Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 134

00:00:00.500 Hello, hello. How is everyone doing? Great, I hope, on this hot summer day.

00:00:06.760 Okay, we have a ton to cover today. As you can tell from the title and the description, we are talking about the end times.

00:00:13.100 Now, it is absolutely insane for anyone to try to cover the end times in a 30 to 40 minute episode, but we're kind of crazy around here, so that's what we're going to try to do.

00:00:24.040 I always give this caveat. There is not any possible way for us to cover everything about eschatology, everything about the end times in this frame that we have.

00:00:36.800 There's just not a way for us to do that, and so I'm going to try to give you all of the information that I possibly can without holding you here for like six hours,

00:00:45.460 because that's at least how long it would take to cover all of the prophecy and all of the theological intricacies about the end times,

00:00:54.000 because the fact of the matter is, this is a very complicated subject, but I'm going to go through at least the basic points on what a Christian belief is on the end times

00:01:05.120 and what the varying viewpoints between Bible-believing Christians are, and then I will also reveal to you what I think.

00:01:11.880 I've gotten a lot of messages asking me, are you a pre-millennialist, post-millennialist, pre-trib, post-trib, all this stuff.

00:01:18.740 I will tell you exactly what I believe based on scripture at the end of this, and you might disagree with me, and that's perfectly fine,

00:01:25.660 and a lot of you listening might not have any idea whatsoever about what the Bible says about the end times,

00:01:31.560 and I want you to know that that is totally okay. You are in the right place, and some of you who have been studying this for a long time,

00:01:39.100 you probably know a lot more than I do, and there might be some things that you correct me on, or you think that I should add.

00:01:44.640 Always feel free to email me, Allie at the conservativemillennialblog.com.

00:01:48.300 I love listening, or I love hearing from you guys. I get emails from pastors and from seminary students or from seminary grads all of the time,

00:01:58.320 both giving me encouragement and support and also saying, here's another way to look at this, or here's something that you could add to this.

00:02:04.300 I love those kinds of emails, and always, as always, if there's something that I say theologically that you don't agree with,

00:02:11.600 or that you think is wrong, I always want and appreciate and actually demand, I don't want to say that,

00:02:20.960 but kind of necessitate, I guess, a scriptural basis for your disagreement, because I think that it's only productive

00:02:28.220 if we can say we go back to the infallible Word of God for our source of wisdom and truth.

00:02:33.400 I don't really care what my opinion is or your opinion. I care about what the Bible says.

00:02:38.120 The fact of the matter is, as we're going to see in this particular podcast episode, is that

00:02:42.420 even with the Bible as our ultimate source of truth, even as people who all believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God,

00:02:48.960 is sufficient for truth, is sufficient for wisdom, is sufficient for instruction and reproof,

00:02:52.640 and all that good stuff, there are disagreements, honest disagreements. These are not disagreements on salvation.

00:02:59.960 This is not disagreements on the gospel. This is not disagreements on the Trinity, on the person of Jesus Christ.

00:03:05.160 These are secondary and sometimes even considered tertiary disagreements that don't mean that if we don't agree

00:03:11.660 that one of us isn't saved and the other one is, it might affect how we look at the Bible and how we live our lives,

00:03:17.760 but it doesn't affect our place as a son or daughter of God, as a chosen one of God.

00:03:24.820 So I just want to get that out there. There's no need for us to hate each other at the end of this episode.

00:03:28.880 If we end up disagreeing, we can all come together and have a wonderful, vibrant conversation about all of this stuff.

00:03:35.200 Now, to be honest, this isn't something that I had studied very much because I kind of thought,

00:03:39.340 okay, you know, this doesn't really affect me that much.

00:03:43.240 I'm going to obey what the Bible says, or I'm going to try to obey what the Bible says, regardless of,

00:03:48.040 you know, when the rapture is going to happen, what the rapture is, tribulation, the Antichrist, etc.

00:03:53.660 So what's really the point of kind of confusing myself with all of this stuff?

00:03:58.280 There's so many disagreements and different directions that we could go, like we've already said,

00:04:03.020 between Bible-believing Christians on what's going to happen.

00:04:06.140 People who are smarter than me have figured all of this stuff out,

00:04:09.960 or have at least debated this stuff from a confident position.

00:04:13.340 So maybe it's not something that I need to worry about.

00:04:15.380 But as I studied this more, as I started getting more and more questions about it and listening and learning,

00:04:21.580 and of course, this is something that I've thought about before and that I have read about before.

00:04:25.460 I've read Revelation, Thessalonians.

