What Does the Future Hold?

Scripture Reading: Matthew 24:1-3
“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Introduction: There is a parallel between the events listed in verses Matthew 24:3-14 and those of Revelation 6:1-11. The rider on the white horse—false messiah the antichrist; the rider of the red horse—war; the rider of the black horse—famine; the rider of the pale horse—pestilence or death. The souls under the altar are martyrs. The events described in Revelation 6:12-17 are linked with those in Matthew 24:19-31.

The Olivet Discourse
Here we come at the Olivet Discourse—paralleled in Mark 14 and Luke 21—where the longest answer Jesus would ever give deals with end times and future events. The Olivet Discourse, so named because Jesus gave it as He sat upon the Mount of Olives. The Olivet Discourse deals with the Tribulation—the seven-year period following the Rapture of the church. The prophet Zechariah had prophesied that the Lord would return upon the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14).

The disciples question
The disciples came to Him privately and asked Him two questions:
When will these things be? that is, when would the temple be destroyed?
And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?

Every Bible student is thrilled to be able to read about events that are still future. Only in the Bible is the future unfolded. In this lesson, we shall consider some of these events in the order in which they will happen.

1. CHRIST’S COMING FOR HIS SAINTS. (1 Thess. 4:13-18)
   The next event to occur is the coming of Christ to take His people home to heaven. This is known as the Rapture. Christ will descend from Heaven. The bodies of believers who have died will be raised. Living believers will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.
2. THE TRIBULATION. (Matthew 24:5-31)
   After the Rapture, the earth will experience a period of great suffering and sorrow known as the Tribulation. A great evil ruler will arise known as Antichrist (meaning against Christ). He will demand worship from the people. It will be a time of such great suffering that unless the days were shortened, no life would survive.
3. CHRIST’S COMING TO REIGN. (Malachi 4:1-3)
   Toward the end of the Tribulation period, the Lord Jesus Christ will come back to the earth in great power and glory. He will destroy His enemies, including Antichrist, and judge those nations which persecuted faithful Jews. Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit for 1000 years.
4. THE MILLENNIUM. (Isaiah 32:1; 35:1-7; 65:17-25)
   When His work of judgment has been completed, Christ will set up His kingdom on the earth. Jerusalem will be His capital. He will reign upon the earth for a thousand years. This period is known as the millennium. It will be an era of peace and happiness. The desert will blossom like the rose. Men will live to very old ages.
5. THE JUDGMENT OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE. (Rev. 20:11-15)
   At the end of Christ’s 1000-year reign, the Judgment of the Great White Throne will take place. This is the judgment of the wicked dead. No saved persons will be involved. The graves will give up the bodies of unbelievers, and Hades or hell will give up their souls. They will then stand before Christ to be judged.
6. ETERNITY. (Rev. 21:1-8)
   The final picture of the future is the eternal state. The earth as we know it will have been destroyed by fire. Time, as we know it, will have ceased.

Conclusion:
There is an old fable in which three apprentice devils were talking to Satan. The first one said, “I will tell people there is no God.” Satan replied, “That will not fool many, because they know there is a God.” The second devil said, “I will tell them there is no hell.” Satan said, “You will never fool many that way, because they know there is a hell.” The third said, “I will tell people there is no hurry.” Satan said, “Go, and you will ruin millions.” (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2)

The believer’s hope is not in this world; neither is his real citizenship. His hope and his life are in God and in heaven (Ph. 3:21). Therefore, we are not to fear men and world events. Men and world events can only take our lives, not our souls. Our lives are in God’s hands, even to the end of the world (Mt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5).

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