What the Future Holds (6)

This is part 6 of chapter 10 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Is it coming soon?

David Reagan has studied Biblical end times prophecy for about thirty years. His views, which I have summarized and quoted from below, give plenty of Biblical reasons to understand and be excited about living in these end times. Reagan begins by saying:

God is no Cosmic Teddy Bear. Most people tend to think of Him in that way, and
they therefore believe that when they stand before God, He will reach out and
put His big warm furry arm around them and say, ‘Well, I know you never did live
a very good life; I know you boozed it up all the time and chased women; I know
you never accepted My Son as your Lord and Savior; but you lived so much better
than that old reprobate down the street from you, and since I grade on the
curve, you just come on into My Kingdom.’

We can be certain it will not happen like that! God will deal with sin, and He will do so “in one of two ways: Grace or Wrath. You are under either the grace of God or the wrath of God.” Because Jesus is returning in great wrath to judge and wage war (see Revelation 19:11), and because He does not wish that any should perish, but that all would be brought to repentance (see 2 Peter 3:9), God always warns before He judges in wrath. He is obligated to do so by His unchanging character. We see this throughout the Old Testament; the prophets constantly warned of God’s impending judgment.

Throughout most of the Bible, Jesus is shown coming to earth for the first time as the Lamb of God, Who wipes away our sins. But the Book of Revelation, along with other critical eschatological verses, point to Jesus coming for the second time in wrath as the Lion of Judah, judge of the world. Reagan says, “Jesus came the first time as an expression of God’s love; He came to die for the sins of mankind. But when He returns, He will come in vengeance to pour out the wrath of God on those who have rejected God’s love and grace.”
So how are we being warned today that God’s final judgment is near? The Bible speaks in great detail about signs we can look for as the end draws near. Reagan lists many “signs of the times,” which include the following categories:

1) Signs of Nature
2) Signs of Society
3) Spiritual Signs
4) Signs of Technology
5) Political Signs
6) Signs of Israel

Beginning with the signs of nature, Reagan says people do not respect these types of signs, because natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, famines, pestilences, etc., have been occurring for thousands of years. But people do not realize that these natural disasters are increasing like “birth pangs,” just as Jesus says in Matthew 24. Reagan casually expresses:

Now, I’ve never had birth pangs, so I went to my wife one time when I first
started studying Bible prophecy and I said, ‘What in the world does the Lord
mean by that?’ She said, ‘Oh, you dummy, any mother knows what that means.’ She
then explained that the closer a pregnant woman gets to the delivery of her
baby, the birth pangs increase in two ways. They increase in frequency and
intensity. … Get a World Almanac. Look up the statistics in it, and you’ll see
that ever since this century began, we have been experiencing an increasing
frequency and intensity in all our natural calamities. The statistics are
overwhelm­ing. It’s as if God is shaking all of nature and shaking it
harder, and harder, and harder, the closer we get to the coming of Jesus.

Not only are there more terrible events occurring, but they are also getting worse when they occur. Reagan says, “Another reason these signs are given little respect is because most Christians are so rationalistic that they do not really believe in the supernatural, and they therefore find it difficult to believe that God speaks to the world through signs of nature.” But God has always used natural events, such as floods and famines, locust invasions and earthquakes, and even lights in the sky, to get our attention.

Next, Reagan points to the signs of society as evidence that the end is near. “Jesus said that society will become increasingly lawless and immoral as the time approaches for His return. In fact, He said it would become as evil as it was in the days of Noah (see Matthew 24:12,37-39).” Reagan uses the third chapter of Paul’s second letter to Timothy to depict end times society “characterized by three loves: The love of self (Humanism), the love of money (Materialism), and the love of pleasure (Hedonism).” Those sure do sound familiar! Reagan says, “We are seeing these prophecies fulfilled before our eyes today as we watch our society reject its Christian heritage and descend into a hellish pit of lawlessness, immorality, and despair.” The Bible says:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and
light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those
who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who
are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the
guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. … They have rejected the
law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the Word of the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against His people; His hand is raised and He
strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in
the streets. … In that day … if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and
distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds (Isaiah 5:20-25,30).