00:04:27.560 I've read, you know, Daniel.

00:04:29.620 I've learned about these prophecies.

00:04:31.500 But it hadn't been something that I had invested a whole lot of time into personally.

00:04:35.000 It had been more of like a passive thing, and I hadn't really taken the time to say,

00:04:39.840 okay, what do I believe based on what the Bible says?

00:04:42.820 And my perspective on why I should care about this shifted the more that I studied for myself.

00:04:48.960 I realized that the understanding that we have of what's going to happen,

00:04:54.940 or what we think, at least based on Scripture, is going to happen,

00:04:59.060 increases anticipation for Christ's return, which is important.

00:05:02.820 That, in turn, increases our urgency to make disciples, which is a command.

00:05:08.480 It also renews, I've realized, our pursuit of holiness.

00:05:12.760 It inspires a godly fear of what's to come by reminding us that eternity is at stake in all that we say and do.

00:05:20.920 It also offers us comfort and confidence as we remember that God is a God of justice,

00:05:26.000 that He is not idle in the face of evil, that His recompense is on its way,

00:05:31.240 and that in the end Jesus and His people will prevail.

00:05:34.520 So that is why it is important to study the end times and to have a grasp on what the Bible says

00:05:41.120 is going to happen at the end of time.

00:05:43.740 So let me list those reasons again in a more itemized way for why we study this stuff,

00:05:50.060 what is known as eschatology.

00:05:51.840 It encourages anticipation, urgency, holiness or obedience, godly fear, comfort, and confidence.

00:06:00.820 Anticipation, urgency, holiness, godly fear, comfort, and confidence.

00:06:04.260 All things that the Bible tells us to have.

00:06:06.760 So that's why it is important for us to study this.

00:06:11.140 Eschatology, as we've already said, is difficult to discuss because it's really complex.

00:06:15.040 Like, I'm not going to say that it's not.

00:06:17.500 I'm not going to say, oh, come on, all you got to do is read the stuff.

00:06:19.940 It's just right there.

00:06:20.760 There are some things that are simpler to understand within Christianity.

00:06:25.280 Eschatology, I don't, at least to me, it is not one of those things.

00:06:29.580 It is contested, as we've already said, and it's probably one of the more

00:06:33.000 befuddling aspects of theology from a non-Christian perspective.

00:06:37.820 So it's very, we don't talk about it as much because we know it's not something that we're

00:06:41.960 going to use as often in a gospel sharing conversation or

00:06:46.280 in a conversation with someone who is not a Christian.

00:06:49.680 Non-Christians, of course, mock Christians' view of the end of time, if they even are

00:06:53.520 familiar with it.

00:06:54.980 And mostly because many of them believe that the world is going to end in 12 years because

00:06:59.520 of climate change.

00:07:00.700 So just kidding.

00:07:02.800 Okay.

00:07:03.380 So here's what 2 Peter 3, 1 through 13 has to say about this.

00:07:07.640 In the interest of time, I'm going to take some chunks out of this because reading the

00:07:12.440 whole thing is going to take a lot and we don't have all the time.

00:07:16.920 But it's 2 Peter 3, 1 through 13, if you want to read it in its entirety on your own.

00:07:22.260 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved.

00:07:25.200 In both of them, I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember

00:07:30.260 the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through

00:07:34.440 your apostles.

00:07:35.660 Knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following

00:07:40.460 their own sinful desires.

00:07:42.440 They will say, where is the promise of his coming?

00:07:45.480 But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being

00:07:51.440 kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

00:07:56.280 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand

00:08:03.420 years and a thousand years is as one day.

00:08:06.160 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promises.

00:08:08.640 Some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that anyone should perish,

00:08:13.640 but that all should reach repentance.

00:08:15.620 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a

00:08:20.120 roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works

00:08:24.300 that are done on it will be exposed.

00:08:27.180 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of

00:08:32.020 holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which

00:08:37.760 the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn.

00:08:42.540 But according to his promise, we are waiting for the new heavens and a new earth in which

00:08:46.880 righteousness dwells.

00:08:48.480 So really, in that passage, we see all of the reasons to study the end times that we originally

00:08:54.200 cited, anticipation, urgency, holiness, godly fear, comfort, and confidence.

00:09:00.700 Colossians 1.27 also says that Jesus is our hope of glory, which is, again, that confidence

00:09:06.940 piece that we were discussing.

00:09:08.680 Titus 2.27 also says,

00:09:10.560 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce

00:09:15.120 ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in

00:09:20.280 the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and

00:09:26.160 Savior, Jesus Christ.

