Important Eschatology Questions

December 1st 2024

John 12:27-36

The goal of this Morning’s Sermon, is to ask some important questions about the end of the World, that I’m hoping will help us move forward with what we talked about last week…putting our Eschatology into action. But first, im going to remind you of something I said when we first started this Eschatology Series. We are “skipping a stone” across the surface. Were touching down at certain points, not going very deep, and then moving forward. Today’s message is going to be one of those times, I hope, that will leave you wanting more.

But before we get that far…let's recap last week and remember where we are.

Last week, we talked about the truth that we need to be “doers” of the Word, and not just “hearers”. We learned through the words of 1st Thessalonians, that the instructions from God about how we are supposed to be living, are the same regardless of our own eschatological stance. Yes…it is perfectly fine, wise, and even Biblical to have enough goods in our homes for not only ourselves and our neighbors, but especially when we see the tyrannical lean of an unchecked Government. Yes. If we left this building to discover we couldn't buy groceries anymore…how long would it be before your family starved to death? Could you last a week? Two weeks? This is right in line with the truth of Proverbs 27:12 that says: “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; The simple pass on and are punished.” It is wise to be prepared when evil is on the horizon. However, there is a point where we are no longer trusting that God will provide for us…and where that line is, is found through much prayer, discernment, and more time in your Bibles than in the News. We should never assume that God is going to abandon us, which gets to our main point today. But before we get there, a little more recap from last week. These three months are one single Sermon afterall.

Last week we also talked about how we shouldn't assume that the End of the World is dependent upon us, and simply bulldoze everything around us. Is it loving to vote for and to pass Godly laws, even if it will make the God-haters in our Country scream into their phones and post it online? It all depends…why are we doing it? Are we preaching Christ out of envy and strife, like the people who hate Paul were doing in Philippians 1? Are we doing it because we love God and His laws, or because we hate our enemies? I think you know the answer. 

When we put our Eschatology into action, and actually live like Christians should live, it looks a certain way. Lets remember, however, that there are no “Eschatology only” instructions from God. We ought to always love God and love neighbor. Flee from sin and evangelize the lost, regardless of how we believe the World is going to end. Yes. So when I say that our Eschatology needs to put its boots on and actually take action in our life…I am saying that all of Scripture needs to take action in our life.

So when we begin to think about what we believe about the end of the World, certain behaviors are going to come out of us, and what we need to do is examine those behaviors against the entirety of Scripture, and then align ourselves with what we read.

Because there are no “Eschatology only” instructions, we can understand that living out our understanding of the end of the World, is simply living out our understanding of God. Of how He acts, of what He does, and how He interacts with people who are His and who aren’t His. What we believe about God, is, either intentionally or not, always applied to our life. We believe Him to be the decider of morality, and it is applied in our families, our laws, our rules. We believe Him to be the only way to Heaven, and it is applied in our Worship. So today, we're going to ask two big questions to try and find out what “Applied Eschatology” looks like. I won't be able to give you a solid definition, at least not until the final Sunday of this Sermon, but the big questions we're going to ask, and answer this Morning, will give us some “guide rails” so to speak, in regards to our applied eschatology.

The questions are big, grandiose, and they are all encompassing. To answer them exhaustively will take a lot of time, but regardless of what Fox News says…I think that we still have a lot of time left here on Earth to answer them.

The two questions are: #1) Has God ever abandoned His children? And #2) Who is ruling this World, here and now?

First Question: Has God ever abandoned His children?

There are times in our life, and it is a common thought amongst all Christians, that God has abandoned us. He left us. He turned away from us. We experience sadness, betrayal, trauma and tragedy, and because of how deeply it sinks into our heart, we assume that God has somehow lost control. Maybe not of the World, but at least of our own life. But I want to encourage you this morning brothers and sisters…that God does not…has not…and never will, abandon you. He said this in John 10:29-30:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. [28] And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; & no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. [30] I & My Father are one.”

God has never abandoned you, no matter what you are going through. He is always there, and you are always within His mighty hands, where none can snatch you from. No sickness, no disease, no sin, can ever cause Him to lose His grip upon you. This is throughout all of Scripture. In Romans 8:35-39 it says this:

[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36] As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” [37] Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. [38] For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, [39] nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God will never abandon His people. Never. Now this may bring up questions of our Salvation…which I would encourage you to come to our Weekly Bible study on Thursdays where we will talk about it. This may also bring up questions about the Jews. They are His people after all, right? We will be talking about that next week. But the truth remains, all through Scripture we see that God doesn't abandon His people, and we can't separate that truth from the Doctrine of Eschatology.

Our applied Eschatology should be the same as our applied Theology

What I mean is, how our understanding of the end of the world takes action in our life…needs to be the same way our understanding of God takes action in our life. 

