Fast Track Chapter 8: The End?

Chapter 8

The band R.E.M. sings, "It's the end of the world as we know it, but I feel fine." How can that be? The Bible tells us how.The books of Daniel, Revelation, and Jesus‟ teaching explain what will happen at the end of time. These three sections of the Bible are not written to scare people, but to give them hope. The Bible explains the end of time so people who are doubtful, hurting, or fearful can find hope, healing, and comfort. Knowing the final chapter of history alleviates stress and fear today. When you know God will be a fair judge to all, you can stop holding grudges. When you know God will reward you for every act of obedience, you can stay faithful. When you can trust God to transform the manure of life into fertilizer for new growth, you can be armed with unshakable confidence. When you know that your eternity is secured, you can view this life as temporal. When you realize that this world is broken, you're no longer surprised by trouble and pain. When you believe He can return at any moment, you are motivated to live a pure, faithful, and generous life. You can have hope today when you know what happens tomorrow.

Seven letters sent by special delivery

In the first part of Revelation, the author John writes seven letters to followers in seven churches, passing along Jesus‟ reminders to examine their hearts and check that God is still their first love and priority. He challenges them to love others and care for the poor, having noticed that many of them had fallen prey to false teachings. The letters came at a time of terrible oppression, and Jesus wants the churches to remember that God rewards faithfulness with incredible gifts in the future. Jesus told them through John that He wants His followers to be fully devoted to Him. He challenges us to be "hot or cold, but not lukewarm" in our devotion. Jesus likened himself to a guest who stands at the door and knocks. He wants to come into their lives and dine with them. Jesus wants to be invited into every decision of life; but he waits for each person to open the door and invite Him in.

Christ revealed his power in a stunning vision

As these seven letters come to an end, John received a vivid vision from Jesus, primarily about who Jesus is. The book of Revelation was about the "unveiling" of Jesus Christ. This vision was given to John during a difficult time in his life when he, like other disciples, was imprisoned. The apostle was isolated from others – under guard on the island of Patmos. The John who wrote this book was Jesus' best friend during His time on Earth. He is the same John who wrote the Gospel of John and three other short New Testament letters -- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John.

Despite his familiarity with the earthly Jesus, his friend was stunned to see Christ in His full, powerful majesty. Viewing His awesome beauty, John fell to the ground, overcome with emotion. This Jesus showed himself as one who is as bright as fire, as beautiful as a rainbow, as pure as snow, and as authentic as crystal. Jesus told John to write down the vision for all to read. John captured the words in the book of Revelation, detailing Jesus Christ‟s place in future events, and boldly declaring that God holds all of human history in His mighty hands. Revelation fills in the details of predictions presented by Daniel centuries earlier. The Old Testament book is filled with visions and dreams about the latter days as well. Think of Daniel as an outline, of which Revelation fills in the blanks.

Captured by the rapture

Jesus begins the vision with a picture of the rapture, a word that means “to capture” or “take up.” This concept is explained in detail in a letter from Paul to a church in Thessalonica. God reaches down from Heaven to personally escort His followers to Heaven. Those living when Christ returns will not see physical death but will be rescued from physical death and taken directly to Heaven. Jesus comes in the air and raptures (or captures) His followers from the Earth. The Followers will meet him in the air and avoid a difficult seven-year period of destruction about to come upon the Earth. This incredible scene begins with those who are "dead in Christ" being raised and given new bodies. What does that mean? Those who placed their faith in Christ to defeat death will have their bodies raised to life that day. Those who placed their faith in Christ to defeat death will see God's promises fulfilled.

Jesus transforms their temporal bodies into eternal bodies. Jesus restores His believers by reuniting their new souls and spirits with a brand new physical, eternal, pain-free body. The Bible says this transformation is done in the "twinkling of an eye." After the dead in Christ (the group we just described) are changed, those Christ-followers who are currently living and trusting Him on Earth also meet him in the air. Jesus takes His followers away to Heaven, and Earth is now populated with only humans who didn‟t respond to Jesus as their death-defeater. The Earth still has religious people, "spiritual people," and church-going people, but none of them trusted Jesus to defeat death.

