Last Things Teaching Outline

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of teaching on eschatology–the study of the end times or "last things"–in Sunday school at Kosmosdale Baptist Church. In my lesson, I did NOT focus on areas of controversy, but on doctrines that should be a source of glad agreement for all Christians. Below is the outline I used in teaching. 

From the Nicene Creed (A.D. 381): "He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end... we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."

The Baptist Faith and Message (A.D. 2000): "God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord."

I. The Bodily Return of Christ [SEE: James P. Boyce, Abstract of Systematic Theology (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2006), 452.]

A. “It will be a personal appearance[:]… the bodily appearance of Christ to men. Mark 8:38; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

B. His coming will be ‘apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation,’ as contrasted with that time in which ‘he hath been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,’ and was, ‘offered to bear the sins of many.’ Hebrews 9:25-28.

C. It will be an appearance with power and glory; (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 25:31; Titus 2:12-13).

D. It will be instantaneous and unexpected. (Matthew 24:27; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2; Revelation 16:15)."

II. Our Bodily Resurrection

A. Rapture and Reunion

1. Rapture

a. 1 Corinthians 15:50-52

b. 1 Thessalonians 4:17

2. Reunion

a. Job 19:26-27

b. 1 Corinthians 15:40-49

B. Goal of Resurrection: Acts 24:14-15; Philippians 3:20-21

1. Dishonor for the Unjust

2. Honor for the Just

The following chart is from Sam Waldron. 

III. Final Judgment of Angels and Humans by Christ

A. By whom will we be judged? SEE TOGETHER John 5:22-29.

B. The Coming Judgment of Rebellious Angels

1. NOTE Matthew 25:41; as, apparently, Satan and his angels had rebelled and fallen from Heaven prior to the fall of Adam and Eve, apparently Hell was originally prepared for them.

2. Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4 both mention the coming judgment of rebellious angels.

3. 1 Corinthians 6:3 mentions in passing that the saints will be involved in the judgment of angels.

C. Coming Judgment of All People (Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 12:36; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Psalm 103:8-14)

1. Thoughts

2. Words

3. Deeds

D. What do the righteous receive in the judgment?

1. Joy (as Jesus had declared Matthew 25:21, "Enter into the joy of your master.")

2. Glory (as in a glorified state, morally free from sin and physically free from corruption: see below)

3. Everlasting rewards (2 Timothy 4:8)

E. The Certainty and Uncertainty of Judgment

1. What are the benefits of knowing for certain that there is a coming day of judgment?

2. What are some reasons that God does not allow us to know the exact time the Lord will come?

IV. Glorification (Romans 8:29-30; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13; Jude 24-25)

A. Definition of Glorification: Our perfect, complete, or final sanctification

B. Result of Glorification: Glorification sets a believer apart from sin’s presence and possibility

Final word: Revelation 22:20-21.

The Door

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. (John 10:7-8 ESV)

The Messiah, who was the incarnate Son of God and the only way to God Father: He speaks to us. Surely, we should hang on His every word and automatically trust Him. Yet He condescends to stress the importance and veracity of His words to us, saying, "Truly, truly". Let us turn to Him, rejecting all competing voices: all the thieves and robbers, which contradict Him.