00:09:27.800 And so it seems that the coming of Jesus is an extremely important aspect of our theology,

00:09:34.140 that it's not just an accessory, as I, for a long time, believe, but that is actually

00:09:38.980 important.

00:09:39.940 It's very important.

00:09:40.680 It is our hope.

00:09:41.820 I think most of us believe, probably, that we're going to die before Jesus comes back.

00:09:45.940 Maybe we will.

00:09:46.780 Maybe we won't.

00:09:47.500 We don't really know, as we will get into in just a little bit.

00:09:51.180 But the fact of the matter is, we should be waiting in anticipation and waiting with a

00:09:57.560 sense of urgency for Jesus' return and for things to be made right.

00:10:01.680 So here's what we have to figure out when we are anticipating Jesus' coming or when we're

00:10:07.640 trying to figure out our viewpoint or our point of view on, I don't know why I said viewpoint

00:10:15.320 and point of view.

00:10:15.940 They're the same thing.

00:10:16.700 I don't know what I was trying to say.

00:10:18.180 When we're trying to figure out what we believe based on scripture will be the end times and

00:10:23.960 the things leading up to that and the signs that will show us that it's coming or that

00:10:28.120 it's here, all of these things.

00:10:29.300 We have to figure out what the Bible says about the return of Christ, which is when Jesus will

00:10:35.160 come back.

00:10:35.680 This is also can be known as the day of the Lord.

00:10:39.360 We have to figure out the tribulation.

00:10:41.380 This is a period of great suffering that the Bible says will take place.

00:10:46.680 The Antichrist, we have to figure out what that is.

00:10:49.760 This is a false messiah in the end times.

00:10:52.380 The rapture.

00:10:53.240 This is the snatching up of Christians by their Lord Jesus.

00:10:55.960 This is the resurrection of the bodies when the bodies of both believers and unbelievers

00:11:00.220 will unite with their spirits.

00:11:02.340 We need to know about the millennium or the millennial reign.

00:11:06.320 This is the thousand year reign, either figurative or literal, depending on what you believe of

00:11:10.960 believers reigning with Christ.

00:11:12.660 We need to know about the last judgment when Jesus Christ will judge both the living and

00:11:17.360 the dead.

00:11:17.880 And then we also need to know about the eternal state after Jesus has defeated the enemy once

00:11:22.660 and for all and believers reign with Christ forever.

00:11:25.320 So within and between all of these subjects are different nuances that we're probably not

00:11:34.060 going to get to cover every single nuance of every single different kinds of belief about

00:11:38.860 all of these, but we're going to talk about the main differences.

00:11:42.540 And so the differences typically center on the chronology of the events, what happens within

00:11:46.440 these events, whether or not, you know, for example, Christians endure the tribulation or

00:11:50.760 not.

00:11:51.360 Um, and these are differences, as we've said, not between heretics and theologically sound

00:11:56.280 people, um, but between Bible believing Christians who believe that the word of God is inerrant

00:12:01.760 and simply come to different conclusions on that.

00:12:04.360 And that's, that's okay.

00:12:05.820 That can be okay.

00:12:07.460 Uh, so the questions are, when is all of this going to happen?

00:12:10.900 In what order?

00:12:11.920 How is this going to happen?

00:12:13.120 And what do these things really look like?

00:12:15.160 Uh, will Christians experience the trials that the Bible talks about?

00:12:19.600 So let's first talk about each of the points that we just listed, um, of in, in times of

00:12:26.380 an in times, uh, outlook.

00:12:28.560 And let us talk about, let's talk about each of them and what the Bible has to say about

00:12:34.040 them.

00:12:34.200 So first the return of Christ, uh, this is referred to as the second coming of Jesus.

00:12:39.440 So if you don't know anything, um, about the Bible or about Jesus, that's totally fine.

00:12:44.280 I'm going to try to explain this the best I can.

00:12:46.660 Although some of it might still be like, what are you talking about?

00:12:49.540 That's totally fine too.

00:12:50.800 Um, so Jesus came over 2000 years ago to offer himself as a sacrifice for those who believe,

00:12:56.400 uh, thus offering reconciliation between an unholy people.

00:12:59.440 That's both Jews and Gentiles.

00:13:01.300 So human beings and a holy God, uh, through Jesus's birth, death, and resurrection, he fulfilled

00:13:07.480 prophecies and his second coming, the Bible says, will also be the fulfillment of prophecy.