The fraudulent “King of Peace”

The rapture concludes, leaving no one on Earth who trusted Christ as a forgiver and leader. God will give a seven-year object lesson to reveal mankind's need for Jesus as Rescuer and King. Daniel tells us that these later days will begin when a seven-year treaty is made between a king of the world (the Anti-Christ) and the nation of Israel. This seven-year treaty will follow a time of global chaos rife with famine, hyper-inflationary economic calamity, and several supernatural judgments. As the world is falling apart economically, everyone will look to an Earthly ruler (king or political figure) to provide all the answers. This dynamic leader will lead a revived Roman Empire and global government to "save the world" from its geopolitical problems.

One of the first acts of this new global ruler is to make peace in the Middle East. He offers a seven-year treaty with Israel that stabilizes the world. During this time, the world itself is bombarded with difficulty, famine, disease, and anguish. God begins to answer prayers and griefs from the past. The broken creation is longing for God's return. Earthquakes and natural disasters increase as the Earth itself is longing for God's final restoration. The new world leader seems to be gracious, humble, and selfless for three and a half years. This “ruler of the world” sets up a global economic system, a single currency, a unified global government, and eventually a one-world religion.

Abruptly, things change, and during the second three and a half years, the once-happy World Ruler comes unglued. He is evil. He is angry. He is vicious. Jesus sends two witnesses to Earth to proclaim that this man can not be trusted. He has them killed. A few days later, the witnesses are resurrected by God and ascend into Heaven. God is giving modern proof to His ability to raise, repair, and resurrect bodies. A generation that has said, "I can't believe Jesus' claims without proof," sees evidence on national television that Christ's claims are real.

Soon after, the world leader is publicly killed as well. This world leader miraculously raises himself from the dead for all to see. The stunned world has to choose: which resurrected King is the real One: The Christ of the past or the Anti-Christ of the present? While Jesus humbly asked people to respond to His claims and identity, the World Ruler prefers tyranny and oppression.

The Anti-Christ Is Two-Faced

After the Anti-Christ's resurrection, evil runs rampant for the remainder of his reign. He screams for attention and adulation, demanding that the world worship him. He violates the seven-year treaty with Israel and launches a world war, attacking the people of God and the nation of Israel. This culminates in a final battle. God escalates the warning signs around the Earth, hoping more will come to Him for peace. The heavens are pouring out seal, trumpet, and bowl plagues against the evil World Ruler. Many people, like in the times of Egypt, call out to God to be their forgiver and leader. Many die for their faith, fully trusting Christ to be their death-defeater.

As the world army comes against Israel, they too are terrified. They have become the scapegoat for the world's troubles. With nowhere to run, people from the nation of Israel call out to Jesus to be their forgiver. In this final chapter, the people of God call out to Jesus to rescue them from danger. They call out to Him for help and salvation.

The Return of the King!

As He promised, Christ dramatically returns in the sky, riding on a white horse accompanied by his followers. (These followers are those who were raptured by Him seven years earlier.) They are now fully alive with eternal, pain-free, fully-restored physical bodies. On their heads, they wear jeweled crowns, a reward for their faithfulness, distributed in Heaven at God‟s judgment seat.. By grace, each person trusted in Christ to make them righteous, rather than their own good works. The Bible clearly teaches that anyone who trusts Christ as forgiver is a saint! (God doesn't take saints, He makes saints. He makes people righteous based on the beauty of Christ and His sacrifice.) Many of these saints responded to His grace by living earthly lives aimed at pleasing Him. Jesus rewards them graciously with crowns, special names, and the privileges of special serving roles on Earth. The triumphant King, with his friends and servants by his side, enters as a lion. The warrior Jesus is a conquering heir repossessing and reclaiming His Creation from evil. He's returned to take back His planet and its people that have been contaminated and spoiled by rebellion for so long.

