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The end times
What Scripture says is still ahead.
“Man has had many days: "the day of the Lord" shall come at last, beginning with judgment, a never-ending day in which God shall be "all in all"”
“The day of the Lord comes suddenly, it says, and in an unexpected way like the pains of childbirth, which forestall all one's efforts to hide them.”
“The souls of the martyrs beneath the altar cry in jealousy unto the Lord "How long, Lord, dost Thou not avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth? "”
“Let the prospect of the judgment to come inspire us with an awful pleasure, Let earth and sea, fields and woods, though in the great day of the Lord they will all be consumed, yet rejoice that he will come, doth come, to judge the earth”
The Bible does not treat the future as a mystery beyond reach. From its earliest pages, Scripture points forward to a day when God will set every wrong right and bring history to its appointed end. This is what Christians call the end times — not a vague fear of the unknown, but a hope grounded in the character and promises of God.
The prophets first raised the theme. Daniel saw four great beasts rise from a churning sea, images of the kingdoms of this world, and then watched one like a son of man receive an everlasting kingdom from the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13). Centuries later Zechariah pictured the Lord's own feet standing on the Mount of Olives, splitting the mountain in two on the day he comes to fight for his people (Zechariah 14:4). The Old Testament ends not with a period but with an open door toward a coming day.
Jesus took up this same hope and made it personal. Sitting on the Mount of Olives himself, he told his disciples that no one knows the day or the hour of his return, not even the angels in heaven, only the Father (Matthew 24:36). He did not give a calendar. He gave a command: watch, and be ready. When he does appear, he said, it will not be quiet or hidden. Every eye will see him, coming in the clouds with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30).
The apostles carried this expectation into the early church's daily life. Standing on a hillside as Jesus ascended, two angels told the watching disciples that this same Jesus would come back in the same way they had seen him go (Acts 1:11). Paul told the Thessalonians, grieving over believers who had died, that the Lord himself would descend from heaven with a shout, and the dead in Christ would rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Death would not have the last word.
Paul also warned that a falling away and a figure of rebellion would appear before that day arrives, so that no one should be shaken or deceived into thinking the day had already come without warning (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Peter added his own picture, blunt and startling: the day of the Lord will come like a thief, when least expected (2 Peter 3:10). The point was never to frighten believers into guessing dates. It was to keep them alert, sober, and faithful in the meantime.
John's Revelation gathers every thread into one final vision. He sees the heavens open and pictures a great white throne, where the dead are judged by what is written in the books (Revelation 20:11). He sees a new heaven and a new earth, the old order of things passed away, and hears a voice declare that God himself will dwell with his people (Revelation 21:1). The book closes with a promise and a prayer answered in the same breath: Jesus says he is coming quickly, and the church answers, come (Revelation 22:20).
None of this is meant to end in speculation about charts and timelines. The end times exist in Scripture to point to a person. Every prophecy, every warning, every vision of a throne or a new city finds its center in Christ, who died, rose, and is coming again to finish what he began. The last word of history belongs to him, and that is why his people can watch for that day without fear — not because they know when it comes, but because they know who is coming.
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The 3 verses the essay above leans on hardest
In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.12 passages
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In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.Daniel sees one like a son of man given an everlasting kingdom by the Ancient of Days
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.the dead awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and contempt
On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.the Lord's own feet stand on the Mount of Olives on the day he comes to fight
At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.every eye will see the sign of the Son of man coming in the clouds with glory
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.the day and hour are known to the Father alone, not even the angels
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”angels promise the same Jesus will come back the same way he was seen to go
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.the Lord himself descends with a shout; the dead in Christ rise first
Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.Paul warns a falling away and a man of sin come before that day
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.Peter's blunt image: the day of the Lord comes like a thief
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.John opens with the promise that every eye, even his killers, will see him
Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.a great white throne, and the dead judged by what is written in the books
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.a new heaven and a new earth; the old order finally passed away
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