Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith. Most people live one day at a time, grabbing all the gusto they can. Few hear that clock ticking toward the end times. Bible prophecy tells of coming alignments of nations, wars, and great world leaders yet to arise. Today, why it's so vital that we study prophecy and understand it.
From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Erwin Lutzer is beginning a series on seven signs of Christ's return. Pastor Lutzer, do people take prophecy seriously these days?
Well, Dave, unfortunately, I think that the answer is no, and one of the reasons is because there are so many teachers who made predictions that didn't come to pass. But let me emphasize the real purpose of prophecy. It's not to satisfy our curiosity. It's not necessarily given to us so that we can make a chart. It is given to change our lives.
Prophecy enables us to understand what is really important. It reminds us of eternity and the glories that await us. And why it is that we should live faithfully to the very end?
Well, at the end of this message, I'm going to be giving you some contact info for a new resource we're making available for you. It's a book entitled "When Jesus Returns." I'll tell you more about it in just a few moments. For now, let us go to the pulpit of Moody Church.
Well, why should we study prophecy? It has a bad name. There's no question about that, and the reason, quite frankly, is because of the predictions made by ministers that have not come to pass. Several years ago, from the Moody Library, I checked out a book written by a well-known pastor in the '40s who. In the book, suggested and showed how Hitler basically is the Antichrist and Mussolini is the false prophet, and he made a very compelling case.
It looked as if Europe was being unified and the time had come for God to wrap up history. And as I looked at the book, I realized once again that when it comes to prophecy, it is better to say much too little than a little too much. Back in 1988, some of you will remember there was a book written entitled "88 Reasons Why Christ Is Going to Return in 1988." Well, he didn't. And a member of the pastoral staff, who shall forever remain unidentified, said that there should be another book, "89 Reasons Why the Lord Will Come in 1989." And the eighty ninth reason should be that he did not come in nineteen eighty eight. I've been to prophecy conference, and you too, where we were told we're living in the last days.
I've not read the book, but I'm going to. I'm going to ask my assistant to get it. And I saw it advertised, and I can understand the sentiment of the book, which says, "Guess what." The last times are here again. They're here again. Is it possible to study prophecy without being embarrassed if the Lord doesn't come back in the next couple of years?
I hope so. We intend to do that.
Now you know that there are reasons to study prophecy that are very, very important. I'm not going to give you though the most important. Those come at the end of the message. I can't even begin to tell you how explosive. The reasons are, but we're not there yet.
Let me begin by saying it helps us to understand that God is the Lord of history. He's going to wrap it up. Prophecy helps us understand what we will be like because we shall be like Him, for we shall behold Him as He is. It helps us get an understanding of what that means. Prophecy is a test of our love.
The question is, do we love his appearing? The apostle Paul, in fact, said that there is a special crown for those who love his appearing. Do you long to see Jesus because you love him? If you don't long to see him, obviously you don't love him. Have you ever been in love and not wanted to see the person with whom you are in love?
It does not make sense. No, you want to see him because you love him.
Now, some of you may say, "Well, how can you talk about signs of Christ's return?" I thought we're just supposed to look for the return of Christ.
Now I need to tell you that this series of messages is going to be based on the belief that there are really two aspects to Christ's return. There are two phases. There is going to be a rapture when the believers are going to be caught up to be with the Lord in the air, and then after a period of seven years or longer, there is going to be a glorious return of Jesus Christ to the city of Jerusalem. First of all, we shall go up. And we shall; the Lord shall come for His saints, and then, after a period of time, He shall come with His saints.
And His feet, as Zachariah predicted, will stand upon the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east. And Jesus said in Matthew twenty four, "As lightning goes from one end of the east and to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." It is going to be an incredible experience because every eye shall behold Him. That's the glorious return, you see.
So there are some people who say, "Well, you know, all of the signs have to do with the glorious return; they do not have to do with the rapture." And I understand that. But you know, when it's Thanksgiving, you know that Christmas is coming. And it may well be that as God begins to wrap up history and we begin to see what is happening in terms of the final return of Jesus Christ in glory, obviously, and I'm assuming this for the purpose of the series, we know then that the rapture is going to precede that, and therefore there can be signs for the glorious returning of Christ, but we can already see them on this side of the rapture.
So I think that it's legitimate to ask the question: Are there signs, and what might they be?
Now, the passage of Scripture today is Second Peter, not First Peter, but Second Peter. And what I'm going to show you is so important that I want you to see it in the text. If you don't have a Bible with you, maybe someone sitting next to you does, because this is going to be life changing. It's not possible for me to preach this without having my life changed, and hopefully in the process, yours is changed as well. That's the agenda for today, and you will not leave here the same if your heart is open to what God is going to say to us.
First of all, some truths regarding the return of Jesus Christ, and the first is that the scoffers are mocking at it. Always have, always will. Second Peter chapter three verse two. First of all, and when he says first of all, he means above all, because there's no second point. It's not like Pastor Lutzer, who says first of all, you'll always know that he's going to say second and third at least.
