You Asked: Answering Common Questions About Christianity: Question 1 - The End Times

Ishmael LaBiosa: Today we start a new message series simply entitled You Ask, Answered Answering Common Questions About Christianity. You might not like the sermons, but some of you gotta like the topics because I took the topics from you. ⁓ you may think, well, what topics is this church interested in? I'm glad you ask. Here are some of the top topics that I will be working through over the next 10 weeks. These might change around because I didn't work as hard this week as I normally do, and a few of you added some questions in so they might get shifted around. I'm not going to tell you the question yet we'll talk about today, but here are some other ones. Some of these surprise me to be honest. How should believers think about war, violence, self-defense, capital punishment, and peacemaking? That's what you wanted to know about. How can Christians faithfully engage and respond to rapidly changing cultural and technological issues? AI Social media while maintaining biblical fidelity. What does the scripture teach about marriage, divorce, remarriage, singleness, and sexual ethics? What does the scripture teach about spiritual warfare, the devil, demons? And the believer's armor and victory in Christ? What is the church? Its nature, marks, purpose, and government. Why do many denominations exist? Can a believer lose can a can a believer have assurance of so their salvation? What does the Bible say about eternal security versus the possibility of of falling away. Is my depression or anxiety a spiritual issue, a medical one, or both? How can I find peace? What is the relationship between God's sovereignty and human responsibility? How can God both be be both one and three, the doctrine of the Trinity? How can we discern God's will for major life decisions? How was the scripture formed and finalized? There are some of your top questions. So those are good questions and I guess I have my work cut out for me, but that's okay. I've been married for twenty three years and I've been doing this longer than that. So ⁓ it's not that big of a deal. Here's the problem here's the good and the bad of this message series. The good of this series is one sermon, one question, one answer. That's good. Some of you will say, but but but but I would like to know a little more. Here's the good news and the bad news. Everything that I have said over the last fifteen years has been recorded. You know, other pastors didn't have to deal with this, like pastors in air. You could preach a bad sermon and it'd be forgotten. But mine are on YouTube into infinity, ⁓ which is bad. But the good news is I've preached through the entire book of Revelation, I've preached through the entire book of Daniel, I've preached Matthew twenty-four and twenty-five, I've preached through the entire book of first and second Thessalonians. So all the key text, I can dial up the sermon that you can listen to me go through every Bible verse. So it's one question, one answer. The limitation is you'd say, Well, I'd like for you to give me a little more in this area or that. The internet can help you. You can also send me an email and I'll just send you the sermon. The other thing that's different, the main other thing that's different before we look at the question, is I love what we call expository preaching. You just read, throw a biblical book and comment on it. That's great. The weakness, however, of expository preaching is sometimes you see the trees, but you never see the forest. And actually there's a field called theology, Christian theology, that is not just reading the Bible verse by verse by verse by verse, important as that is. At some point in time you've got to synthesize everything the Bible says about a given subject. And in my opinion, that's harder than just going verse by verse by verse. And so while I can't camp out on every little verse we need to camp out on, what you will get that you don't typically get on a Sunday morning is a synthesis of a lot of different ideas. This text and this text and this text likely say this as a unified whole. Also, there were way more than ten questions you wanted to know the answer to. So by June 15th, haha. It's good to have Pastor Ishmael around. Yes it is. Because ⁓ this week I'll start recording podcasts for the other questions that didn't make the top ten and start doing the answers. So I will be done by the end of this week with the first badge. But Pastor Ishmael has to clean up my mess, put some music on the ends, say some nice things about it. So I'll be done if he gets done. You'll get it on June fifteenth. And then it will be one a day, Monday through Friday. We're gonna take the weekends off. Except I'm preaching on Sunday. I'll take Saturday off. And we'll do that answering the other questions outside of the ten basically until August. So you'll get like June fifteenth to like August 7th, Monday through Friday. And there you have it. You say, What's the question for today? ⁓ it wasn't even close. I guess a lot of you are ready for things to wrap up. Because the question of the day is what does the Bible teach about the signs of the end times? Go ahead and put it on the screen so they can read it along. Christ's return, the Antichrist, the tribulation, the millennium, final judgment, heaven and hell. This was by far Your top question, I thought we