00:13:12.700 Uh, this time he will come to conquer sin and death and Satan once and for all.

00:13:17.080 Uh, first Thessalonians five calls this the day of the Lord.

00:13:20.880 Um, there is again, some disagreement on that Titus two 13 calls this the glorious appearing.

00:13:26.380 What does this glorious appearing look like when Jesus will come back?

00:13:30.480 Uh, Matthew 24 30 says, then we'll appear in heaven, the sign of the son of man.

00:13:35.880 And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on

00:13:40.400 the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

00:13:43.480 Revelation, uh, revelation one seven behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will

00:13:48.580 see him, even those who pierced him and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of

00:13:53.440 him.

00:13:53.880 Even so.

00:13:54.960 Amen.

00:13:55.960 Revelation 19 11 through 16.

00:13:58.460 I that's John saw heaven standing open.

00:14:01.580 And there before me was a white horse whose rider was called faithful and true.

00:14:05.220 That's Jesus with justice.

00:14:07.300 He judges and makes war.

00:14:08.840 His eyes are like blazing fire and on his head are many crowns.

00:14:12.660 He has a name written on him that no one knows, but he himself, he is dressed in a robe dipped

00:14:18.220 in blood and his name is the word of God.

00:14:21.440 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white

00:14:26.860 and clean out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.

00:14:32.040 He will rule them with an iron scepter.

00:14:34.920 He treads the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God almighty on his robe and on his

00:14:40.300 thigh.

00:14:40.720 He has the name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

00:14:44.820 The next question about the return of Christ is when will this happen?

00:14:49.500 So scripture tells us on the one hand that his coming is going to be like a thief in the

00:14:53.740 night.

00:14:54.040 First Thessalonians 5 2 for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will

00:14:58.520 come like a thief in the night.

00:14:59.900 Matthew 24 24 be ready because the son of man will come at an hour when you do not expect

00:15:05.380 him.

00:15:05.800 Jesus also says in Matthew 24 that this is all going to happen, that Jesus is going to

00:15:11.320 come back immediately after the tribulation of those days.

00:15:15.780 Matthew 24 also tells us about this tribulation and the things that have to happen before his

00:15:20.080 return, like the wars and the rumors of wars, nations rising against nation, kingdom against

00:15:24.620 kingdom.

00:15:25.060 Every nation has to hear the gospel lawlessness is going to increase or the abomination of

00:15:30.200 desolation will occur via the antichrist who will make a covenant with Israel for seven

00:15:34.740 years and then betray them after three and a half years.

00:15:37.680 I believe it is.

00:15:38.360 There will be a great tribulation like no one has ever seen before.

00:15:41.980 And then he will return.

00:15:44.500 Here's what verses 29 through 31 says.

00:15:48.000 This is Jesus speaking to his disciples.

00:15:49.920 Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will

00:15:54.380 not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will

00:15:58.240 be shaken.

00:15:59.180 Then we'll appear in heaven the sign of the son of man and then all the tribes of the

00:16:03.300 earth will mourn.

00:16:03.920 We read this part and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with

00:16:08.780 power and great glory.

00:16:09.700 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect

00:16:12.980 from the four winds and one end of heaven to the other.

00:16:16.020 So there are prophecies that have to be fulfilled before Jesus returns.

00:16:20.100 But Jesus also says in other parts of the Bible say that we don't know.

00:16:25.400 We don't know when it's going to happen.

00:16:27.180 Jesus says, but concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,

00:16:32.240 nor the son, but the father only.

00:16:35.320 There are other passages that we've already read that say basically the same thing.

00:16:39.620 So what we can conclude from this is that though there are tangible signs, according to Matthew

00:16:45.140 24, there are tangible signs and Daniel nine, uh, that we can see and will recognize as

00:16:50.580 pointing to, uh, Jesus's return.

00:16:53.000 Sorry, my voice just cracked.

00:16:54.320 Uh, we don't know exactly how much time will pass between the last sign that is fulfilled

00:16:59.480 in Jesus's return.

00:17:00.380 So we don't know.

00:17:02.600 Ultimately, we don't know the day or the hour.

00:17:04.660 The Bible says that not even the son knows, not even the angel of angels of heaven knows,

00:17:08.740 which is just kind of mind, mind boggling, I think, but the father knows only.

00:17:12.620 So we ultimately are not going to be able to predict the precise day and the hour that

00:17:18.340 Jesus will return.

00:17:19.920 Although the signs that we see happening leading to, uh, leading to his return, like increased

00:17:25.320 lawlessness in every nation, knowing the gospel, all of this, uh, will create urgency and anticipation,

00:17:31.280 knowing that it is coming.

