THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

A Biblical Worldview has a radical effect on a person’s life and inspires faith for everyday life.

 
“A Gospel that does not deal with the issues of the day is not a gospel at all”  ~~ Martin Luther

“The Christian belief system (worldview) which the Christian knows to be grounded in divine revelation is relevant to all of life.” ~~ Carl. F. H. Henry

“The [secular] humanist system of values has now become the predominant way of thinking in most of the power centers of society.”  ~~ James Dobson

“Any objective social analyst would conclude that the United Sates faces its fair share of moral and spiritual problems.  A new research study from Barna Group suggests that a large share of the nation’s moral and spiritual challenges is directly attributable to the absence of a Biblical worldview among Americans.”  ~~ Barna

Many of the questions that people are asking all over the world today: “Is this the end of the world?”  “Is this the End Times?”

A Biblical worldview of End Times has at least 7 major time frames.   

The Bible is a roadmap for renewal and revival. 

Question:  Are we willing to commit to the roadmap? 

The Biblical Worldview of the roadmap includes:

1.   Old Testament prophecy

2.   Signs of the Times – today

3.   The Return of Jesus Christ – The Rapture

4.   The Seven Year Tribulation Period

5.   The Return of Christ with His Bride, the Church for 1000 year reign

6.   The final two judgments:  the Bema Judgment and the Great White Throne Judgment

7.   The New Jerusalem 

OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY

The Word of God is approximately 30% prophetic.

We are encouraged to read – hear – keep- Biblical prophecy and we will be blessed, if we do.  Rev. 1:3

In the Book of Daniel, which is the Revelation of the Old Testament and full of prophesy, the Holy Spirit tells Daniel to shut up the words and seal the book to the time of the end (Daniel 12:4).

He gives two signs of the times.

1.   Travel shall increase…from the horse in Daniel’s day to space travel today

2.   Knowledge shall increase. In the 1900’s, knowledge increased every 100 years; in 1945 knowledge increased every year and now today, knowledge doubles every 24 hours. ~~ IBM

From Dr. Ed Hinson of Liberty University:

1.   There are approximately 2000 prophecies in the Word of God

2.  Approximately 1500 have been fulfilled

3.  Approximately 500 yet to be fulfilled according to the Book of Revelation.

4.  Jesus Christ not to return until Israel became a nation. Isaiah 66:8,9. After 2000 years of exile, Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948.

5.  There is no prophecy that needs to be fulfilled before the return of Christ.   

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

There are 3 main chapters in the New Testament concerning prophecy and End Times:

·     Matthew 24

·     Luke 21

·     II Timothy 3

·     Plus the entire Book of Revelation

In Matthew 24:4, the first thing Jesus said was “take heed” – to be aware of what is coming.

In verses 5 – 8, he outlines 5 signs:

1.   Time of deception - apostacy

2.   Wars – approximately 40 wars happening today - eg.  Russia and Ukraine(Wikipedia);  rumors of wars including China/Taiwan; Iran/Israel; and nuclear threats. Russia has just cancelled the nuclear agreement with U.S.A.

3.   Famine – there is a food crisis coming that will be catastrophic. ~~ Economist magazine

4.   Pestilence, plagues and pandemics. The word ‘plague’ is used over 100 times.   

“Most plagues in the Bible are used of God to bring people to repentance”. ~~ Dr. Joel Rosenberg.                                                                 

“All plagues are of God for repentance” ~~ Dr. Jim Showers, Friends of Israel.   

5.   Earthquakes - over 20,000 occurred in 2022, most ever on record. ~~ Wikipedia.                                                                                                             

Is Turkey a warning of what is coming? God often uses earthquakes to announce a major event. When Christ died, a major earthquake took place:

·     The veil of the Temple was ripped and now Christ is our High Priest (Heb. 4:14-16).

·     Graves were opened and the dead arose and walked the streets of Jerusalem;  (Matt. 27:45-56)

Then Jesus said: v. 6 and 8

1.   Do not be troubled

2.  These things must all come to pass

3.  This is the beginning of sorrows; ie. Birth pains

4.  The end is not yet

Jesus gave us more signs:  v. 9-14

1.   Persecution is coming. 1 in 7 Christians around the world suffered some type of persecution in 2022 and over 100,000 were killed  ~~ Open Doors

2.   Hatred will increase. There were 70 mass shootings in the U.S.A. in the first 45 days of 2023; ~~ Fox News

3.   False Prophets Shall Rise. ~~ New York Times.  Christian prophets are on the rise.  What happens when they are wrong? Christianity is in crisis.   

4.   Many will wax cold. (not on fire, not willing to ignite a blaze).  II Timothy 3 talks about persecutions and apostasy.

5.   We must endure. ( to persevere; to abide; to suffer)  v. 14 – When will the end come?  When all the world has heard the Gospel.

No one knows the timing of the Return of Jesus Christ, (Matt.24:36,37) but Jesus said it would be as in the time like the days of Noah; Genesis chapters 6 to 9

What were those days like?

·     Anti-God

·     Sexual immorality

·     Violence (def. in Hebrew – Hamas)

THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST – FACTS

1.   The dead in Christ shall rise first

2.   Those alive will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air

3.   We are to comfort (to exhort, to pray for) one another comfort is a present imperative, meaning continuous or repeated action

4.   This will occur in the twinkling of an eye

5.   This is a mystery to the world.  Mystery = secret.  There are 14 mysteries in the New Testament known only to believers. Six of the 14 mysteries are about End Times (I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:51).

THE SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD

What is the Tribulation?

The tribulation is a future seven-year period when God will finish His discipline of Israel and finalize His judgment of the unbelieving world. The church, comprised of all who have trusted in the person and work of the Lord Jesus, will not be present during the tribulation.  I take a pre-tribulational approach to eschatology. The church will be removed from the earth in an event called the rapture (I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:51-58). In this way, the Church is saved from the wrath to come (I Thess. 5:9).

“That day will be a day of wrath – a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness – a day of trumpet and battle cry (Zephaniah 1:16)."

The tribulation will be marked by various divine judgments, celestial disturbances, natural disasters and terrible plagues (see Rev. 6 – 16). In His mercy, God sets a limit on the duration of the tribulation. As Jesus said, “Those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world until now – and never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive (Rev. 13:19,20).

THE RETURN OF CHRIST WITH HIS CHURCH TO BEING THE 1000 YEAR REIGN

The feet of Jesus will land on the top of the Mount of Olives, which will split in two.  (Zechariah 14:1-4). The Holiday Inn would not construct a hotel on that location because they were told that Mt. Olives had a fault running through the middle of the mountain.

The millennium (also known as the millennial kingdom) is the 1,000 year reign of Jesus after the tribulation and before the Great White Throne Judgment of the wicked. During the millennium, Jesus will reign as King over Israel and all the nations of the world (Isaiah 2:4; 42:1). The world will live in peace (Isaiah 11:6-9; 32:18), Satan will be bound (Revelation 20:1-3) and, at the beginning, everyone will worship God (Isaiah 2:2,3). The purpose of the 1000 year reign is to fulfill various promises God made to the world.  Some of these promises, called covenants, were given specifically to Israel. Others were given to Jesus, the nations of the world and creation.  Jesus’ 1000 year reign will be a time of promises kept.  Remember, “1000 years is like a day unto the Lord” II Peter 3:8