June 16, 2025 • 39 mins
The end of the world remains one of Christianity's most misunderstood and contested theological points. In this revealing exploration of Daniel's final prophetic vision, we challenge the popular but unbiblical notion of a pre-tribulation rapture - that believers will be whisked away to heaven while others endure terrible suffering before Christ's return.
Scripture paints a different picture: when Jesus returns, it's for final judgment. No temporary escape, no second chance during tribulation. And why does this theological distinction matter? Because our understanding of the end deeply influences how we live today. If we truly believe Jesus could return at any moment bringing final judgment, shouldn't that create greater urgency in how we share His message of hope?
Every generation throughout history has believed they were living in the end times. From the early disciples to those who lived through world wars, each was convinced the world's end was imminent. But the true purpose of apocalyptic literature like Daniel and Revelation isn't to provide precise timelines - it's to assure us that God remains sovereign over human history, regardless of how chaotic our world becomes.
Our world suffers not because God actively punishes us, but because sin has distorted creation from its intended design. Cancer, natural disasters, broken relationships - these weren't part of the original plan. Creation itself "waits in eager expectation" to be liberated from decay and brought into freedom, as Paul writes in Romans 8. When God makes all things new, there will be "no more death or mourning or crying or pain."
Rather than obsessing over when the world might end, we're called to live with eternity in mind - focusing on building God's kingdom, loving His creation, and sharing the hope only Jesus offers. Political powers rise and fall, but God's kingdom endures forever. The only thing worth giving people is knowledge of who He is, because everything else will eventually pass away.
Join us in exploring what it truly means to live ready for Christ's return - not through fear or complicated prophetic calculations, but through faithful living that brings glimpses of God's coming kingdom into our broken world today.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
So I've been kind of wrestling with this all week.
So I'm going to take a minute.
I'm going to clarify something.
I'm about to say something thatI believe is true of Scripture,
and it's a highly debated topic.
You might find yourself notagreeing with me, that's okay.
(00:23):
I don't do this too often froma pulpit.
You might find yourself notagreeing with me, that's okay.
I don't do this too often froma public.
I think these kind ofconversations are best
one-on-one, but I think thisone's necessary, considering the
book that we're in consideringkind of the future of the world
and the state that it is.
So again, I'm going to ask youto, I'm going to say what I'm
(00:47):
going to say and I'm going toask you to argue with me in your
head for now, and you and I canget together and talk about it,
and I can give you all theresources and all the stuff that
I've looked into and the thingsthat I've studied and we can
talk about it.
But I don't want you to staythere and get stuck on it, and I
say that because I don't wantyou to get stuck on this
divisive topic just to miss therest of it.
(01:09):
So here's what I'm going to saythe idea of a biblical rapture,
the idea that we most commonlysee right.
And so when I say rapture, I'mreferring to this idea that was
made popular by the Left Behindseries and actually that dates
back to the year 1830 is when itfirst came about the idea of
(01:33):
what's known as apre-tribulation rapture, which
means that you and I are goingto be taken into heaven, stay
there with God while everyonegoes through the tribulations
and suffers.
That idea is unbiblical.
There is no scripture thatpoints to it.
(01:54):
Again, I say this fully awareof what I'm saying there's no
scripture that says that you andI are going to escape the world
for a little bit of time, whereeveryone else stays behind and
suffers, and then we're going tocome back for the second coming
.
The word rapture is actually aGreek word that's found in
Paul's letter to Thessalonians,and it's this idea of rising to
(02:15):
meet Jesus in the air that'sbiblical.
That's a statement that I thinkis true.
I don't know what that's goingto look like, but at the end,
when Jesus comes back but theidea that he's going to come
back, leave and leave everyoneelse here to suffer and then
come back again, is notscriptural.
Scripture actually teaches inthe end that Jesus comes back
(02:38):
the next time.
That's it.
Final judgment comes with him.
That is in Scripture.
Again, you're going to arguewith me in your head.
That's it.
Final judgment comes with him.
That is in Scripture.
Again, you're going to arguewith me in your head.
That's okay, I'm going to giveyou a minute to argue with me in
your head, okay, you guys?
(03:01):
Good, you know what your emailis going to say to me this week.
When you write it Now, you mightsay to yourself well, it
doesn't really matter.
I think it does, actually,because I think how you
understand the end of the worldand how you understand the end
of creation is significant,because I think it informs how
you live now.
So it does matter.
(03:21):
And I was the person a coupleyears ago.
I said well, when the endhappens, it's not really going
to matter because Jesus knowsand there's a part of that,
that's true but I think how youunderstand the end of the world
and how you understand the endof creation matters, because I
think it informs how you livehere and now.
So we're going to get intoDaniel, chapter 12.
(03:46):
Daniel wraps up the book, hisown book, with a dream of the
end of the ends.
We've seen a lot of propheciesand we saw a lot of that
fulfilled after his lifetime.
But real quick, let's recapDaniel chapter 10 and Daniel
chapter 11 and then we'll hopinto chapter 12.
(04:07):
So Daniel, chapter 10 aheavenly messenger appears.
So Daniel receives a troublingvision and leaves him mourning
and fasting for three weeks.
At the end of that time, aglorious angelic being appears
to him.
The angel reveals that he wasdelayed by spiritual warfare,
specifically a battle with theprince of Persia.
Angelic being appears to him.
The angel reveals that he wasdelayed by spiritual warfare,
specifically a battle with theprince of Persia, and so the
(04:29):
archangel Michael came to help.
This chapter pulls back thecurtain on cosmic battle between
angelic and demonic forcesinfluencing earthly kingdoms.
It shows that prayer, thoughseemingly silent, impacts real
spiritual conflict in the unseenrealm.
So Daniel in chapter 10 seeswhat we already know that
(04:52):
there's a battle going onspiritually for us constantly.
There's a war being waged tothe end of time.
So we get into Daniel chapter 11.
It says that Daniel chapter 11is a prophetic outline of future
world events.
This is given to Daniel by theangel who appeared in chapter 10
.
It describes a detailedsuccession of kings and wars,
(05:15):
particularly focused on theconflict between the king of the
north and the king of the south.
So these prophecies accuratelypredict political events
spanning centuries.
By the way, one of the reasonswhy I think Scripture is so
unique not only unique buttrustworthy is because you look
back on the prophecies and youcan actually see these fulfilled
(05:36):
in real time historically.
So Daniel has a vision it'sdisturbing in chapter 10.
It's an angel who reveals tohim that there's a spiritual war
that's going on, and he givesgreat detail actually about what
this world is going to looklike.
And then in chapter 11, heforeshadows and speaks of a
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coming Antichrist, one who'sgoing to completely oppose God
to his face.
And then we get to Daniel,chapter 12, verses 1 through 13,
.
Starting in verse 1, it says Atthat time, michael, the great
prince who protects your people,will arise.
There will be a time ofdistress, just as has happened
from the beginning of nationsuntil then, but at that time
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your people, everyone whose nameis found written in the book,
will be delivered.
