Hi, I'm Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to serve as your Bible teacher every day on this great radio station.
On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. I've called the sermon today Bible Prophecy for Dummies. I don't mean that as an insult. The fact is you can be very smart and still get tangled up and confused by the end times. Many people, many Christians are. And so we're going to simplify the subject of Bible prophecy today by gaining a preview of what God's plan for the future is. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Open up to any verse in the book of Revelation, and you'll likely find yourself swimming in confusing metaphors and images.
But that doesn't mean an understanding of Bible prophecy is out of reach. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress provides a broad overview of the major events on God's prophetic timeline. Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Not all Bible students resonate with the last book in the Bible, John's Revelation. It contains some wild imagery of beasts and warfare, and Revelation contains a lot of new characters that are strange to us. Well, I've written a brand new booklet for you that clearly describes these biblical figures and helps you grasp their role in the last days. The booklet is called The Major Characters of the End Times, and I'd be happy to send you a copy as my gift to you when you simply go to ptv.org and request it.
Now, while you're online, be sure to look at the brand new book I've written for you as well. It's called The Mysteries of the End Times, five little known truths about God's plan for the future. As the subtitles suggest, my book addresses five mysteries of Bible prophecy. For example, the mystery of America in the end times and the mystery of the day of the Lord.
Some Bible readers feel stumped on these issues, and I want you to understand what God says and doesn't say about these mysteries. Ask for a copy of my book, Mysteries of the End Times, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. I'll make sure it's sent to your home right away, along with the booklet about the major characters in the end times. David and I will explain about these books later on, but right now, I want you to hear the message that inspired my new books.
Then, afterward, be sure to have a pen and paper ready so that you can jot down our contact information to request these two brand new resources. I titled today's message Bible Prophecy for Dummies. Let's look here at the chart, my Bible prophecy chart that I've prepared that shows you how the book of Revelation fits into where we are and where we are going. The first element of Bible prophecy you need to understand is the age in which we're living right now that we commonly call the church age.
Here's the definition. The church age is that period of time from Pentecost, Acts chapter 2, right after the resurrection of Christ from the dead, from Pentecost until the rapture, during which Gentiles are invited to participate in the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. That leads to the next event in Bible prophecy, the rapture of the church.
Let me give you the definition. The rapture is the snatching away to heaven of all Christians before the beginning of the great tribulation. It could happen at any moment.
It could happen before we conclude that service today. The rapture will be followed by the tribulation. What is the tribulation? It is that seven-year period of time that begins when the Antichrist signs a peace covenant with Israel and it ends with Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is the final seven years of earth's history. Now, why seven?
Have you ever wondered that? Why is the tribulation seven years in length? It's because of a promise made 2,600 years ago in Daniel chapter 9. Remember how Daniel, while the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, he was discouraged and said, Lord, what are you going to do about your people Israel? And remember, Gabriel gave him a message from God that there are 490 years left on God's stopwatch for God to finish up his plan with Israel and usher in the millennium. But he said very clearly that there would be a separation between the first 483 years and the final seven years. Remember he said God's going to start that countdown of that 490 years as soon as the decree goes out to go back and rebuild Jerusalem. We know from history when that happened.
It was March 14th, 445 BC when Artaxerxes Longimannus, the Persian king, the Iranian king, said you can go back and you can rebuild Jerusalem. That's when those 490 years started counting down. And the angel said to Daniel, from the time that command goes out until the time of Messiah will be 483 years when Messiah is presented.
We know when that happened. When Jesus rode on the donkey through the streets of Jerusalem and people recognized him, many did, as the Messiah. That happened on April the 2nd, 32 AD, exactly 483 years. But then the angel told Gabriel Messiah will be cut off.
He'll be crucified. There will be a gap of time before those final seven years begin. And right now on God's stopwatch, 483 years have passed. There are seven years for God to complete his plan for Israel.
