The End of the Age

Be Ready

1 Tim 4:13 (NIV) Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

Rev 1:3 (RSV) Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near.The purpose of this study is not to teach a specific eschatology, but to meditate on the Scriptures concerning the rapture and day of the Lord for the purpose of preparing ourselves–preparing our hearts and minds–to meet the Lord Jesus when he returns.

Ready Or Not…

Are we looking to the skies, longing for the return of Jesus with power? Is the cry of our hearts: “Come, Lord Jesus!” or is it “Let’s wrestle some more,” or “Just let me indulge my flesh a little longer, then I’ll repent.” Will the events of the end of the age strike us with hope and joy, or dread?

This study is meant to be an act of worship. Don’t skim or read it piecemeal. Wait until you can devote 20-40 minutes to meditate on the Lord. If possible, read the Scriptures aloud with someone. We may need these scriptures, lodged in our souls, very soon.

We start with the words of Christ in the Olivette discourse. Notice how Jesus focuses on how we should respond. The things He “tells us in advance” are meant to produce the proper response in us, the purpose for which the Word was spoken. Things like repentance, holiness, and faith; NOT speculation, obsession, division over the specific details of the prophecy. In the same Spirit, Joel, Paul, John, and Peter encourage us to prepare ourselves for the end of the age.

The Olivette Discourse: Interwoven From Matthew, Mark, and Luke

Mat 24:3-9 (NIV) As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”

Mat 24:10-14 (NIV) “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Mark 13:11 (Phi) “…do not worry beforehand about what you are going to say–simply say the words you are given when the time comes. For it is not really you who will speak, but the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 21:12-16 (Phi) “…handing you over to synagogue or prison, or bringing you before kings and governors, for my name’s sake. This will be your chance to witness for me. So make up your minds not to think out your defense beforehand. I will give you such eloquence and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict it. But you will be betrayed, even by parents and brothers and kinsfolk and friends…”

Luke 21:20 (NIV) “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that it’s desolation is near.”

Mat 24:21-25 (NIV) “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now–and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive the elect–if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.”

Mark 13:23 (NIV) “So be on your guard, I have told you everything ahead of time.”

Mat 24:26-27 (NIV) “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

Isa 34:4 (NIV) All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

Mat 24:29-31 (NIV) “Immediately after the distress of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

Luke 21:25-28 (NIV) “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Mat 24:32-35 (NIV) “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Mat 24:36-42 (NIV) “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”

Mat 24:43-44 (NIV) “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Mat 24:45-51 (NIV) “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away for a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”

Luke 21:34-36 (Phi) “Be on your guard–see to it that your minds are never clouded by dissipation or drunkenness or the worries of this life, or else that day may catch you like the springing of a trap–for it will come upon every inhabitant of the whole earth. You must be vigilant at all times, praying that you may be strong enough to come safely through all that is going to happen, and stand in the presence of the Son of Man.”

Joel, Paul on The Nature of The End

Joel 2:28-32 (NIV) “…I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved… “

1 Thes 4:16-18 (Phi) One word of command, one shout from the archangel, one blast from the trumpet of God and the Lord himself will come down from Heaven! Those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then we who are still living will be swept up with them into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And after that we shall be with him for ever and ever. So by all means use this message to encourage one another.

1 Thes 5:1-6 (Phi) But as far as times and seasons go, my brothers, you don’t need written instructions. You are well aware that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When men are saying “Peace and Security”, catastrophe will sweep down upon them as suddenly and inescapably as birth-pangs to a pregnant woman. But because you, my brothers, are not living in darkness the day cannot take you by surprise, like a burglar! You are all sons of light, sons of the day, and none of us belongs to darkness of the night. Let us then never fall asleep, like the rest of the world: let us keep awake, with our wits about us.

An Epistle of Correction to Set Right a Counterfeit Letter

2 Thes 2:1-4 (NIV) Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or is worshipped, and even sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

2 Thes 2:5,9-12,15 (NIV) Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness… So then brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

1 Cor 1:7-9 (Phi) And you have been eager to receive his gifts during this time of waiting for his final appearance. He will keep you steadfast in the faith to the end, so that when his day comes you need fear no condemnation. God is utterly dependable, and it is he who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Heb 10:25 (Phi) And let us not hold aloof from our church meetings, as some do. Let us do all we can to help one another’s faith, and this the more earnestly as we see the final day drawing nearer.