had talked this one enough, but I guess you want more. You're only gonna get one sermon about it, and then I'm gonna move along. Some key verses, key places in the Bible. Matthew twenty four and twenty five, Jesus on the last days. I would say first and second Thessalonians, but second Thessalonians two specifically, the Apostle Paul talks about the last days. The book of Revelation, probably the most important. of all the books on this topic and one key Old Testament book, Daniel, especially the latter half, Daniel seven through twelve. Those are some key areas, not the only areas where we answer, get the answer to this question. The way I'm going to answer the question today is seven kind of thesis statements that help us put together a coherent answer for a rather comprehensive question. One of my responsibilities is to make the complex simple. I hope I will do that today while not being simplistic. Here's the first big point to answer the question. To understand the end times according to the Bible, you must gain an understanding of five major concepts. Christ's return, number one, the tribulation, number two, the millennium, number three, the final judgment, number four, and the eternal state, or sometimes called. New heavens, new earth, number five. If you can have a coherent response to those five areas, you don't necessarily know everything you need to know, but you have a handle around things. Let's think about all five of these, and then we'll kind of work one by one. Christ returned. All Orthodox Christians believe Christ will come back to the earth, bodily, visibly. Gloriously, all Christians, Protestants, yes, even Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, all Christians affirm that in their doctrinal statements or their creed. The tribulation, the second big topic, there is some debate on this topic, and I'll mention that, but my opinion of the tribulation is that the tribulation is a seven year period of great distress at the end of human history and Where God pours out his judgment on the earth. Say, where can I find that in the Bible? Revelation ch chapter six through nineteen. That's a lot of chapters. Talk about the tribulation. The millennium. ⁓ there's debate about the millennium, but I believe the millennium is a 1,000-year period where Christ rules and reigns on the earth. And where would you find that in the book of Revelation? Revelation 21 through 6. Only six verses. In the book of Revelation on the millennium, which means be humble about what you believe. The fourth big idea: ⁓ final judgments. There will be a day of judgment. There'll be a day of judgment for believers and a day of judgment for unbelievers, for both. Where do we see key judgment passages? I'd say the main judgment passage, Revelation 20, 11 through 15, and the Bible ends in hope. Not in doom. It doesn't end in despair. It doesn't end with a whimper. Revelation twenty one and twenty-two is a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. Those five concepts Christ's return, tribulation, millennium, final judgment, and eternal state. Do have this new earth? Those are important if you're going to answer this question coherently. The second big point today is this all Orthodox Christians affirm the return of Jesus. Christians differ. Here's where they differ on when Christ comes, either before a rapture before the tribulation and a return to the earth at the end of the tribulation or after the tribulation, one coming to earth. Let me make this plain. All Christians, all Christians believe that Christ will come visibly bodily back to the earth. Everybody. Let me give you a key text on that. The key text, I think, in the New Testament. That is rock solid on this idea, Acts 111. Some people say, isn't Christ just gonna come back spiritually in our hearts? Well, you may believe that. ⁓ but the Bible teaches Christ will come back visibly, gloriously, bodily to the earth. Listen to this. Jesus at the end of his earthly life ascends into heaven. Jesus, the historical Jesus, goes to a place called the Mount of Olives. He stands on the Mount of Olives, and from the Mount of Olives he ascends into heaven. And these words are written in Acts 1, beginning in verse 9. It says, And after he said this, by the way, what did he say in Acts 1 8? You'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea. Holy Spirit's going to come upon you. You know, share the gospel. But then after he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud received Jesus. Out of their sight. And while he was going, they were gazing. That's the image. And suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? Now here's the key text. This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven. That's about as plain as you can get. As he went, he will return. All Orthodox Christians believe Christ will come bodily, visibly, gloriously back to the earth. You say, Well, Rusty, I've also heard there's a coming of Christ before Christ comes to the earth. This is called by many ⁓ teachers of the Bible the rapture. The word rapture is not in the Bible, but the concept seems to be there in several places. You say, How would you get that? That Christ comes to receive believers and then at another time comes to the earth. Well the simple way you do that is you just read all the text in the Bible about Christ's return. Because when you read them, what you hear is in some