Understanding the End of Time

The so-called Olivet Discourse contained in the 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew represents a “Sermon on the Mount” at the end of Jesus’s ministry just as the Sermon on the Mount itself, in Matthew 5, represented his early ministry. 

The statements Jesus makes about the End of Time are the primary theme of the Olivet Discourse. They are his response to the disciples’ question in Matthew 24:3: “What will be the sign of Your coming and the End of the Age?” This is a foundational question for believers, and has been asked over and over down through the ages. Even today, because of pandemics, wars, nuclear threats, natural disasters, and general violence, people of faith embrace these times as the End of the Age. 

In our class discussion, we have indicated that for many, the End of Time is personal. And yet all of us—since the time of Jesus, all believers—have sensed that somehow they were living in the last days. We concluded our discussion last week with a new way of looking at the End-Time events. Donald wondered how we know that what we think the apocalyptic literature means is correct? Do we have it right? Our church (and others) specialize in, and spell out in vivid detail, the meaning of the prophetic symbols, the metaphors, and the frightening illustrations about the End of Time. 

Is our understanding correct? Is what was figured out in 1844 still valid today? This was figured out, I would remind you, by lay men, lay theologians—farmers, laborers, people who had in many cases very little education. Is it fair to look at things differently in 2022? Can we have insights that our forefathers didn’t see? Does our notion of progressive light allow new ideas and ways of understanding not seen heretofore? 

How right do we need to be in order to be secure? How much do we need to understand to be certain? Does accuracy count when we’re talking about faith? Anonymous asked me a similar question last week: “How do we know that what the Bible says is what it really says?” How does grace factor in when we’re talking about End Time events? Again, we go back to the notion of being prepared, which we link with being righteous. What are we being prepared for? And can we be prepared to be a recipient of grace? 

Despite the confidence that we have in our prophetic paradigm, few people (I would say vanishingly few) would honestly say that we have a full and complete understanding of the Scriptures. Even if you won’t admit that we may hold some things in error, some things that are wrong, we must at least acknowledge that we may have an incomplete picture of God. 

Then the question must be asked: How complete must our understanding be, in order to be valid? What must it be to be useful? Does it bother you that you may hold something in your belief system which might be wrong? We so link our beliefs and our understanding and our viewpoint to our salvation. Somehow, if we’re correct in our theology, in our beliefs, in our prophetic interpretation, then we’re closer to God, we’re more in tune with his will, we’re more likely to be saved. 

So if we agree that we cannot be 100% accurate, not 100% completed on our understanding, then how accurate do we need to be? Is 50/50 good enough? Do we need to be greater than 75% right? How about 90% plus? And who is going to tell us that things are right anyway? We’ve not had a prophet in the church for more than 100 years and since that time millions of new ideas and questions have been raised. 

You see how easily we fall into the trap of making religion about us, centered on us and how we see things and how we understand and believe things, even though Paul says in 1 Corinthians that we see through a glass dimly. 

How important is it that we get things right? What is the purpose of studying End Times events? Why, if it is so important, are there so many different interpretations, and why has every generation felt that they were living at the end of time? 

The concept of believing the “right” thing is linked closely to behaving the “right” way. How good do we have to be? If we’re unable to be 100% good, is 51% good enough? Take Sabbath-keeping as a behavior, just as an example. Seventh Day Adventists have closely linked End-Time events with Sabbath-keeping. But what does that mean? Does saying that you believe in the Sabbath mean that you are a Sabbath keeper? Does Sabbath-keeping mean that you just go to church on Saturday? What about after church? 

What constitutes work on the Sabbath (which is prohibited)? The Pharisees were specialists at delineating what work was. What is “doing your own pleasure” that Isaiah prohibits (Isaiah 58:13?) And above all, how does grace factor into Sabbath-keeping? 