The third category of indications that the end times are near consists of spiritual signs. Reagan breaks this category into positive and negative signs. He defines the negative signs as including:

- The appearance of false Christs and their cults (see Matthew 24:5,11,24)
- The apostasy of the professing Church (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3)
- An outbreak of Satanism (see 1 Timothy 4:1)
- The persecution of faithful Christians (see Matthew 24:9)

As we saw in chapter eight, Christian cults, such as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Christ Scientist, and the Unitarian Church, began forming in the 1800s. These cults recognize a false Christ, just as Jesus said they would. Reagan points to the 1920s, when American seminaries began “teaching that the Bible is man’s search for God rather than God’s revelation to man,” as the beginnings of apostasy within the true Christian denominations. The Bible says:

There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their
parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without
self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but
denying its power. … The time will come when men will not put up with sound
doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a
great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will
turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 3:1-5,
4:3-4, emphasis added).

Unfortunately, the Church today is full of preachers who deny all the critical elements of the Christian faith—that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God; that Jesus was born of a virgin; that Jesus was resurrected from the dead; that He will come again; etc. As Reagan says, “There is no area of Christianity immune to the apostasy sweeping through the Church today, and it’s all a sign of the soon return of Jesus.” Moving on, the 1960s, according to Reagan, saw the rise of Satanism (the occult) primarily through tabloids, television programs, and movies such as Rosemary’s Baby. Of course, these trends have continued growing into the culture of the twenty-first century. Reagan concludes his thoughts on the negative spiritual signs by saying, “As society has secularized, true Christianity has come under increasing attack. Judeo-Christian values, once the foundation of western civilization, are now openly mocked, and those who still adhere to them are castigated as ‘intolerant fundamentalists’ by the media.”

Although these negative signs are extremely negative, the positive signs, which Reagan lists as follows, are gloriously positive:

- The proclamation of the Gospel to the whole world (see Matthew 24:14)
- A great outpouring of the Holy Spirit (see Joel 2:28-32)
- Spiritual illumination to understand prophecies sealed up until the end times (see Daniel 12:4,9)

As mentioned earlier, the message of the Gospel has been translated into all major languages and proclaimed to nearly the entire world; how fitting that over half the people who have ever lived are alive today to hear that wonderful message of salvation! Jesus said: “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” (Matthew 24:14). Technology, the next category of signs, has made this possible!

Reagan suggests that the great pouring out of the Holy Spirit was prophesied by Joel—the latter rain (see Joel 2:23)—to occur both at the first Pentecost and after the Jews had returned to their land. Of course, Israel was re-established in 1948, and Billy Graham and Oral Roberts began worldwide evangelical ministries in 1949. Without a doubt, there are more people coming to faith in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit than ever before! Finally, Reagan points to 1970 and Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth, as the time when end times prophecies were beginning to be understood.

As mentioned above, the signs of technology are next. Enhanced travel and communication capabilities have allowed for human knowledge to increase like never before. Satellite technology enables me to sit at my computer and look at a live picture of a beach in Tahiti! I can book a flight to that beach, along with a hotel suite, in just a few minutes online! Prior to the twentieth century, I would have had no idea what Tahiti beaches looked like and a very difficult time arranging a trip to visit them.

Reagan offers the following facts of interest: “By the time an encyclopedia is published today, it is already out of date. Three-fourths of all the scientists who have ever lived are alive right now. More than half of all medicines have been developed since the end of World War II.” He points to robotics and lasers and identification chips as critical for end times prophecies to come true. He is intrigued by the possibility of worldwide destruction like never before due to the splitting of the atom and the power of weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps Luke points to the use of nuclear weapons in the end times when he writes Jesus said: “Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken” (Luke 21:26).