text it sounds, for example, John fourteen three. Jesus says, I've gone away to prepare a place for you. I will come again to receive you to myself. Seems like He's coming for believers. But in other texts, it seems he is returning not for believers, but with believers. Do you see that becomes the tension? How did he come for them and with them? And then in other texts it says, like I preach this at every funeral, and so we will meet the Lord in the air, and so we will ever be with the Lord. Other texts it sounds like he's coming to the earth, not the air. Some texts seem to say before Christ returns, there's going to be a lot of stuff that happens. Destruction's got to happen. And then Christ returns. And in other texts, it sounds like he could come at any moment. So, because of that tension, not everybody agrees, by the way, here, because of that tension, everybody agrees Christ comes to the earth visibly gloriously. Some, not all, think there must be this taking away. before this. And that's the area of the disagreement. I think you can get the point. Okay. The third big point today, let's talk about the most controversial areas. The two concepts with the most debate are the tribulation and the millennium. And decisions about these topics affect one's biblical outlook on the future. Now remember five concepts Christ returns, Let's talk about these next two concepts. My responsibility, I have no problem inserting my opinion, as you probably know. But I also have no problem telling you the rest of the story to let you know where other people stand, because I could be wrong. Unlikely. But I could be. I'm joking. I could be very wrong. Who knows? You can't talk about biblical prophecy without a chart, right? So let's talk about two charts. Now put two charts up because the bottom chart is the one that most of you have seen. The top chart, you probably haven't seen it. Okay? And so ⁓ here's the rest of the story. The tribulation and the millennium, listen carefully, are interpreted by some, namely me, as something literal in the future. Do you see? But by others The tribulation and the millennium are interpreted as something spiritually in the present. And there's the difference. Okay? Some see as tribulation millennium as spiritual for the future, me. Others say it is spiritual in the ⁓ no, we've got to do better than that. Okay. So some see the tribulation and the millennium as spiritual in the present. Yes, exactly. I don't think you're still not with me, but ⁓ I don't have time. Remember so one answer, one sermon. ⁓ it's pretty simple. The other thing I want to tell you is this. So just a little bit of humility for all of us. The top, this is so that position is called a millennialism. I'm not really big on names today. Basically, those who hold, and I'm gonna make I'll make another point here in a moment. Let me tell you why you ought to listen to me. The most held position of 2,000 years of church history is the top one, not the bottom one. So that in of itself ought to give us some pause. Okay? And if you gathered a hundred Baptists in a room today, 50% of them would be the top and 50% of them will be the bottom. So this is not like something one little group of Presbyterians is holding to, okay? This is the whole gamut. You ought to note that. This is what our millennialists point out, and on on a point I don't disagree with them. Number one, they say, why do you focus on Christ, why do you focus on Christian suffering in the future? They say Christians have suffered the entirety of church history. Okay? And so say they say that's the point that Christians have suffered, and maybe there's a little bit of intensification at the end, but nevertheless, they want to focus on the suffering of Christians in the present. And they would like to say that Christ reigns presently. Well, I don't really have an issue with either one of those points. Okay? Christians clearly have suffered through church history, and Christ clearly reigns. He's seated at the right hand of God the Father. My issue is not what they say as much as what they don't say. Because I think all of that's true, but I still believe that there is a future time of great tribulation at the end. That will be greater than any suffering we've seen. And while Christ presently reigns, one day, Revelation twenty, he'll reign on the earth. I think that's altogether different. And ⁓ seems to me that the argument is in favor of that, not the top one. But you oughta note that the majority of church history believe the top one, not the bottom one. So I don't call myself Doctor Small, but Doctor Small needs to be humble, yet with conviction. Because there's a lot of smart people before me who believe both. The the main point is Christ will return. Christians have suffered and will suffer. ⁓ Christ currently reigns and I think will reign in the millennium, but none of that is the most important bit. The most important bit, in my opinion, all that's important, is that the end of the story is a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells. Let's talk about the fourth big idea, the Antichrist. This is not part of the five, but you always want to know about the Antichrist. Why is going? What's with the Antichrist? But we'll talk about him. The Antichrist rises during the tribulation and possesses the following. Here's the constellation of ideas: a real future individual. The Antichrist is