When does that stopwatch begin for the final countdown? After the rapture, as soon as the Antichrist, the great world leader, signs this peace treaty with Israel. We're studying the tribulation right now.
We're in it in Revelation chapter 7. And remember there's two purposes for that tribulation. The salvation of Jews and Gentiles, there will be a whole group of people who will be saved, Jews and Gentiles alike, during this final seven years. It's a sign of God's mercy.
He wants to save as many people as possible. But secondly, it will be a time of condemnation of unbelievers, a condemnation of unbelievers. And the end of the tribulation will be followed by the second coming of Christ. What is the second coming of Christ? It is the visible return of Jesus Christ to establish his kingdom on the earth.
Now listen to me. The great world battle war that is yet to be fought we call Armageddon. It's really a series of battles up and down the length of Israel. But the final phase of that battle will be at the plain of Megiddo.
Underneath the hill Armageddon of Megiddo, many of us have been there before. It will be at that spot that all the world forces tired of the dictatorship of the antichrist and the trouble that is brought, they will assemble together on that plain of Megiddo to wage war and just overthrow this world leader we call the antichrist. Have you ever stopped to think how amazing it is that the final world war that will usher in the return of Christ isn't going to be fought in North America or in the Western hemisphere? It's not going to happen in China.
It's not going to happen in Japan. It's not going to happen in Russia, though Russia may be involved. The final world conflict will take place on that tiny piece of world real estate no bigger than the state of New Jersey called Israel, a little tiny inconsequential area no more than 200 miles long and 80 miles wide. That is going to be the scene of the final conflict that will usher in the second coming of Christ. Do any one of us today have trouble believing that when you look at the headlines in today's newspaper? That that Middle East, the battle for Israel is going to be what is the catalyst for the end of the world?
That's where it's going to happen. That is the battle of Armageddon. The world forces are going to be fighting the antichrist when suddenly the heavens are going to part and the Lord Jesus is going to appear. Look at verse 11 of Revelation 19. And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and wages war. And the armies which are in heaven, that's you and I, we're in heaven already, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Earlier he says this is representative of the righteous acts of the saints. We were following him on white horses, and from his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may smite the nations, and he will rule them with the rod of iron.
And he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty, and on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is the second coming of Jesus. It's not the rapture.
It's different from the rapture. In the rapture, only believers will see the Lord. At the second coming, everybody will see him. At the rapture, we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. At the second coming, he comes to earth.
His feet touch the Mount of Olives and splits the Mount of Olives in two. This is the visible return of Jesus Christ. That visible return of Christ is followed by the millennium. What is the millennium? The 1,000-year reign of Christ, the 1,000-year period of time during which Christ will reign on the earth, fulfilling God's promises to Abraham and his believing descendants.
This is the time that God will fulfill the promise he made to Abraham back in Genesis 12 of a land, a seed, and a blessing, where Messiah will rule on the throne of David from Jerusalem. Revelation 20, 1 to 3 talks about that. It says, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of a dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he threw him into the abyss, and he shut it and sealed it over him so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the 1,000 years were completed. And after these things, Satan must be released for a short time. The best way to understand the millennium is, it is a renovation of the earth, not a recreation of the earth. With Satan bound for a thousand years, part of the curse of sin has been removed, but not all of it. This is the period of time Isaiah was talking about, was when people will live longer.
They'll live at least to be a hundred. You won't have the difficulty in agriculture that you have with thorns and thistles. It is a partial removal of the curse.
It is a renovation, not a recreation. But there is a time coming when this entire world is going to be raised completely, destroyed, and God's going to give us a new heaven and a new earth. The millennium is the renovation of the earth. And then notice at the end of these thousand years, Satan is going to be released for a little while. You say, well, why would God do that?
If you got him, why would you let him go? Here's why. Unbelievers will enter into that millennium. Remember, at the end of the tribulation, not every unbeliever or believer is dead. There will be some believers who survived the tribulation. There will be some unbelievers who survived the tribulation. There will be a judgment at the beginning of the millennium. Only believers will enter into the millennium.
