End Of Days Essays - Christology, Christian Eschatology,

End Of Days Paul Lockwood End of Days The Bible is literally packed full of information regarding the end of this earth as we know it. Whether you choose to believe in God or not, it is a scientific fact that this earth has a shelf-life and will come to an end at some point in the far off future. However, those of us who choose to accept the Word of God as truth know of the future that is in store for this earth and all that is on the earth. To fully attack such a healthy topic as the end of the world according to the Bible would certainly take more than the 5-7 pages I have for this report, so I will only attempt to ?skim? the surface of some of the more important and common beliefs and leave the rest for the novelists. If we look at the Bible in its entirety, we realize that both the old and new testaments are filled with prophecy regarding the end times. Because this class is focused on the new testament, I will attempt to restrain my attention to those books. However, it would be impossible to speak on the topic of the end times without making some mention of old testament prophecies. As with the entire religion of Christianity, the future of the earth also revolves around the centerpiece of Jesus' life, death and resurrection on earth. Galations 1:4 states, ?Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father,? this was Jesus' first coming to this earth ? there will be another. If we look at the big picture, we can now see the ?two trips? that God has laid out for humanity. First, we have Jesus coming to provide the ultimate sacrifice for humanity by dying on the cross for the sins of the world. This is the single most important act in the entire Christian faith. Because of this sacrifice, Jesus provided a link between the lost sinners of the world and God the Father ? a gap that had not been closed since Adam sinned in the garden. Through this sacrifice, humanity actually has renewed hope to spend an eternity with God in Heaven. Well, what exactly is the big plan? When Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden because of their sin, they ended the perfect relationship that God had created with mankind. God wants terribly to have this perfect relationship back, and the whole of human history has been the struggle to regain this relationship. Satan has been the major nemesis throughout the entire ordeal, and the presence of sin inherent in every human upon birth has continued the rift that began between God and humanity when Adam first sinned. The end of the age also represents the end of this rift as well as the end of the struggle with satan. It can be looked at another way: When God sent Jesus to die on the cross, that was the band-aid for humanity; however, when He returns, it will be the ultimate healing of the human condition. We should now shift our focus to some of the specific events that are going to take place during the Lord's return. We have all heard of this word called ?Rapture? yet it never occurs in the Bible. How can something occur if it isn't even mentioned in the Bible? Well, even though the word is not specifically used, the specific events that will take place are spoken of many times throughout the old and new testament. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says, ?Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.? Many people think that we cannot know when the Rapture will take place, but ?knoweth? is present tense in Mark 13:32. There Jesus said, ?But of that day and that hour KNOWETH no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son,