophecy is something completely different: salvation - the forgiveness of sins and the eternal life that comes through Jesus Christ. Prophecy shows us that God is the ruler of history (Daniel 4,14); it strengthens our faith in Christ (John 14,29) and gives us hope for the future (2. Thessalonians 4,13-18).

One of the things Moses and the prophets wrote about Christ was that he would be killed and raised4,27 u. 46). They also foretold events after Jesus' resurrection, such as the preaching of the gospel (v. 47).

Prophecy points us to the attainment of salvation in Christ. If we don't understand this, all prophecy is of no use to us. Only through Christ can we enter the kingdom that will never end (Daniel 7,13-14 and 27).

The Bible proclaims the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgment, it proclaims eternal punishments and rewards. In doing so, it shows people that redemption is necessary and, at the same time, that redemption is certain to come. Prophecy tells us that God will hold us accountable (Jude 14-15), that He wants us to be redeemed (2 Pt3,9) and that he has already redeemed us (1. John 2,1-2). She assures us that all evil will be conquered, that all injustice and suffering will come to an end (1. Corinthians 15,25; Revelation 21,4).

Prophecy strengthens the believer: it tells him that his efforts are not in vain. We will be saved from persecution, we will be justified and rewarded. Prophecy reminds us of God's love and faithfulness and helps us to remain faithful to Him (2. Petrus 3,10-15; 1. John 3,2-3). By reminding us that all material treasures are perishable, prophecy admonishes us to cherish the still invisible things of God and our eternal relationship with him.

Zechariah refers to prophecy as a call to repentance (Zechariah 1,3-4). God warns of punishment but expects repentance. As exemplified in the story of Jonah, God is ready to withdraw his announcements when people turn to him. The goal of prophecy is to be converted to God who holds a wonderful future for us; not to satisfy our tickling, to discover "secrets".

Basic requirement: Caution

How to understand Bible prophecy? Only with great caution. Well-meaning prophecy "fans" have discredited the gospel with false prophecies and misguided dogmatism. Because of such misuse of prophecy, some people mock the Bible, even scoff at Christ Himself. The list of failed predictions should be a sober warning that personal beliefs still do not guarantee truth. Since false predictions can weaken faith, we must exercise caution.

We shouldn't need sensational predictions to seriously strive for spiritual growth and a Christian way of life. Knowing times and other details (even if they turn out to be correct) is no guarantee of salvation. For us, the focus should be on Christ, not on the pros and cons, whether this or that world power is perhaps to be interpreted as the "beast".

Prophecy means that we put too little emphasis on the gospel. Man must repent and believe in Christ, whether Christ's return is imminent or not, whether there will be a millennium or not, whether America is addressed in Bible prophecy or not.

Why is prophecy so difficult to interpret? Perhaps the most important reason is that she so often speaks in allegories. The original readers may have known what was meant by the symbols; since we live in a different culture and time, the interpretation is much more problematic for us.

An example of symbolic language: the 18th Psalm. In poetic form he describes how God saves David from his enemies (verse 1). David uses various symbols for this: escape from the realm of the dead (4-6), earthquakes (8), signs in the sky (10-14), even rescue from distress (16-17). These things didn't really happen, but are used symbolically and poetically in a figurative sense to make certain facts clear, to make them “visible”. So does prophecy.

Isaiah 40,3: 4 speaks of the fact that mountains are brought down and roads made even - this is not meant literally. Luke 3,4-6 indicates that this prophecy was fulfilled through John the Baptist. It wasn't about mountains and roads at all.

Joel 3,1-2 predicts that God's Spirit will be poured out “on all flesh”; According to Peter, this was already fulfilled with a few dozen people on the day of Pentecost (Acts of the Apostles 2,16-17). The dreams and visions that Joel prophesied are detailed in their physical descriptions. But Peter does not ask for the exact fulfillment of the outer signs in accounting - and neither should we. When we are dealing with imagery, we do not expect all the details of the prophecy to appear verbatim.