Body Building

1 Pet 4:7-11 (NIV) The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever spiritual gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Christ Jesus. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Jn 2:28-3:3 (Phi) Yes, now, little children remember to live continually in him. So that if he were to reveal himself we should have confidence, and not have to shrink away from his presence in shame. You all know that God is really good. You may be just as sure that the man who leads a really good life is a true child of God. Consider the incredible love that the Father has shown us in allowing us to be called “children of God”–and that is not just what we are called, but what we ARE. This explains why the world will no more recognize us than it will recognize Christ. Here and now, my dear friends, we are God’s children. We don’t know what we shall become in the future. We only know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is! Everyone who has at heart a hope like that keeps himself pure, as Christ is pure.

1 Cor 15:50-52 (Phi) Listen, and I will tell you a secret. We shall not all die, but suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, every one of us will be changed as the last trumpet sounds! For the trumpet will sound and the dead shall be raised beyond the reach of corruption, and we shall be changed.

Rev 11:15,18 (Phi) The seventh angel blew his trumpet… Now is the time for destroying the destroyers of the earth!”

Phil 1:6,8-10 (Phi) I am confident of this: that the One who has begun his good work in you will go on developing it until the day of Jesus Christ… God knows how much I long, with the deep love and affection of Christ Jesus, for your companionship. My prayer for you is that you may have still more love–a love that is full of knowledge and every wise insight. I want you to be able always to recognize the highest and best, and to live sincere and blameless lives until the day of Christ.

2 Pet 3:1-7 (Phi) I have tried to stimulate you, as men with minds uncontaminated by error, by reminding you of what you really know already. This means recalling the words spoken of old by the holy prophets as well as the commands of our Lord and savior given to you through his messengers. First of all you must realize that in the last days cynical mockers will undoubtedly come–men whose only guide in life is what they want for themselves–and they will say, “Where is his promised coming? Since our fathers fell asleep, everything remains exactly as it was since the beginning of creation!” They are deliberately shutting their eyes to the fact that there were heavens in the old days and an earth formed by God’s command out of water and by water. It was by water that the world of those days was deluged and destroyed, but the present heavens and earth are, also by God’s command, being carefully kept and maintained for the fire of the day of judgment and the destruction of wicked men.

2 Pet 3:7-9 (Phi) But you should never lose sight of the fact, dear friends, that with the Lord a day may be a thousand years, and a thousand years only a day. It is not that he is slow about keeping his own promise as some men seem to think; the fact is that he is very patient with you. He has no wish that any man be destroyed; He wishes that all men should find the way to repentance. Yet the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. In that day the heavens will vanish in a tearing blast, the very elements will disintegrate in heat and the earth and all its works will disappear.

2 Pet 3:10-14 (Phi) In view of the fact that all these things are to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be? Surely men of good and holy character, who live expecting and working for the coming of the day of God. This day will mean that the heavens will disintegrate in fire and the burning elements will melt, but our hopes are set on new heavens and a new earth which he has promised us, in which justice will make its home. Because, my dear friends, you have a hope like this before you, I urge you to make certain that the day will find you at peace with God, flawless and blameless in his sight.

Rev 22:12-16,20 (NIV) “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright Morning Star.” …”He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen, Come, Lord Jesus.

Why Doesn’t God Just Show Up Now?

C.S. Lewis: “God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over.

“God is going to invade, all right, but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else–something it never entered your head to conceive–comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choices left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side… That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not.

“Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.”

Temptation

be on the watch

Rev 12:9 (NIV) The great dragon was hurled down–that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray…

Mat 6:13 (Phi) “Keep us clear of temptation, and save us from evil.”

Mat 26:41 (NIV) “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

When Bad Things Happen

The Scriptures speak of three kinds of “trouble” for the believer: 1) Discipline, judgment, or rebuke from the Lord; 2) tests, trials, persecutions, suffering; and 3) temptations or attacks from Satan. So when trouble comes, what type is it? Is this God directly moving to correct me, or is this the promised persecution for following Christ, or have we allowed Satan access into our lives? Which kinds of trouble can be avoided? Which can’t?

