Essentials
Class #16 – Christ’s Return
December 8, 2013
EFCA Statement
Christ’s Return – We believe in the personal,
bodily and pre-millennial return of our
Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a
time known only to God, demands constant
expectancy and, as our blessed hope,
motivates the believer to godly living,
sacrificial service and energetic mission.
When considering Christ’s return “If all you think about are charts, you need a life. If
you never think about Christ’s return, you need a hope.” – Dr. Glenn Kreider
Definition of Eschatology
Eschatology – The study of the end times.
Eschatology – The study of the culmination of God’s plan for his creation
Eschatology – The study of the completion of God’s work of
redemption/recreation.
If the gospel is good news and eschatology is the culmination of the gospel,
then eschatology is good news.
An Appropriate approach to eschatology is one…
That maintains a biblical emphasis on knowing God and producing
virtuous followers of Christ
That produces lives marked by virtue in action
That recognizes that all scripture is eschatological
That is comfortable with mystery
That appreciates the difficulty of interpreting apocalyptic and other
metaphorical passages of Scripture
Elements of Eschatology
New Heaven & New Earth
Final Judgment
Judgment is real!
Judgment is coming!
Christ’s Return
Rev 19-20
The Second Coming is when Jesus Christ returns with the Church to
defeat the antichrist, overthrow evil, and then establish His
kingdom.
Millennium
(Rev 19-20)
Definition – A period of time (1000yrs, short-time, unspecified,
forever) in which Christ will establish His kingdom and reign
over it.
Amillennial
Those that hold to an “a-mil” perspective reject the notion that
we must anticipate a future millennium.
Hold that we are presently in the millennium, and that this
world-wide spiritual reign of Christ was initiated at the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost,
and will come to a conclusion when Christ returns on
the clouds of heaven to execute the final judgment,
more or less equating the millennium with the Church.
Hold that Christ is presently having dominion over land and
sea, and will not return until the gospel has been
preached to all the nations of the world.
Deny the 1,000-year reign of Christ
Don’t expect a rapture
Hold that there is no physical reign of Christ over an earthly
kingdom. Christ is presently reigning over a spiritual
kingdom in either: (1) the hearts of men; (2) heaven, or
(3) the church. The 1,000 years is a symbol
representing an extended period of time.
Pre-Millennial
(Rev 20:1-10)
Hold that Christ will return to earth to establish a physical
1,000-year reign in Jerusalem.
The prefix “pre” (which means “before”) indicates that those
who hold this view believe that Christ’s return will
come before this millennium.
Hold that Christ will return before establishing His physical
kingdom on earth. He will reign with his saints in
fulfillment of OT and NT prophecy. The reign on earth
will last for 1,000 years.
Separate the return of Christ and His final judgment by a
period of 1,000 years.
Many who hold the “pre-mil” position, also believe that Christ’s
return to establish His 1,000-year reign upon earth will
be preceded by a 7-year period of tribulation.
Post-Millennial
Hold that Christ will return after the 1,000 years, which
represent a golden age of unspecified duration. This age
is ushered in by the triumph of the gospel as the world
converts, in large part, to Christianity through the
efforts of the church.
Those who hold this view believe that Christ will return after
the millennium, and thus they do not separate the
return of Christ and the final judgment.
They do not necessarily hold that this millennium will be a
literal 1,000-year period. What they do believe,
however, is there is a time yet to come during which
Christ will demonstrate His power upon earth in an
extraordinary fashion and the church of Jesus Christ will
flourish as never before.
Believe in a worldwide reign of the Lord Jesus Christ as has
never been witnessed before in human history. This
reign would, however, be a spiritual reign executed by
Christ as He is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and not a physical, political reign headquartered in
Jerusalem, as the “pre-mil” people would hold.
Tribulation
(Mt 24:4-31; Mk 13:19-24; Rev 6-19)
Definition – Greek word “qlipsis” meaning “affliction, distress.”
It is used in general of any kind of testing, affliction or distress
which people experience throughout life.
Also used to refer to a specific eschatological time of trouble, a
special time of judgment from God that will come upon
the entire world, will be unprecedented in its affliction,
and will be culminated by the personal return of Jesus
Christ to earth.
7 years in length
Rapture
(Mt 24; 1Thes 4:15-17)
Definition – "Rapture" is derived from the Latin verb "Rapere"
meaning "to carry off," or "to catch up."
The rapture then refers to The Church being “carried off” or
“caught up” with Christ and removed from the earth.
Believers will suddenly, without warning, disappear from
Earth in the "twinkling of an eye."
Unbelievers will be left behind
Only believed by Pre-millennialists
Pre-Tribulation – The rapture will occur prior to the tribulation
period.