Multitudes who sleep in thedust of the earth will awake.
Now I'm going to stop here realquick, because this is another
thing that I think we find inScripture.
I believe that I think Scriptureteaches that those who have
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died previously are asleep.
I think Scripture teaches thatthose who have died previously
are asleep.
They've not yet risen to thefull extent because there's not
a new heaven or a new earth yetthey're asleep Now.
It's going to seem like aninstant to them, because when
you're asleep, time passesdifferently.
But I do think the Scripturebacks this idea that those that
have gone before are waiting forthe end.
(07:05):
Continuing in verse 3, it saysthose who are wise will shine
like the brightness of theheavens, and those who lead many
to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever.
But you, daniel, roll up andseal the words of the scroll.
Until the time of the end, manywill go here and there to
increase knowledge.
Then I, daniel, looked, andthere before me stood two others
(07:25):
, one on the bank of the riverand one on the opposite bank.
One of them said to the manclothed in linen who was above
the waters of the river how longwill it be before these
astonishing things are fulfilled?
The man clothed in linen whowas above the waters of the
river, lifted his right hand andhis left hand toward heaven,
and I heard him swear by him wholives forever, saying it will
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be for a half a time, times anda half a time I don't know if
you've ever done math, but thatdoesn't add up Be for a time,
times and half a time, when thepower of the holy people was
finally broken.
All things will be completed.
I heard, but I did notunderstand, so I asked my.
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I heard, but I did notunderstand, so I asked my Lord
what would the outcome of all ofthis be?
He replied Go your way, daniel,because the words are rolled up
and sealed until the time ofthe end.
Many will be purified, madespotless and refined, but the
wicked will continue to bewicked.
None of the wicked willunderstand, but those who are
wise will understand.
From the time that the dailysacrifice is abolished and the
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abomination that causesdesolation is set up, there will
be 1,290 days.
Blessed is the one who waitsfor and reaches the end of the
1,335 days.
As for you, go your way to theend.
You will rest and at the end ofthe days you will rise to
receive your allottedinheritance.
(08:50):
So again, when we're talkingabout the book of Daniel, it's
really easy to get caught up intrying to figure out when is the
world going to end?
1,290 days, it's been a lotmore than 1,290 days since
(09:10):
Daniel had this prophecy.
It's been a lot more than 1,335days.
So what does this mean?
Right?
How do we wrestle with this?
How do we look at this?
Is the purpose of Daniel togive you an exact timeline of
when the world will end?
Is the book of Revelationdesigned to give you a timeline
(09:36):
of when the world will end?
I would state no.
I don't think.
That's the point of why theywere written, mainly because
Daniel asks a question and theangel says nope, that's going to
be held a mystery until the end.
He says Daniel, go your way,and I even like what he says at
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the end of the book.
He says as for you, go your waytill the end.
You will rest and then, at theend of the days, you will rise
to receive your allottedinheritance.
That, to me, sums up the bookof Daniel.
The angel says don't worryabout the time.
(10:16):
Instead, live your life the wayyou're supposed to.
The way you're supposed to, youwill find rest and when all of
it comes to an end, you willreceive your allotted
inheritance.
I think that's the point.
(10:37):
It's not so we canmathematically figure out when
the world's going to end.
I love the conversation of endtimes because people are like do
you think we're in the end?
I don't know, Do you?
Well, all this is going on.
You realize we're not the onlygeneration that's thought we're
in the end times.
Right, world War I thought theywere in the end times.
World War II, cold War, all thenuclear stuff Every generation
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before us has thought it wasgoing to.
Even going back to thedisciples.
They thought Jesus was comingin their lifetime.
That's not new.
When we look at the world andit's chaotic and we think, oh,
it's going to end someday, well,it's so much worse than it ever
has been, I don't know.
I think media and social mediamakes it feel that way.
(11:24):
I think it's because we weren'taware of all this chaos.
I mean, how many of you wereaware of how impoverished Africa
was 30 years ago?
Probably no one, because wedidn't get to see all the chaos.
And now there's riots in LA andthey're burning down.
It's the end of the world.
There were riots a couple yearsago.
There were riots decades ago.
(11:47):
Again, I don't think that thepurpose of these books is to
give us specific dates and timesof when the world's going to
end.
I don't even think that's thepoint of Daniel.
The point of Daniel is, in anutshell, in the point of
revelation.
In a nutshell is God issovereign over human history,
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which means that it doesn'tmatter how good or how bad
something is, god is ultimatelyin control, always, forever.
There is no other kingdom,there is no one else who will
have eternal existence like hiskingdom, and you and I get to
experience that if we go our wayand we stay faithful to what
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God has called us.
That's the point.
I realize that's a simpleanswer, but when it comes down
to why it's important tounderstand how the world ends,
but when it comes down to whyit's important to understand how
the world ends at the end of it, god's in charge At the end of
it.
If we're faithful to him andwhat he's calling us to do, we
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get to inherit our reward withhim.
So the question is why does itmatter how I believe the world
ends?
Because I think your theologyinfluences how you live.
Now.
If I believe that Jesus cancome back at any moment and I do
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I think scripture teaches thislike a thief in the night.
If I believe that Jesus cancome back at any moment and that
judgment is coming with him,those who follow him will find
redemption and grace and thosewho are wicked will be cast away
into lakes of fire.
If I believe that,theologically, that puts an
(13:37):
urgency in my step to tellpeople about Jesus, because I
don't want anyone to experiencethe lake of fire.
I don't want anyone to go tohell ever.
That is never my goal.
And if I believe that Jesuswill come back tonight to
experience the lake of fire.
I don't want anyone to go tohell Ever.
That is never my goal.
And if I believe that Jesuswill come back tonight, the
question I have to ask myself isam I ready?
Are my friends ready?
Are my neighbors ready?
What am I doing to witness topeople, to tell people, to help
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people understand why this is soimportant?
Now, not everyone, but peoplewho believe in the rapture
theology.
I feel like the people thatI've come across are less on a
mission to evangelize because intheir mind, well, I'm going to
go to heaven and wait it out ingreatness, and these people will
figure it out as the worldburns.
(14:18):
They're going to have a secondchance, they'll be okay, it's
all right.
Again, not biblical, and Ithink that that theology can
influence how you live.
Daniel is coming to all of thisand all of his exile and all of
the, everything he's seen, andat the very end the angel says
(14:40):
if you stay true to God, youwill inherit your reward.
Paul talks about it like this inRomans 8, 19-21.
He says For the creation waitsan eager expectation for the
children of God to be revealed,for the creation was subjected
to frustration, not by its ownchoice, but by the will of the
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one who subjected it, and hopethat the creation itself will be
liberated from its bondage todecay and brought into the
freedom and glory of thechildren of God.
The creation you and I live inis longing for the day when it
gets restored.
Like I tell this to my kids allthe time and it's such an
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interesting conversation becauselittle kids, the way they think
about stuff, is neat, but it'salso challenging.