STUDY 3: Temptations or Attacks of Satan

The Adversary

Job 2:4-7,9-10 (NIV) … Satan replied, “…But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head… His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept the good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Do Not Defend Yourself

Mat 5:25-26 (NIV) “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

1 Tim 1:15-16 (NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

The Flesh Is Weak

1 Thes 3:5 (NIV) For this reason… I [Paul] sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

2 Cor 2:11 (NIV) …in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.Oswald Chambers: “A man’s disposition on the inside, i.e., what he possesses in his personality, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the nature of the one tempted, and reveals the possibilities of that nature. Every man has the setting of this own temptation, and the temptation will come along the line of the ruling disposition. Temptation yielded to… is a proof that it was timidity that prevented the sin before.”

Temptation 101

1 Jn 5:18 (NIV) We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one does not touch him.

James 1:13-14 (NIV) When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desires, he is dragged away and enticed.Oswald Chambers: “Until we are born again, [this is] the only temptation we understand. But by regeneration we are lifted into another realm where we face the kind of temptations Our Lord faced… Satan does not tempt us to do wrong things, he tempts us in order to make us lose… the possibility of being of value to God… Temptation is a suggested short-cut to the realization of the highest at which I aim–not at what I understand as evil, but towards what I understand as good… [At this point Satan] does not come along the line of tempting us to sin, but on the line of shifting the point of view, and only the Spirit of God can reveal this as a temptation of the devil.”

The Tempter, And The One Who Beat Him

Mat 4:1 (NIV) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

Heb 2:18 (Phi) By virtue of his own suffering under temptation he is able to help those who are exposed to temptation.C.S. Lewis: “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because he was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means–the only complete realist.”

Our High Priest, Our Defense Attorney Against The Accuser

Heb 4:15-16 (Phi) For ours is no High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses–he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that he never sinned. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with fullest confidence, that we may receive mercy for our failures and grace to help in the hour of need.

Fight The Good Fight

Heb 12:4 (NIV) In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood…. In fact, most of us have not even made an honest attempt at resisting temptation. We cave in immediately without much of a fight. “Well, I’ll quit doing that next week.” “Why struggle now when I know I am going to do it again anyway?” “It is just a matter of time, and now is as good a time as any.” But temptation feeds on weakness and bent desires. We need to start struggling to see what holiness is all about, to see if we will like it in eternity with God. We will also see just how strong we are and what we are made of.

Spiritual Wimps

One of the things that makes us cave in to temptation so early is that we often have the sense that we are going to fail anyway, so why even put up a struggle? But are we so sure of this? Didn’t the problem of last year or last month strike us with the same despair? And yet with God it was possible.Spiritual growth seems so impossible in the moment, and so easy in retrospect.We need to remember how unlikely it seemed we would ever: profess Christ, pray in public, witness, and all of the other steps along the way, as we face the temptation to give up now. After all, this too will pass. We can, and will make it by the grace of God. And God has given us His word…

1 Cor 10:13 (TEB) Every temptation that has come your way is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your power to resist; at the time you are tempted he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.

On Guard

Gal 6:1 (Phi) Even if a man is detected in some sin, my brothers, the spiritual ones among you should quietly set him back on the right path, not with any feeling of superiority but being yourselves on guard against temptation.

Prov 16:18 (NIV) Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Don’t Place Yourselves In Dangerous Territory Unless God Is With You!

1 Cor 7:5 (Phi) [To married] Do not cheat each other of normal sexual intercourse… or you will expose yourselves to the obvious temptation of Satan.

Eph 4:26b-27 (NIV) Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

1 Tim 6:9 (NIV) People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

You Are Not Alone

1 Pet 5:8-10 (Phi) Be self-controlled and vigilant always, for your enemy the devil is always about, prowling like a lion roaring for its prey. Resist him, standing firm in your faith, remembering that the strain is the same for all your fellow-Christians in other parts of the world. And after you have born these sufferings a very little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to share his eternal splendor through Christ, will himself make you whole and secure and strong.