Jesus rescues Israel from an impending massacre at the hands of the world's mightiest armies. Jesus wipes out the evil forces around Him, serving as a “shield of faith” for those who call out to Him. He is the "sword" that fights against corruption.

Jesus sits on His throne for 1000 Years

Next, Jesus sets up a literal, physical kingdom on Earth for 1,000 years. This is the fulfillment of a promise, or covenant, made to King David years before. God promised that one of David's descendants would sit eternally on the throne. Jesus fulfills this prediction and rules the literal world for a millenium. During this time, Christ binds up evil, lies, and temptation so they cannot harm anyone. Christ reigns on Earth as the King we always wanted. Peace, prosperity, joy, and freedom characterize this majestic time on Earth.

At the end of this thousand year period, those who rejected Jesus as their forgiver and leader will be given a fair trial. Their whole life they claimed "I am basically a good person" and "I think my good deeds will get me into Heaven." God gives each person a fair, impartial trial. He gives them exactly what they wanted: a chance to prove their goodness. God kindly and impartially examines the evidence of every do- gooder and evil doer. The truth comes to light, and sadly, each person's bad works are far, far, far worse than they ever could‟ve imagined or admitted to themselves. Each person's secrets, thoughts, intentions, and conscience are laid bare as evidence against themselves. When their good works are laid out, they are not nearly as good as they thought.

Fairness? Or Forgiveness?

Even semi-good deeds are tainted with selfishness, ingratitude, and impatience. And each person now sees that the verdict is fair and just. Each person receives fairness and a heartbroken God says something like, "You spent your whole life trying to justify yourself, pretending you were better than you really were. You spent your life thinking you were more qualified to be God than Me. Thus, I will give you what you've always wanted. I will allow you to spend eternity without Me, without My laws, without My presence, and without My forgiveness. Since you rejected Me as your forgiver, I'll give you want you wanted: fairness.”

Each person who chooses fairness is sent to Hell, the place where God banished the angels who had rejected Him. It is a place where God promises to leave alone all those who demanded a life without His direction. This is a dark, empty, pain-filled place without God's comfort, love, peace, and joy. God had gone to great lengths to warn and rescue all mankind, but refuses to force anyone to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. To those who say, "God, leave me alone -- I don't need You or Your forgiveness," God agrees and leaves them alone, forever.

God then turns to the evil doers and gives them a fair trial too. Everyone who thought they'd gotten away with murder, betrayal, genocide, and every shade of darkness is finally brought to justice. God evaluates each person individually and punishes them in accordance with their deeds. Hitler, Mao, Stalin, and others are finally and fully rendered their due. Like the final scene of a great action movie, the heroic God clobbers the evil doers, rescues His bride, and restores permanent peace.

Heaven and Earth: New and Improved

The permanent peace is beyond imagination. God answers the prayers of those who wanted God and His forgiveness. Jesus makes a new heaven and new Earth. Both are real, literal places fully cleansed and renewed. God builds a great city called the New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven like a cube to rest on Earth. God finally dwells among mankind, and the light of His presence illuminates everything. No more pain, tears, or darkness. Followers of Christ reign with Him in a world of joy, peace, and fulfillment. The Bible describes God's presence like a Great Wedding Feast. Friendships, laughter, and creative innovation go on eternally.

Fast Track concludes at the end, when evil is vanquished. Good deeds are now rewarded lavishly, and God offers everyone a front-row seat at the greatest show on Earth. Since we know what happens tomorrow, we can have great hope and confidence today. Our lives are filled with unshakable confidence that death, fear and suffering can‟t permanently harm us as long as we can answer the question Jesus proposed, "Who do you say I am?"

Watch "The End?"

Watch Pastor Chad Hovind present the eighth and final part of the Fast Track series, "The End?"