Griffin asks me some of thegreatest questions.
I'd run a lot of my thoughts byhim, believe it or not, when I
write sermons, because I'm like,is he going to understand this?
Because he might understandthis and if not.
He's going to ask me questionslater, right, and so one of the
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things that we often talk aboutis sickness and brokenness.
And why are people like this?
And the truth is it's becausethe world's broken Creation has
been distorted.
Adam and Eve messed it up.
They wanted to be like God.
They ate the fruit.
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Man, I always want to say apple, don't say it's an apple, they
ate the fruit.
And it messed everything up.
They distorted it.
So cancer, brokenness, brokenmarriages, divorce all of these
things you and I weren't yourealize, we weren't meant to
experience this right.
(16:28):
So creation is waiting.
It's longing for the day whenit finally gets restored.
You and I are waiting for thesame thing.
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The loss of my two kids wasbecause of the brokenness of
this world.
All of the pain and theproblems and the struggle that
came with that were not part ofthe original plan.
I don't even think those thingshappened to us because of us.
People say and Jesus actuallyaddresses this on the Gospels
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but what sin did you commit tocause that to happen?
I mean, I'm a sinner, but Idon't think God punished me by
taking two of my kids becauseI'm a sinner.
I think Danny lost two babiesbecause the world's broken,
because sin has ruinedeverything.
I think kids get diagnosed withcancer because the world's
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broken.
I think people do evil andwicked things because the
world's broken.
Sin has distorted everything.
And it's interesting because wereally like to blame God for
those problems.
But it wasn't God who did it,it was us.
Adam and Eve introduced it all.
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But you and I are in this momentwhere, in our faith, we're
waiting to the end.
I always think about thedifference between, during the
funeral of someone who has faithand someone who doesn't, during
the funeral of someone who hasfaith and someone who doesn't.
I've done a couple funerals forpeople that don't believe in
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Jesus and let me tell you that'sa hard funeral.
It's hard to offer hope and youdo and you say things and you
try to encourage them and youhope that maybe somewhere along
the line they made a choice.
But when you get to the funeralof someone who's followed God,
that's a celebration Because weknow what's coming for them.
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We know that all of the painand the brokenness of this world
, all of the sickness, all ofthe stuff they struggle with is
no longer part of their life.
Nt Wright is a scholar who Ifollow a lot and if I had to
kind of gravitate towards anyonewho, I think, understands and
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has a good knowledge of how theworld comes to an end, he
believes in the idea that and Iagree with him, and I think
Scripture teaches us thatthere's coming a day when all of
this is going to be restored,everything's going to be made
new.
The idea of a new heaven and anew earth I don't think is like
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a new in the sense that it'sbrand new, but I think it's the
idea that all of this is goingto be restored to the place
where it's supposed.
New, but I think it's the ideathat all of this is going to be
restored to the place where it'ssupposed to be.
Some of you know JonathanAbsher, some of you don't, and
him and I were having aconversation about this one time
and I was like how do youexplain that idea?
He's like, well, I imagine,when everything's restored, that
(20:05):
I'm going to be driving in mycar down the road and someone's
going to cut me off and I'm noteven going to get mad about it
Because I'm just going to thinkyou know what?
They're probably in a hurry andthat's okay.
He's like that's how I envisionit.
It's going to be this peace.
It's going to be worshiping Godall the time, but there's going
to be this restoration ofeverything no more pain, no more
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suffering, no more hurting.
All of that will be gone andinstead we'll sit in the
presence of God and worship Himand live in creation as it was
intended A garden of Eden ofsorts.
That everything will beprovided.
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And the question for you and Iis why does that matter?
Why does it matter?
Why does that matter?
Why does it matter?
I think the answer is becauseit's the only hope we can offer
people.
I live in the same world thatyou do, and it's rough Bringing
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kids into this world.
Man, that scares me.
I don't know what my kids aregoing to be going through when
they're older.
I don't know what's coming.
I don't know what the world'sgoing to look like, but I know
that I can give them the one whooffers restoration.
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I can teach my kids how tofollow Jesus, to be like Jesus.
And every time that you and Ido something like God, every
time we love someone, every timewe show grace, every time we
show mercy, every time we helpthe neighbor in need, every time
we strengthen our marriage, westrengthen our families.
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Every time we do these things,we're bringing a little bit of
the kingdom here.
People always talk about thisutopia, and I've heard it said
that if we could just get rid ofreligion, the world would be at
peace.
I don't think that's true.
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If not religion, we're going tofight about something, and to
an extent maybe there's a truthto that, because this idea of
religion gets caught up in beingfocused on what man thinks is
right all the time.
But what if we all started tolive like Jesus?
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What if we had grace and mercy?
We took care of the widows, wetook care of the poor and the
children.
What if we chose to live likethat?
Now?
That's what Jesus ushered in.
He came into this world.
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He showed that it's possible.
He loved people where they were.
He met their needs, he tookcare of them.
He spoke truth.
He told them what they neededto hear.
Listen the sermon on the mount.
It's tough to hear.
There's a.
The Sermon on the Mount is toughto hear.
Man.
There's a lot of statements inthere that are challenging, but
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Jesus modeled for us what itwould be to live like him.
And then those who chose tofollow him, those who have made
that decision, he said now goand do the same thing, live like
me, be like me, teach peopleabout my hope, teach people that
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their life can be restored,that it can be changed, not just
in the future, but here and now.
And I think that's important,because so often, when we follow
Jesus, it's because we don'twant to go to hell.
But Jesus says listen, I cansave you from that, but here,
now, in this place, I can giveyou a life that changes you.
I can bring transformation intoyour life.
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The Spirit that came upon us onthe day of Pentecost will give
us everything we need to livefor him, to break free from
addictions, to overcomeadversity.
These are things that arepromised for us now, as we
eagerly wait for the end.
So why does it matter?
(24:39):
Because this world needs hope,and the only place they're going
to find it is here.
Nothing else can save, nothingelse can restore.
Revelation 21, verses 1 through8.
Nothing else can promise this.
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Then I saw a new heaven and anew earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passedaway and there was no longer any
sea.
I saw the holy city of the newJerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as abride, beautifully dressed for
her husband, and I heard a loudvoice from the throne saying
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Look, god's dwelling place isnow among the people and he will
dwell with them.
They will be his people and Godhimself will be with them and
be their God.
He will wipe every tear fromtheir eyes.
There will be no more death ormourning, or crying or pain, for
the old order of things haspassed away.
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He who is seated on the thronesaid I am making everything new.
And he said write this down,for these words are trustworthy
and true.
He said to me it is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will givewater without cost from the
spring of the water of life.
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Those who are victorious willinherit all of this and I will
be their God and they will be mychildren.
But the cowardly, theunbelieving, the vile, the
murderous, the sexually immoral,those who practice magic arts,
the idolaters and all liars,they will be consigned to the
fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This is the second death.
(26:27):
This is a revelation that comes.