The fifth sign of the nearness of the end times is that of world politics. Reagan says, “The Bible prophesies that there will be a certain pattern of world politics that will characterize the end times geopolitical map.” Israel will be re-established as a nation (see Zechariah 12:2-3), something not even conceived possible before World War II. Israel will be attacked by a nation to its north, perhaps Russia (see Ezekiel 38:2,6). Reagan says, “Democracy has no chance whatsoever [in Russia], because the traditions and values which are necessary for democracy do not exist.”

The nation of China will be capable of sending an army of 200 million into battle at its convenience (see Revelation 9:13-16, 16:12-13). As we have already discussed, a third source of danger to Israel will be the Arab nations immediately surrounding it (see Ezekiel 35:10, 36:2). Reagan also considers the United Nations or “a coalition of European nations” to be a key player on the world political scene in the end times. He believes the European Union “will form a confederation centered in the area of the old Roman Empire (see Daniel 2:41-44, 7:7,23-24; Revelation 17:12-13).” This could not have been possible prior to the times in which we currently live.

The euro, the single currency of many European nations, is just the first step to this type of union. Some say this union will unknowingly aid the rise of the antichrist (see Daniel 7:8). To conclude the political signs, we can mention civil wars, international wars, and rumors of wars (see Matthew 24:6-7), along with “general international terrorism and lawlessness (see Matthew 24:12).” Reagan adds that on average, since the end of World War II, forty wars throughout the world have been going on at any given time!

The final category of signs, and the most critical according to Reagan, involves the nation of Israel. See Isaiah 11:10-12 and Isaiah 66:7-8 for prophecies regarding Israel’s re-gathering and re-establishment as a nation. The Jewish people have been returning to the Promised Land, moving back to Israel, since the beginning of the twentieth century. According to Reagan, “there were only 40,000 Jews in Israel in 1900; there were 500,000 at the end of World War II; today there are over 5 million, and they are continuing to come in unprecedented numbers from all over the world, particularly Russia.”

Additionally, Reagan says, “Once the Jews are back in their land, the land itself will experience a miracle of reclamation (see Isaiah 35). The desert will bloom and people will exclaim, ‘This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden’ (see Ezekiel 36:35).” Reagan discusses Mark Twain’s trip to the Middle East in the mid-1860s. Twain wrote about the wasteland he saw in Innocents Abroad. The land consisted mostly of treeless desert and malaria-infested swampland. As mentioned earlier, the Arabs sold the land to the Jews for outrageous prices, even though it was practically worthless. Reagan says, “The Israelis have planted over 400 million trees all over the land, and rainfall has increased over 450 percent.” They worked hard to rid the land of its nasty swamps and deserts, transforming it into an Eden of sorts. Israel today has blossomed back into “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8, among others), like it was when Israel first existed as a nation.

Another end time miracle will be the revival of the Hebrew language (see
Zephaniah 3:9). Most people are not aware of the fact that when the Jews were
dispersed from their land in 70 A.D., they ceased to speak the Hebrew language.
The Jews who settled in Europe developed a new language called Yiddish, a
combination of German and Hebrew. The Jews who migrated to the Mediterranean
basin created a language called Ladino, a combination of Hebrew and Spanish. [A
man named Eliezer Ben Yehuda] spent his life trying to revive the Hebrew
language, a language that hadn’t been spoken in almost 2000 years. He had to
invent thousands of new words based upon ancient Hebrew root words. It seemed an
impossible task, but he accomplished it, and today, Biblical Hebrew is the
official language of Israel.

Another sign of Israel is “the resurgence of Israeli military strength.” According to Reagan, Zechariah 12:6 effectively says: “In the end times, God will restore the Jews to their homeland and make them militarily superior to all their neighbors.” Israel’s military is one of the top four in the world, despite the nation’s small size! Israel has been involved in at least six major wars in the past fifty years, and although their foes seemed to have the upper hand, they have always been victorious. “What a miracle for a nation smaller than New Jersey and with a population less than the city of Philadelphia!”