But Peter, you know, he he wasn't German, so he didn't necessarily organize it the same way. But he means above all, this is important. He says, "You must understand that in the last days, and to him, last days begin with the beginning of the church. The last days have been two thousand years old." And that's not unusual, as we shall see. There are reasons for that.
But he says, in the last days, in every era, and certainly in ours, scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires, and they will say, "Where is this coming?" He promised. Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.
Now, these scoffers—I'll tell you what they're basing their belief on. It is. Uniformitarianism. For years, I've been preaching here. Always wanted to have an opportunity to use that word, and it never came up.
Finally, uniformitarianism. Uniformitarianism says that everything is going to continue as it has from the beginning of time. That evolution is based on uniformitarianism. That all change is small incremental steps throughout the eons and the ages. You know we're millions and millions of years old in development and so forth.
And this will go on the evolutionary process at the same rate of speed essentially for millions and millions of years into the future. There is no intervention of God. There is. No way in which God is going to intervene in history. And since the fathers fell asleep, they said, since Abraham and Jacob, and you have all of those miracles of the Red Sea, we're not seeing those miracles anymore.
Everything continues on as it has since the beginning of the world. Two things that the scoffers that we know about them. First of all, they believe in uniformitarianism, and secondly, they are desire-driven. Desire-driven. You'll notice it says.
I read the text. It says in the last part of verse three, they follow their own desires. Oh, someday I'm going to preach a series of messages on this. I just haven't been around Moody Church long enough to preach everything I want to preach. I want to point out that the unbelievers are basically desire-driven.
They are not rationally driven. People essentially follow their own desires and create gods in accordance with those desires. And so, because they don't want a god to whom they are accountable, they are driven by their desires. And they say, "All things will be as they have been." Where is the promise of his coming? Everybody's talking about it.
Prophecy conferences, books on prophecy, by the bushel, barrel. But where is he? They're going to say we can do our own thing because he's not coming. It's interesting to see how Peter answers this. He says, and I love his his ability to analyze human nature.
He says there are three things you guys ought to know, and I suppose scoffers are guys. He says, verse five, but they deliberately forget some things. It's willful amnesia. This is what they don't want to remember. Three things they don't want to remember.
First of all, that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by the water. They forget that God is creator. When Peter uses this, he's referring to Genesis chapter one, where it says that God separated the waters, the waters above, the waters beneath, and waters were involved in the creation process. You read Genesis one, and he says it happened by the word of the Lord nine times in Genesis one. It says, and God said.
And when God said, it happened.
So He says they're forgetting creation. They say that all things have continued on since the creation, but they don't really understand that the God who is a the Creator is a cataclysmic God. He enters into the world at a period of time. That's the first thing they forget. The second thing they forget is the flood.
Verse six: By these waters, also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. You see, they forget that he is a god of creation. They also forget that he is a god of judgment, and they are deliberately forgetting that. And the flood, which I take to be a universal flood, the flood is a small microcosm. Of coming judgment, and they forgot the flood that God does not indefinitely postpone judgment.
And then he says, and this becomes very interesting. He says in verse seven, by the same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment. Catch this! They are looking at the uniformity of nature. They see the fact that the planets rotate at a certain speed with precision and accuracy year after year, eon after eon, and they say to themselves, "God's not coming back.
There's going to be no end to this." Peter says, "You know, you're misinterpreting the uniformity of nature." He said, "What the real issue is? God is simply doing that to keep the heavens and the earth in store. He's reserving it for judgment. You're looking at this incorrectly." You think it means he's not coming back? I want you to know that the stability of nature and there is some truth to uniformitarianism, but that is because of God's desire to preserve the earth until the day of judgment.
So don't misinterpret what God is doing in the world.
So. The first truth, the first facts regarding the return of Christ, is the scoffers laugh at it, and Peter said, "If you know your history and if you know God, you should stop your laughing." Secondly, he goes on and he talks now about the fact that it is God who is scheduling it—the return of Christ and the wrap-up of history. And what Peter does in verses eight and nine is give us an explanation as to why it is. As to why it is that God has delayed His coming, why wasn't Hitler the Antichrist? Would have made a good one, so far as I can see.
Some people think he's such a good candidate that they believe he's going to be raised from the dead so that he can fulfill that role. Why didn't Christ come back before World War One? Why have prophecy preachers been wrong? Why have they said the Lord's coming back and then He hasn't? Why this delay?
Peter says, "I've got two answers for you. First of all, he says God doesn't count time like we do. You'll notice it says, verse eight. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day." He's quoting Psalm ninety, verse four. God, God looks at it differently.
You see, we measure time by time. He measures time by eternity. It's an entirely different perspective.
Now, several years ago, I told you a story that I have to repeat it this time. I have no alternative but to repeat it because it is so. Relevant, it grows right out of the text. There is a story about a man who was talking to God one day, and he said, "Lord," he said, "How long is a million years to you?" And the Lord said, "Oh, about a second." And he said, "Lord, how much is a million dollars to you?" The Lord said, "Oh, about a penny." He said, "Lord, could I have a penny?" And the Lord said, "Sure, just a second." You see, the simple fact is, we measure time differently.