Mid-Tribulation – The rapture will occur midway through to the
tribulation period.
Post-Tribulation – The rapture will occur at the conclusion of the
tribulation period.
Return of Christ
Personal
(Jn 14:3; *Acts 1:11; 1Thes 4:16)
Jesus will personally return, not as a representative, or metaphorical
return by a spiritual force.
Just as Jesus was here personally the first time, He will return in the
same manner the second time.
Bodily
(Mt 24:3-30; *Acts 1:11; Rev 1:7)
Just as Jesus ascended as a human in a human body, will return as a
human in a human body
Our Response
Expectancy
(*Mt 24:42-44; Mk 13:33-37; Lk 12:35-40; Rom 13:11-12; Plp 4:5;
1Thes 5:4-6; Jam 5:8-9; *1Ptr 4:7; Rev 16:15)
We will not know the time or day of His return ahead of time.
Therefore, we are to live expecting Christ to return at any moment.
Urgency
(Mt 24:45-51; *1Ptr 1:13-15; 2Ptr 3:11-14; 1Jn 2:28)
Motivation for Sanctification
(Tts 2:11-13)
Motivation for Love
Judgment is coming!
Motivation for Discipleship
The bride-groom is coming for His bride!
Hope
(*Rom 8:23-25; 1Thes 4:13-18)
Jesus is our blessed Hope (Tts 2:13)
Our hope is in the person of Jesus, not in an event (1Thes 1:10)
Our hope is in the perfect grace that Jesus will bring. (1Ptr 1:13)
EFCA Statement
Christ’s Return – We believe in the personal, bodily and pre-millennial return
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to
God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope,
motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic
mission.
Summary & Response
Based on your discussion today, have you taken an appropriate approach to
eschatology? If not, how might you do so?
How might you make a habit out of connecting all scripture with
eschatology?
How much of an impact does Christ’s return have on your daily life?
Would you describe your level of motivation to obey God as urgent?
Book Recommendations:
Guindry & Bock; Three Views on the Millennium; Zondervan Publishing
Guindry & Hultberg; Three Views on the Rapture; Zondervan Publishing
Guindry & Pate; Four Views on Revelation; Zondervan Publishing
Wright, NT; Surprised by Hope; Harper One Publishing
Woolvard, John; End Times; IFL Publishing
Next Week: Class #17 – Response & Eternal Destiny
Essentials
Class #16 – Christ’s Return
December 8, 2013
EFCA Statement
Christ’s Return – We believe in the personal,
bodily and pre-millennial return of our
Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a
time known only to God, demands constant
expectancy and, as our blessed hope,
motivates the believer to godly living,
sacrificial service and energetic mission.
When considering Christ’s return “If all you think about are charts, you need a life. If
you never think about Christ’s return, you need a hope.” – Dr. Glenn Kreider
Definition of Eschatology
Eschatology – The study of the
.
Eschatology – The study of the
of God’s plan for his
creation
Eschatology – The study of the
of God’s work of
redemption/recreation.
If the gospel is good news and eschatology is the culmination of the gospel,
then eschatology is
.
An Appropriate approach to eschatology is one…
That maintains a biblical emphasis on knowing God and producing
virtuous followers of Christ
That produces lives marked by virtue in action
That recognizes that all scripture is eschatological
That is comfortable with mystery
That appreciates the difficulty of interpreting apocalyptic and other
metaphorical passages of Scripture
Elements of Eschatology
New Heaven & New Earth
Final Judgment
Judgment is real!
Judgment is coming!
Christ’s Return
Rev 19-20
The Second Coming is when Jesus Christ returns with the
to defeat the
, overthrow
, and then
establish His
.
Millennium
(Rev 19-20)
Definition – A period of
(1000yrs, short-time, unspecified,
forever) in which Christ will establish His
and
over it.
Amillennial
Those that hold to an “a-mil” perspective reject the notion that
we must anticipate a
millennium.
Hold that we are
in the millennium, and that
this world-wide spiritual reign of Christ was initiated at
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost, and will come to a conclusion when Christ
returns on the clouds of heaven to execute the final
judgment, more or less equating the millennium with
the Church.
Hold that Christ is presently having dominion over land and
sea, and will not return until the gospel has been
preached to all the nations of the world.
Deny the 1,000-year reign of Christ
Don’t expect a rapture
Hold that there is no physical reign of Christ over an earthly
kingdom. Christ is presently reigning over a spiritual
kingdom in either: (1) the hearts of men; (2) heaven, or
(3) the church. The 1,000 years is a symbol
representing an extended period of time.
