Intro to the End Times is a series walking through some of the key themes of the story of Jesus’ return from a historic premillennial perspective, with special focus on knowing the heart of Jesus as we partner with God through the most dramatic chapter of human history.
Good or Bad?
There seem to be two major perspectives on the “good or bad”-ness of the season of time right before Jesus comes back.
On the one hand, the end times are sometimes presented as all bad bad bad— judgment, destruction, persecution, Christians huddled underground while the antichrist hunts them down and demon locusts swarm the earth. This seems to be the expectation behind the saying “hope for the best, prepare for the worst” as I discussed in an earlier post, as though being on earth during the end times is the worst thing that could possibly happen to us.
On the other hand, the story is sometimes presented as all good and no bad— that we’re going to experience massive global revival, the church is going to spread the Kingdom all over the earth, nations will acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and THEN Jesus will come back. (The theological term for this view is postmillennialism, sometimes referred to as “victorious eschatology”. There are other beliefs beside these two, but these are the ends of the spectrum and represent the most common off-balance perspectives I’ve seen in the modern church.)
As is often the case, the truth is a bit of both.
I appreciate that the first view takes Jesus’ warnings seriously. Whether people who hold that view are pre- or post-trib, it’s great that they have a healthy sobriety about the intensity of what’s coming.
On the other hand, I appreciate that the second view takes Jesus’ promises seriously. We really were promised that we would do greater things because of the Holy Spirit in us. I believe we really will see a great revival before Jesus comes. The Kingdom of God really is at hand!
Great and Terrible
Here’s the key: As the famous opening line of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities goes, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The end times are going to be really bad and really good– at the same time.
Several passages in Scripture provide a helpful phrase for thinking about this dichotomy.
“For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?”
(Joel 2:11 NKJV, see alse Joel 2:31, Malachi 4:5)
The Day of the Lord (which, depending on context, can refer to the entire scope of the end times or the specific day when Jesus appears in the sky) is both great and terrible!
(Note: The phrase does seem to be reiterating rather than contrasting–ie, in this context “great” and “terrible” mean just about the same thing–but if we imagine “great” in the contemporary sense of “very good” it gives us a helpful framework for what we see elsewhere all over Scripture. In other words, we’re borrowing “great and terrible” from its context as a handy phrase to describe the contrasting dynamics of the storyline.)
Wheat and Weeds
Jesus told a parable of a man who owned a wheat field, but an enemy came and planted weeds alongside the wheat. The servants asked if they should try to uproot the weeds right away, but the owner told them that they might pull up the wheat along with the weeds. At that stage, neither the wheat nor weeds had reached maturity enough to be properly distinguishable. Instead, the servants were instructed to wait until both the wheat and the weeds reached full maturity, and then they would be separated at harvest time (Mt. 13:24-30).
This is a picture of the end times. God is going to let both the righteousness of the church and the wickedness of the world reach full maturity. At that point, there will be a clear, sharp distinction between what is of God and what is not. Right now, we’ve got a bit of a grey area–a lot of the church looking like the world, and a lot of the world just seeming like nice people. In the final chapter, the difference will be stark. The light will get brighter and the dark will get darker, at the same time.
The Father is zealous to bring His Son’s bride into full holiness and maturity so that she stands beside Him equally yoked in love and righteousness. At the same time, He’s going to allow wickedness to grow into maturity so that when He does judge the earth, it will be absolutely clear that it’s fully, rightfully deserved. This vindicates His justice and righteousness.