Believing and behaving based on my personal judgment puts me at the center of the Sabbath instead of Jesus, who is the real Lord of the Sabbath. How the Sabbath is kept today, even by the most conservative standards, is utterly different from how it was kept by the Pharisees, or even by our 1844 forefathers. My children keep the Sabbath quite differently than I kept it when I was young.

The question then is, in matters of belief and behavior: How right do we need to be? And if we can’t be 100% accurate, what is the value of partial belief or partial behavior? How much error can we handle? And can we even know whether we’re in error or whether we’re holding on to the truth? Why do the signs of the End matter? Do you see the signs in the same way that your grandfather saw the signs, or even your father? 

There are so many competing voices, so many different preachers. They can lead people astray, Jesus says. Is it possible that we could be among the preachers who are leading people astray, and how would we know? There is not a preacher among us who thinks he is leading others astray. Everyone sincerely and honestly speaks for God. How important is it to be right? How accurate do we need to be both in our belief and in our behavior? 

In this Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus uses four parables to illustrate waiting for and experiencing the Time of the End. Matthew 24 includes the parable of the fig tree and Matthew 25 the parable of the 10 virgins—five wise and five foolish—plus the parable of the talents and the parable of the sheep and the goats. I propose to study each of these in turn, in order to get a more complete understanding of Jesus’s teaching on the Second Coming in the End of the Age. 

We begin with the parable of the fig tree:

 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.  

 “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:32-36)

Leaves on the fig tree indicate that fruit is coming, but there is no precise timeline. It’s a reliable but imprecise indicator of certain things to come. In one of his sermons, Jason has pointed out that thousands of events in the heavens and in the earth that have occurred have been counted as signs of the End: Earthquakes, falling stars, and all sorts of other natural and manmade disasters. 

In other words, events that we have tagged as End of Time events have been happening throughout history, thousands of times. It gives new meaning to these words of Jesus and cautions us against a linear timeline, against labeling specific events as End-Time events or signs. Since the beginning of time, there have been weather uncertainties and natural disasters—hurricanes, earthquakes, floods. So too, has there been violence, threats, hatred amongst people, and wars. 

Jesus seems to be saying “When you see new leaves on the fig tree, you’re going to get some fruit. It’s a reliable indicator, but it is not a precise indicator. And just as certainly as there are man-made disorders and natural disasters, whenever you see them, whenever you experience them, you should just as certainly know that I will come again. The constant presence of these signs throughout history should be a constant reminder that I will come again.” 

This is true for you and me individually, and it is true for every generation. That is why Jesus said: “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” What will be accomplished for the generation spoken to by Jesus, as well as for every generation since as a reminder, that with every earthly and celestial sign, is that Jesus will return, that there will be a new creation, and that a new heaven and a new earth will be forthcoming where all of these recurring natural and man-made disasters will be no more. 

But we so wish to make them into a timeline, because we think it’ll help us to be ready. We want to be ready because that somehow makes us fit for heaven. Little do we realize that what makes us fit and ready for heaven is God’s grace. These signs of the End don’t require a complicated timeline. They don’t need to be linked to specific historical events. They have continued to recur, to be ever-present. They remind us of the earth made new, the promise of no more night and no more pain. They are the signs that just as certain as there is loss, there is also gain, and that there is defeat but victory is just as certain. 

Grace takes getting ready by myself out of the picture. Grace takes analysis of the timeline of events out of my hands, and puts our salvation back in the hands of God. So how right does End-Time understanding need to be? How much accuracy do you need? How should you respond to End-Time events? And how should you share those End-Time events with others? 

The apostle Paul has some very sobering words for those of us who rely on biblical timelines and who value our doctrines:

 If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.   

 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.   

 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know in part and prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13) 

We are called, Paul says, to love; not to speak in the tongues of angels. We are called to love, not to make prophetic timelines. We are called to love, not to traffic in knowledge—not even biblical knowledge. We’re called to love because our understanding of prophecy and our understanding of knowledge is incomplete. 

