The End of the End
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Mission and Vision
Mission and Vision
Today we are going to jump into a sermon series that I’ve never preached on but it’s one that I truly believe is very important
What we are talking about today is called eschatology
Say eschatology
the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.
Its the study of what happens after
This is a question that each of us ponders at times
This is a question that each of us ponders at times
What happens at the end of the world? Who stays? Who goes? What about the judgement of God? What is armageddon going to look like? What if I die before the great and terrible day of God? What happens then? Where are my loved ones who have already passed from this plain of existence?
I didn’t realize when the Lord gave me this sermon series to preach now that it would be in the light of the further political unrest that is going on in the middle east
To be honest… there are 2 beliefs that everyone has, whether they voice them or not… and these 2 beliefs shape how they live there everyday lives
The most important is What do you believe about God?
The second is What is the ultimate end of man? What happens at the end?
See whether you know it or not, you operate out of these two beliefs at a subconscious level
See what you believe about God shapes your understanding of right and wrong, of justice, of what goodness actually is,
What you believe about God shapes how you interact with other people. It shapes how you go about pursuing your own desires in this life
And what flows out of that is the understanding of what happens at the end.
See if you are one of those people who believe that everyone gets in… That there is a mountain and somehow someway everyone finds their way to the top.
That creates this easy believeism that has no roots in reality
That mindset says that nothing is actually right or wrong as long as you are somewhat of a good person based on whatever cultural norms that you have internalized… then you go to the good place
Or… there is no bad place so just do what you think is right
There are others that have a mindset that says nothing happens when you die so get all you can out of this life.
This type of mindset… believe it or not… is VERY common among GenZ that’s those born in the mid to late 1990s.
This mindset is called Nihilism… that is nothing matters
If that is what you believe about this life that it culminates in a giant nothing… that is going to shape how you interact with others, with yourself, with this deeper feeling of longing that is written in the heart of every individual.
There are reports that say that depression is so much higher in Gen Z than other generations. Now these studies aren’t conclusive and there are a lot of factors… but something that is common is a lack of hope in what the future holds… specifically the eternal stuff
I say all this to say… eschatology is a huge section of our faith that needs to be explored. Improper eschatology will lead you to act out in different ways that we will discover throughout this series
Now here are some disclaimers
There are some things that are open to interpretation
I will do my best to present all sides and let you know which one I find the strongest grounded in scriptures
There are some things that you may disagree with me on… That’s okay. As long as you can back up what you believe through an orthodox understanding of scripture and not your feelings you are perfectly fine believing something different on some of these points
I do not have any divinely given direct connection that gives me some prophetic vision about when and how that is outside of the revelation of the Holy Spirit found in the 66 books
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is no new Gospel. There is no new way to do this Jesus thing. The scriptures are here and are illuminated by the Holy Spirit and lead us into all truth
This sermon series is going to be a survey of eschatology
What do I mean by that? It will be an overview. We will simply gloss over these topics. There are libraries filled with scholars and quacks and their theories and studies about the end of days.
So if you want to go in depth over anything that comes up… or if I haven’t answered any of your questions… we have a bible study that meets on Wednesday nights… Perfect time to discuss this stuff. I’m also available to grab coffee or some food and we can chat
Today we are talking about The End of the End
Again looking at the understanding that our eschatology affects how we live our lives… lets go to the very end of the end
This is the consummation of the story of God
This is where the book ends
The end of the story of God and man looks a lot like the beginning.
See in the beginning it was God’s plan to live and walk with man and woman in the Garden.
That we would be in eternal communion with him and with each other
Then sin entered the world and God decided to enter into our mess in order to deliver us from the sin and the punishment for sin that we brought upon ourselves.
WE just talked through that… That happened at advent with the birth of Christ and the work was completed at calvary on the cross
But What we see is the fulfillment of the plan here in revelation
There is a lot of bad theology that is going around that says that God is going to destroy the world and then we are going to live forever with him in heaven
But that’s not what the bible tells me
The Bible tells me that God’s plan is to recreate a new heaven and a new earth
A place that is reminiscent of the Garden of eden
A space where God and Man can walk and live side by side in eternal communion
God himself is going to reign in our midst from the new Jerusalem
Side Note
The word new here doesn’t mean brand new
It’s the same meaning as you being a new creation in Christ
Like you didn’t physically die, disintegrate, and then get put back together in a completely new array of atoms
But you were filled with the spirit and you are not the same
You are remade
That’s what we are talking about here. New Heaven and New earth doesn’t mean that it’s going to be something that has never been before, but it will be remade in a way that is completely new and refreshed.
We see that the end goal is for God to redeem all creation. Not to destroy it
How does this affect how us as believers
How huge of a difference does it make in the way we treat each other, God, and the rest of creation to know that God isn’t planning on completely destroying the earth?
Like if God created earth and all of creation (animals, mountains, valleys…) because he delighted to show off his glory… why would he destroy it?
Wouldn’t that be a win for the enemy?
Like if Satan had enough power that he could not just corrupt but utterly ruin creation so that God had to throw the whole thing away… doesn’t he win in that scenario?
Here’s the thing… Satan doesn’t win
The earth and the heavens will be remade back to perfection
Through the blood of Christ and the lamb… the fracturing of the world by sin will be healed and mended
The brokennes that exists now taht causes choas, and tears, and death will no longer exist
What will remain is going to be the perfect manifestation of God’s glory in the physical earth
How does this change how we see God
If you believe that your only serving God because you don’t want him to blow you up and zap you with a lightning bolt.. that paints a picture of a dictitorial God who is in it to see you jump through hoops
That God is a tyrant and not the God of the Bible
Once you can understand that it is not God’s desire to see any parish
Once you understand that God’s goal is to see you remade into what he originally planned for humanity. He isn’t asking youto jump through hoops for his amusement but he is asking you to trust him because he created you and wants what’s best for you
When you understand that the end goal is to get everyone into this place of complete transformaion… that should change how you see other people
No longer should you look at people as hinderences getting in between you and your ticket to heaven
Right? It’s not just about not missing the flight! its about being recreated through the blood of Christ and seeing every thing on earth as being able to be redeemed because that is what God is about
And if God is about redeeming everything… then all the sudden nothing is beyond the scope of what God can redeem
No one is beyond the scope of God being able to redeem them by the blood of the lamb
I mean even the way we treat the environment is rooted in our eschatology
If you think this world is disposable… then it doesn’t matter how you treat it.
If the physical things in this world are not important or inconsequential… then why be a good steward?
God made the physical world. It’s in his style. He didn’t create all that is so that he could just scrap it
This means that God cares about the way you love each other, the way you treat the least and the lost… because they are people that he wants to redeem
God cares about the way you treat your physical body
Yes its temporal, but God is going to redeem all temporal things. he cares about this world
You don’t just get to hop a flight off this rock and let all the dirty sinners have the decrepit planet
Now the ending verse does say that There will be a second death. There will be judgement and punishment for those who reject the grace and glory of God
We will talk about judgement and hell next week.
Take some time to reflect on the end of the end