The Last Words of Jesus

 

Most people who know they’re going away for a very long time, or that they’re going to die, don’t waste their time on trivial things. They call in friends and family, they try to settle quarrels with estranged friends and relatives, and they talk about the things they consider most important.

John chapters 13-17 record the Last Supper and Jesus’ ‘high priestly prayer’ for his disciples prior to his betrayal and execution. Although the cross was not the end for him, these events marked the beginning of his departure from his disciples. Their relationship would never be the same again, and they were going to have to get used to no longer having him around. Jesus was never one to waste words, but here he emphasizes and re-emphasizes certain things in such a way that we should view them as supremely important.

First, he exemplifies humility, selfless love, and service in washing his disciples’ feet - even the feet of his betrayer, Judas - and commands them to follow his example in their treatment of one another. He returns to this theme later, urging his disciples to “love one another,” and even tells them that that this type of selfless love will be the distinguishing characteristic of his disciples in the future. Not the doctrines they hold to, or even the content of their preaching, but their treatment of one another:

 

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:35

This stands in sharp contrast to what Jesus tells his disciples about the last days in Matthew 24:

 

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” - Matthew 24:9-12

Here, Jesus tells his disciples that, as the pressures against Christians mount in the days before his return, many of them will turn on one another and even betray one another to death. For this reason, he commands them to remain devoted to one another, and even says that their steadfast love for one another will confirm them as his true disciples in the eyes of all around them.

Christians need one another. If we act in selfless love, we have the ability to help, encourage, and strengthen one another. For some in the last days, the presence of other Christians will probably be the primary factor in sustaining their faith in the midst of tribulation.

As the author of Hebrews writes:

 

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:23-25

This is more than an admonition to “go to church.” It’s a directive to engage in genuine, edifying fellowship. It has to do with surrounding oneself with a network of believing support.

The second thing Jesus emphasized was the abiding presence of God and the promise of being with Jesus in the kingdom. The author of Hebrews tells us that it was “for the joy that was set before him” that Jesus endured the cross. In other words, he went through the horrors that he did because he knew that something better awaited him on the other side: the redemption of his bride, his return to the Father, and, ultimately, the promise of the kingdom. In a similar way, Jesus tells his disciples to remember that, even though he is leaving them, he will eventually return and take them to be with him.

Thus, no matter what awaits them, the disciples have something to look forward to, something worth believing for. Jesus also emphasizes his unity with the Father in all of this so that his disciples will understand that his word to them has the Father's own authority behind it—it’s the true and faithful promise of God.

 

“...and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.” - John 14:24

In the meantime, Jesus tells them that, even though he is physically leaving them, the presence of God will still remain with them in the Holy Spirit. They will not be left alone. In fact, the Spirit will teach them and testify to them about the things of Christ. This will be vital for the disciples, as Jesus has already warned them of deception in the last days (Matthew 24:4, 23-27). Indeed, Jesus refers to the Spirit as “the spirit of truth” (John 14:17).

The third thing Jesus emphasizes is the necessity of “abiding” in him by practicing his teachings. He compares the disciples to branches that must remain attached to the vine in order to have life and bring forth fruit. He promises that those who abide in him will “abide in my love” and “bring forth much fruit.” After this, he once again reminds them to love one another. The emphasis on unity here underscores the fact that believers are a community, a “body” through which Christ carries out his works in the world. There are certainly individual aspects to the Christian life, but the business of bringing forth “much fruit” will come from united communities of believers, growing together in their connection to the vine and supporting one another.

Fourth, Jesus emphasizes that the world will hate his disciples for the same reason they hated Christ: his word convicted them of their sin. He warns them of this persecution in advance in order to prepare them to face it:

 

“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them.” - John 16:1-4

The word translated “stumbling” here is the Greek word skandalizo, which means to trip over an impediment, the way you might trip over a rock and fall. Jesus warns his disciples here so that they can mentally prepare themselves to face what is coming, grounded in his truth, led by the Spirit, and standing in unity.

 

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer; for I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

Jesus then prays to the Father in John 17, underscoring these things he has taught his disciples, and entrusting them to the Father's care. He does not ask that the Father take them out of the world, but rather that he sustain them while in it:

 

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” - John 17:15

As we look forward to the coming of the Lord and reflect on what he said the last days would be like, we need to meditate on these ‘last words’ or ‘parting words’ in John 13-17. Our strength to overcome in the face of deception and persecution will depend on our standing in the unity of love, fixed on the promises of God in Christ, led by the Spirit of Truth, and continually deriving life from the vine that is Christ as we practice his teachings and bring forth their fruit.

