End Time Bible Study  -  Section 5

Bible Study 5

What is 

“THIS AGE” and what is the “AGE to COME” ?

Matthew 24:3  

“The disciples asked Jesus: 

“What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"   

I once thought ‘this age’ meant the ‘church age’ but the Church was not officially ‘born’ until after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were the seed of the coming church but had no history to ask about a “Church Age.”  Their question was based on an Old Testament understanding, most likely referring to all of history since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden: The Age of Sin and Satan’s usurped authority on earth.

1 Corinthian 2:6-8

We speak a message of wisdom among the mature, 

but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 

No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery (salvation through Jesus) that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

10 Point Overview of this Age and the Age to Come

1.  God created all things and is the owner.  He has told us his plans and will accomplish them; His use of 7’s in the Bible gives us the “Big Picture”.

2.  Adam and Eve gave their God-given authority over the earth to Satan when they obeyed him, rather than God. God promised that a child of the woman would crush Satan’s head. Satan has tried to destroy mankind ever since; This is called world history.

3.  Jesus, God the Son, took back the stolen authority from Satan by perfectly obeying the Father and willingly giving his life in place of ours; His death paid our death sentence, for the wages of sin is death. Death could not hold him and he rose from the grave. In his resurrection he offers us eternal life. He delivers us from Satan’s abusive authority by rescuing us from the kingdom of darkness and bringing us into God’s kingdom of light. 

4.  Those who take the free gift of eternal life purchased by Jesus are declared right with God and are given the Holy Spirit as a Counselor to teach and comfort and empower. Near and far we are to show people God’s love and call them into the kingdom of light through a relationship with Jesus.

5.  When a Christ-Follower (true Christian/Believer) dies, their soul goes to Jesus in heaven. When an unsaved person dies in their sin, their soul is eternally separated from God in outer darkness and distress. They did not turn from their own way to receive the gift of eternal life in Jesus and cannot enter heaven.

6.  Seven final years have been prophesied to finish this Age. Christ’s second coming will happen within that final 7 years. Before Christ’s second coming and the end of the age, a number of events must take place. Jesus called these events birth pains that grow into great tribulation/distress. The Great Tribulation will begin when the Anitchrist declares himself to be God and turns on Jews and Christians to put them to death. Most of the world will follow him and receive his mark of allegiance.  A number of Jews will be hidden by God in the wilderness for 3 ½ years and many Christ-Followers will give their lives as martyrs rather than bow to the Antichrist.

7.  After the distress of those days, Jesus comes in the clouds, with trumpet blast and shout, to gather those who love him. The dead Believers rise first and then those living, all clothed in new, immortal bodies, to be forever with the Lord. This is the beginning of “The End”.

8.  Christ’s coming ushers in the Day of the Lord’s judgment when God’s wrath is poured out on all that is evil. These are called the Trumpet and Bowl judgments.

9.  After the Battle of Armageddon, where the rebelling nations are destroyed and Satan bound, the raptured saints and redeemed Jews and a small remnant of the nations will enjoy 1000 years on a renewed “Eden” earth, with Christ over all. Is this the Age to Come or will it start with the new heaven and earth? We shall see.

10.  At the end of the 1000 years The White Throne Judgment takes place, where all unbelievers, dead and alive, and living believers on earth, come before God.  Anyone whose name is not in the Book of Life is thrown into the lake of fire with Satan. God will not make anyone live eternally with him if they did not love him in their lifetime.  The New Heaven and Earth are created and we have eternity to explore and enjoy it all, with no more sorrow or death.  We will forever be with our loving God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit and with all those who are his.

 For details on these points

see studies/sections 2-7 of this End Times Study.

Terms, Events and Timing of ‘The End of the Age’

“The disciples asked Jesus: “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"  

“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars...but the end is still to come....There will be famines and earthquakes. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then (Great Tribulation) you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (gospel to all: Rev 14:6) “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ (Antichrist)… there will be great distress (Great Tribulation), unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again…but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened… as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. “Immediately after the distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.  “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  ”  MATT 24:3-9, 12-15, 21-22 ,27, 29-31; 28:20 

DAN 12:13   Daniel "...go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance."   

End of the Age Summary 

Words describing “the end” and Jesus’ coming:

• The last time, when Jesus and our full salvation are revealed, and we are fully saved in spirit, soul, and body.

• The last day, when Jesus comes and raises up all who have received him as Savior and Lord and clothe them with supernatural bodies like his.

• That day, when all who have longed for his appearing will be rewarded.

• The Day of the Lord, when true Believers are raptured at Christ’s coming and God’s wrath immediately falls on all who rejected His love and life.