Pre-Millennial
(Rev 20:1-10)
Hold that Christ will return to earth to establish a
reign in Jerusalem.
The prefix “pre” (which means “before”) indicates that those
who hold this view believe that Christ’s return will
come
this millennium.
Hold that Christ will return before establishing His physical
kingdom on earth. He will reign with his saints in
fulfillment of OT and NT prophecy. The reign on earth
will last for 1,000 years.
Separate the return of Christ and His final judgment by a
period of 1,000 years.
Many who hold the “pre-mil” position, also believe that Christ’s
return to establish His 1,000-year reign upon earth will
be preceded by a 7-year period of tribulation.
Post-Millennial
Hold that Christ will return
the
,
which represent a golden age of unspecified duration.
This age is ushered in by the triumph of the gospel as
the world converts, in large part, to Christianity through
the efforts of the church.
Those who hold this view believe that Christ will return after
the millennium, and thus they do not separate the
return of Christ and the final judgment.
They do not necessarily hold that this millennium will be a
literal 1,000-year period. What they do believe,
however, is there is a time yet to come during which
Christ will demonstrate His power upon earth in an
extraordinary fashion and the church of Jesus Christ will
flourish as never before.
Believe in a worldwide reign of the Lord Jesus Christ as has
never been witnessed before in human history. This
reign would, however, be a spiritual reign executed by
Christ as He is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and not a physical, political reign headquartered in
Jerusalem, as the “pre-mil” people would hold.
Tribulation
(Mt 24:4-31; Mk 13:19-24; Rev 6-19)
Definition – Greek word “qlipsis” meaning “affliction, distress.”
It is used in general of any kind of testing, affliction or distress
which people experience throughout life.
Also used to refer to a specific eschatological time of
, a special time of
that will come upon the entire world, will
be unprecedented in its affliction, and will be
culminated by the personal
of Jesus
Christ to earth.
in length
Rapture
(Mt 24; 1Thes 4:15-17)
Definition – "Rapture" is derived from the Latin verb "Rapere"
meaning "
," or "
“
The rapture then refers to
being
“carried off” or “caught up” with Christ and removed
from the earth.
Believers will suddenly, without warning, disappear from
Earth in the "twinkling of an eye."
will be left behind
Only believed by Pre-millennialists
Pre-Tribulation – The rapture will occur
to the
tribulation period.
Mid-Tribulation – The rapture will occur
through to
the tribulation period.
Post-Tribulation – The rapture will occur at the
of the
tribulation period.
Return of Christ
Personal
(Jn 14:3; *Acts 1:11; 1Thes 4:16)
Jesus will
return, not as a representative, or
metaphorical return by a
.
Just as Jesus was here personally the first time, He will return in the
same manner the second time.
Bodily
(Mt 24:3-30; *Acts 1:11; Rev 1:7)
Just as Jesus
as a human in a human body, will
as a human in a human body
Our Response
(*Mt 24:42-44; Mk 13:33-37; Lk 12:35-40; Rom 13:11-12; Plp 4:5;
1Thes 5:4-6; Jam 5:8-9; *1Ptr 4:7; Rev 16:15)
We will not know the time or day of His return ahead of time.
Therefore, we are to live expecting Christ to return at any moment.
(Mt 24:45-51; *1Ptr 1:13-15; 2Ptr 3:11-14; 1Jn 2:28)
Motivation for Sanctification
(Tts 2:11-13)
Motivation for Love
Judgment is coming!
Motivation for Discipleship
The bride-groom is coming for His bride!
(*Rom 8:23-25; 1Thes 4:13-18)
Jesus is our blessed Hope (Tts 2:13)
Our hope is in the
of Jesus, not in an
(1Thes 1:10)
Our hope is in the perfect grace that Jesus will bring. (1Ptr 1:13)
EFCA Statement
Christ’s Return – We believe in the personal, bodily and pre-millennial return
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to
God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope,
motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic
mission.
Summary & Response
Based on your discussion today, have you taken an appropriate approach to
eschatology? If not, how might you do so?
How might you make a habit out of connecting all scripture with
eschatology?
How much of an impact does Christ’s return have on your daily life?
Would you describe your level of motivation to obey God as urgent?
Book Recommendations:
Guindry & Bock; Three Views on the Millennium; Zondervan Publishing
Guindry & Hultberg; Three Views on the Rapture; Zondervan Publishing
Guindry & Pate; Four Views on Revelation; Zondervan Publishing
Wright, NT; Surprised by Hope; Harper One Publishing
Woolvard, John; End Times; IFL Publishing
Next Week: Class #17 – Response & Eternal Destiny