Attacks Of Satan

Dan 6:16-17 (NIV) So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.Oswald Chambers: “We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings round about us. Never! God engineers circumstances and whatever they may be like we have to see that we face them while abiding continually with Him… They are… temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. The honor of Jesus Christ is at stake in your bodily life.”

Dan 6:19-22 (NIV) At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel answered, “…My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight…”

Dan 6:23-24 (NIV) The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Ps 23:5 (NIV) You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…

The Secret Weapon

How would a cadaver respond to this temptation? “Reckon yourself dead…” to every instinct, impulse, and desire of the flesh. This is the violence of the war of the kingdom of God (Mat 11:12). This is the cross we bear that leads to victory. This is “the way of the Lord”.

Rom 6:11-13 (Wey) … You must regard yourselves as dead in relation to sin, but as alive in relation to God, because you are in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign as king in your mortal bodies, causing you to be in subjection to their cravings; and no longer lend your faculties as unrighteous weapons for sin to use. On the contrary surrender your very selves to God as living men who have risen from the dead, and surrender your various faculties to God, to be used as weapons to maintain the right.

Luke 9:23 (NIV) Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

2 Cor 4:10 (NIV) We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

Rom 8:13 (NAS) … If by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, then you will live.

Can’t Touch This…

1 Jn 5:18 (Phi) We know that the true child of God does not sin, he is in the charge of God’s own Son and the evil one cannot touch him.

Gal 5:16-17 (Jer) Let me put it like this: if you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing…

James 4:7 (NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

The Day Is Coming

Eph 6:10,13 (Phi) In conclusion be strong–not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless strength. Put on God’s complete armor so that you can successfully resist all the devil’s craftiness… that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground.

2 Tim 4:18 (NIV) The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack…

Mat 6:13 (NIV) “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Passing

June 21 2002, Life was good, Was doing well in all aspects. Success was everywhere.

50 minutes in June 22, and suddenly nothing was good any longer. nothing made sense anymore.

In one moment, everything focused on one thing, did I believe in a life or death way in eternal life based on Jesus Christ and his teachings. No time to prepare, think, consider, pray for strength, get ready … in one second I had to choose. I did not want to. Joshua was gone from where I was, where Leisa was. We could never ever talk, touch, guide, laugh, or cry with him again. All the plans we had to launch him into this life were rendered meaningless. I had said I was prepared, I found out I was not. I put on a brave face 80% of the time. I was a mess the rest, privately and was totally not there to help my wife grieve. The pain was beyond what I could imagine. Our plans to play with the grand kids in the back yard were now just a knife in our heart, grand children no longer possible.

Rewind 6 weeks or so, My mother in law passed from this life after years of health decline due to heart disease. She planned her funeral service with her daughters. A week prior to her death – she visited with the grand kids, laughed with them. We all knew this was goodbye, we hugged her. Her daughters and husband spent the next 5 days helping her pass. She died in her sleep on the 5th morning. We grieved and it hurt, but there was a peace. You expect 60+ people to probably die before you do at age 40 something.

2013 – my dad broke a hip at age 84, he slowly passed from this life over the next 60 days. There was a peace in his passing. We grieved but there was the expectation that parents go first. Looking back he had started passing about a year or so earlier, you could see his loss of interest in this life.

My wife’s friend’s mother passed recently, the funeral is today. Her friend is the last of her nuclear family, dad, then sister, and now mom are gone. She knew it was close for her mom, but it hurts and knowing you are the last of your little family is a different kind of hurt. We are praying for her and will go see her in a few days when she returns from out of state.

In times like these, words fail. Some things you need to say, just seems appropriate. But they fail. Nothing can stop the pain of loss. Time attenuates it. It stops being a knife 24×7 in your heart. The tears stop pouring most days.

Timeline

230am June 22 2002 when I found out that Joshua was dead to June 24 end of day. We had visitation June 22 at 5pm, we viewed privately Joshua’s body in the casket at noon – less than 12 hours after his death. His maternal grandparents had a burial policy that paid for his funeral…strange benefit…His grammy took care of Joshua even in death. I recall one of his friends standing at his casket weeping holding a teddy bear he gave her for what seemed to be a long time. We hugged her. I recall a cousin screaming on seeing him in the casket. Leisa and I cried and hugged everyone who came. I told them Joshua was ok. I knew he was with Jesus, and my heart was screaming and bleeding emotionally.

