What Does The Future Hold?

Dennis McCallum
1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

For many people, the thought of death provokes fear, depression, and despair. For people who have started a personal relationship with God though, death leads to an eternity with God in heaven, and as a result life on Earth is no longer relatively or existentially meaningless. Besides the promise of eternal life, God has also given Christians various prophetic signs to indicate that the end of human history is near, and understanding these signs motivates believers to live a sober and committed life for God until that day arrives.

Living in the Last Days

Jim Leffel
2 Timothy 3:10-11

In the last days, selfish love will increase. Paul describes the kind of depravity that will occur; man will pursue love of self, money, and pleasure. This will result in corruption of self, destruction of relationships, and spiritual depravity. The alternative is a fulfilled life pursuing others and relationships.

Live with the End in Mind

Jim Leffel
Job 42:7-10

James encourages his readers to have patience and strengthen their hearts as they wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus. This view of history differs significantly from the view that man's journey in life and all history ends in ultimate meaninglessness. James provides three profiles of patience required for living with the end in mind: 1) the farmer who waits and strengthens his heart; 2) the prophet who speaks faithfully for the Lord; and 3) Job who showed endurance and saw the Lord's compassion and mercy.\r\n

Being Ready for the Coming of the Son of Man

Dennis McCallum
Matthew 25:1-43

Jesus teaches his disciples through three separate stories what it means to be ready for the coming of the Son of Man. The first, a parable about ten virgins, teaches that there will be many who profess themselves to be Christians, or nominal Christians, that will not be ready for Jesus' return. The second, a parable of the talents, teaches the principle of stewarding the resources God has given us before He returns. The last parable is about the sheep and goats, and shows the urgency of serving Jesus by serving those in real need. In light of what God has given us, Christians are called to consider how their lives reflect stewardship.

What It Means to "Be Ready"

Scott Risley
Matthew 25:1-46

As we live in these Last Days, no one knows when Jesus will return, so we need to be ready at all times. God will let you live your life as you choose, but He will call you to give an account at the end. Will you be found faithful?

Getting Ready for the Climax of Human History

Dennis McCallum
1 Thessalonians 5:1-10

Jesus explains to his disciples the signs that are "birth pains" before the end of human history. He describes the presence of false teachers that will come in his name and wars, famines, earthquakes and nations will be against other nations. He warns his disciples that there will be intense persecution against Christians, that many will walk away from the faith and love will grow cold, but that the gospel will be preached to the whole world. From Jesus' words, it's clear that the end of human history will be categorized by events on multiple fronts, including: 1) theological; 2) sociological; 3) ecological; 4) technological; and 5) political. As we await the return of Jesus Christ, the call for Christians is one of anticipation and sobriety as we look forward to being with Jesus forever.

Are You Ready?

Scott Risley
Matthew 24:23-51

Since the return of Jesus has still not happened, some people say things are "just the same as it was since the beginning" but the Bible, unparalleled in accuracy, gives us a one-of-a-kind predictive scenario that accords with events throughout history. Whether all these conclusions are right or wrong, the big picture is clear, Jesus is coming back. Are you ready?

When Will These Things Be?

Dennis McCallum
Revelation 13:1-5

Jesus continues to speak about the end times, highlighting the abomination of desolation that will occur at the end of human history. The abomination of desolation is something directly related with the Antichrist, known as the Beast, who the entire world will worship during the time of the Great Tribulation. The Antichrist will blaspheme the name of God and will rise up out of a future Roman empire in the future. The world's current overpopulation, hunger and pollution point to the likelihood of the whole world coming together under the leadership of a single individual, like Jesus predicts in the end times. Coupled with a one-world mentality in areas like global economy, entertainment, information technology, and communication, the future of the world is readily getting to the point where Jesus' prediction doesn't seem crazy. In the meantime, there's a real need to ask for Jesus' forgiveness to cover people's sin before the end of human history comes.

And Then the End Will Come

Scott Risley
Matthew 24:15-22

Scott Risley goes over all the preconditions that must be in place for the End to finally arrive. Two thousand years after the disciples asked Jesus what would be the signs of the End, we now live in a period of time when many of the preconditions have been realized. Some of these preconditions were unimaginable to people hundreds or even fifty years ago but now are common place. Israel is inconceivably back in its home country. Technology allows the whole world to be interconnect and communicate with one another in seconds on the other side of the world. All these things that seemed so unlikely are now happening. God told us all these things would happen and He told us Jesus is coming back too...