What the Bible does say about End Times

I'm uncertain about when what is going to happen, as regards End Times. Christ said that He was coming back, and we should be ready. He also said that even He didn't know the timing of these events. To me, trying to figure out when (or if) there will be a Rapture, when the Tribulation will be in relation to the Rapture, when, and how long the Millennium will be, and other such event timings can divert believers from the main purpose of the Gospel, and cause unnecessary conflicts with the Body of Christ. See here for a discussion of the difficulty of predicting future events, judging by scriptural fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in the New Testament.

But (duh!) it recently occurred to me that there are things about End Times that we can be certain of, even if we don't know when, or in what order, they may occur. Here's a probably partial list of what the Bible has to say about things that will happen:

Promises of what’s to come (from World English Bible, public domain)

Reward to the faithful: Matthew 13:43a Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.

Matthew 24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes. 47 Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has.

Matthew 20:23 He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it is for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

New, resurrected bodies: 1 Corinthians 15:42b The body is sown perishable; it is raised imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is also a spiritual body. 53 For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Earth remade: 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness, 12 looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

Revelation 21:1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.

Romans 8:19 For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.

Death destroyed: 1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

John 11:23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. 26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.”

Job 19:25 But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth.

Being with Christ: Revelation 22:2 On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will be no curse any more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no night, and they need no lamp light; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever.

Thanks for reading!

The New Earth and caring for the environment we have now

Tomorrow is Earth Day. E. Stephen Burnett has written a fine blog post, with plenty of scriptural material, on how care of the current earth relates to the New Earth.

You may also want to read my own post, more extensive, but not on the New Earth, about what the Bible says about environmental stewardship.

Thanks for reading. Read Burnett!

Does the Bible really say that? Excerpt from my book, 50

New heaven? New body?

A number of Bible scholars, including [N. T.] Wright, believe that heaven, in its final state, does not yet exist. There are some good scriptural reasons for thinking this, such as John 14:2-3, quoted earlier in this chapter, indicating that Christ was going to do some preparatory work on the final resting place of believers. Then there’s Romans:

Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us. 19 For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.

This seems to be talking about the redemption of fallen earth, during the End Times. And, somehow, the redeemed creation, the rocks, plants, and mountains, maybe even the planets and the stars, are to be delivered, and, somehow, this deliverance is connected to glory “revealed toward us.” Or, as John put it in Revelation:

Revelation 21:1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. 2 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”

5a He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

(For some musings about “the sea is no more,” see here.)

This is apocalyptic and visionary literature, of course. But it does mention a new heaven and a new earth, suggesting that there will be a physical existence inhabited by believers.

Not only Paul, and John, but Peter also had something to say about this matter:

2 Peter 3:13 But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

Also, Genesis tells us that all of God’s creation was originally good, in Genesis 1:31a, which says that “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” God could, of course, discard or destroy His original good creation, but indications are that, instead, He wishes to redeem and renew it.

The above material is an excerpt from my self-published e-book, Does the Bible Really Say That?, which may be obtained free of charge, or purchased from Amazon for $0.99, which is the lowest price Amazon lets an author set. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.

The previous post in this series, on the topic of the idea of going to heaven, is here. God willing, the next post in this series will continue with a related topic. Thanks for reading.

Biblical evidence for a physical body after death

The Bible teaches that there will be a physical body for the redeemed, at some point after death. Here is some of the evidence. All quotations are from the World English Bible, public domain:

Job 19:25 But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives.
In the end, he will stand upon the earth.
26 After my skin is destroyed,
then in my flesh shall I see God,

Christ had a physical body after His resurrection:
Luke 24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. (Presumably because His body had been transformed, and He was still inhabiting it, and had left the area.)

Luke 24:38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39  See my hands and my feet, that it is truly me. Touch me and see, for a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While they still didn’t believe for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
42 They gave him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43 He took them, and ate in front of them.

John 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me*, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”  *A number of translations say “Don’t cling to me,” or “Don’t touch me,” which would have not been possible, if Christ was only a spirit.

John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 After eight days again his disciples were inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the middle, and said, “Peace be to you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.” 

Acts 10:40 God raised him up the third day, and gave him to be revealed, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

We will be like Christ
John indicates that we will be like the risen Christ, indicating that we, too, will have a glorified body:
1 John 3: 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.

Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us. 19 For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 23 Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body.

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Revelation 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. Revelation uses figurative language, and it is clear that much of it was not meant to be taken literally. The redeemed presumably would not be able to hold palm branches in their hands, or wear robes, without a body.

New heaven and new earth
God promises a new creation, apparently physical as well as spiritual. (See also the Romans 8 passage, above.) Presumably a new creation with physical structure will be inhabited by believers who are physically resurrected. Revelation 20:1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.

For more on the matter of "the sea no more" see here.

The Apostle's Creed is not scripture, but was a concise statement of what the church believes. It includes this:  
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
    the holy Christian Church,
        the communion of saints,
    the forgiveness of sins,
    the resurrection of the body,
    and the life everlasting. Amen. (This is the version used in the Lutheran Service Book. All the versions I saw use the phrase "resurrection of the body.")

It is not clear, at least to me, as to when we will assume this glorified body, but, in comparison to eternity, whether it is assumed immediately upon death, or after the Final Kingdom, with its new heaven and new earth, is established, or somewhere between these points, doesn't matter much.

The best fictional portrayal of the bodily resurrection is in The Silver Chair, by C. S. Lewis, when King Caspian is transformed, after his death, but only because of the blood of Aslan, the lion.

Thanks for reading.