00:17:33.540 Um, okay.

00:17:34.600 So the second thing that we have to discuss is tribulation, which we already discussed

00:17:38.620 was described in Matthew 24 by Jesus, but this is a period of seven years.

00:17:43.460 This is established in Daniel nine, in which people will severely suffer.

00:17:47.360 Uh, now there are disagreements, like I've said about whether or not Christians are going

00:17:52.040 to actually endure this tribulation or whether or not Jesus is going to take us up before

00:17:56.980 the tribulation.

00:17:58.060 And I'll get to what I believe about that based on scripture soon.

00:18:01.780 And then number three, we have to talk about this antichrist or this man of lawlessness

00:18:06.900 as the Bible refers to him.

00:18:08.380 So second Thessalonians two, three through four says, uh, don't let anyone deceive you

00:18:12.840 in any way for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs.

00:18:16.340 And the man of lawlessness is revealed.

00:18:18.400 The man doomed to destruction, he will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that

00:18:24.240 is called God or is worshiped so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming

00:18:29.260 himself to be God, a revelation, a revelation 13, five through eight says the beast was given

00:18:34.680 a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for 42 months.

00:18:40.140 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God and to slander his name and his dwelling place.

00:18:44.400 And those who live in heaven, he was given power to make war against the saints and to

00:18:48.880 conquer them.

00:18:49.540 And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation, all inhabitants

00:18:55.360 of the earth will worship the beast.

00:18:57.140 All whose names have not been written in the book of life, belonging to the land that was

00:19:01.200 slain from the, from the creation of the world.

00:19:04.900 Daniel seven calls him an imposing boastful King, uh, who will set, will try to change the

00:19:11.680 set times and the laws.

00:19:13.680 Uh, this is a leader who establishes the seven year covenant with Israel and then breaks it.

00:19:18.240 This is from Daniel nine.

00:19:20.100 It is a King who sets up the abomination of desolation, uh, that is talked about in Mark

00:19:25.920 13, 14 and in Daniel nine 27, he is, as we have already said, the man of lawlessness at

00:19:32.700 second Thessalonians talks about.

00:19:34.700 Uh, he is also a writer on a white horse representing his claim to, to be a man of peace.

00:19:40.960 He will say that he is bringing peace.

00:19:42.380 That's revelation six, two, uh, the first beast, the one from the sea in revelation 13,

00:19:47.660 this beast receives power from the dragon, which is Satan and speaks proud words and blasphemes.

00:19:53.200 Uh, and we just war against the saints.

00:19:56.200 Uh, thankfully though, this is what we can be grateful for the antichrist along with his

00:20:00.560 false prophet.

00:20:01.380 So those are the, those are the two people I was just talking about will be thrown into

00:20:05.520 the lake of fire where they will spend eternity in all of torment.

00:20:09.180 So that's what we know about this antichrist.

00:20:11.700 Um, the, then we need to know fourthly about the rapture, which is the gathering up of believers

00:20:17.140 by Jesus.

00:20:17.760 This comes from first Thessalonians 4, 17, Matthew 24.

00:20:21.840 Um, first Thessalonians says, then we who are alive, who are left shall be caught up together

00:20:26.400 with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

00:20:28.860 And so we shall always be with the Lord.

00:20:32.000 Number five, the millennium.

00:20:34.240 That's the a thousand year reign in which Christians will rule with Christ.

00:20:37.160 Some people believe this is a literal 1000 years.

00:20:40.260 Some people believe this is a figurative thousand years.

00:20:42.520 It really just means like a very long time.

00:20:44.860 Uh, during this time, Satan will be bound revelation, uh, 20, uh, 22 through three says,

00:20:50.740 and he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan and bound him for

00:20:55.080 a thousand years and threw him into the pit and shut it and sealed it over him so that

00:20:59.080 he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended.

00:21:03.300 After that, he must be released for a little while.

00:21:06.240 Uh, then we need to know number six, the last judgment or the final judgment when Jesus Christ

00:21:10.980 will judge the living and the dead.

00:21:12.600 Revelation 20, 11 through 15.

00:21:15.220 And I saw a great white throne and him sitting on it from whose face the earth and the heaven

00:21:20.180 fled away and a place was not found for them.

00:21:22.880 And I saw the dead, the small and the great stand before God and books were opened.

00:21:26.720 And another book was opened, which is the book of life.

00:21:29.060 And the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according

00:21:32.200 to their works.