Reagan considers Israel to be God’s prophetic time clock. He points to two critical events in Israel’s history as signs that Jesus’ return is imminent. First is the re-occupation of Jerusalem, which occurred “on June 7, 1967, when Israel won the city back during the Six Day War.” Reagan says:

When those Jewish soldiers went to the Wailing Wall [in Jerusalem] and fell upon
their faces and began to weep before that wall, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, the chief
Rabbi of the Israeli Army, came up to the wall and blew a shofar. Then, he
lifted his hand and said, ‘I proclaim to you the beginning of the Messianic
Age.’ You see, the Orthodox Jews know that the Messiah is coming soon. That’s
one of the paradoxes of our time. Think about it. The first time Jesus came, the
Gentiles recognized Him; the Jews did not. This time, the Jews are the ones who
know the Messiah is about to come. That’s because they know the Old Testament
Scriptures, and from them, they know that the Messiah will come when the Jews
are back in the land and back in their city. The Orthodox Jews are waiting for
the Messiah, expecting Him any moment. They’re yearning for Him.

Second, and more important, is the re-establishment of Israel as a nation, which, as we learned, occurred on May 14, 1948. Jesus illustrated the importance of this event in His Olivet Discourse with the barren fig tree. “He said to watch for it to bloom again. In other words, He said to watch for the rebirth of Israel (see Matthew 24:33).” That is one sign the end is near!

Jesus said in the same passage: “This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matthew 24:34, emphasis added). Reagan asks, “What generation is Jesus talking about?” Many people say Jesus was incorrect in His prophecy, because the generation to whom He was speaking—the apostles—clearly passed away within sixty or seventy years of His prophecy; Israel did not return in that short time span. But Reagan understands Jesus’ prophecy to mean “the generation that sees the fig tree blossom.”

Reagan suggests that someone alive in 1948, when “the fig tree blossomed,” when Israel became a nation again, will be alive to see the second coming of Christ. Now it is extremely dangerous to play guessing games on the date of the second coming, but if Reagan’s interpretation of Scripture is correct, then we can be certain Jesus is coming soon!

The Rapture could occur as you are reading this! However, it could also be fifty years or more from now. While we cannot know the exact date or time of Christ’s return, we can know the season. The Bible offers plenty of warning; the signs are all around. As we discussed above, eschatological views vary among Christian scholars. We may not agree on the order of events, but we can be sure Christ will return.

What the Future Holds (5)

This is part 5 of chapter 10 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

What about the end?

The Bible is not limited to what the Book of Revelation has to say; it is full of end times prophecy. The Old Testament prophets, especially Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel, go into great detail on the end times. Their work is filled with exciting imagery and detailed, yet somewhat obscure prophecy regarding specific end times events. In the New Testament, Paul, Peter, and John give important consideration to eschatological events in their letters.

First, Paul declared that a loud command and a trumpet call would signal the second coming of Christ with Michael, the archangel. “The dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Paul said, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2) for unbelievers. He went on to explain, however, that the second coming of Christ should not surprise believers. We should expect it to happen at any moment! Paul encouraged believers not to get distressed or unsettled about claims that “the day of the Lord has already come” (2 Thessalonians 2:2). Paul said:

Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the
rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness [the antichrist] is revealed, the
man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything
that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s Temple,
proclaiming himself to be God. … And now you know what is holding him back, so
that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness
is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so
till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom
the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the
splendor of His coming. 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 (2
Thessalonians 2:3-10).

Second, Peter urged his audience to be on the lookout for scoffers, those who will be following their own desires and mocking Jesus’ return, rather than patiently waiting for Him. Peter said:

They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ He promised? Ever since our fathers died,
everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they
deliberately forget that long ago by God’s Word the heavens existed and the
earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of
that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same Word the present heavens and
earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction
of ungodly men. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: … The Lord is
not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the
day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar;
the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will
be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of
people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look
forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the
destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But
in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new
earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking
forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace
with Him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation (2 Peter
3:4-15).

Third and in addition to his Revelation, John provided supplementary end times information, specifically on the antichrist. John said, “This is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). Many people consider evil dictators like Stalin and Hitler to have been mini-antichrists, but John told his audience in the following passage that anyone who denies Jesus as the Messiah is the antichrist. John answered his own question: “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:22-23).