God comes and he says I ammaking all things new, those who
are my children will inheritall of this, and those who are
not will be cast away from me.
There's consequences to thelife that we live.
There's consequences to thechoices we live.
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We either serve the eternalkingdom or we serve a faulty one
.
Daniel understood throughoutthe entire 12 chapters of this
book that all those kingdoms heserved were temporary.
The only one who was eternalwas God.
God reminded him again andagain and again, and he showed
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his power as he wiped out nationafter nation after nation.
God reminded Daniel stay trueto me, follow me, because your
inheritance is coming.
So I do think it matters how weunderstand the end of the world
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, because I think that you and Ican sit all day and we could do
this.
We could do a class and wecould debate for hours about how
the world's going to end.
You can watch someone on TikTokpredict that it's going to
happen tomorrow at 12.02 pm.
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Told you a couple years ago,there's a guy that spent a ton
of money.
By the way, he took a bunch ofmoney from people of a church
that he belonged to Put all thispropaganda out there.
The world didn't end.
He disappeared and all of themleft broke Just saying.
People use this kind oftheology.
When we were in Africa, weactually ran into this.
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There was a guy who tookadvantage of a bunch of people
and he went to this church andcollected about a half a million
dollars and said, listen, I'mgoing to take all this money and
all of your prayers.
He had them write down prayersand put them all over this
suitcase.
He's like I'm going to take allthis money and I'm going to
take all your prayers and I'mgoing to go to the city of
Israel and I'm going to lay thisat the feet of the temple and
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we're going to pray and allthese things are going to come
true and I'm going to come backand I'm going to tell you what
happened.
And he took the money and theynever saw him again.
Because people use this kind ofstuff to discredit or they
manipulate or they try to scarepeople.
I think that's silly.
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I think trying to predict theend of the world is a waste of
time, because if I'm living likeit could happen tonight, I'm
not worried about when it'sgoing to happen.
If I'm living my life and I'mcommitting my life to following
Jesus, to being like Jesus, tobuilding his kingdom to sharing
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hope with other people, to tellother people about Jesus.
If I live that way 24-7, I'mnot worried about when the end
comes, because I know that I'mready.
And if we believe that it'sgoing to happen sooner than
later, then why aren't we doingmore?
Why is this place not full?
How many people do you knowthey don't know Jesus?
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Why aren't they here?
Listen, I hope you take that alittle personal.
I do, because if you reallybelieve that Jesus is the only
way, why are not more peoplehere?
Why are you not inviting morepeople to know Jesus?
Are you afraid that they'regoing to shun you?
Are you afraid that, well, Idon't want to ruin their
relationship that I have withthem, or they're going to shun
(30:02):
you?
Are you afraid that?
Well, I don't want to ruin therelationship that I have with
them, or they're just not?
Why, if you really believe thatthose who follow God inherit
eternity and those who don'tfind themselves in a lake of
sulfur, why are we not eagerlyout there more, spreading the
gospel, telling people aboutJesus?
Why are we not helping peoplefollow Him?
If we believe that he offerstransformation here and now, in
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this place, why are we so okaywith letting the world end.
Why do we spend so much timetalking about the end of it, but
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we don't spend more timetalking about the one who's
eternal?
I'm not worried when theworld's going to end, because
Jesus doesn't.
God is sovereign.
God is in charge of everything.
I'm not worried who's in powerpolitically, because God is
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sovereign.
I'm not.
I'm not worried about it.
We pray about it.
I'm not worried about it.
The book of Daniel reminds usthat God is in charge, always,
forever.
The only thing worth givingpeople is the knowledge of who
he is.
Everything else will pass away,but not him.
(31:31):
So when I say we have to livewith eternity in mind, that's
what I mean.
If we believe that Jesus iscoming back and that all those
who follow him will inherit hiskingdom and those who don't
won't, then we need to focus onbuilding his kingdom, loving his
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creation and sharing the hopethat only he offers.
Nothing else matters.
But it also means you have toask yourself that question is if
God came back, if Jesus cameback right now, am I ready for
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that?
Have I accepted his grace andhis mercy?
Have I accepted his grace andhis mercy?
Have I accepted his sacrificeon the cross.
Have I given my life over tohim?
Have I made that decision tofollow him?
And we talk about this a lotbut have we made that decision
to not only follow him, repentand confess, but be baptized
into him?
That's what he tells us to do.
Those who are obedient will dothese things.
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Have I given my life to Jesusso that, at the end of it all, I
know where I'm going?
For those of us who followJesus, daniel's a book of hope,
because we know that God'ssovereign over all and he is all
(33:03):
and he is all things we mayknow.
For those of us who don't, it'sa warning you will bow to Him
one day, whether you want to ornot.
That's who he is.
But the beautiful thing is ishe's done all the work for you.
(33:25):
He sent Jesus.
He offered a way forrestoration to be found.
He's offering to make allthings new, to take all of those
things away.
All he asks is that you'rewilling to give your life to him
(33:46):
.
24 years ago, I was a15-year-old kid sitting in a
church not much bigger than thisone.
I started going to churchbecause of a kid named Ryan
Witkowski, a really good friendof mine.
We were in math class togetherand he used to invite me to
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church all the time and Ithought it was silly because you
know, I didn't do that I was 15.
I was so busy with everythingelse 15-year-olds had going on.
But I remember one Wednesdaynight he invited me to come out
and check out his youth groupand I'm like, yeah, I'll go.
I got nothing else going on andI know I've shared this story
before.
But I went there and there'sthis really pretty girl there
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named Jody and I kept going backbecause Jody was there and I
was hoping that Jody would dateme.
She didn't.
But my intention was wrong andI'll be honest about that.
But my intention was wrong andI'll be honest about that.
But the more I sat there and themore I listened to the lessons
and the more that I read,started to read my Bible, I
realized that my life had apurpose.
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I realized that there's a Godwho loves me more than anything
I could ever imagine, thatthere's a Father in heaven who's
perfect and in his perfectnesshe looks at me, he sees my
brokenness and he says listen,don't worry about it, I've got
it.
I never understood that until Ihad kids.
You know I give Miles a bad rap, and I don't mean to.
(35:15):
Miles is crazy.
It's my youngest, he's nuts.
He drives me up a wall a lot oftimes, but I love him so much I
would do anything to protecthim.
I could not imagine my lifewithout him.
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I could not imagine my lifewithout Him.
And if I can love in myimperfectness, if I can love
someone like that, how much morecan a perfect God love me?
Because, for all I know, inGod's family, I'm Miles, I'm his
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Miles, I'm the kid that he goes.
I don't know what he's doingthis morning.
I don't know why he's doingthat.
I think about when I was 15.
I was definitely that kid, butGod looked at me and said I love
him just the same and I'm goingto send my son to die for him
too.
I never appreciated that untilI became a dad, and here's what
(36:34):
I know.
I don't know your story.
I don't know the mistakesyou've made.