These facts influence the way people interpret Bible prophecy. One reader may prefer a literal interpretation, the other a figurative, and it may be impossible to prove which is correct. This forces us to focus on the overall picture, not the details. We look through milk glass, not through a magnifying glass.

There are no Christian consensus in several important areas of prophecy. Thus z. For example, on the topics of Rapture, Great Tribulation, Millennium, Intermediate State and Hell quite different views. The individual opinion is not so important here. Although they are part of the divine plan and important to God, it is not essential that we get all the right answers here - especially not when sowing discord between us and dissenters. Our attitude is more important than the dogmatism in individual points.

Perhaps we can compare prophecy to a journey. We don't need to know exactly where our goal is, how we're going to get there, and how fast we're going to get there. What we need most of all is trust in our “guide,” Jesus Christ. He is the only one who knows the way, and without him we go astray. Let's stick to him – he takes care of the details. With these omens and caveats, let us now consider some basic Christian teachings that deal with the future.

The return of Christ

The great key event shaping our teachings about the future is the second coming of Christ. There is almost complete agreement that he will come back. Jesus announced to his disciples that he would “come again” (John 14,3). At the same time, he warns the disciples not to waste their time calculating dates4,36). He criticizes people who believe the time is near5,1-13), but also those who believe in a long delay (Matthew 24,45-51). Morality: We always have to be prepared for it, we always have to be ready, that is our responsibility.

Angels announced to the disciples: As sure as Jesus went to heaven, he will also come again (Acts of the Apostles 1,11). He will "reveal himself... out of heaven with the angels of his power in flames of fire" (2. Thessalonians 1,7-8th). Paul calls it the "appearance of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2,13). Peter also speaks of the fact that “Jesus Christ is revealed” (1. Petrus 1,7; see also verse 13), likewise John (1. John 2,28). Similarly in the Letter to the Hebrews: Jesus will appear "for the second time" "for salvation to those who wait for him" (9,28). There is talk of a loud sounding "command", of the "voice of the archangel", the "trumpet of God" (2. Thessalonians 4,16). The second coming will be clear, will be visible and audible, will be unmistakable.

It will be accompanied by two other events: the resurrection and the judgment. Paul writes that the dead in Christ will rise when the Lord comes, and that at the same time the living believers will be drawn up into the air to meet the Lord who comes down (2. Thessalonians 4,16-17). "For the trumpet will sound," writes Paul, "and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed" (1. Corinthians 15,52). We are subjected to a transformation - we become “glorious”, mighty, incorruptible, immortal and spiritual (v. 42-44).

Matthew 24,31 seems to describe this from a different point of view: "And he [Christ] will send his angels with sounding trumpets, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." In the parable of the weeds says At the end of the age, Jesus will “send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes apostasy, and those who do wrong, and will throw them into the fiery furnace” (Matthew 13,40-42).

“For it will come to pass that the Son of man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his doing” (Matthew 16,27). In the parable of the faithful servant (Matthew 24,45-51) and in the parable of the entrusted talents (Matthew 25,14-30) also the court.

When the Lord comes, Paul writes, he will “also bring to light what is hidden in the dark and will make known the intentions of the heart. Then everyone will have his praise from God" (1. Corinthians 4,5). Of course, God already knows everyone, and so the judgment took place long before Christ's second coming. But it will then be "made public" for the first time and announced to everyone. That we are given new life and that we are rewarded is a tremendous encouragement. At the end of the “chapter of the resurrection” Paul exclaims: “But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brethren, be firm, steadfast and always increase in the work of the Lord, knowing that your work is not in vain in the Lord ”(1. Corinthians 15,57-58).

The last days

To spark interest, prophecy teachers like to ask, “Are we living in the last days?” The correct answer is “yes” - and it has been correct for 2000 years. Peter quotes a prophecy about the last days and applies it to his own time (Acts 2,16-17), likewise the author of the letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 1,2). The last few days have been going on a lot longer than some people think. War and misery have plagued mankind for thousands of years. Will it get any worse? Probably. After that it might get better, and then worse again. Or it gets better for some people and worse for others at the same time. Throughout history, the "misery index" has bounced up and down, and it will likely continue to do so.