The believers who survived the tribulation will enter in their natural bodies. That means they'll be able to reproduce, have children during the millennium. They won't die when they're an infant. They'll live to be 100 years of age. But there will be children born during the millennium. You and I will enter the millennium in our new resurrected bodies we got at the rapture. We don't reproduce.
But those in those natural bodies do. And it is important that every person be given a chance of whether to follow Jesus or to follow Satan. And so at the end, God's gonna lose Satan for another period of time. And amazingly, some of those children who grow up into adults during the millennium will actually choose to follow Satan instead of Jesus in that rebellion. And that is the final rebellion.
Satan must be released for a little while. And after that rebellion, that many rebellion takes place, that's when God puts an end to all of it. And we get to the great next event, the great white throne judgment.
What is that? The great white throne judgment is God's final judgment against all unbelievers who have ever lived. Notice who the subject of this judgment is. This is the judgment for unbelievers.
Every non-Christian who has ever lived. Revelation 20, 13 says, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. Remember, Hades is the place that the unbeliever goes when he dies.
If you're not a Christian and you get killed on the tow-away going home today, what happens? Your body gets buried, but your spirit, the real part of you, goes to Hades. It is a place of intense suffering. Jesus talked about it in Luke 16, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man died and he went where? To Hades. And he said, I'm in agony in these flames. It is a holding place, but it's a place of suffering for the unsaved until their final judgment.
The sea gave up the dead and death and Hades vomited up the dead which were in them. How will unbelievers be judged? By their own choice, they will be judged by their works. Verse 13 says, and they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. Why are they judged by their works? Because that's how an unbeliever wants to be judged. He said, I'm a good enough person.
I don't need the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. I'm good enough, maybe not perfect, but good enough to get into heaven. So Jesus says, fine, we'll judge you by your works. Unfortunately, the standard is not other people by which God judges us.
The standard is the standard of perfection, Jesus Christ. And by that standard, all have fallen short of the glory of God. And that leads to the result of the judgment, eternal condemnation. Verses 14 and 15 say, then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Earlier in that chapter it says, and they were tormented in the lake of fire forever and ever and ever.
Unbelievers are not just simply destroyed when they're judged. They suffer forever and ever and ever. The horrible truth about hell is this. When you have spent three trillion billion years in the agony of hell, you will not have reduced by one second the amount of time you have left to spend there.
That is the fate of everyone who leaves this life without trusting in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. After that final judgment, the great white throne judgment, we enter into eternity future. That's the permanent state of believers inhabiting the new heaven and earth and unbelievers inhabiting the lake of fire. Second Peter three verses seven and 10 talks about the great fire that will destroy the present heaven and the present earth. And then in Revelation 21 verses one and four, John says after that destruction, he says, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away. It's significant, John says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
We're not gonna spend eternity floating around up there someplace. There's gonna be a new earth. This is going to be a primary place of residence for us for eternity, this earth that we know. This earth restored and recreated to the state that God originally intended it to be. A place where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. And there shall no longer be any mourning or crying or pain for the first things will have passed away. That is the future God has planned for those who know Jesus Christ.
Should that affect how we live today? In his book World Aflame, Billy Graham tells a true story about something that happened during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower more than 60 years ago. One summer, the whole month of August, Eisenhower was vacationing in Denver, Colorado. And one morning, Eisenhower was reading through the local paper and he noticed there was an open letter to him from a six-year-old boy named Paul Haley who was dying from cancer. And Paul Haley said, Mr. President, while you're in Denver, I would really like to get to meet you if that's possible. And in one of those acts of kindness that a president does that is long remembered after he's out of office, Dwight Eisenhower decided to go visit Paul Haley. So he got into his limousine and the Secret Service entourage, they followed him and they pulled up to the Haley home in Denver and the door opened and standing there was Paul Haley's father, Donald. Donald Haley was dressed in an old pair of faded blue jeans, torn t-shirt, a day's worth of beard growth, yen shaven. You can imagine his surprise when he stood facing the President of the United States. And behind Donald Haley was little Paul Haley who was sneaking around looking at the president from the side. Eisenhower said, Paul, I'm President Eisenhower. I understand you wanted to visit with me.