I don't even know what you'restruggling with right now, but
24 years ago I found out thatthere's someone who loves me in
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spite of me, and there's a Godwho loves you in spite of your
mess.
There's a God who looks at youand sees redemption.
There's a God who looks at youand sees hope.
There's a God who looks at youand sees future, and there's
eternity.
There's a plan for your life.
There's a God who looks at youin your mess and says don't
(37:18):
worry, I've got this, I've gotthis.
That's who Jesus is.
We can get caught up all dayabout how the world's going to
end.
I don't care.
All I care about is whether ornot you know that you're loved.
(37:43):
You know that Jesus died foryou and you made the decision to
follow him.
It's not about being perfect.
It's about letting God restorewhat sin broke.
All right, let's pray.
So I've been kind of wrestling with this all week.
So I'm going to take a minute.
I'm going to clarify something.
I'm about to say something thatI believe is true of Scripture,
and it's a highly debated topic.
You might find yourself notagreeing with me, that's okay.
(00:23):
I don't do this too often froma pulpit.
You might find yourself notagreeing with me, that's okay.
I don't do this too often froma public.
I think these kind ofconversations are best
one-on-one, but I think thisone's necessary, considering the
book that we're in consideringkind of the future of the world
and the state that it is.
So again, I'm going to ask youto, I'm going to say what I'm
(00:47):
going to say and I'm going toask you to argue with me in your
head for now, and you and I canget together and talk about it,
and I can give you all theresources and all the stuff that
I've looked into and the thingsthat I've studied and we can
talk about it.
But I don't want you to staythere and get stuck on it, and I
say that because I don't wantyou to get stuck on this
divisive topic just to miss therest of it.
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So here's what I'm going to saythe idea of a biblical rapture,
the idea that we most commonlysee right.
And so when I say rapture, I'mreferring to this idea that was
made popular by the Left Behindseries and actually that dates
back to the year 1830 is when itfirst came about the idea of
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what's known as apre-tribulation rapture, which
means that you and I are goingto be taken into heaven, stay
there with God while everyonegoes through the tribulations
and suffers.
That idea is unbiblical.
There is no scripture thatpoints to it.
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Again, I say this fully awareof what I'm saying there's no
scripture that says that you andI are going to escape the world
for a little bit of time, whereeveryone else stays behind and
suffers, and then we're going tocome back for the second coming
.
The word rapture is actually aGreek word that's found in
Paul's letter to Thessalonians,and it's this idea of rising to
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meet Jesus in the air that'sbiblical.
That's a statement that I thinkis true.
I don't know what that's goingto look like, but at the end,
when Jesus comes back but theidea that he's going to come
back, leave and leave everyoneelse here to suffer and then
come back again, is notscriptural.
Scripture actually teaches inthe end that Jesus comes back
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the next time.
That's it.
Final judgment comes with him.
That is in Scripture.
Again, you're going to arguewith me in your head.
That's it.
Final judgment comes with him.
That is in Scripture.
Again, you're going to arguewith me in your head.
That's okay, I'm going to giveyou a minute to argue with me in
your head, okay, you guys?
(03:01):
Good, you know what your emailis going to say to me this week.
When you write it Now, you mightsay to yourself well, it
doesn't really matter.
I think it does, actually,because I think how you
understand the end of the worldand how you understand the end
of creation is significant,because I think it informs how
you live now.
So it does matter.
(03:21):
And I was the person a coupleyears ago.
I said well, when the endhappens, it's not really going
to matter because Jesus knowsand there's a part of that,
that's true but I think how youunderstand the end of the world
and how you understand the endof creation matters, because I
think it informs how you livehere and now.
So we're going to get intoDaniel, chapter 12.
(03:46):
Daniel wraps up the book, hisown book, with a dream of the
end of the ends.
We've seen a lot of propheciesand we saw a lot of that
fulfilled after his lifetime.
But real quick, let's recapDaniel chapter 10 and Daniel
chapter 11 and then we'll hopinto chapter 12.
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So Daniel, chapter 10 aheavenly messenger appears.
So Daniel receives a troublingvision and leaves him mourning
and fasting for three weeks.
At the end of that time, aglorious angelic being appears
to him.
The angel reveals that he wasdelayed by spiritual warfare,
specifically a battle with theprince of Persia.
Angelic being appears to him.
The angel reveals that he wasdelayed by spiritual warfare,
specifically a battle with theprince of Persia, and so the
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archangel Michael came to help.
This chapter pulls back thecurtain on cosmic battle between
angelic and demonic forcesinfluencing earthly kingdoms.
It shows that prayer, thoughseemingly silent, impacts real
spiritual conflict in the unseenrealm.
So Daniel in chapter 10 seeswhat we already know that
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there's a battle going onspiritually for us constantly.
There's a war being waged tothe end of time.
So we get into Daniel chapter 11.
It says that Daniel chapter 11is a prophetic outline of future
world events.
This is given to Daniel by theangel who appeared in chapter 10
.
It describes a detailedsuccession of kings and wars,
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particularly focused on theconflict between the king of the
north and the king of the south.
So these prophecies accuratelypredict political events
spanning centuries.
By the way, one of the reasonswhy I think Scripture is so
unique not only unique buttrustworthy is because you look
back on the prophecies and youcan actually see these fulfilled
(05:36):
in real time historically.
So Daniel has a vision it'sdisturbing in chapter 10.
It's an angel who reveals tohim that there's a spiritual war
that's going on, and he givesgreat detail actually about what
this world is going to looklike.
And then in chapter 11, heforeshadows and speaks of a
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coming Antichrist, one who'sgoing to completely oppose God
to his face.
And then we get to Daniel,chapter 12, verses 1 through 13,
.
Starting in verse 1, it says Atthat time, michael, the great
prince who protects your people,will arise.
There will be a time ofdistress, just as has happened
from the beginning of nationsuntil then, but at that time
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your people, everyone whose nameis found written in the book,
will be delivered.
Multitudes who sleep in thedust of the earth will awake.
Now I'm going to stop here realquick, because this is another
thing that I think we find inScripture.
I believe that I think Scriptureteaches that those who have
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died previously are asleep.
I think Scripture teaches thatthose who have died previously
are asleep.
They've not yet risen to thefull extent because there's not
a new heaven or a new earth yetthey're asleep Now.
It's going to seem like aninstant to them, because when
you're asleep, time passesdifferently.
But I do think the Scripturebacks this idea that those that
have gone before are waiting forthe end.
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Continuing in verse 3, it saysthose who are wise will shine
like the brightness of theheavens, and those who lead many
to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever.
But you, daniel, roll up andseal the words of the scroll.
Until the time of the end, manywill go here and there to
increase knowledge.
Then I, daniel, looked, andthere before me stood two others
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, one on the bank of the riverand one on the opposite bank.
One of them said to the manclothed in linen who was above
the waters of the river how longwill it be before these
astonishing things are fulfilled?