Time and again, however, for some Christians it “couldn't get bad enough”. They almost thirst for the great tribulation described as the most terrible time of need there will ever be in the world4,21). They are fascinated by the Antichrist, the "beast", the "man of sin" and other enemies of God. In every terrible event they routinely see a sign that Christ is about to return.

It is true that Jesus foretold a time of terrible tribulation (or: great tribulation) (Matthew 24,21), but most of what he foretold was already fulfilled at the siege of Jerusalem in the year 70. Jesus warns his disciples about things that they should still experience for themselves; z. B. that it would be necessary for the people of Judea to flee to the mountains (v. 16).

Jesus foretold times of constant need until his return. “In the world you have distress,” he said (John 16,33, Quantity translation). Many of his disciples sacrificed their lives for their faith in Jesus. Trials are part of the Christian life; God does not protect us from all of our problems4,22; 2. Timothy 3,12; 1. Petrus 4,12). Even then, in the apostolic times, antichrists were at work (1. John 2,18 & 22; 2. John 7).

Is a great tribulation predicted for the future? Many Christians believe that, and maybe they are right. But millions of Christians around the world are already persecuting today. Many are killed. For each of them, the distress can not get any worse than it already is. For two millennia terrible times have come over the Christians again and again. Maybe even the great tribulation lasts much longer than many people think.

Our Christian duties remain the same, whether the tribulation is near or far, or whether it has already begun. Speculation about the future does not help us become more Christ-like, and when used as a lever to force people to repent, it is badly abused. Who speculates about the distress, uses his time badly.

The millennium

Revelation 20 speaks of a millennial reign of Christ and the saints. Some Christians literally understand this as a thousand-year kingdom built by Christ on his return. Other Christians symbolize the "thousand years" as a symbol of Christ's reign in the Church, before His return.

The number thousand can be used symbolically in the Bible 7,9; Psalm 50,10), and there is no evidence that it must be taken literally in Revelation. The revelation is written in a style that is extraordinarily rich in images. No other Bible book speaks of a temporary kingdom to be established at Christ's second coming. Verses like Daniel 2,44 on the contrary, even suggest that the empire will be eternal without any crisis 1000 years later.

If there is a millennial kingdom after Christ's return, the wicked will be raised and judged a thousand years after the righteous (Revelation 20,5: 2). However, Jesus' parables do not suggest such a gap in time (Matthew 5,31-46; John 5,28-29). The millennium is not part of Christ's gospel. Paul writes that the righteous and the wicked will be resurrected on the same day (2. Thessalonians 1,6-10).

Many more individual questions on this topic could be discussed, but that is not necessary here. For each of the cited views can be found in the Scriptures. One thing is certain, whatever the Millennium may imply: At some point, the time span mentioned in Revelation 20 comes to an end and it is followed by a new heaven and a new earth, eternal, glorious, greater, better, and longer than the millennium. Therefore, when we think of the wonderful world of tomorrow, we may prefer to focus on the eternal, perfect kingdom, not a temporary phase. We have an eternity to look forward to!

An eternity of joy

How will it be - eternity? We only know in part (1. Corinthians 13,9; 1. John 3,2) because all of our words and thoughts are based on today's world. Jesus illustrated our eternal reward in several ways: it will be like finding treasure or having many goods, or ruling a kingdom or attending a wedding banquet. These are only approximate descriptions as there is nothing like it. Our eternity with God will be more beautiful than words could say.

David put it this way: "Fullness of joy before you, and delight at your right hand forever" (Psalm 16,11). The best part of eternity will be living with God; to be like him; to see him for what he really is; to know and recognize him better (1. John 3,2). This is our ultimate goal and God-willed sense of being, and it will satisfy us and give us eternal joy.

And in 10.000 years, with tens of millions before us, we will look back on our lives today and smile at the worries we have had, and marvel at how quickly God was doing His work when we were mortal. It was only the beginning and there will be no end.

by Michael Morrison

The end is the new beginning