Great Things
As a kid with a pre-trib rapture expectation, I used to pray that I would somehow get to stay on earth during the tribulation because I was so excited about the idea of seeing everything God would do during that time. Here are just a few of the exciting things God will do on earth during the period of time shortly before Jesus’ return (I developed some of these ideas more in my post about God’s ultimate end time objectives):
- Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
We will see the church operating in greater power than ever before as the promise of Joel 2:28-32 is fulfilled worldwide (“I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…”) We saw a partial fulfillment at Pentecost in Acts 2, but the context of Joel 2 is clearly eschatological. That day is coming, and we really will do “greater works” than Jesus did (Jn.14:12-14)! - Great Revival
In conjunction with this outpouring, we will see a massive end-time harvest of souls! The gospel will be proclaimed with power to every people group (Mt. 24:14, Re. 14:6), so that every nation, tribe, and tongue on earth will be represented before the throne (Re. 7:9). This hasn’t happened yet, but top missions organizations say we’re very close! - Supernatural Provision and Protection for the Church
There is ample precedent in Scripture for God protecting His people in the middle of crisis, like Noah on the ark during the flood or Israel during the plagues in Egypt. Israel’s birth as a nation was marked by this kind of dramatic protection and provision, and we will see these miracles again (Mi. 7:15, Re. 7:2-3)! The house of prayer especially will be a place of supernatural shelter (Ps. 27:5, Ps. 91). - Global Prayer Movement
In the last days, as the drama increases, there will be a steady soundtrack of prayer and worship arising like incense from every corner of the earth (Isa. 24:14-16, Isa. 42:10-12, Mal. 1:11). God is raising up those who will cry out for justice and for His purposes for Israel until He comes (Isa 62:6-7, Lk. 18:7-8). This is what we’re seeing around the world even now. - Maturity of the Bride
God is raising up the church to be an equally yoked bride for Jesus! When He comes, we will be presented to Him “without spot or wrinkle… holy and without blemish.” (Eph. 5:27) God is working this in us even now, and the end times will see the church walking in the fullness of our identity in confident hope and unshakable lovesickness. - Justice Accomplished
Jesus’ heart burns for justice! He longs to make all the wrong things right. He will declare war on wickedness like we’ve never seen and will bring destruction against Satan and the antichrist’s kingdom while vindicating and defending His people. Ultimately, He will fully establish His kingdom on earth in which perfect justice will reign forever (Ps. 89:14, Isa. 9:7).
Terrible Things
At the same time as the “great” things are happening, plenty of not-so-great things are also occurring. All of this is part of God’s storyline, and there is purpose in everything, but these things will call for great endurance and faithfulness.
- Judgments
21 judgments are listed sequentially in the book of Revelation (seals, trumpets, and bowls). These are various supernatural crises and plagues that God will send on the earth against wickedness. Note that these judgments are NOT directed at the church! We will feel some of the effects, but God’s wrath is against the antichrist’s kingdom, not us. The church will experience a large degree of supernatural protection (see Great Thing #3 above). - Persecution
Satan will be on full blast against the church and also the people of Israel. He hates what God loves, and knowing that time is running out, he will attack God’s people will all the energy of a rabid animal backed into a corner (Re. 12:12-17). - Deception
The closer we get to Jesus’ return, the harder the enemy will be working to deceive the earth. The Harlot Babylon system that precedes the antichrist will seduce the world with false peace (1Th. 5:3) as many different “truths” are accepted openly. Then the antichrist will demand worship as God, backing up his claim with dramatic signs and wonders (2Th. 2:3-4, 9). To beware of deception was Jesus’ foremost instruction concerning the end times (Mt. 24:4). - Wickedness
As the weeds grow up alongside the wheat, the wickedness of the earth will be growing up into maturity. Before the Flood, mankind was thoroughly corrupt and thought only of evil continually (Gn. 6:5), and Jesus promised that the time of His coming would be much like the time of Noah (Lk. 17:26). Right now, God is mercifully holding back the full extent of potential evil, but He will take the brakes off and let true depravity reveal itself (Mt. 24:12, 2Ti. 3:1-5, Re. 9:12). - Creation’s Groan
The earth itself is groaning with longing for that day (Ro. 8:19-23), when it will be freed from the curse of the fall. These groans can be seen to manifest in natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes, animal attacks (yes, this is a whole entire thing in eschatology!), and even diseases like COVID-19. - Great Falling Away
As the distinction between darkness and light get clearer, decisions will be forced and many in the church who didn’t have strong root systems and allowed their hearts to grow cold will find themselves drifting away (Mt. 24:10-12, 24; 1Ti. 4:1; 2Th. 2:3). I personally have a number of friends who have already drifted away from Jesus and embraced beliefs and choices that are starkly against Him. Many more are on shaky ground, building their faith on a shaky foundation that won’t stand when the storm hits.
Preparing for Both Dynamics
The church that lives through all of these dynamics will need to be firmly rooted and grounded in the knowledge of God. We will need to know deep in our bones that He is good and trustworthy and be prepared to be faithful unto death, as the accusations of the enemy attack us and we see the “terrible” dynamics on the rise. At the same time, we need to be prepared to carry the revival that God will pour out. We need humble hearts reaching to carry more and more of the presence of God so that we can partner with Him fully in all He wants to do.
The answer to being prepared for both of these dynamics is the same: get oil. Matthew 25:1-13 describes five virgins (like bridesmaids at a wedding) who were wise and five virgins who were foolish. The wise ones prepared ahead of time by making sure they had enough oil in their lamps to last until the bridegroom came, no matter how long it took. The foolish ones ran out of oil and tried to get more but in the process found themselves missing the opportunity of meeting the bridegroom.
We need the oil of intimacy. We need a deep and intimate history of relationship with Jesus that will anchor our hearts through the storm and position us to join Him in carrying revival.