The man clothed in linen whowas above the waters of the
river, lifted his right hand andhis left hand toward heaven,
and I heard him swear by him wholives forever, saying it will
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be for a half a time, times anda half a time I don't know if
you've ever done math, but thatdoesn't add up Be for a time,
times and half a time, when thepower of the holy people was
finally broken.
All things will be completed.
I heard, but I did notunderstand, so I asked my.
(08:06):
I heard, but I did notunderstand, so I asked my Lord
what would the outcome of all ofthis be?
He replied Go your way, daniel,because the words are rolled up
and sealed until the time ofthe end.
Many will be purified, madespotless and refined, but the
wicked will continue to bewicked.
None of the wicked willunderstand, but those who are
wise will understand.
From the time that the dailysacrifice is abolished and the
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abomination that causesdesolation is set up, there will
be 1,290 days.
Blessed is the one who waitsfor and reaches the end of the
1,335 days.
As for you, go your way to theend.
You will rest and at the end ofthe days you will rise to
receive your allottedinheritance.
(08:50):
So again, when we're talkingabout the book of Daniel, it's
really easy to get caught up intrying to figure out when is the
world going to end?
1,290 days, it's been a lotmore than 1,290 days since
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Daniel had this prophecy.
It's been a lot more than 1,335days.
So what does this mean?
Right?
How do we wrestle with this?
How do we look at this?
Is the purpose of Daniel togive you an exact timeline of
when the world will end?
Is the book of Revelationdesigned to give you a timeline
(09:36):
of when the world will end?
I would state no.
I don't think.
That's the point of why theywere written, mainly because
Daniel asks a question and theangel says nope, that's going to
be held a mystery until the end.
He says Daniel, go your way,and I even like what he says at
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the end of the book.
He says as for you, go your waytill the end.
You will rest and then, at theend of the days, you will rise
to receive your allottedinheritance.
That, to me, sums up the bookof Daniel.
The angel says don't worryabout the time.
(10:16):
Instead, live your life the wayyou're supposed to.
The way you're supposed to, youwill find rest and when all of
it comes to an end, you willreceive your allotted
inheritance.
I think that's the point.
(10:37):
It's not so we canmathematically figure out when
the world's going to end.
I love the conversation of endtimes because people are like do
you think we're in the end?
I don't know, Do you?
Well, all this is going on.
You realize we're not the onlygeneration that's thought we're
in the end times.
Right, world War I thought theywere in the end times.
World War II, cold War, all thenuclear stuff Every generation
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before us has thought it wasgoing to.
Even going back to thedisciples.
They thought Jesus was comingin their lifetime.
That's not new.
When we look at the world andit's chaotic and we think, oh,
it's going to end someday, well,it's so much worse than it ever
has been, I don't know.
I think media and social mediamakes it feel that way.
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I think it's because we weren'taware of all this chaos.
I mean, how many of you wereaware of how impoverished Africa
was 30 years ago?
Probably no one, because wedidn't get to see all the chaos.
And now there's riots in LA andthey're burning down.
It's the end of the world.
There were riots a couple yearsago.
There were riots decades ago.
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Again, I don't think that thepurpose of these books is to
give us specific dates and timesof when the world's going to
end.
I don't even think that's thepoint of Daniel.
The point of Daniel is, in anutshell, in the point of
revelation.
In a nutshell is God issovereign over human history,
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which means that it doesn'tmatter how good or how bad
something is, god is ultimatelyin control, always, forever.
There is no other kingdom,there is no one else who will
have eternal existence like hiskingdom, and you and I get to
experience that if we go our wayand we stay faithful to what
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God has called us.
That's the point.
I realize that's a simpleanswer, but when it comes down
to why it's important tounderstand how the world ends,
but when it comes down to whyit's important to understand how
the world ends at the end of it, god's in charge At the end of
it.
If we're faithful to him andwhat he's calling us to do, we
(12:55):
get to inherit our reward withhim.
So the question is why does itmatter how I believe the world
ends?
Because I think your theologyinfluences how you live.
Now.
If I believe that Jesus cancome back at any moment and I do
(13:16):
I think scripture teaches thislike a thief in the night.
If I believe that Jesus cancome back at any moment and that
judgment is coming with him,those who follow him will find
redemption and grace and thosewho are wicked will be cast away
into lakes of fire.
If I believe that,theologically, that puts an
(13:37):
urgency in my step to tellpeople about Jesus, because I
don't want anyone to experiencethe lake of fire.
I don't want anyone to go tohell ever.
That is never my goal.
And if I believe that Jesuswill come back tonight to
experience the lake of fire.
I don't want anyone to go tohell Ever.
That is never my goal.
And if I believe that Jesuswill come back tonight, the
question I have to ask myself isam I ready?
Are my friends ready?
Are my neighbors ready?
What am I doing to witness topeople, to tell people, to help
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people understand why this is soimportant?
Now, not everyone, but peoplewho believe in the rapture
theology.
I feel like the people thatI've come across are less on a
mission to evangelize because intheir mind, well, I'm going to
go to heaven and wait it out ingreatness, and these people will
figure it out as the worldburns.
(14:18):
They're going to have a secondchance, they'll be okay, it's
all right.
Again, not biblical, and Ithink that that theology can
influence how you live.
Daniel is coming to all of thisand all of his exile and all of
the, everything he's seen, andat the very end the angel says
(14:40):
if you stay true to God, youwill inherit your reward.
Paul talks about it like this inRomans 8, 19-21.
He says For the creation waitsan eager expectation for the
children of God to be revealed,for the creation was subjected
to frustration, not by its ownchoice, but by the will of the
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one who subjected it, and hopethat the creation itself will be
liberated from its bondage todecay and brought into the
freedom and glory of thechildren of God.
The creation you and I live inis longing for the day when it
gets restored.
Like I tell this to my kids allthe time and it's such an
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interesting conversation becauselittle kids, the way they think
about stuff, is neat, but it'salso challenging.
Griffin asks me some of thegreatest questions.
I'd run a lot of my thoughts byhim, believe it or not, when I
write sermons, because I'm like,is he going to understand this?
Because he might understandthis and if not.
He's going to ask me questionslater, right, and so one of the
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things that we often talk aboutis sickness and brokenness.
And why are people like this?
And the truth is it's becausethe world's broken Creation has
been distorted.
Adam and Eve messed it up.
They wanted to be like God.
They ate the fruit.
(16:08):
Man, I always want to say apple, don't say it's an apple, they
ate the fruit.
And it messed everything up.
They distorted it.
So cancer, brokenness, brokenmarriages, divorce all of these
things you and I weren't yourealize, we weren't meant to
experience this right.
(16:28):
So creation is waiting.
It's longing for the day whenit finally gets restored.
You and I are waiting for thesame thing.
(17:01):
The loss of my two kids wasbecause of the brokenness of
this world.
All of the pain and theproblems and the struggle that
came with that were not part ofthe original plan.
I don't even think those thingshappened to us because of us.