 

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” - John 3:20-22

 

Understanding the End Times, Part One: The Kingdom of God

 

Remember the former things long past,

For I am God, and there is none other;

I am God, and there is no one like Me,

Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, “My purpose will be established,

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” – Isaiah 46:9-10

There is significantly more to the end times issue than the popular focus on matters of when and how end-time events will take place. The question of “Why?” is also extremely important. We have to understand why this period of history is coming, what it is designed to achieve. Nor can we restrict our study of scripture to what is specifically said concerning the end. No, if we want to fully understand the end, it’s essential that we go back to the beginning, for all of human history has been steadily leading up to this time.

God created human beings to be his imagers—that is, to reflect and represent him—and he gave us the task of caring for this planet. In other words, mankind was to act as God’s regent or viceroy on the earth, ruling over the world on his behalf. Ultimately, Adam and Eve—the father and mother of the Adamic race—chose to rebel, seeking the knowledge to live without the guidance of God. They chose their own will over God’s will, and this unfortunate choice soon became the defining characteristic of the human race: the gratification and exaltation of self. As a result of their rebellion, Adam and Eve were cast out of the place of privilege and blessing that God had prepared for them, doomed to labor for their sustenance and, eventually, to die. Yet, even in the midst of judgment, God showed them mercy and promised a redeemer.

In the centuries that followed, God worked through various individuals who were willing to be led by him. One of the most prominent of these was a man named Abraham, with whom God entered into a covenant, which is a solemn agreement based upon promises (marriage is a type of covenant). In his covenant with Abraham, God promised several things, including:

1. He would have descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven.
2. He and his descendants would possess a great land inheritance encompassing the territory between the Nile and Euphrates rivers.
3. He would become a blessing to all nations.

Abraham’s descendants multiplied greatly and eventually became the nation of Israel, which was named for Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, whose name God changed. In time, God established a covenant with Israelites in order to establish them as a holy people, meaning a people set apart to himself, so that he could bless them for Abraham’s sake and bring them into the land he had promised. This covenant became known as the Mosaic Covenant or the Law of Moses in that it was given to Israel through Moses after the Israelites were freed from a period of bondage in Egypt. In this covenant, God promised Israel many blessings, but he also sternly warned them that these blessings (including the privilege of living in the land they inhabited) were conditional on their loyalty to him. If they departed from him and served other gods like the nations around them, God promised to visit many different types of judgments upon them and to evict them from the land.

Israel started off well under Moses and his successor, Joshua. They established the civil and ceremonial law that God had commanded, and they took the land of Canaan from the various tribes living in it and became prosperous. In time, however, many of them left off serving God in favor of worshiping pagan gods and adopting the religious practices of the nations around them, such as child sacrifice. Time after time, God warned and judged his people for their idolatry, often by sending foreign conquerors to rule over them; and, time after time, the Israelites repented and turned back to God, who then delivered them through a host of judges and prophets.

This cycle continued until the people finally demanded a king to rule over them, just as the nations around them had kings. God warned them of how a king would tax and otherwise oppress them, but the people were insistent, so God set a man over them named Saul. Saul was effectively the nation of Israel in a microcosm. He started off well, just as Israel had in the day s of Moses and Joshua, but he became proud and stubborn and disobeyed God repeatedly. God then revoked the kingship from Saul and chose another man, a young man named David. David was by no means perfect, but he was a man after God’s own heart. He remained loyal to God throughout his life, and while he was king over Israel the people worshiped and served God as the Law of Moses prescribed. God entered into a covenant with David as well, promising that his family would retain the throne forever.

After David and his son Solomon passed off the scene, ten of Israel’s twelve tribes rebelled against David’s grandson Rehoboam and broke away, becoming known as Israel or “the Northern Kingdom.” The remaining two tribes became known as “Judah” or “the Southern Kingdom.” The Northern Kingdom became steeped in idolatry and paganism early on, and had no really good kings at all apart from a man named Jehu, and even he tolerated idolatry in the land to a degree. Eventually, the Northern Kingdom was destroyed and its people were taken into captivity by the Assyrian Empire. For its part, the Southern Kingdom remained loyal to the house of David and produced some good kings, but it also had some kings who gave themselves wholeheartedly to the service of pagan gods. As a result, the Southern Kingdom outlasted the Northern Kingdom but eventually fell to the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar and its people were carried off into exile for seventy years.