00:21:32.880 And the sea gave up the dead in it and death and how delivered up the dead in them.

00:21:37.240 And each one of them was judged according to their works and death and how were cast into

00:21:41.860 the lake of fire.

00:21:42.820 This is the second death.

00:21:44.300 And if anyone was not found, having been written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake

00:21:48.780 of fire.

00:21:49.860 Uh, number five, the eternal state.

00:21:51.720 This is after Jesus has defeated the enemy once and for all and believers reign with Christ

00:21:56.280 forever after the final judgment, after the final defeat of Satan and unbelievers are thrown

00:22:01.960 into the lake of fire.

00:22:03.740 So here are some terms that describe, and I'm sorry if your head is like already throbbing

00:22:09.700 right now.

00:22:10.320 Revelation is a beast for lack of a better term, or maybe no pun intended.

00:22:14.820 There's so much more that I need to study when it comes to revelation.

00:22:18.320 Honestly, like I said, that's just not a book that I've spent a whole lot of time in that

00:22:23.440 I need to spend even more time in.

00:22:25.940 And so just trust me that I understand how you're feeling, but let's keep trucking because

00:22:31.900 we're going to get to some kind of point of clarity.

00:22:34.800 I hope, uh, so here are some terms that are used to describe how, uh, different Christians

00:22:40.120 view that in time.

00:22:41.140 So there's a millennial, a millennialist.

00:22:43.700 They're even hard to say a millennialist, pre-millennialist and post-millennialist.

00:22:48.560 Uh, as you probably noticed the differences in these views depends on what you think of

00:22:52.160 the millennium or of the 1000 year reign.

00:22:54.480 This comes from that passage, revelation 24 through five, which says that particular, uh,

00:22:59.180 believers will come to life and will reign with Christ for a thousand years.

00:23:04.280 So let's talk about, let's talk about an a-millennialist and a millennialist believes that this thousand

00:23:10.100 year reign that's described in revelation 20 is actually happening right now.

00:23:14.580 So it's happening right now in eschological terms right now is called the church age.

00:23:19.080 So a millennialist believe that the thousand years is figurative language, uh, to describe

00:23:24.000 the time period and the phrase, uh, that, and that the phrase reign with Christ.

00:23:29.000 They believe that it's referring to those that are in heaven right now.

00:23:33.180 Um, so they think that it's happening.

00:23:35.080 There's not a future millennium.

00:23:36.380 It's all happening right now.

00:23:37.760 It just happens to be a long period of time.

00:23:40.020 That's longer than a thousand years.

00:23:41.440 Uh, the a-millennialist believes that Satan's power right now is being held back currently.

00:23:46.680 So the gospel can be spread to all of the earth.

00:23:48.980 Uh, they believe that when Christ returns, there's going to be a resurrection of both believers

00:23:53.980 and unbelievers, uh, at that time, there's going to be a final judgment.

00:23:58.040 Unbelievers will be eternally condemned.

00:24:00.060 Uh, believers will have the degree of their reward in heaven decreed.

00:24:04.220 Of course, that's what everyone who has any kind of, uh, biblical eschatological, uh, beliefs

00:24:10.080 holds, but it's the chronology of this that differs in the amillennialist view.

00:24:14.200 Uh, very simple view because it has all of the end times events happening at the same

00:24:18.840 time.

00:24:19.180 There's no future millennial happening.

00:24:21.900 It's all happening right now.

00:24:24.780 Um, it's just, like I said, uh, this figure of speech for the period of time that has been

00:24:32.580 happening and will happen, uh, until Jesus comes back.

00:24:36.760 And then you have a post-millennialist view, uh, which believes at the church age.

00:24:42.060 So again, this time before Jesus returns will gradually turn into the millennium.

00:24:46.640 So we'll gradually turn into the a thousand year reign where there will be a, uh, larger

00:24:52.000 and larger population of people who are Christians.

00:24:54.760 Uh, they believe that society will become, uh, more and more governed by God's law, that

00:25:02.140 they will warm up to God's law.

00:25:03.960 And for a long period of time, not necessarily a thousand years, righteousness and peace will

00:25:09.520 flourish on the earth.

00:25:10.640 And then after that, so church age turns into the millennial reign where the beast is held

00:25:18.480 back, where the gospel flourishes, where God's law is just taking off all over the earth.

00:25:23.120 And then they believe Christ will return.

00:25:25.380 Believers and unbelievers will be resurrected.

00:25:27.560 Jesus will judge the world.