Events of “the end”:

• Jesus is seen in the sky by all the world as he calls up deceased and living believers and gives them perfect eternal bodies; This is called ‘the rapture’.

• Jesus judges from heaven all evil on earth by pouring out his wrath in the Trumpet and Bowl judgments; This is called the Day of the Lord

Timing of “the end”: BEFORE Jesus returns, certain events must take place

• Birth Pains consisting of Antichrists, wars, famine and death

• The temple must be rebuilt in Jerusalem

• The gospel will be preached to every nation

• Great Tribulation begins as the Antichrist rises up and demands to be worshiped as God. The mark of the beast will be required to buy or sell. All who receive this will be eternally cut off from God.

• Endurance! We are called to not give in but to overcome through the blood of the Lamb (our salvation), the word of our testimony (faith displayed by our words and actions) and the laying down of our lives as martyrs.

• The Great Tribulation will separate the wheat and the tares. Those who truly belong to Jesus will be strengthened and the pretenders will fall away.  Those who love Jesus and know his truth will invite the lost to repent and be made alive in Christ.

Then “the end” will come: 

• The sun is darkened, the moon turns blood red, the stars fall from the sky and Jesus descends with a loud shout and trumpet blast to gather up those who love him and know him as Savior and Lord. This is the beginning of “The End”.

• After Jesus has Satan bound and locked into the Abyss, he will hand the kingdom over to his Father. The Father appoints Jesus to rule over the renewed earth.  “This Age”  may last through that 1000 year millennial reign. We shall see.

Now let’s study the six thousand years leading up to the end…

THIS AGE

1. In this age Satan rules with stolen authority: The end of the age will bring to a close this “present age” (almost 6000 years) of Satan’s control over those who do not follow God. You see, God gave Adam and Eve authority to rule the earth, but when they believed the Devil’s lies and obeyed him rather than God, they handed over that authority/birthright to Satan. (Heb 2: 6-8;14-15)   God promised Satan that a descendent of Eve (Jesus) would crush his head.  GEN 1:26-27; 3:13-15 (BSB) “Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule… over all the earth.” So God created man in His own image…male and female He created them." Sometime later, Adam and Eve believed Satan rather than God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity (war) between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” LUKE 4:5-7  The devil said to Jesus “I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,” he said. “For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.”     ROM 8:22,21 “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time…the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”  

All of us in this age feel the weight of that devastating choice, being born as slaves to sin in a world where evil reigns.  EPH 2:1,2 “...you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world/age and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”     2 COR 4:4  “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers…”  1 JOHN 2:16 “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”    JOHN 8:38,44  “I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father. ”You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”   JOHN 8:34-36  Jesus replied, “...everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”   ROM 3:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ROM 6:16  “Don’t you know that … you are slaves of the one you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, leading to righteousness?”  ROM 6:22,  “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life”.  1 JOHN 5:19 “We know that we belong to God even though the whole world is under the rule of the evil one.”   (Rev 13:4-10; Rom 8:18-23).

2. Do you feel the weight of sin and evil in this world? Do you long to be set free? Have you ever received the gift of salvation Jesus paid for with his life? He died in your place and rose again to pay your debt, but you must claim it by telling him you are sick of sin and want to belong to him.  He then transfers you out of the kingdom of darkness by giving you everlasting life. He will fill you with his Holy Spirit so you can walk with Him in love and obedience. Don’t wait. Cry out to Jesus. He knows you are weighed down and longs to set you free!   MATT 11:28 Jesus says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”   ACTS 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…”  JOHN 8:31,32 Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  1 PETER 5:7-9 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…”

When we believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord we experience 

salvation in three parts: 

• Our spirit is saved and we are seated in heaven with Jesus (Eph 2:4-6; John 10:28, 29; Col 3:3-4). 

• Our soul = mind, emotion and will, is being saved (1 Pet 1:8,9; 2:11-12; Rom 12:2; Phil 1:6,9-11; Eph 1: 21-31; 2 Cor 3:17,18). 

• Our body will be saved when it’s made holy and immortal at His 2nd coming (the rapture) completing our salvation!  (Phil 3:20,21; 1 John 3:1-3;1 Cor 15:50- 52; 2 Cor 5:4,5; Rom 8:22,23; Gal 2:20,5:16)