not Satan. He's a human and a male. ⁓ empowered by Satan and performs false miracles. He's blasphemous, exalts himself as God, and demands worship, rules the whole world politically, controls the global economy with the mark, and persecutes believers and is ultimately destroyed by Christ. Let's note a few of these. The Antichrist, a real future individual. He's called the man of lawlessness, he's called the beast, he's called several things in the Bible, but it is clear that he is a human being, ⁓ not a non-human being. He is empowered by Satan, but a real person. John says in 1 John that the spirit of Antichrist is here. There are plenty of people who oppose God, but there's all there's this ultimate figure at the end of human history that will not be an Antichrist, but will be the Antichrist. He's empowered by Satan. Satan will energize and work through him in an extra extra extraordinary way. 2 Thessalonians 2:9. He will perform false miracles. The counterfeit signs and wonders will deceive many people. Jesus says the deception will be so strong in those days that if they weren't cut short, even believers would be deceived. That's the level of deception. He is blasphemous and exalts himself as God, proclaims himself as God, Second Thessalonians two four, and s requires people to worship him. Revelation thirteen verse eight. He's a global political leader. He will achieve total political control over the entire world and will control the economy with ⁓ Mark of the Beast. Mark of the Beast is 666. I will just this is a fun fact. Okay? You don't want to know Rusty's fun facts. Okay, here's another. Just keep this one in your back pocket. I like to hedge my bets, you know, with the end times. 666 is the dominant interpretation. But there is a secondary variant that the mark of the beast might be six sixteen. So either one of those numbers is out for me, baby. That's what I got to say. They come at me with six six six or six sixteen, not touching it. ⁓ you know, I'm not putting any of that on my debit card. ⁓ it's just not gonna happen. I'll just go meet Jesus in a hurry. So that's a fun fact. ⁓ there's a few Greek manuscripts that say six sixteen and I'm thinking, I think they're wrong. I think they made a mistake, but we'll just cover all our basis about that. ⁓ the Antichrist persecutes believers, ultimately destroyed by Christ. When you read the book of Revelation, there's actually more than the Antichrist. The Antichrist teams up with ⁓ false prophets. So they're kind of two leaders, a political leader and a religious leader. They they kind of work together. I don't want to say like a president and a vice president, but kinda. and both of these are empowered by Satan. And most most people notice in the book of Revelation when it talks about ⁓ the beast and the false prophet empowered by Satan, it's like this counterfeit trinity that comes against ⁓ the world, comes against God's people. All right? ⁓ so that's those are the outlines of the Antichrist. Let's talk about the fifth big Point is that unbelievers, now we're Christ's return, tribulation, millennium. We took a little excursive for Antichrist, because you're going to ask me about that. So now we're back to our fourth big idea, which is final judgment. Unbelievers will be judged according to their works and cast into hell. Believers will be saved by grace and rewarded for their faithful works. A key text is Revelation ⁓ chapter twenty, I read just a little bit of it for you. Revelation twenty, it says, Verse eleven, then I saw a great white throne, and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books, and the sea gave up their dead, and death and Hades. gave up their dead by that were written in them, and each one was judged according to their works. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire, and any one's name who was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. So here's the simple point. Unbelievers are judged, what does the Bible say? According to their works. It says it multiple times in that text. It's not like it's ambiguous. I've preached another sermon series on this. It's called Not the Way It's Supposed to Be, talking about the doctrine of sin. Nevertheless, ⁓ at final judgment, clearly this is the case. First of all, unbelievers, Billy Graham said Christ doesn't send anybody to hell, you send yourself to hell, type of thing. And I think that's generally right. ⁓ that we are judged according to our works. It's our own works that condemn us. our opportunities to choose Christ, our opportunities, and and it's it's us. And that's shown to us. Additionally, it's not just it's not just that. It's Jesus who says that there are degrees of judgment on Judgment Day. He says, for example, he says there'd be more tolerable in the day of judgment for Sodom and Gomorrah than for ⁓ Beth Seda and Khorazim, places where he ministered. There are degrees of culpability. You say, what does that look like with final judgment? I don't know. But I know it's there, indeed, that there are degrees of culpability before God, degrees of guiltworthiness, degrees of judgment on judgment day. Conversely, believers are saved by grace. For by grace you've been saved through faith. It's not of yourself, it's gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But, and that's true, full stop, but believers. Works are evaluated indeed, because it says, listen, the key text