So what should we expect from a study of the End Time? Prophetic material? What should be the end product of our studies? How certain can you be? How certain do you need to be? Prophecy and knowledge are foundational aspects of religious doctrine. How can they be used but not weaponized? How can they be used even though they may be incompletely seen and partially understood? 

Robin: Some verses came to mind as you were reading:

 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.   

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ (Matthew 7:15-22): 

So you can have all these gifts of knowledge, gifts of prophecy, gifts of tongues, but if you don’t know how to love, they are useless. It seems like the message here is that love is eternal. These other things—the gifts that people are given to minister on Earth—are going to be done away with, they’re not going to be needed, once we are with the Father and Jesus. 

The next passage addresses the question of whether any denomination can have the complete truth. Jesus was addressing the disciples and getting ready to be crucified:

 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them at the present time. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you. (John 16:12-14) 

But never in Scripture have I found, never have I read, that there will come a time when human beings will know all there is to know. I thought that even through eternity we will still be learning to exemplify a character that is like the character of Jesus.

C-J: A counselor told me we must always begin with the understanding of trauma. My response was that part of healing is that we also know we need to be around people who are healthy in order to know, and to practice healthy living and processing of information in order to become healthy. It’s part of that healing process. I mention this because I truly believe we only have the here-and-now and everything that Robin said I agree with, in terms of this process. 

We are warned not to look for signs, not to be distracted, and that those seasons are guideposts in terms of it’s time to plant, it’s time to sow, But it’s always about time and place and interpretation. The reason I started with trauma is that when I look at the Bible or other spiritual texts, they are filled with trauma, from cover to cover. And in it, the purpose of that trauma is to teach resiliency in the here-and-now. “I will be with you—Lo! I will be with you, no matter where it is—in the desert, at the top of the mountain, in the valley, with oppression and slavery, bondage in the way you think and bondage in the flesh, in sickness and in health, prosperous times and times of great famine spiritually physically—Lo! I am with you.”

I think the message is about being prepared in terms of resiliency, to see places as opportunity, to gather what you will need in those times through anticipation, how to prepare for war. But the biggest war is always focused back on an understanding and recognition of the dichotomy of good and evil, surrender and trying to do something in your own hands when you are not God. You are not the captain of the ship. Your job is to trust, obey, be humble. Great leaders must be servants, servants must be humble. And God calls us to be leaders in the wilderness. Part of that process is learning resiliency and humility, to be a witness of how to do life well.

As for prophecy: I think that’s for immature people. Show me a sign, a Gideon, prove to me, strike in a rock. People who are grounded in this place need proof. People who are mature in God have a relationship that cannot be seen but is constantly being grown. That root will continue to grow deep and bear good fruit.

Anonymous: I want to thank God for the enlightenment, for the insight, triggered especially by Matthew 24:32. This is the first time I’ve thought about it in this way. He says of the fig tree: “…as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near;…” The picture that was drawn in my mind was that Jesus was referring to the personal experience. Because as we come to understand Jesus, something comes forth inside of us, just like new branches and new leaves, and it becomes tender.

When that happens we know summer is near. It is a great time of life—beautiful. Life from that point on is complete readiness for his coming. He is telling us “This is the way to be ready, by coming to me, by watching what’s going on in your heart. And when you see new branches coming, when your heart has become tender towards God and new leads are coming through, that means Jesus is living in you.” He has been living his life inside of us like the tree that was seemingly dead all winter.

It shed light on my understanding of the Second Coming and proves that it must be personal. The readiness, the preparedness that he’s talking about is that as long as you see God in your life, it changes, it becomes fresh, green, and living. As long as we live that way, we’re prepared. We don’t have to worry about doing anything to be prepared. Jesus is already present in our hearts.

If this was literal, we don’t have to worry about it. We don’t have to think and worry about the literal side of the interpretation of his coming all the time. Because all signs must be directing our attention to our own lives, to our own heart condition, not the outside, but of course it has to be both personal and universal.

