End-Time Insights

Salvation includes the resurrection of believers and the New Creation, both of which will occur when Jesus arrives from Heaven . Central to the doctrine of salvation is  redemption . God will not abandon what He first created. The term ‘redemption’ signifies the recovery of that which was lost. The universe has been enslaved and condemned to decay and death by sin. In God’s redemptive plan, however, the end state of the things and creatures rescued by Him will not simply be restored. They will be vastly superior to their original state, and this is epitomized by the promised bodily resurrection.

In explaining the resurrection, Paul lists key events that will precede or coincide with the arrival of Jesus at the close of the present age . Paul outlined the events that will occur at or shortly before the “ arrival ” of Jesus in  1 Corinthians . The Greek noun ‘ Parousia ’ or “ arrival ” is one of several terms Paul applies to the future coming of the Lord in his letters. Regardless of which term is used, the Apostle always refers to one “ coming ,” one “ appearance ,” one “ revelation ” and one “ appearance ” of the Son of God, not two or more.

Christ’s real Death and bodily Resurrection are foundational and indispensable to the Apostolic Faith . The Apostle Paul discussed the future resurrection of believers in  2 Timothy , in response to denials of this “ sound teaching ” by false teachers. Faith in the promised resurrection of the righteous is central to the hope of salvation taught by Jesus and proclaimed by his Apostles. This teaching is unquestionably reliable  because it is based on the past Death and Resurrection of Jesus .

In  Romans , Paul presents the “ Gospel ” in detail. It is the “ power of God for salvation .” God provides salvation through the “ faith of Jesus Christ ” for everyone who responds to the message with faith. Death passed from Adam to all men, whether “ within the law ” or “ apart from the law ” because “ all sinned and lack the glory of God .” However, now, “ apart from the law ,” the “ righteousness of God ” is being revealed for “ all men who believe, for there is no distinction .”

Paul responded to concerns about the dead in Christ by pointing to the resurrection that will occur when Jesus arrives from Heaven .  In his first Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reassured the congregation concerning the participation of saints who die before the ‘ Parousia ’ in the glories of that day. According to him,  BOTH  dead and living saints will assemble and “ meet ” the Lord as he descends from Heaven. Thereafter, they will be with Jesus “ forevermore .” He wrote these words in response to believers who were sorrowing over the deaths of fellow saints.

The biblical faith is forward-looking and foundational to its doctrine of salvation is the future resurrection of the righteous dead. That event will also mark the arrival of the New Creation. The New Testament links this to two events. First, the past Resurrection of Jesus. Second, his future arrival at the end of the age. Our salvation remains incomplete without our resurrection.

Foundational to our future hope is bodily Resurrection when Jesus arrives in glory at the End of the Age . Paul’s description of the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus in his first letter to the Thessalonians was written to comfort believers over the fate of their compatriots who die before Christ’s return. We need not sorrow “ like the others ” since   the righteous dead will be resurrected when the Lord “ arrives ” from Heaven.

The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean the termination of the Last Enemy, Death - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. Certain members of the Corinthian congregation denied the future resurrection of the righteous. Paul responded by stressing how necessary our resurrection is and pointing to Christ’s Death and Resurrection as the precedent for our bodily resurrection. We will be raised from the dead when he “ arrives .” His appearance will mean nothing less than the termination of Death itself. Death will cease to occur after that final day.

In the New Testament, the return of Jesus at the “ end of the age ” is portrayed as a singular event of great finality. His “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, the appearance of the New Creation, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the judgment and punishment of the ungodly, the “ gathering of his elect ,” and the cessation of Death itself. Decay and mortality will be replaced by immortality, and nothing will ever be the same again!

The fourth seal releases “Death,” and “Hades” follows gathering the dead in its wake  –  Revelation 6:7-8 .  The “victims” harmed by the first three seal openings have not been identified, although details from the tasks assigned to each “ rider ” provide clues. Nothing has been said about the enemies of the “ Lamb ,” or about judgments against the “ inhabitants of the earth .” Moreover, the actions of the “ four riders ” are never labeled “plagues,” “wrath,” or “judgments.”