Last week, I had the privilege to speak a group of students attending a Young Ministers Institute. My subject? Eschatology. I had a relatively short period of time to give them a brief overview of the subject and try to convey “why” it’s important to understand it.
Over the past few decades, there has been a decrease in church attendance in America. I personally believe that part of the reason is due to the loss of the purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ.
Church in America has largely become about “meeting the needs” of those that attend the local church. If their perceived needs are not met, they will go elsewhere looking for something to fill their lives. But that's not the reason the Church was established by Jesus Christ.
The Church was given a commission—a Great Commission to go into the world as witnesses of Jesus Christ. It has been given a message to tell—that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; He came to die and pay the price for our sins. Why? Because without the shedding of His blood on the cross, there is no hope for the human race after death; eternal damnation is waiting for every person.
However, Jesus isn’t dead, and the grave is empty because He rose back to life! That’s the Good News—The Gospel that every person that calls themselves a Christian is supposed to be sharing with other people. Yet, statistics show that very few people that profess belief in Christ ever tell one person about Him.
Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” The Amplified Bible says, “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God and His Word], the people perish…”
I think that’s where the teaching on what the Bible calls “The Last Days” or “End Times” comes into play. It keeps before us the “big” picture of God’s redemptive plan for the human race. It’s too easy today to get caught up in our little world and lose sight of what is most important.
Understanding the overall plan of God which includes the events written in the Book of Revelations, and other books of the Bible, helps us to realize that it’s not about us and our needs. It’s about eternity and the lives of those who have never been told what awaits them without Jesus Christ.
My passion for teaching bible prophecy is not about conveying facts. Facts in and of themselves seldom if ever change lives. Yet, that is what the truth of the Gospel of Jesus is about—transforming lives.
Neither is my purpose in teaching bible prophecy to frighten people into receiving Jesus Christ into their lives. Fear, while a powerful motivator, usually only lasts for a time and then wears off. Instead, my motive for sharing God’s Word regarding the End Times comes from the Titus 2:13: “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”
Now, whenever I mention The Last Days or End Times, people will always say that they have been hearing that their whole lives. Where’s the “proof” that these are The Last Days. I always point them to an event in the Bible that happened almost 2000 years ago known as the Day of Pentecost, found in the Book of Acts, chapter 2. When the people in the city inquired as to what was happening (you’ll have to read the chapter to see), the Apostle Peter stood up and said, “…this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” (Acts 2:16-17)
Peter stated that the events of that day were a part of the fulfillment of “the last days”. That means we are in the last days of The Last Days. And it also means that The End is near—closer than you think!
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