00:25:29.060 Then believers will reign with Christ in the eternal state.

00:25:31.420 So post-millennialists are really in general, very optimistic about what the gospel is doing

00:25:36.500 right now.

00:25:37.080 How many people are going to become Christians?

00:25:39.160 They're very optimistic about, um, implementing God's law here on earth because they believe

00:25:43.760 that that is hastening the coming of the Lord, or at least that that is, uh, that can happen

00:25:48.540 before the coming of the Lord, that righteousness and peace will reign before Jesus comes back.

00:25:53.840 And so they believe that they have a responsibility because of that particular eschatological view

00:26:00.460 as a change society, to adhere to the law of God.

00:26:03.260 Now, and then you have a pre-millennialist view, which is very, uh, which I would say

00:26:08.720 is more of the classic traditional view that most believers probably have held throughout

00:26:14.300 history.

00:26:14.900 And now they believe that there is a church age, which is happening, uh, right now.

00:26:19.600 Then the tribulation will come.

00:26:21.840 Uh, then Jesus will return after the tribulation, rapturing the believers, including the dead in

00:26:28.280 Christ, and then Jesus and believers will return to the new earth.

00:26:31.720 Uh, there's some disagreement on that part and will reign with Christ for the millennium

00:26:36.060 while Satan is bound and many people come to Christ.

00:26:38.940 And then the final judgment, unbelievers thrown into the lake of fire, Satan defeated, and then

00:26:44.220 Jesus and those who are saved will live together on the new earth for all of eternity.

00:26:47.940 And then you also have pre-tribulational pre-millennialists, also called dispensational, yes, dispensational

00:26:57.680 pre-millennialists who say that believers will be raptured before the tribulation.

00:27:02.500 And then after the tribulation will return to reign with Christ and the judgment will come

00:27:06.440 and then the eternal state.

00:27:08.540 So here is what I am given all of that.

00:27:11.260 If you have been following that, I am a post-tribulation pre-millennialist.

00:27:17.280 So post-trib pre-mill.

00:27:20.540 So what that means is that I believe it's, it's the classic kind of, I would say, traditional

00:27:26.600 belief.

00:27:27.360 And as I was doing all of this research, I made sure not to look at what any teacher I

00:27:32.140 know believes, not to look at, uh, what any kind of pastor or writer has talked about.

00:27:38.500 I just wanted to read the scriptures and figure out this stuff for myself.

00:27:43.120 I didn't want to look at the opinions of other people.

00:27:45.260 And so based on scripture, this is what I believe to be the most, um, the most valid

00:27:52.120 argument to be made for what will happen at the end of the age, post-tribulation pre-millennial.

00:27:56.980 So I believe that Jesus is coming back.

00:27:59.780 We'll call believers to himself after believers and unbelievers are like have suffered during

00:28:05.340 the tribulation.

00:28:06.140 Then we will reign with him during the millennium while Satan is bound.

00:28:09.260 Many during that reign will come to Christ and the final judgment occurs and we will enjoy

00:28:13.980 the eternal state in Christ.

00:28:15.700 So I don't believe the biggest thing.

00:28:17.380 I don't believe that, uh, Christians are going to avoid tribulation.

00:28:22.880 I think that we are going to endure the tribulation and that those who persevere, um, as the Bible

00:28:28.440 says, will be saved because that will mean that they have always truly been Christians.

00:28:32.020 Uh, to me, Matthew 24 makes this really clear.

00:28:36.180 I just can't, I can't see any biblical evidence, really any solid biblical evidence that we avoid,

00:28:43.560 that Christians get to avoid persecution and avoid tribulation.

00:28:47.900 Uh, Matthew 24 verse nine, they will, uh, then they will deliver you up to tribulation

00:28:53.020 and put you to death and you will be hated by all nations for my namesake.

00:28:56.960 Verses 21 through 22.

00:28:58.580 For then there will be great tribulation such as not been from the beginning of the world

00:29:02.500 until now, no, and will never be.

00:29:05.080 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would ever be saved.

00:29:09.520 But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

00:29:13.100 Verses 30 through 31.

00:29:14.680 Then we'll appear in heaven, the sign of the son of man.

00:29:16.980 And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn.

00:29:19.520 They will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.

00:29:24.100 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect

00:29:28.280 from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

00:29:31.340 Uh, Jesus is talking to his disciples in this chapter.

00:29:34.260 He's talking to Christians.

00:29:36.120 So it seems to me unavoidable, according to this passage and other passages, uh, that Christians

00:29:42.580 who are alive will be here during the tribulation.