People say and Jesus actuallyaddresses this on the Gospels
(17:26):
but what sin did you commit tocause that to happen?
I mean, I'm a sinner, but Idon't think God punished me by
taking two of my kids becauseI'm a sinner.
I think Danny lost two babiesbecause the world's broken,
because sin has ruinedeverything.
I think kids get diagnosed withcancer because the world's
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broken.
I think people do evil andwicked things because the
world's broken.
Sin has distorted everything.
And it's interesting because wereally like to blame God for
those problems.
But it wasn't God who did it,it was us.
Adam and Eve introduced it all.
(18:09):
But you and I are in this momentwhere, in our faith, we're
waiting to the end.
I always think about thedifference between, during the
funeral of someone who has faithand someone who doesn't, during
the funeral of someone who hasfaith and someone who doesn't.
I've done a couple funerals forpeople that don't believe in
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Jesus and let me tell you that'sa hard funeral.
It's hard to offer hope and youdo and you say things and you
try to encourage them and youhope that maybe somewhere along
the line they made a choice.
But when you get to the funeralof someone who's followed God,
that's a celebration Because weknow what's coming for them.
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We know that all of the painand the brokenness of this world
, all of the sickness, all ofthe stuff they struggle with is
no longer part of their life.
Nt Wright is a scholar who Ifollow a lot and if I had to
kind of gravitate towards anyonewho, I think, understands and
(19:18):
has a good knowledge of how theworld comes to an end, he
believes in the idea that and Iagree with him, and I think
Scripture teaches us thatthere's coming a day when all of
this is going to be restored,everything's going to be made
new.
The idea of a new heaven and anew earth I don't think is like
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a new in the sense that it'sbrand new, but I think it's the
idea that all of this is goingto be restored to the place
where it's supposed.
New, but I think it's the ideathat all of this is going to be
restored to the place where it'ssupposed to be.
Some of you know JonathanAbsher, some of you don't, and
him and I were having aconversation about this one time
and I was like how do youexplain that idea?
He's like, well, I imagine,when everything's restored, that
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I'm going to be driving in mycar down the road and someone's
going to cut me off and I'm noteven going to get mad about it
Because I'm just going to thinkyou know what?
They're probably in a hurry andthat's okay.
He's like that's how I envisionit.
It's going to be this peace.
It's going to be worshiping Godall the time, but there's going
to be this restoration ofeverything no more pain, no more
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suffering, no more hurting.
All of that will be gone andinstead we'll sit in the
presence of God and worship Himand live in creation as it was
intended A garden of Eden ofsorts.
That everything will beprovided.
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And the question for you and Iis why does that matter?
Why does it matter?
Why does that matter?
Why does it matter?
I think the answer is becauseit's the only hope we can offer
people.
I live in the same world thatyou do, and it's rough Bringing
(21:25):
kids into this world.
Man, that scares me.
I don't know what my kids aregoing to be going through when
they're older.
I don't know what's coming.
I don't know what the world'sgoing to look like, but I know
that I can give them the one whooffers restoration.
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I can teach my kids how tofollow Jesus, to be like Jesus.
And every time that you and Ido something like God, every
time we love someone, every timewe show grace, every time we
show mercy, every time we helpthe neighbor in need, every time
we strengthen our marriage, westrengthen our families.
(22:07):
Every time we do these things,we're bringing a little bit of
the kingdom here.
People always talk about thisutopia, and I've heard it said
that if we could just get rid ofreligion, the world would be at
peace.
I don't think that's true.
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If not religion, we're going tofight about something, and to
an extent maybe there's a truthto that, because this idea of
religion gets caught up in beingfocused on what man thinks is
right all the time.
But what if we all started tolive like Jesus?
(22:48):
What if we had grace and mercy?
We took care of the widows, wetook care of the poor and the
children.
What if we chose to live likethat?
Now?
That's what Jesus ushered in.
He came into this world.
(23:09):
He showed that it's possible.
He loved people where they were.
He met their needs, he tookcare of them.
He spoke truth.
He told them what they neededto hear.
Listen the sermon on the mount.
It's tough to hear.
There's a.
The Sermon on the Mount is toughto hear.
Man.
There's a lot of statements inthere that are challenging, but
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Jesus modeled for us what itwould be to live like him.
And then those who chose tofollow him, those who have made
that decision, he said now goand do the same thing, live like
me, be like me, teach peopleabout my hope, teach people that
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their life can be restored,that it can be changed, not just
in the future, but here and now.
And I think that's important,because so often, when we follow
Jesus, it's because we don'twant to go to hell.
But Jesus says listen, I cansave you from that, but here,
now, in this place, I can giveyou a life that changes you.
I can bring transformation intoyour life.
(24:12):
The Spirit that came upon us onthe day of Pentecost will give
us everything we need to livefor him, to break free from
addictions, to overcomeadversity.
These are things that arepromised for us now, as we
eagerly wait for the end.
So why does it matter?
(24:39):
Because this world needs hope,and the only place they're going
to find it is here.
Nothing else can save, nothingelse can restore.
Revelation 21, verses 1 through8.
Nothing else can promise this.
(25:02):
Then I saw a new heaven and anew earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passedaway and there was no longer any
sea.
I saw the holy city of the newJerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as abride, beautifully dressed for
her husband, and I heard a loudvoice from the throne saying
(25:22):
Look, god's dwelling place isnow among the people and he will
dwell with them.
They will be his people and Godhimself will be with them and
be their God.
He will wipe every tear fromtheir eyes.
There will be no more death ormourning, or crying or pain, for
the old order of things haspassed away.
(25:45):
He who is seated on the thronesaid I am making everything new.
And he said write this down,for these words are trustworthy
and true.
He said to me it is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will givewater without cost from the
spring of the water of life.
(26:05):
Those who are victorious willinherit all of this and I will
be their God and they will be mychildren.
But the cowardly, theunbelieving, the vile, the
murderous, the sexually immoral,those who practice magic arts,
the idolaters and all liars,they will be consigned to the
fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This is the second death.
(26:27):
This is a revelation that comes.
God comes and he says I ammaking all things new, those who
are my children will inheritall of this, and those who are
not will be cast away from me.
There's consequences to thelife that we live.
There's consequences to thechoices we live.
(26:48):
We either serve the eternalkingdom or we serve a faulty one
.
Daniel understood throughoutthe entire 12 chapters of this
book that all those kingdoms heserved were temporary.
The only one who was eternalwas God.
God reminded him again andagain and again, and he showed
(27:11):
his power as he wiped out nationafter nation after nation.
God reminded Daniel stay trueto me, follow me, because your
inheritance is coming.
So I do think it matters how weunderstand the end of the world
(27:31):
, because I think that you and Ican sit all day and we could do
this.
We could do a class and wecould debate for hours about how
the world's going to end.
You can watch someone on TikTokpredict that it's going to
happen tomorrow at 12.02 pm.
(27:52):
Told you a couple years ago,there's a guy that spent a ton
of money.