John also told his audience how to recognize the spirit of the antichrist; he said, “Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world” (1 John 4:3). The spirit of the antichrist is here; we see it in the deeds of evil people like Hitler and Stalin, but it is also evidenced by all those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

The New Testament writers shed some light on end times events and ideas; however, one additional testimony to study is that of Jesus Christ. Jesus discusses many end times details in His Olivet Discourse, which follows from Matthew 24-25 (see corresponding verses in the other Gospel accounts):

Jesus left the Temple [in Jerusalem] and was walking away when His disciples
came up to Him to call His attention to its buildings. ‘Do you see all these
things?’ He asked. ‘I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on
another; every one will be thrown down.’ 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. 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 of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who
stands firm 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. So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes
desolation [the antichrist],’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the
reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no
one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no
one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days
for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take
place in winter or on the Sabbath. 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 even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of
time. 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 lightning that
comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the
Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
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 His elect from
the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Now learn this 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. 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. 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. 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 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 gnashing of teeth.

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took
their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and
five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with
them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom
was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At
midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then
all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the
wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied,
‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil
and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil,
the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the
wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’
they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I
don’t know you.’ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the
hour.

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his
servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of
money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his
ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents
went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one
with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one
talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a
long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he
said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ His
master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful
with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’ The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said,
‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’ His master
replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a
few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’ Then the man who had received the one talent came.
‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have
not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and
went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where
I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you
should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I
would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it
to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and
he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken
from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

When the Son of Man comes
in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly
glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He
will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will
say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your
inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I
was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and
you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came
to visit Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You
hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see
You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we
see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you
the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you
did for Me.’ Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are
cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was
hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to
drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you
did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’ They
also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’ He will reply, ‘I
tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you
did not do for Me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life.’

Reading this passage should give us an idea of the seriousness of making our place in eternity certain. But still, how do we know these end times are near?

Review / Preview Romans 9:1-24

I lead a men's group in bi-weekly Bible study, and we're amidst what most theologians would agree is a hard teaching from the apostle Paul in Romans 9. I want to offer this review / preview as we work verse-by-verse through this passage.

As this is our off-week, I want to offer both a brief review of Romans 9:1-16,which we studied last Tuesday, and also a brief preview of Romans 9:17-24,which, Lord willing, we will study next Tuesday, May 30, at Aaron's house. Remember that this stuff is easy to understand - it's just hard to accept. Paul's language is clear. The truth he reveals with that language is hard to handle.

1I speak the truth in Christ — I am not lying, my conscience confirms itin the Holy Spirit — 2I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4the people of Israel.

Paul shows his heart for the Jewish people. He has said many harsh things to them and about them in this letter to the Romans, so it's quite likely that they perceived Paul as not caring, incompassionate toward his own people. And he refutes that perception here. He also begins his teaching in this section of his letter with softening words, much as he did with Philemon, as Aaron pointed out several weeks ago when he taught Coram Deo. Paul is about to teach some hard things, and he wants his audience to realize that his intentions are good and his love is real.

4the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory,the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, Who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Paul continues a "list of benefits of being Jewish" that he began in Romans 3:1-2. Combined with that passage, there are 9 benefits. We can study these and offer concrete proof that Israel as a whole nation has neglected and disdained these benefits. Nevertheless, the benefits are still legitimate, as acceptance of themor non-acceptance of them does not legimatize them. Notice also here the clear claim of Paul to the Deity of Jesus Christ. He is to be forever praised. Amen.

6It is not as though God's Word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 8In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.

Here Paul begins to get "down-and-dirty." He is responding to a couple ofquestions: (1) Did the promises of God to the Jews fail, since they are not receiving Jesus Christ as Messiah? (2) Why aren't the Jews being saved?

