FOUR MAJOR VIEWS ON THE END-TIMES FOUR BASIC

FOUR MAJOR VIEWS ON THE END-TIMES FOUR BASIC END-TIME QUESTIONS 1. What About The Four Unconditional Covenants Yet To Be Fulfilled? 2. The Battle of Armageddon. . . When Is It, Who Is In It? 3. When Is the Rapture? 4. WHAT ARE THE FOUR MAJOR VIEWS OF THE END-TIMES?

OUTLINE I. THE INTRIGUE OF THE ENDS TIMES A. The Curiosity of the Times Q: Will Jesus return for one thousand years and reign on the earth? Q: Will Christians go through a sever year tribulation? Q: Who will be or who is the Antichrist? Q: Will the second coming of Christ occur at the same time that believers meet Christ in the air? Q: Will Christians be raptured and everyone else be left behind?

OUTLINE B. The Citations of Terminology 1. Millennium: an incremental block of 1000 years 2. Tribulation: a 7 period of time in which great calamity, destruction and God's judgement will come upon creation and mankind 3. Rapture: To be caught up, or snatched away. 4. Antichrist: An individual who stands against christ, and falsely emulates the characteristics of christ through deception and the powers of Satan. 5. Dispensational Premillennialism: The word dispensational means how God managed things with His relationship with mankind over a period time. 6. Historic Premillennialism: All prophecy has been fulfilled already 7. Amillennialism: No 1000 year reign of Christ 8. Postmillennialism: Christ returns after 1000 years ushered in by the church

OUTLINE THE KEY POINTS: All groups agree a. Jesus will come again for those who love him. b Jesus calls His followers be ready at anytime for His return. c. No one knows the day or the hour.

OUTLINE C. The Common Teaching 1. The Birth Pains a. Matthew 24 -25; Mark 13; Luke 21 note- Matthew 24 -25 Has to do with Israel because Matthew was writing to the Jews b. Jesus promised His disciples that He would come again c. Before His return, there would be "birth pains"--events before "the sign" of the end. d. There will wars, earthquakes, and famines. e. Wickedness will increase. f. There will be fearful events & signs from heaven. g. People will be deceived by false messiah's, false Christ's h. Believers in Christ will be persecuted and killed. i. Believers will be witness of Jesus before rulers and kings. j. Many will turn away from the faith. k. There will be betrayals by family and friends.

OUTLINE 2. The Signs of the End a. What Jesus taught i. Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies. ii. Abomination that causes desolation will stand in the holy place. iii. Jerusalem will be trampled on by Gentiles iv. The sun will be darkened, the moon will not shine, & the stars will fall. (example: some believe the earth rotation will speed up causing a 16 hour day. ) v. False prophets performs signs and miracle vi. Severe ocean activity. vii. People will faint from terror. viii. Jesus will appear in the sky. ix. The trumpet will sound x. Angels will gather God's elect.

OUTLINE b. What Paul Taught About The End - 1 Thess 4: 16 -18 i. The Lord will descend. ii. The dead in Christ will rise first. iii. The living will be caught up w/ them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and be with Him forever. 1 Cor 15: 51 iv. We shall be changed. 2 Thess 2: 3 -4 v. A Falling Away of the Church-Apostasy vi. The man of sin shall be revealed, son of perdition (this is similar to Judas Iscariot. ) vii. This one opposeth and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped. viii. He sits himself in the temple of God, showing that he himself is God. ix. Don't believe those who say the Day of the Lord has already come. x. The Day of the Lord will be proceeded by rebellion by & revelation of the son of perdition. xi. The son of perdition will be revealed with the one holding him back is taken out of the way. xii The son of perdition will be accompanied by satanic, counterfeit miracles. xiii. Deceive those that love the truth. xiv. Will be overthrown when Jesus returns

OUTLINE D. THE CLARIFICATION OF TERMS 1. Eschatology: The study of the Bible's teachings about the events leading up to the seconds coming of Jesus. Study of last days of final days. 2. First coming of Christ: earthly life and ministry of Jesus Christ, about 4 BC - AD 30. 3. Second coming of Christ: The bodily return of Jesus to earth to reign as king. 4. Church Age/Age of Grace: Time period from the beginning of the church (about AD 30) until Jesus Christ returns from everyone who has trusted Him. 5. Millennium: The 1000 yr. reign of Jesus on earth, described in Revelation 20: 4 -6. 6. Premillennial: Belief that the millennium is a future event and Jesus will return before the millennium. 7. Amillennial: Belief that the millennium is a symbol of Christ's present reign among His people.

OUTLINE 8. Postmillennial: Belief that Jesus will return after the millennium. The millennium is the time in which most of the world submits to Jesus, and peace and justice reign. (reconstruction theology: that the Church reform the world through our system of laws and governance. ) Everything needs to get better then Jesus will return. 9. Preterism: All prophecy of the end times have already come to pass in the 1 st century. a. Emperor Nero was the antichrist spoken of by John in Revelation. b. Tribulation was the time of the Jewish way (66 -70 AD) the destruction of the temple. 10 Rapture: To snatch our or caught up. Event is described in 1 Thess 4: 16 -17 when Jesus Christ returns for His people. a. Historical Premillennial, Amillennial, Postmillennial. equate this to the second coming. b. Dispensational Premillennialism: believes this is seperate from the second coming, placing the rapture before the TRIBULATION and second coming after.

OUTLINE 11. [Great] Tribulation: Time when disasters happen on the earth and people who are faithful to Jesus suffer intense persecution, possibly 7 yrs, long. a. Premillennialist place this near the end. b. Dispensational Premmillialists typically belive this will last exactly 7 years. c. Historical Premillennialists view th reference to 7 years as a symbol of the completeness of God's dealings with the world as the end of time approaches. d. Amillennnialists, postmillennialists treat the tribulation as a symbol of the calamities and persecutions that have occurred throughout church history. e. Some Amill and Postmill people are preterists--they believe the great tribulation occurred AD 63 -70 AD, during the Jewish. Roman War.