Essentials, The End (audio file for download)

Essentials: the fulfillment of Christ’s work (End Times).

Have you noticed lately how our culture has been infatuated with the end times?

Whether from a Biblical perspective or not, there is a fascination in all of us with the end of the world. If you just take a look at some of the movies coming out in the past few years you will see a trend of these post apocalyptic earth movies. The latest one that I am aware of is called Alysium. Where it seems earth has been destroyed for the most part and there is a space station where all the wealthy people have moved to get away from it all. I haven’t seen it, but it looks to me like Wall.e, just not animated. Which gets to another movie about Earth’s demise at the hands of people, and them realizing that if they have to work to get it put back together.

You may watch those types of movies and feel that there is no hope for the future. Well, we as Christians do not have to be afraid of the end of the world, because the Bible tells us what will happen, and what God is doing. Now, if you have been around church for any length of time, you will know there is much debate about how exactly all the events of the end times will take place. While it is incredibly important that we look at those things in Revelation and try to understand what God is saying to us, it is not necessary that we agree on our eschatology before we are Christians. So, up from, I am not going to address the order of events, or the millennium, or the rapture. What I do want to focus on are the main things that Paul addresses in the passage we have been looking at for the past few weeks.

Lets read it together.

READ

PRAY

1. God is sovereign over the events of the end times. He has a plan to unite all things to himself.
2. That plan is carried out through Jesus Christ.
3. His plan is for His glory.

The Consummation

The consummation of all things includes the future, physical, visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan, with his hosts and all those outside Christ, is finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment, but the righteous, in glorious bodies, shall live and reign with Him forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then shall the eager expectation of creation be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, Who makes all things new.