on this is first Corinthians chapter three, verse fifteen, clearly talking about a Christian, I like to say it like this unbelievers' works are the basis of their condemnation. Believers' works are the basis of their commendation, like their faithfulness. First Corinthians three fifteen says, Listen, if anyone's works is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved. Did you hear that? Says, and yet it yet it will be like an escape through the fire. I I've preached on this before, like faithful rewards for faithful Christians. And then this is the typical response I get. If I'm in, I'm in. Okay, I understand that. I mean getting in is important. But the Bible says, you say, well what the example of a person who's a Christian But has done nothing to show for it. The thief on the cross. I mean, he lives a whole life, and on his deathbed, he goes, God, will you accept me? And Jesus says, Yes. Okay, God accepts you at the last minute. And that's good news. Okay, because it's grace, not works. But the goal is that you want to live a faithful life to be rewarded for faithfulness. It's clearly in the Bible. And that believers' works will be the basis of their commendation. Number six, so we got through them now. Christ's return, tribulation, millennium, final judgment. Here's our last big idea. The ultimate hope for the Christian is a new heaven and a new earth, which is understood as a renewed world where we live in a resurrected body. Two texts you ought to pour over: Revelation 21 and 22 and Romans chapter 8. If there's any fogginess in your mind about eternity, read Romans 8. I mean, Romans 8 is. Abundantly clear. This is the way it goes. The world will be renewed and we will be resurrected. I give you a bit of it. Romans 8 says, the Apostle Paul says, For the creation itself will be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God's children. He's talking about the restoration of the physical world. And then he says, and not only that, we are also. groaning and longing for the redemption of our bodies. Christianity is unique among the world religions. It is not an ethereal fantasy afterlife. Christianity is unique because it says renewed world, resurrected bodies. I hear Christians say, there's no way I can understand what eternity will be like, and I understand that to a point. Because then they say, Well you know, Rusty, I just can't underst I just can't even imagine a world that God would create. You know, I just can't imagine a body that God would make. I'm like, Who you think made version one? You know? I mean, my goodness. And by the way, it's not like the fingerprints of divinity are off the creation, for the heavens still declare the glory of God. I mean I was at the outer banks and when the sun was shining, I even went with my wife, she loves to chase the sun the sun. I mean as the sun went down over the outer banks. It's real nice. It's real nice. And that is not something we did. That's something God did. So if you want to imagine what eternity will be like, think about the places on the physical planet right now where the where divinity cracks through even under the mire of sin. Imagine when sin is gone. ⁓ that's real nice. And then imagine having a resurrected body like Jesus, who was still very much Jesus. But sin is gone, frailty's gone, being conflicted is gone, a full and pure heart to love and know God. Won't that be nice? And I actually say it's the other way around. When people say, ⁓ I can't imagine what eternity would be like. I actually say I think you can precisely imagine it. It's exactly the world you want. It's why you wake up in the morning, turn the TV on, and go, Well, that's not the world I want. It's why you look in the mirror and go, that's not the body that I want. You know, you stare into your soul and it's like, well, those aren't the feelings that I want, because you know what you want, but you can't yet get it. But when God makes it all new, you'll be able to live out your full humanity. On a redeemed world. You know, I I don't whatever you think about the end, you shouldn't forget this is the main points. You can get focused on when does Christ return? And what's the nature of the tribulation? And what about the millennium? And what are the intricacies of final judgment? All of those are well and good, important questions. But Christians, the Bible ends in hope. I'll never forget when I preached through the book of Revelation, like two summers ago, ten sermons through the book. I I skipped the earlier chapters because they're the easy ones. I went right to the hard ones. And I I s I d do as I do for every message series, I send my raw material so Scott can make it look beautiful. And I send him like the series title. And I entitled Future Hope, a study through the book of Revelation. And he emailed me back. Hope? I thought this was about doom and destruction. And I think that's like the sentiment of a lot of people. Like, when we think about the end, it's like rather than singing hallelujah, you want to scream and panic. And and and the biblical prophecy is not to scare you. It's to prepare you. It's to focus you in. It's to say, I don't care how old you are, there is more living in front of you. I has not seen nor ear heard what God has in store for those who love him. And and I can say that ⁓ when we get a vision of the future, that we then pray, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth. May