The Future Part 2

Elevate Student Ministry Podcast

The Bible tells us that this world will experience more chaos.

Matthew 24:3-8
“ And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

2 Timothy 3:1-4
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;”

The Bible predicts that the world will become steadily worse. The complete description in the Bible tells of constant catastrophic events and a world that hates God. How do we see this happening today?

Before the most terrible events take place, the Bible teaches we will be taken off the earth by Christ.

John 14:2-3
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

1 Corinthians 15:51-52
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

Any moment now Christ will bring all BELIEVERS up to Heaven. This is called the “RAPTURE.” This word means “to be CAUGHT up.” Then we will forever be with the Lord. Our work on earth will be done.

After the Rapture, the Bible teaches that seven years of great TRIBULATION will take place on the earth. Tribulation means “time of trouble.”

This will be an awful time: death, disease, hunger, famine, earthquakes on a scale never seen before, entire seas contaminated, darkness, scorching of the earth by the sun, and many more judgements. The Bible teaches that two-thirds of the world’s population will die during the Tribulation.

During this time a world leader will rise whom the Bible calls “The Antichrist.” The Devil has his unholy trinity (The Devil, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet).
The Antichrist will require everyone to receive a mark on their body. He will do many MIRACLES by Satan’s power and proclaim himself to be GOD. The False Prophet will lead the world to worship the ANTICHRIST.

During this time, two special WITNESSES will be sent by God to turn people to Him (many Bible teachers believe these men will be Moses and Elijah).

Also, God will choose and send 144,000 JEWISH missionaries during this time to go throughout the world with the Word of God.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

2 Thessalonians 2:8-12
“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

At the end of the Tribulation, the Antichrist and his forces will make their final move to try and destroy the Jewish people. But at the last moment, Jesus and His heavenly army will descend from Heaven and destroy the enemies of God. The Tribulation ends at this battle which takes place at ARMAGEDDON in the Middle East.

Then the Devil will be bound for one thousand years. And Jesus Christ will reign as KING over the whole earth during that time. We call this “the Millennium” (meaning one thousand). The world will have the curse of sin removed from it and it will be like the Garden of Eden again.

Revelation 20:10-15
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that 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, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

At the end of the Millennium, god will destroy the entire universe. Every person who did not accept Christ will stand before God and His Great White Throne to receive their final judgment. Satan will then receive his final punishment.

Revelation 21:4
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Then, finally, a new Heaven (Universe) and new Earth will be created which will be perfect and beautiful.

It’s impossible to put into words how wonderful our life will be with God for eternity. His plan for all who believe is more than we can imagine or understand. As soon as you can, read Revelation 21-22 to see the description of what waits you.

Christ is Coming soon!

Here is a time chart picturing the events we just studied:

Church age: Rapture: 7 year Tribulation: 2nd Coming of Christ & Battle of Armageddon: 1000 yr Millennial Reign of Christ: Great White Throne Judgement: New Heaven & New Earth

Important: Time is short. The sand is running out of the hourglass. At any moment, Jesus will call us up to be with Him forever. The future belongs to disciples who are prepared not just to survive but to succeed in the :Last Days.” The days ahead will become difficult and filled with distress. Be ready for what’s coming. God said He would be with us until the end of the world. So don’t go through the tough days ahead without staying close to Him and leading as many to Him as possible.

Audio Link:

https://archive.org/download/ElevateStudentMinistryAudioArchive/20160911_DITW_End_Times_Part_2.mp3