When Jesus is in our hearts, that means his grace is working on us. That means we are saved by his grace, not by our correctness, not by how much we understand the Bible correctly, not by anything else. Just by him living in our hearts, grace is shed upon our hearts and we’re going directly to salvation without any effort on our own! Praise God!

Ezekiel said: 

 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. So I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, so that you may remember and be ashamed, and not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord God declares. (Ezekiel 16:61-63) 

It shows something very important that goes with grace: That the way to salvation is to keep being forgiven by God until you feel ashamed of your sins. You have no right to defend yourself or say anything in your behalf. Just shut up and be ashamed of what you did! When you get to that point, this is where the heart is changed and this is where salvation comes. The whole idea shows God’s grace in saving us. The sign to know that God is doing something in us is when we see new branches, new, fresh leaves coming up. 

Donald: The End-Time events that have happened through the ages are an assurance that he will come again. It’s not like “When they happen, this will happen”; rather, It’s the reassurance of knowing that Christ will come again, has not forgotten us, has not left us, is with us. I think that’s pretty remarkable. 

Now, I don’t know what to do with that in relationship to my understanding of my Christian denomination, because we put so much focus on the End-Time events. We should have a greater focus on God’s grace, but it doesn’t capture the attention of others, sadly enough. The End-Time events seem to have been sensationalized. I don’t think that the goals of 1844 and then the understanding of Daniel and Revelation were to be sensational. I don’t mean to suggest that. But I think it’s an emphasis on the wrong thing. The emphasis should be on God’s grace, God’s love, and our character, and not necessarily on End-Time events.

David: With regard to the Second Coming: A passage read earlier says that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” What happens when Heaven passes away? What’s the point of salvation if that is going to happen? Where will we go to be saved? What happens to those already in heaven when it passes away? 

There can be no disputing the meaning of this passage. It is in black and white: “Heaven and earth will pass away”—period. It’s a bald statement. There is one thing, and one thing only, that will not pass away, and that is (I interpret) what was in the Beginning: The Word. The passage says “His words” which, to me, are the condensation of all that is good—that is, the Word is God. So goodness—God—will remain.

This very much supports the Omega Point Theory of Frank Tipler (which depends on the Big Bounce theory of a universe that expands (the Big Bang, Alpha) then contracts back to a singularity point (the Big Crunch, Omega).* Tipler has calculated mathematically the power that will be generated through friction as the universe contracts  and shows how this power will be used to draw together the world-lines of everyone who ever existed and judge their lives and bring humanity closer to God and understanding everything. Robin’s quote from John supports this too: We will know all, John says. To me, we will know near the Omega Point.

As well, the Omega Point is a truly universal theory. We are human-centric not only in the sense of not being God-centric but also in ignoring all the other potential lifeforms—God’s creatures—that probably exist in this vast universe, this vast creation. 

Omega Point Theory allows for God as the God of all Creation. When the Creation collapses down to the Omega Point, then heaven and earth and all planets—along with any lifeforms they support—will pass away. The only thing that remains will be the Word—which is therefore at the End, at Omega. But Scripture tells us it is also at the Beginning: “In the Beginning was the Word.” Alpha. Everything springs from the Word, and in Omega Point Theory, this is when the universe begins to expand again. 

It seems to me this could be regarded as the Second Coming—the Second Coming of the Word, not the Second Coming of a bearded face through the clouds but the Second Coming of goodness throughout the new universe—the new heaven and earth. 

So I too feel much enlightened by today’s Scriptural passages, perhaps in a different way from all of you, but I am grateful for them.

Reinhard: Jesus was talking about the generation that would see the End Time—either a personal or the global or regional End Time (such as the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the first century CE). The Book of Revelation revealed the End Time to God’s people to awaken their spiritual life and their need to be close to God. The letter to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 is exactly what God wants us to be—that is, to have a positive attitude as Christians. We don’t worship idols. We cannot live a lukewarm spiritual life. God wants us to be on top of what we need to be as Christians. 