Well, I'm here to talk to you. For years afterwards, the Haley family and their neighbors talked about that remarkable act of President Eisenhower. They couldn't believe the President of the United States would do that.
Everybody was so excited. That is except one person, the dad, Donald Haley. For years afterwards, he lamented, I just can't believe it. Faded blue jeans, a torn t-shirt, an unshaven face. Faith, what a way to meet the President of the United States. That's embarrassing.
But I'll tell you something even more embarrassing. One day the Bible says the trumpet is going to sound, the heavens are going to part, and we're going to see the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And when that happens, tragically, many Christians are going to be embarrassed by the appearance of their life. They're going to find that they are clothed in the tattered clothing of immorality, greed, personal ambition, instead of being clothed in the righteous acts of the saints.
Let me ask you this. Not if, but when you meet the creator God face to face, are you going to be embarrassed about your appearance? About how you look?
About the life that you have lived up to this point? It's not a case of if you meet him. When you meet him, you are going to meet the king, either through your death or through the rapture of the church.
Are you going to be embarrassed by how you appear to him? If so, right now is the time to make those changes, to put on those righteous acts that will ensure that you're not embarrassed on that coming appointment you and I have with God. And that's why the Apostle Peter writes, 2 Peter 3, seeing all of these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people are we to be? In holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming day of the Lord.
Many of us feel intimidated by John's revelation of Jesus Christ. The final book in the Bible is filled with strange imagery and frightening predictions, but the whole point is to help you and me get ready to appear before our holy God. For that reason, I want to help you understand the book of Revelation at a much deeper level.
In addition to my teaching series called Final Conquest, I've written two new resources for you. The first item is a booklet that was inspired by our current teaching series. It's called The Major Characters of the End Times. In my booklet, I describe 15 different characters in Bible prophecy and show you how they fit into God's future plan.
Have you heard about the tribulation saints or the 24 elders? My booklet explains who these people are and their impact on your life today. Plus, when you include a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'll also include the exclusive book I've written for you called Mysteries of the End Times, five little-known truths about God's plan for the future.
And I've written this book to help you understand five specific mysteries and to underscore what I believe the Bible teaches about each of them. So please, when you give generously today, be sure to request my new book, Mysteries of the End Times, along with my new booklet, The Major Characters of the End Times. Before I pass the microphone back to David, I'd like to thank our Pathway partners and all who give generously to support Pathway to Victory.
We couldn't possibly do this every day without you. David. Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you invest in the ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request a copy of Mysteries of the End Times. That's the brand new book by Dr. Robert Jeffress. Plus, you'll receive the booklet called The Major Characters of the End Times. Just call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org.
And when your gift is $100 or more, you'll also receive the complete CD and DVD teaching sets for this month's series on the book of Revelation. Plus, we'll also send you the bestselling book by Dr. Jeffress called Final Conquest. To make your request, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. You could write to us at P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.
I'm David J. Mullins. When Pharaoh disobeyed God, God unleashed a series of natural disasters, illnesses, and death like the world had never seen. And while the ten plagues were certainly terrible, the tribulation will be even worse. Find out what will happen when Gabriel blows his horn. That's Friday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. The Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska with Dr. Robert Jeffress set sail from Vancouver, British Columbia on June 15, 2024. Join me along with musical artists, Rebecca St. James and Michael O'Brien and comedian Dennis Swanberg for a vacation you'll never forget. I promise you will come back spiritually, physically and emotionally refreshed. Book your spot on the seven day Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska at ptv.org.