Afternoon of June 24, funeral service, I spoke through tears, I held onto Leisa, we watched the casket lower into the ground. We then spent the next 4 weeks choosing headstones. We picked a set and placed a poem on them that Joshua had written.

We stopped visiting the gravesite about 5 years later. He is not there. It still hurts, but the pain is attenuated and there is a peace that passes understanding. I know God has him and grammy and my dad. I trust that Jesus did what he said he does. Eternal life with him is the promise.

One of the survivors of the accident that killed Joshua and the other driver, a young man who was a youth group friend of Joshua’s and our friend the past many years. His life was a challenge, he was a bright light but had darkness, He believed in Jesus, but suffered emotional pain from a absent dad that he never reconciled with with. Once his mom passed from an illness he only made it two years and he simply died (my opinion) from the pain in his emotional heart, he gave up. It was sudden and we miss him too. I know he is being taken care of by God. Of that I have no doubt.

Passing is hard to navigate

Be thankful if you are simply navigating life and some small stuff. The passing to eternity is hard for those who remain behind to continue navigating this life.

That summer of 2002, I found my life scripture, 2 Cor 5:7 Walk by Faith not by Sight.

Photos to help with visualizing Joshua, Grammy, Papa, and some other perspectives. Note the headstones we ended up with.

A poem, the one on the back of his headstone

We are one and the same, you and I,
And though death may take us we will never die,
For I’m only a soul, like yourself,
Just another book on the shelf.

And though losses I will have, I am surely certain,
That on life’s stage, beyond the curtain,
My destiny will be found with great discernity,
For what we do in life echoes in eternity.

– Joshua’s epitaph –
The final two stanzas of Who I Am, subtitled “Alive in Christ,” are inscibed on his headstone at Magnolia Springs Cemetery near Kirbyville, TX

Covenants

Using covenants is how God communicates to us, redeems us, and guarantees us eternal life in Jesus. He does this because a covenant is a promise, and God’s promises cannot be broken since they rest in his infinite, pure character. The Bible is a covenant document. The Old and New Testaments are really Old and New Covenants. The word “testament” is Latin for Covenant.

There is a pattern to the covenants found in the Bible. Basically, it is as follows. The initiating party describes himself and what he has done, then there is a list of obligations between the two (or more) parties. What follows is the section dealing with rewards and punishments that govern the keeping and breaking of the covenant. The Ten Commandments fit this pattern and are a covenant document.

The initiating party describes himself and what he has done.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” (Exodus 20:2).

Then there is a list of obligations between the two (or more) parties.

“You shall have no other gods before Me,” (Exodus 20:3)

“You shall not make for yourself an idol…” (Exodus 20:4).

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain…” (Exodus 20:7)

etc.

Then there is the section dealing with rewards and punishments that govern the keeping and breaking of the covenant.

“… for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain,” (Exodus 20:7).

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you,” (Exodus 20:12).

Covenants can be conditional or non-conditional. A conditional covenant might depend on the faithfulness of one more more parties, and the covenant is invalidated should one or both break the conditions. An example of this would be the Adamic Covenant where God promised Adam eternal life if Adam remained obedient to God’s word. An unconditional covenant is one that is not dependent on the faithfulness of the parties, but remains valid. The Noahic Covenant is unconditional in that it is God’s promise to never destroy the earth again by water. There is no condition for the covenant.

All covenants in the Bible between God and man are originated by God and are an act of his grace.

Zechariah

Some of the prophecies and references to Christ are:

1. 9:9-10 Talks about the gentle righteous king coming to them riding on a donkey and that he will teach peace and rule from sea to sea.

2. 10:4 From Judah will come the cornerstone

3. 11:12 Thirty pieces of silver – Tells of the rejection of the ministry of the good Sheppard so instead of paying him they insulted him by giving him the price of a slave. This foreshadows Christ and his betrayal by Judas.

4. 12:10 refers to the one who was pierced. This says that when Christ returns they will recognize Him for who He is.