it be so, God. And until you come, we work in the present for that type of work. By the way, why do you think the church has produced listen carefully art and music and architecture? Why have they done that? Because they gaze into this world that will be, and they try to bring a little bit down ahead of time. That's why. That's why when you walk into sanctuaries, which I've done all over Europe, and you're just like, what would they what inspired all of this? The world that God was going to make. And they're saying, may it be so even now, and even so come, Lord Jesus, this is the world we want. So none of this is. scary and terrifying and bad because at the end of it all, yes, evil is real, death is real, Satan is real, but Jesus wins. That's the that is the point. And so I just want to wrap it up here. Believers, ver this seventh point, believers should respond to the signs of the time By saying spiritually alert. You say, Rusty, what are the signs of the time? Well, look, things are gonna get worse and worse before they get better and better. That's that's the simple point. Things will get worse before they get better. I think that's where that phrase came from. Have you heard this? Things are gonna get worse before they get better? I think that's actually an idiomatic phrase out of the Bible. I mean you say, What's gonna happen? Yep. Wars and rumors of wars and famines and earthquake and natural disasters, yep. The Antichrist will rise, yep, that's gonna happen. Scoffers are gonna say Christ isn't coming back, moral decay, people will fall away from the church. Jesus says, ⁓ this is gonna happen. This is coming. But the good news is the Antichrist will rise, many will be deceived. But that's not the end of the message. It's almost like people go just far enough in biblical prophecy to get terrified and stop. But Jesus comes with the word of his mouth. He makes an end of sin, he makes an end of Satan, and he ushers in a new heaven and a new earth. You say, What am I supposed to do in the present? We ought to stay spiritually alert, living holy and faithful lives, urgently proclaiming the gospel while eagerly watching for Christ's return without attempting. Listen carefully. Jesus says, No man knows the day or the hour. Don't guess the date. Just be ready. Today. All I can say is church. Eternity is real. And there will be. You say w in in this day of so much anxiety, you know what you've asked me about. What is gonna happen with all this AI? What's gonna happen with all these wars? Things are gonna get worse, and then they're gonna get better. That's what's gonna happen. And and the the Christian human history will not end in a whimper. The God who created the world, who has already come back to his world in the person of Jesus, who has already hung on a cross and risen out of the grave, will come again and make all things new. The end of the Bible is not doom, death, and destruction. It is a voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among me men. We will be his people and God himself will be our God. Behold, I am making all things new. And so, Christian, we got a lot to look forward to. And I hope your heart is if what with my heart, or we say, even so come Lord Jesus. You say, Rusty, what am I supposed to do with all of this? Well, if Christ were to come today, are you ready? That's what you should do with it. If you're here today and there's never been a time or a place where you say, God, I admit I'm a sinner, and God, by faith, I trust in Jesus, I'll be here, Pastor Ishmael will be here. We'll take a Bible and show you how you can be a Christian. Don't leave here today without readiness for Christ's return. You say, Well, I'm a Christian. I I've done that. What should I do? Well, Paul says in Romans 13 that there ought to be, as we see the day approaching, As as as we see things getting worse and worse, we should not go build a bunker. Okay? We ought to get out in the streets, we ought to proclaim the gospel, we ought to say Jesus is Lord of all, and we ought to tell the world about the real hope in Jesus, seeing that as the as as the sun rises and the day dawns, we ought to be faithful right to the end. And so the end of time should not cause us to shrink back, but to press forward with a new enthusiasm, knowing that the judge of all the earth stands at the door. And so I hope if you're a Christian today, no matter this is the May thirty first, may it may it move us to action to serve God with greater urgency. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that your word is a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path. That Jesus Himself has given us a word from heaven about earth. God, places where we don't know about the valley of the shadow of death, what will tomorrow hold, your word has disclosed. And so, God, in your truth, may we stand firm. May we have an eye to the sky awaiting your return. God, may we Live faithfully and wholly in light of your soon coming. And God may we live in hope. That no matter what is broken around us, God, one day it'll be all new. That death will be no more, crying will be no more, grief will be no more, and we'll live with you in a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. And God, my heart cry on this Sunday. As even so come, Lord Jesus. In Jesus' name. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 2:9 Romans 8 · chapter mention