00:29:45.660 Uh, and after the tribulation will be resurrected with Christ or will be caught up with Christ.

00:29:51.600 And then we'll reign with Christ while Satan is bound until the final judgment, after

00:29:55.460 which all believers will be, uh, with and reigning with Christ for all of eternity, sin

00:30:01.220 and death, all abolished, done.

00:30:03.640 Um, second Thessalonians 2, 3, Paul warns believers, let no one deceive you in any way

00:30:08.780 for that day will come unless the rebellion comes first will not come unless the rebellion

00:30:12.780 comes first.

00:30:13.340 And the man of lawlessness is revealed the son of destruction.

00:30:15.780 So why would it be necessary for Paul in this passage to warn believers of this if they

00:30:22.580 weren't going to be present during the tribulation in the first place?

00:30:25.560 Why didn't he just say, well, Hey, you're not going to be there.

00:30:29.700 So you don't need to worry about this because the church in Thessalonica was worried about

00:30:34.940 the end times and what all is going to happen.

00:30:36.800 Why didn't he just say, you're not going to endure the tribulation.

00:30:39.640 So don't worry about that.

00:30:41.400 But he didn't, uh, he didn't say that.

00:30:43.780 And this was a warning.

00:30:44.720 It seems like two believers.

00:30:46.500 Um, it also seems like martyrdom at the end of the age is something that is going to happen.

00:30:51.860 Uh, revelation 6, 9 through 11 talks about this, uh, talks about, uh, martyrs and how

00:30:58.940 they are going to shed their blood for the name of Christ.

00:31:02.020 So pre-tribulationists.

00:31:03.940 So people who think that we are going to be raptured before the tribulation, uh, they usually

00:31:08.820 go to revelation 3, 10, which says, because you have kept my word about patient endurance,

00:31:13.000 I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to try those

00:31:17.860 who dwell on the earth.

00:31:19.700 Um, I don't know if that actually means a literal removal from the earth and this, this

00:31:25.740 juxtaposition, I actually did get from a teacher that I respect because I had the same question.

00:31:31.180 And so I thought this was interesting and I found it compelling.

00:31:34.680 Um, he says, so in that verse, he said, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is

00:31:39.220 coming on the world to try those who dwell on the earth.

00:31:42.220 But if you look at John 17, 15, there's similar language that Jesus uses about his disciples

00:31:48.460 when he's praying.

00:31:49.380 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil

00:31:53.000 one.

00:31:53.280 So that keep you and keep them language could just be about protection and preserving of

00:31:58.200 their faith rather than a physical removal.

00:32:00.220 So that's why I think revelation 3, 10 doesn't necessarily point to the fact that believers are

00:32:05.460 going to miss out on the tribulation.

00:32:07.340 So here's the deal.

00:32:09.460 Even if we disagree on all of this stuff, or even if we disagree on the chronology of

00:32:13.440 events or what's going to happen when we agree on the big stuff, we agree that we need to

00:32:17.980 be watchful and ready because Jesus is coming back.

00:32:20.740 Um, that we are called to persevere no matter what, that we are called to make disciples of

00:32:24.580 all nations, no matter what, to live in holiness, to live in obedience to God with a sense of urgency,

00:32:29.500 to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

00:32:31.580 We are called no matter what, whether you are a pre-millennialist or post-millennialist

00:32:36.180 to seek justice, God's justice, uh, to love mercy, to walk humbly with God.

00:32:41.360 We are called to do good works.

00:32:42.740 We are called to live with a sense of, uh, a sense of confidence with an assurance of

00:32:48.100 hope, knowing that Jesus will come back, that we will reign forever with him and that

00:32:52.000 Satan will be defeated once and for all.

00:32:53.880 So that's what we can agree on.

00:32:55.940 And, uh, like I said, I know I didn't cover everything.

00:32:58.480 There's so much to cover in all of this and I can't wait to get your emails for those

00:33:03.780 of you who have been studying this for much longer than I have, where I'm wrong, what

00:33:07.880 I missed, all of that.

00:33:08.800 Please feel free to send me an email, Ali, the conservative millennial blog.com.

00:33:12.380 If you love this podcast, please feel free to give me five stars, uh, on iTunes.

00:33:17.040 It helps me out a lot.

00:33:18.460 And if you want to subscribe to YouTube, that's great.

00:33:20.760 Of course you can follow me on social media if you don't do that already.

00:33:23.540 And I will see you guys soon.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - July 08, 2019

Ep 134 ｜ End Times

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