First, he says that God's Word has not failed (see Isaiah 55:11). Not all Israel is Israel. That's the answer to question # 1. What does that mean? Paul explains it, moving from a view of corporate Israel to a view of specific individuals: "It is not the natural children who are God's children." Physical ancestry, while meaningful and beneficial for many reasons, does not matter for salvation! Rather, Paul says, "it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring." The children of the promise, Abraham's true offspring, are those who share Abraham's faith - his spiritual descendants, so to speak. And this is how it is that God's promises are not failing. His promise ofsalvation was never meant for all physical Jews; rather, it was meant for allspiritual Jews.

9For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son." 10Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. 11Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad — in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12not by works but by Him who calls — she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

Now here's the first of 3 answers that Paul will give in Romans 9-11 to question# 2 from above. Why aren't the Jews being saved? God chose to save Abraham out of all the pagans of the world. God chose to save Isaac, rather than Ishmael, though both were physical descendents of the same man, Abraham. God chose to save Jacob, rather than Esau, though Esau was the firstborn and culturally more deserving of any birthright. The keyword there is "chose." This is the doctrine of election. God chooses to save some individuals and not others, and this choice is based on nothing that the individuals do and nothing that God foresees about them. And as harsh as this truth sounds, Paul even provides God's reasoning for it. The choice to elect some and not others is found in God's sovereign purpose to be the One who chooses! We might have expected Paul to say, "Not by works but by faith." He doesn't. He says, "Not by works but by Him who calls." If you are objecting to this teaching, what is your reasoning? Does it sound unfair? Paul knows that might be what you're thinking, so he addresses that concern:

14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

"That's not fair, Paul! What you're saying makes God out to be unjust. If an individual plays no role in whether or not he is elect to salvation, then that makes God out to be unjust. It's not fair!" Sound familiar? That was my response for a long time, until I realized, by the grace of God, that my objection was the very same one that Paul addresses, therefore proving that I was objecting to the accurate Biblical understanding! God owes no one mercy. If we begin to think that God owes mercy, we're no longer talking about mercy; we're now talking about justice. Whatever God does is just, even if it is choosing some and not others.

17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose,that I might display My power in you and that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.

Paul offers a proof from Scripture of this understanding. Pharaoh was hardened for the purpose of God to display His power and have His name proclaimed throughout theworld. Was pharaoh responsible for this hardening? No doubt he was. Absolutely! Butnotice that Paul says nothing of that here. Here, it's all of God's sovereign choice and purpose for His glory. And Paul's audience sees what he is saying and offers another objection:

19One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists His will?" 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?" Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? 22What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath—prepared for destruction? 23What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory —24even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

The objection found in v19, once again, was mine for quite awhile. How can God hold pharaoh responsible for his hardening if it was God's will that pharaoh hardened his heart? How can God hold Hitler responsible for the Holocaust when God Himself used Hitler to accomplish that dreaded massacre? Make it more personal. How can God hold me responsible for my sin if God had a purpose for His glory in my sin?

Note Paul's response. What's the problem with the objection that is offered against Paul's teaching? It puts God on trial. And Paul puts an end to that reasoning. God is not the One on trial. Answer Paul's question in v21. Notice that God, as the potter, is making use of "the same lump of clay." The elect and the non-elect are from the same lump of clay. There's nothing different in the clay. The difference lies in the potter, not the clay. And God has a purpose for the clay. Some of it will be used for "noble purposes" and some of it for "common use." The clay has no say regarding its purpose.

And what is that purpose? V22-23 tell us. Both the elect and non-elect will glorify God according to His purpose. The non-elect will serve God's glory as objects of His wrath. They were prepared for destruction and born with great patience; and they will experience God's power in eternal judgment. The elect will serve God's glory as objects of His mercy. They, prepared by God in advance, will experience the riches of God's glory for all eternity. And finally, note v24. We are graciously among the elect, among those called by God to be vessels of mercy. Praise Him for choosing us first, for choosing us in order that we would glorify Him as vessels of mercy and not as vessels of destruction.

With all of this as food for thought, those of you who participated inlast week's study will recall that I suggested for "homework" a study ofJohn 1:11-13. I'd like to close by inviting you to read the following article,with the hope that you'll clearly see the parallels between John and Paul:

John 1:11-13