In the following chapter, why do we need to know about Babylon, about Armageddon? I think there’s a purpose. As Christians we need a roadmap of what is going to happen. We have to live in the moment according to what God wants, because our personal End Time can come at any moment. We have personal responsibility in terms of our spiritual life. If we are right with God now, we don’t have to worry about what can happen in the future. 

But the fact that a revelation was given to us at the end of the Bible means it must be important for us as Christians, whether it is our personal End Time or the global End Time. It tells us what’s going to happen in the future. Why de we need to know, for instance, about the king of the East attacking Babylon, and the captivity of the Israelites, and their return to their own land? Perhaps it is because Babylon is a metaphor for the center of wickedness, of evil, of apostasy. God wants to teach us such things, therefore we need to learn them. 

The Adventist message is based on the three messages in Revelation 14, on keeping God’s commandments, and believing in Jesus and his testimony. It is important for us as Christians to know what’s going to happen, to be well prepared when God comes “like a thief.”

Michael: if your pastor or priest is skimping on God’s love, do you hold the responsibility of showing them the door?

Don: How would they be skimping on God’s love?

Michael: By not emphasizing it; by emphasizing instead Revelation or End Times or judgment or sin.

C-J: It’s a good point. Most churches are looking towards that event of everything being destroyed and Christ coming. It’s based out of fear, but it should be based out of love, that we come into the temple. It shouldn’t be out of fear. I want to make sure I’m on that train when it leaves. 

I would much rather come in and have a relationship with God of love and grace and holding me accountable and teaching me, rather than being so afraid that I’m flogging myself and fasting and doing all works in the flesh instead of having a relationship with God that’s filled with joy no matter what circumstance I’m in, trusting for provision. 

Don: Does it bother you that you might hold some belief that’s untrue?

C-J: No, because when I was young, I believed in Santa Claus. When I got older I realized that that was something else. But it didn’t mean that my parents lied to me to cause me harm. We live in the finite. Does that make sense? Of course, we can’t know all things or even understand what we think we know. We live in the finite.

Carolyn: It is so reassuring to hear these comments. I’ve had questions for years about all this. We serve a loving God but we also serve a God who expects from us. I just love the idea and the truth brought forth through our discussion that we have nothing to fear, because of God’s grace. There is grace, there is love, and there is commitment; and those three things put me in awe at the thought that Christ is coming and that we will join him. And I love the idea of rejoicing instead of always having fear as my umbrella. I thank you all for giving so much insight.

Reinhard: The Old Testament told us to rejoice in the Lord. Paul said so too. We have to exercise our love for other people. Life is now, and grace is in operation right now, at this very moment. So to me, putting all this together, we can live a good life, rejoice in the Lord, and share the love of God with other people. 

We need to know about Armageddon, the final conflict when we know that Satan will unite his followers against God, at the End of Time. While we live for the moment, we have to enjoy the Lord, enjoy his love, and share this love with other people. But at the same time, I think part of us looks forward to the End of Time described in Revelation.

Jay: Michael’s question makes me wonder if sometimes we think about things like God’s love and sin, or the End Times and judgment, in terms of absolutes, in the sense that it has to be one or the other; that that you can’t talk about judgment and God’s love—its judgment or God’s love; or you can’t talk about sin and love—it’s sin or love. 

Preachers do tend to lean towards the or rather than the and. Turn “or God’s love” into “and God’s love” and the message, the prophecy, the End Times events, and judgment all take on a very different meaning.

Don: Next week we will talk about the parable of the ten virgins, five wise and five foolish. Our discussion premise is that understanding this parable is predicated on all ten women being virgins, not on some being righteous and others being wicked. As virgins, they are all considered pure. And they represent us—or at least, who we think we are. The message in the parable concerns how we wait for the bridegroom to come. 

* * *

*Other theories dispute the physics of the Big Bounce.