5. 13:10 talks about the fountain that will cleanse them from sin and impurity.

6. Chapter 14 talks about the second coming of Christ.

Zechariah reminds me that God loves us and he is patient, just and consistent. He wants the same things from us today that he wanted from them then – to love each other and honor Him with all we do.

God is For us

Romans 8

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

Descending and After Death

https://probe.org/why-did-jesus-have-to-go-to-hell-after-he-died/

I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
He descended into hell;
on the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of Saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-happens-at-death

believers will be taken into the presence of Christ in heaven. Christ is in heaven now (Acts 1:2; 3:21; 1 Thes 1:10; 4:16; 2 Thes 1:7), and believers will go to be with Him. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). And on two different occasions Paul spoke of death as ushering us into the presence of Christ:

But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. (Philippians 1:23-24)

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord–for we walk by faith, not by sight–we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (2 Corinthians 5:6-9)

heaven is a place of resplendent glory, and being with Christ in the glory of heaven will be far superior to our present earthly lives. Notice that in the passages just listed, Paul says that departing this life to be with Christ “is very much better” (Philippians 1:23) and that he would “prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

when in heaven we will be continue looking forward (as we should be already in this life) to the resurrection of our bodies from the dead. Disembodied existence is not God’s ultimate and final and greatest purpose for us. As great as it will be to be in heaven after we die, God has something greater in store: being resurrected from the dead so that we will live soul and body forever in the new heavens and new earth.

at the moment of death believers will be made perfect and cleansed from all sin. This follows from the above point that believers are taken to heaven immediately at death. Heaven is fully pure and free from all tarnish and sin, and therefore when God takes us to heaven He makes us fit for the experience of it by making our hearts perfect in holiness. This accords with His purpose to make us completely like Christ (Romans 8:29) and, at the return of Christ, to present us to Himself without spot or wrinkle or sin (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 5:27).

those who did not trust Christ in this life will be separated from God and enter a reality completely devoid of His common grace and blessing. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus speaks of Lazarus as being taken to heaven when he dies but the rich man, because he did not heed the Scriptures, immediately entering into great torment and being excluded from the blessing of heaven (Luke 16:22-26). Scripture speaks often of the painful reality that awaits those who do not place their faith in Christ to be rescued from sin (Matthew 13:30; 25:41; Luke 12:5; John 3:36; Romans 2:8-9; Hebrews 10:29).

Origin meaning morality destiny

Four questions everyone has

Origin meaning morality destiny

Apologist Ravi Zacharias offers what he calls the 3-4-5 method of analyzing worldviews. I would like to share it with you because it will provide you a method with which to judge worldview options.
First, there are three tests that a worldview must pass. It must be:
1. logically consistent – Its teachings cannot be self-contradictory.
2. empirically adequate – Its teachings must match what we see in reality.
3. existentially relevant – Its teachings must speak directly to how we actually live our lives.
Second, each worldview must address the following fourultimate questions:
1. origin – Where do the universe and human beings come from?
2. meaning – What is the meaning or purpose of life?
3. morality – How do we know what is right and what is wrong?
4. destiny – What happens to us after we die?
Third, there are five academic disciplines that must be employed to study a worldview:
1. theology – the study of God church
2. metaphysics – the study of what is ultimately real
3. epistemology – the study of how we can know things
4. ethics – the study of moral right and wrong
5. anthropology – the study of what and who humans are
Why do I believe that the worldview of biblical Christianity is the best choice? Its teachings are logically consistent, they accurately describe reality as it is, and they speak directly to the human condition.
In addition, Christianity provides compelling and powerful answers to the questions of origin, meaning, morality, and destiny.
Finally, the theology, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and anthropology of the Christian worldview are expansively rich and deeply profound – unsurpassed by any other worldview.
If you are a Christian and you haven’t analyzed Christianity using the 3-4-5 method, you are truly missing out. Read, and read some more. Dig into your faith, as it provides comprehensive answers to life’s most important questions.
If you are not a Christian, I plead with you to open your heart and mind, and study the Christian worldview. Apply the 3-4-5 method described above, but never forget that Christian doctrine always revolves around a person, Jesus Christ. He is the embodiment of our faith, and it is to him that we look.