Future
Things: The Way Things Ought to Be
INTRO: “The Way Things Ought to Be” -VS- the way
things often are.
What about the Future
Kingdom of Christ so energizes, strengthens, encourages, and mobilizes true
believers?
The prophesied future is
intended to impact the here and now!
5 characteristics
define the future Millennial Kingdom
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
For Further Reflection/Application:
We
must be doers of the Word and
not merely hearers
What
aspects of the “curse” have impacted your personal life the most? List 2-3 things.
When
life is too good why is it so tempting/easy to lose sight of “the age to
come?”
God
commands believers to live each day in light of eternity (Col. 3:1-4)
How
does God use trials in our life to make us more faithful believers?
Note
Romans 5:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Cor. 4:16-18
How
does biblical prophecy help us get through the darkest valleys of life?
Related Praise Songs: Theology
fuels Doxology! We dig deeply in order
that we may go high!
Joy
to the World-
Crown
Him With Many Crowns!
The Hallelujah
Chorus-
Jesus
Shall Reign- Keith and Kristyn Getty
Related Biblical Texts: Search
the Scriptures to see if these things be so.
Revelation 20:4-6; 2 Peter 3:13-15; Psalm 72; Isaiah 2:2-4;
9:6-7; 11:6-10; 24:23; 35:24; 65:18-20; Ezk. 34:11-31; Hosea 3:5; Zephaniah
3:8-12; Zechariah 12-14.
KEY QUESTION- How are all the sermons preached over the past 6+ months connected to Revelation (and to the large theme of biblical prophecy and eschatology)? That’s a really good question.
I have been attempting to show that the way we interpret Rev. 6-22 wonderfully and majestically harmonizes with previous revelation (Genesis-3 John). In many regards, everything God revealed prior to the last book of the Bible is the foundation upon which Revelation itself stands. Since so many good and godly believers disagree over how to interpret chapters 6-20 I think it’s vitally important to go back and carefully explain some of the major truths God revealed PRIOR to giving the Apostle John this final series of visions.
Pastor Sal was spot on when he said, “Scripture is often the best interpreter of Scripture.” We’ve gone back a bit in order to solidify our core convictions. For example, many believers are not very familiar with the major covenants of the Old Testament. Yet each of these covenant promises is vitally important to what God must do in the future. His Word and reputation are at stake! In recent weeks we went to some key passages in the N.T. Gospels in effort to demonstrate that what Jesus taught concerning the “end times” is perfectly consistent with how Pastor Sal and I (and many, many others) interpret the “controversial” chapters of Revelation (i.e. chapters 6-20).
We believe the Bible teaches that there must be a future, earthly, Messianic Kingdom and that this long-anticipated kingdom will last 1000 years (see Revelation 19-20). That is what Futuristic Premillennialism is in a nutshell. All related sermons can be downloaded for free on our website at www.lakecountrybible.org
The Biblical Case for Futuristic Premillennialism is supported by Seven Lines of Reason:
It's 1) the Fruit of a Consistent “Hermeneutic.”
“Hermeneutics” is 'the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible as to ascertain the original intent of the Divine/human authors of Scripture.' Every person employs “hermeneutics” whenever they study, teach, or apply the Word of God. The question is: Have we “rightly divided” the Word of truth (note 2 Tim. 2:15). If we get the interpretation wrong the probability of getting the application wrong is greatly increased. Hence the reason why God commands us to handle his Word with extreme care. Note our recent exposition of 2 Timothy 2:15 and a very important message on the "3 Key Words of Biblical Prophecy." If you interpret the Bible consistently you will affirm the core tenants of premillennialism.
It's 2) The Unconditional Promises in the Biblical Covenants.
See sermon series on Genesis 12 & 15 and our series on 2 Samuel 7 and Luke 1.
See also Dan’s study notes on Jeremiah 31:31-37; Galatians 3:13:29 on the New Covenant.
It's 3) The Hope of the Old Testament Saints and Prophets.
Per my exposition of Hosea 3. Note key prophetic passages such as Isaiah 11, Daniel 9, and Zech. 12-14.
It's 4) The End Times Teachings of Jesus Christ
See my recent exposition of Luke 13, 21, and Matthew 24-25.
It's 5) The Progressive Revelation of the New Testament.
See Romans 11:13-36 sermon. See Revelation 6-20 sermons.
It’s bolstered when you Trace 6) The Invisible Hand of Divine Providence (throughout the ages).
See Wed. PM lesson from 8/15/18. Miraculously and providentially Israel still exists. WHY?
Because God is in no way through with the Jews (note reasons 2 and 3).
It's 7) The Unified Testimony of the Early Church (and beyond).
See Wed. PM lesson from 8/22/18- “History is not authoritative like Scripture is, but it does affirm the Premillennial position, indicating that the earliest generation of Christians (and Church theologians) interpreted the apostolic witness through a Premillennial lens– one in which a FUTURE, THOUSAND-YEAR Messianic kingdom was expected ON EARTH.”