3. Jesus broke Satan’s hold by laying down His life and taking back the authority Adam and Eve gave to Satan through unbelief: Jesus obeyed His Father, rather than Satan, the prince of this world.  He laid down His life as a ransom for many and delivers us out of darkness and into His kingdom of light. MARK 10:45  “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”   GAL 1:4  Jesus Christ “gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,”  MATT 4:10  “Away from Me, Satan!" Jesus declared. "For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." (see John chapters 10,14,16).  The first Adam lost his authority, the second Adam, the sinless Christ, restored it. ROM 5:17 “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”  (Rom 5:12-17; 1 Cor 15:45-49, Acts 26:18)  JOHN 14:30,31 “... the prince of this world (Satan: the adversary/ accuser)... has no claim on me, but he comes (to crucify Christ) so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”   1 COR 2:7-8  “...we declare God’s wisdom…None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”   ACTS 2:23,24 “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”  JOHN 10:10, 14-15,18  “The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me… and I lay down my life for the sheep…I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”  EPH 1:20,21 “He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion… not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”   ROM 8:14,15 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”  NLT

4.  Every day, every hour we must choose whom we will obey.  TITUS 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”  JAMES 4:3-7 “...you pray with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures… anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Do you think Scripture says without reason that  he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”  Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  ROM 12:1,2 says “...do not be conformed to this world/age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”   1 JOHN 2:16,17  “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”  EPH 2:3-9  “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Who rules your life? 

It is either God or Satan. What in your life and thinking does not line up with God’s goodness? If you have turned from your sin and taken Jesus as your Savior then read Colossians 3 and ask God to transform you as you walk with him. Practice these commands by praying throughout the day and quickly turning back to God when you fail to obey. Try this: Write down all the actions/commands given in Colossians 3 and focus on one daily as you yield to the Holy Spirit and do strength- training for your faith!  Also, read  Galatians 5:13-26 to understand what it means to walk in the Spirit.

5. Jesus returns authority to Christians (Christ followers) but Satan fights to keep us intimidated and useless. In Christ’s authority we have power to tear down Satan’s strongholds in our self and others!   2 TIM 1:7  “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.”  To belong to Christ is to be at war with Satan in this present age and the world system. But greater is He that is in you than the devil that is in the world. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (1 John 4:4; Phil 4:13)    I JOHN 2:14 “...you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”  According to 2 Cor 10:3-5 we have authority to pull down strongholds of pride and ignorance in ourselves and others and to take every thought captive to obey Jesus.  We take captive every thought that is contrary to Christ and command our thoughts to be obedient to Jesus. We command humility and truth to flood in and renew our minds. 

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I encourage you to practice this:

 If a thought that is contrary to what God says in His word comes through your mind, 

reject it and replace it with Christ’s thoughts. Proclaim the truth aloud. 

(Hint: You can only do this if you know God's Truth so keep studying!!)

Ask God daily to search you and see if there is any hurtful way in you. 

Confess any sin and make things right with those you’ve hurt. Claim the truth - be set free!

(Psalm 139:23,24; Phil 4:6,7)

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Ask God to help you memorize His Word, the Bible. Write out a verse and post it on a  mirror or on your car’s dashboard or listen to a Bible memory app on your phone. PSALMS 119:11 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and remind you of God’s truth.  JOHN 14:26,27  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.”  This is a command: “Do not let…”  Satan’s lies are struck down with God’s truth!   PHIL 4:9  “...put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”   EPH 6:12-13 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood …but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms Therefore put on the full armor of God (salvation, truth, Christ’s righteousness,  gospel of peace, shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit- God’s word), so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”  REV 12:11 “They triumphed over (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb (our salvation) and by the word of their testimony (speaking out the truth); they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death (our perseverance).”  ( Luke 4:1-19; Heb 2:14; 2 Cor 10:3-5; Rev 2:26)  * See memory verse pages at the end of this section. Print out pages, front and back, to help learn these truths.

6. We have Christ’s authority to bring others into His kingdom and free them from Satan’s cruelty. HEB 2:14,15 “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”    MATT 28:18,19  “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”  Acts 26:17,18  “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are set apart and made holy by faith in me”   COL 1:12-14; 2:9-10,13-15   “... and giving joyful thanks to the Father…For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been made complete. He is the head over every power and authority. God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness (the price of sin is death), which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross…he disarmed the powers and authorities…”  This is the Good News we get to share with those God puts in our lives.  We are one former beggar telling another beggar where to find bread!

THE AGE to COME

“The age to come” commences after Jesus returns to rapture believers, releases his wrath on Satan and then renews all things:  LUKE 18:29-30  “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “No one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”    EPH 1:20,21 “He raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”  2:6,7 “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  (Acts 3:20,21;  Matt 13:39; 19:28)  We are raptured at the end of this age and raised up with new, supernatural bodies to live forever with Jesus in the age to come!

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,

 “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

“I make known the end from the beginning, 

from ancient times, what is still to come. 

I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”

Revelation 1:8; Isaiah 46:10

Click here to see section 6 where we unpack our summary of the terms, events and timing of 

 The End found in Section 1

Section 5   End Times Study

(Scripture verses from NIV)

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