We are to live every single day with the truth that God will never abandon us, as the fuel for our life. It needs to show up in all of our Doctrines…because it is part of the character and nature of God. It is simply “who He is”, and is evident through all of Scripture. From the very beginning, He didn't leave Adam and Eve to fend for themselves, but instead performed the first sacrifice to clothe them. He didn't abandon His children when the rest of the world was drawing. He didn't abandon His people in Egypt…or in Babylon. Jesus didn't let Peter continue to sink beneath the waves He stood upon…even though He already knew that Peter was going to deny Him…and still didn't abandon him after all three of those denials. God does not abandon His people. This teaching must be present within our Eschatology, because it is present in all of Scripture. If our Eschatology makes us believe that Christ will abandon us…it needs to be rejected. If we think God leaves us to fend for ourselves, we are wrong. 

Even when Christ ascended, which has implications for our second big question this morning, God wasn't abandoning us. We have in  John 16:5-11 an answer to both of our questions this morning, and we actually have Jesus repeating Himself, with the same words He used in Chapter 12, which we read together a few minutes ago. Jesus says this in John 16:5-11:

“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ [6 ]But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. [7 ]Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. [8] And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: [9] of sin, because they do not believe in Me; [10] of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; [11] of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

Did you hear that? When Christ ascended to His Father, God was not abandoning us, and in fact, Christ Himself says it was better for us that He did so, because now God literally lives inside of our own heart, brothers and sisters. And this brings us to our second important question this morning.

Second Question: Who is ruling this World, here and now?

We read in John 12:31 at the beginning of our message, where Jesus said: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” We just now read John 16:11, where Jesus said: "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”

Who rules the World? According to Jesus, it was someone different before Him, than after Him. The previous ruler was cast out. But who was it? Satan. Satan was allowed to rule this World before Christ was incarnate, but once He was, Satan gradually began to lose his goat fingered grip on the World. This is seen in Matthew 4:8-10:

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. [9 ]And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” [10] Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Jesus didn't dispute that the kingdoms were under Satan’s rule, or that he was allowed to give them. We see this in Daniel 10, when the angel that came to Daniel told him that he was delayed because he was fighting the “prince of persia” a Demon who held authority over the Persian kingdom, and in fact, that angel continues by telling about other demons who have authority over other Nations. Before Christ, the Nations of the World were ruled by demons, and were granted that position by the ruler of the World at that time…however…we now live in a time when the ruler has been cast out. This is why James 4:7 says that we can make the Devil run away from us. It only takes a touch of resistance to make a pretender to the throne run in fear.

Once Christ took on flesh, was born, lived sinlessly, died, resurrected, and ascended, Satan lost his authority. Satan was cast out, and a new Ruler took control of the World. Of the Kingdoms. Of the Nations. Of the living and the dead. Of the angels, principalities, rulers, and authorities. Jesus Christ is not simply the King, which He is…He is LORD. He is the active, involved, intentionally hands-on Ruler of this World, here and now. He rules the World, with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love. 

This teaching is all through Scripture. We read it as plain as can be in Matthew 28:18-20, where Jesus, mere moments before His ascension, said this: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

We can go to all the Nations…because the ruler who was keeping

The Gospel from them has been cast out.

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Jesus is the ruler of this World:     

• 1st Peter 3:21 & 22: “There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”

• Matthew 11:27: “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father…”

• John 3:35: “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.”

• Acts 2:36: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Lord = Ruler of everything)

• Romans 14:9: “For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.”

• 1st Corinthians 15:27: “For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.

• Psalm 8:6: “You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

• Ephesians 1:19-23: “...when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, [21] far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. [22] And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, [23] which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

  
  

Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning, here and now, as the unmatched, unstoppable Lord of the Earth.

This is what those verses in Daniel that we read together last week, were talking about when it said this in Daniel 7:13 & 14: ““I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. [14] Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.”

What you believe about the character and nature of God, will influence all of your life. How you work, how you love, how you hate. How you worship is controlled by your understanding of God. How you understand the end of the World…is controlled by how you understand God. Do you believe Him to be a distant, cold, and detached father who only loves you out of obligation? Do you believe Him to be a deadbeat dad, who, though he created you, has never shown up in your life? Or do you believe Him to be a kind, caring, loving, compassionate Father, strong and steadfast in the face of evil, well able to protect you, and unendingly patient in your own sins and weaknesses? Will He abandon you? Will He abandon His children? Will He abandon His bride?

How you understand the end of the World…is controlled by how you understand God. Is He fighting a losing battle on behalf of His bride? Is HE the one lurking in the shadows, looking for a chance to usurp the authority of this World, or is HE the authority of this World?

How your understanding of eschatology takes shape in your life, your “Applied Eschatology”, looks exactly the same as how your understanding of God takes shape in your life…because they are the same thing. God acts in a certain way towards people, and towards this World. 

Live like you will never be abandoned, you people of God…because you never will.

Live like Jesus Christ is the Ruler of this World…because He is.

Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

These two questions will have ramifications throughout your entire Eschatology, which is why I selected them, and some of the questions they will bring up will be answered next week when we talk about God’s plan for the Jews, and the week after when we talk about Christian Nationalism.