Now think this through. If it is true that with the Lord a day is a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day, if a thousand years is like one day, the churches existed for two thousand years. That's two days. That's two days. We say to ourselves, "He has delayed his coming.
Where is he? Why have all these prophecy conferences? Many of them, at least a few of them, ended in embarrassment. We were told he was going to come, and he hasn't." God is saying, "Hey, look. You think that if I delay it by fifty years or a hundred years, it's a long delay?
We're talking seconds by the divine clock. Seconds." Peter says the first reason is because he says the Lord counts time differently. But secondly, he says the Lord wants people to repent. That's another reason why he's delaying it. It's there in the text.
We're reading verse nine. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises.
Some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
So you see, the scoffers, rather than saying, "Oh, you know the delay," there they go at Moody Church again, preaching prophecy. The Lord isn't going to come back. Wait a moment, you scoffer. The fact that He hasn't is because you still have time to repent. Because after He does, it may be too late.
Don't you dare misinterpret the slowness of God. He's tardy. That's our view. His view is, "Hey, I'm being extra gracious." Adam and Eve sin. In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
They die spiritually. They do not die physically. The process of death only begins. It doesn't end there. Why?
Grace. If they had died the moment they sinned physically, they would not have had a chance to be redeemed. But because they lived, God was able to provide clothes of animals, and He was able to give them some lessons on the atonement. And I assume that Adam and Eve, responding to the Lord God and His generous offer of forgiveness, received it. And so you see, God delayed their death because He is gracious.
Now of course this text has some problems theologically, because you know there are other texts that clearly tell us that God decrees the destruction of the wicked, and and this verse should not be interpreted to mean that everyone will be saved. It simply means that God does not delight in the death of the wicked. God is not the kind of person who enjoys seeing people lost, and so in this sense, He does not want them to perish.
Now, if you look at His eternal purposes, that's another story, and I won't even begin to get into that in this message. But the simple fact of the text is true and must be believed: that God does not delight in the death of the wicked, and therefore He's giving people time and opportunity to repent.
So, you skeptics out there. You who are saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" Another conference on prophecy. Wait it, wait a moment. He hasn't come because of people like you. You have an opportunity yet to repent.
Well, God schedules it, and now I want you to notice the scoffers laugh at it. God schedules it, and God accomplishes it. And now is time for us. To have our breath taken from us. Look at what the text says as to what is going to happen.
Verse ten, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. The elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
Notice that day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. Wow. When the apostle Paul says that the heavens will disappear with a roar, it's the only place in the New Testament where that particular Greek word occurs. It occurs frequently in secular Greek for things such as the crackling of fire.
Somebody translates this quite accurately: that the heavens will disappear with a crackling crash. Boom! It's gone. Going to be destroyed by fire. And when it says that the elements will melt.
With fervent heat, how hot do you think it has to get for the elements to melt? With fervent heat, now listen. This isn't just the elements you know that you memorized back in the days when you took chemistry. Clearly, by the next verse, what he's talking about is all of the heavens. I mean, we're talking about trillions of stars.
We're speaking of the sun, the moon, the planets, and it will be so hot that they will melt with fervent, unbelievable heat. And they will be gone. And when he says the earth and all of its works will be laid bare, that's very obvious. Obviously, if everything is going to be destroyed, why then indeed the earth will be destroyed as well. But what he means is that it will be laid bare.
There will be no place to hide. That's the impression.
Now you see, I believe that when Jesus Christ comes to earth, the earth will not be destroyed at that time. There will be a period of great tribulation. There will be a millennial reign yet of Jesus Christ upon this earth. But after that period of time, before you begin the new heavens and the new earth, and before eternity officially begins, there's going to be this total, unbelievable, cataclysmic judgment.
Well, this is Pastor Luther. Already, you begin to understand why prophecy is very important, because the Bible predicts a time when all of the things that we see that we so highly value are someday going to be burned. Eternity is so much more valuable than time. I'm holding in my hands a very special book on prophecy. I'm genuinely excited about it, because it is really a book.
Written by a collection of authors on various themes, it's not the kind of book where you necessarily have a chart that says this is going to happen before this. The title of the book is "When Jesus Returns," and these authors look at the future from various standpoints. They tackle various issues, yes, issues regarding the rapture. Matter of fact, the book actually has a chapter written by me. Entitled "One Minute After You Die," but what it does is it helps us to focus on the future and recognize that the purpose of prophecy is not simply.
So that we can know all of the events, but be transformed by them. For a gift of any amount, we're making it available for you. Here's what you do: go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com, or pick up the phone and call us at one eight eight eight two one eight ninety three thirty seven. From my heart to yours.
Thank you so much for praying for us for your support of this ministry, and we think that this resource, when Jesus returns, will be of tremendous blessing and help. We here at Running to Win are deeply convinced that the gospel of Jesus Christ must go around the world, and thank you so much for helping us as we spread the gospel through podcasts, through radio, through other means. And we deeply appreciate your prayers and your support. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614.
Someday, perhaps soon, things will no longer go on as they always have. Signs already point to the return of Christ. Erwin Lutzer has begun a series on seven signs of Christ's return, and next time he'll give us more reasons to study prophecy. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Irwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister.
Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