By the way, he took a bunch ofmoney from people of a church
that he belonged to Put all thispropaganda out there.
The world didn't end.
He disappeared and all of themleft broke Just saying.
People use this kind oftheology.
When we were in Africa, weactually ran into this.
(28:14):
There was a guy who tookadvantage of a bunch of people
and he went to this church andcollected about a half a million
dollars and said, listen, I'mgoing to take all this money and
all of your prayers.
He had them write down prayersand put them all over this
suitcase.
He's like I'm going to take allthis money and I'm going to
take all your prayers and I'mgoing to go to the city of
Israel and I'm going to lay thisat the feet of the temple and
(28:35):
we're going to pray and allthese things are going to come
true and I'm going to come backand I'm going to tell you what
happened.
And he took the money and theynever saw him again.
Because people use this kind ofstuff to discredit or they
manipulate or they try to scarepeople.
I think that's silly.
(28:56):
I think trying to predict theend of the world is a waste of
time, because if I'm living likeit could happen tonight, I'm
not worried about when it'sgoing to happen.
If I'm living my life and I'mcommitting my life to following
Jesus, to being like Jesus, tobuilding his kingdom to sharing
(29:19):
hope with other people, to tellother people about Jesus.
If I live that way 24-7, I'mnot worried about when the end
comes, because I know that I'mready.
And if we believe that it'sgoing to happen sooner than
later, then why aren't we doingmore?
Why is this place not full?
How many people do you knowthey don't know Jesus?
(29:41):
Why aren't they here?
Listen, I hope you take that alittle personal.
I do, because if you reallybelieve that Jesus is the only
way, why are not more peoplehere?
Why are you not inviting morepeople to know Jesus?
Are you afraid that they'regoing to shun you?
Are you afraid that, well, Idon't want to ruin their
relationship that I have withthem, or they're going to shun
(30:02):
you?
Are you afraid that?
Well, I don't want to ruin therelationship that I have with
them, or they're just not?
Why, if you really believe thatthose who follow God inherit
eternity and those who don'tfind themselves in a lake of
sulfur, why are we not eagerlyout there more, spreading the
gospel, telling people aboutJesus?
Why are we not helping peoplefollow Him?
If we believe that he offerstransformation here and now, in
(30:23):
this place, why are we so okaywith letting the world end.
Why do we spend so much timetalking about the end of it, but
(30:46):
we don't spend more timetalking about the one who's
eternal?
I'm not worried when theworld's going to end, because
Jesus doesn't.
God is sovereign.
God is in charge of everything.
I'm not worried who's in powerpolitically, because God is
(31:07):
sovereign.
I'm not.
I'm not worried about it.
We pray about it.
I'm not worried about it.
The book of Daniel reminds usthat God is in charge, always,
forever.
The only thing worth givingpeople is the knowledge of who
he is.
Everything else will pass away,but not him.
(31:31):
So when I say we have to livewith eternity in mind, that's
what I mean.
If we believe that Jesus iscoming back and that all those
who follow him will inherit hiskingdom and those who don't
won't, then we need to focus onbuilding his kingdom, loving his
(31:56):
creation and sharing the hopethat only he offers.
Nothing else matters.
But it also means you have toask yourself that question is if
God came back, if Jesus cameback right now, am I ready for
(32:18):
that?
Have I accepted his grace andhis mercy?
Have I accepted his grace andhis mercy?
Have I accepted his sacrificeon the cross.
Have I given my life over tohim?
Have I made that decision tofollow him?
And we talk about this a lotbut have we made that decision
to not only follow him, repentand confess, but be baptized
into him?
That's what he tells us to do.
Those who are obedient will dothese things.
(32:39):
Have I given my life to Jesusso that, at the end of it all, I
know where I'm going?
For those of us who followJesus, daniel's a book of hope,
because we know that God'ssovereign over all and he is all
(33:03):
and he is all things we mayknow.
For those of us who don't, it'sa warning you will bow to Him
one day, whether you want to ornot.
That's who he is.
But the beautiful thing is ishe's done all the work for you.
(33:25):
He sent Jesus.
He offered a way forrestoration to be found.
He's offering to make allthings new, to take all of those
things away.
All he asks is that you'rewilling to give your life to him
(33:46):
.
24 years ago, I was a15-year-old kid sitting in a
church not much bigger than thisone.
I started going to churchbecause of a kid named Ryan
Witkowski, a really good friendof mine.
We were in math class togetherand he used to invite me to
(34:07):
church all the time and Ithought it was silly because you
know, I didn't do that I was 15.
I was so busy with everythingelse 15-year-olds had going on.
But I remember one Wednesdaynight he invited me to come out
and check out his youth groupand I'm like, yeah, I'll go.
I got nothing else going on andI know I've shared this story
before.
But I went there and there'sthis really pretty girl there
(34:28):
named Jody and I kept going backbecause Jody was there and I
was hoping that Jody would dateme.
She didn't.
But my intention was wrong andI'll be honest about that.
But my intention was wrong andI'll be honest about that.
But the more I sat there and themore I listened to the lessons
and the more that I read,started to read my Bible, I
realized that my life had apurpose.
(34:50):
I realized that there's a Godwho loves me more than anything
I could ever imagine, thatthere's a Father in heaven who's
perfect and in his perfectnesshe looks at me, he sees my
brokenness and he says listen,don't worry about it, I've got
it.
I never understood that until Ihad kids.
You know I give Miles a bad rap, and I don't mean to.
(35:15):
Miles is crazy.
It's my youngest, he's nuts.
He drives me up a wall a lot oftimes, but I love him so much I
would do anything to protecthim.
I could not imagine my lifewithout him.
(35:40):
I could not imagine my lifewithout Him.
And if I can love in myimperfectness, if I can love
someone like that, how much morecan a perfect God love me?
Because, for all I know, inGod's family, I'm Miles, I'm his
(36:05):
Miles, I'm the kid that he goes.
I don't know what he's doingthis morning.
I don't know why he's doingthat.
I think about when I was 15.
I was definitely that kid, butGod looked at me and said I love
him just the same and I'm goingto send my son to die for him
too.
I never appreciated that untilI became a dad, and here's what
(36:34):
I know.
I don't know your story.
I don't know the mistakesyou've made.
I don't even know what you'restruggling with right now, but
24 years ago I found out thatthere's someone who loves me in
(36:56):
spite of me, and there's a Godwho loves you in spite of your
mess.
There's a God who looks at youand sees redemption.
There's a God who looks at youand sees hope.
There's a God who looks at youand sees future, and there's
eternity.
There's a plan for your life.
There's a God who looks at youin your mess and says don't
(37:18):
worry, I've got this, I've gotthis.
That's who Jesus is.
We can get caught up all dayabout how the world's going to
end.
I don't care.
All I care about is whether ornot you know that you're loved.
(37:43):
You know that Jesus died foryou and you made the decision to
follow him.
It's not about being perfect.
It's about letting God restorewhat sin broke.
All right, let's pray.
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