As he had in the days of the judges, God sent one prophet after another to Israel and Judah, warning of impending judgment and calling on them to repent and return wholeheartedly to their God. Even as they prophesied of overthrow and captivity, however, a number of these men also foretold a time when God would restore the fortunes of his people, defeat their enemies, and re-gather them in their own land, establishing an everlasting kingdom. In this kingdom, justice and righteousness would reign supreme, and God himself would dwell among men as he had not since the beginning. The kingdom would be centered on Jerusalem, which the prophets commonly referred to as Mount Zion, and the land of Israel would become a place of peace and particular blessing, just as the Garden had once been. God also promised to inaugurate a new covenant with both Judah and Israel, and to write his laws in their hearts so that they would never stray from him again.

This covenant and kingdom would be established and ruled over by a descendant of David known as the Messiah. Messiah is a title taken from the Hebrew word Mashiach, meaning “anointed one,” after the ancient practice of anointing kings with oil. In the Greek language, it is Christos: Christ or “the Christ”. Thus, Messiah was to be both deliverer and king, and it was prophesied that even the gentile nations would come to revere him.

Yet, the prophets also warned that the coming of the kingdom would involve a time of great calamity for Israel. The nation’s enemies would rise up against it, intent on destroying it. God would eventually intervene and stop this, but it would be a terrible time for humanity as a whole. Judgment would fall on those who hated Israel as well as those who hated God and refused to acknowledge him and honor Christ as king.

Eventually, in what the Bible calls “the fullness of time,” God sent his Son, Jesus of Nazareth, into the world. When he began his public ministry, the Bible tells us that Jesus came preaching: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” (Matthew 4:17), which effectively means: “Turn from your rebellion against God, because the Kingdom of God is coming and judgment is coming with it.” The Jews of Jesus’ day knew very well what this reference meant: the time of Israel’s prophesied restoration was near, and they began to openly debate whether Jesus was the expected Messiah, the Christ. Yet, Jesus refused to openly proclaim himself as such, and he would not allow others to prematurely put him in that position. Instead, he taught the people, healed them, freed them from spiritual oppression, and even raised the dead back to life. In so doing, he fulfilled Old Testament prophecies concerning the work of the Messiah, and he exemplified the blessings of the coming Kingdom age, in which disease, the oppression of evil, and even death itself would be overcome. In other words, he showed himself—and those who followed him and did the same works as he did—to be the living Kingdom of God among them: the very personification of the Kingdom and the proof that it was in fact on its way, with both blessing and judgment.

 “I AM the bread of life…” – John 6:35

“I AM the light of the world…” – John 8:12

“I AM the gate for the sheep…” – John 10:7

“I AM the good shepherd…” – John 10:11

“I AM the resurrection and the life…” – John 11:35

“I AM the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

“I AM the true vine…” – John 15:1

In a nutshell, the ministry of Jesus Christ was a ministry of reconciliation. Everything he did was geared toward restoring what humanity had lost when it lost access to God and the blessings of Eden: peace, health, and life in all of their various dimensions. He set right all that had been made wrong in human experience. In healing the sick and lame, he restored people’s bodies to their proper function. In raising the dead, he restored life that had been lost. In teaching, he restored truth where it had been clouded or distorted. He came to bring restoration, and he was the very embodiment of it.

Yet, not all accepted him or recognized him for who he was. From the very beginning, Jesus called out a select few to follow him and learn from him intimately. These people—both men and women—became his disciples. The closest of these were twelve men whom Jesus called “apostles.” It was specifically these that he trained to carry on his ministry, for he knew that he would not continue with them for long. Those who were jealous of him and hated him were conspiring to kill him. This, too, had been prophesied in the Old Testament, although the prophecies were not well understood. They told of one who would come and carry away the sicknesses and diseases of the people, who would bear the burden of sin to make atonement, and who would be put to a shameful death. Jesus warned his disciples that this was coming, but he also promised that it was not the end: after he had suffered and died, he would rise again; and as he lived, they would live also.

Jesus inaugurated the promised new covenant with his disciples the night before his death; and when he was raised from the dead, he commissioned them to go and preach what he called “the Gospel of the Kingdom” throughout the world. The word “gospel” is from a Greek word meaning “good news.” The Kingdom of God is indeed good news—even with its prophecies of judgment—if you view it the way God views it, for it represents the end of evil’s domination of this world. From that time forward, true justice and righteousness will reign supreme, and the old, corrupt regimes of this world will never come to power again.

In his ministry of reconciliation, the New Testament calls Christ “the last Adam.” Why? Because he is the embodiment of what man was meant to be under God. He is the first—not of a new race, but of a renewed race of man—in perfect fellowship with God. Where Adam failed, choosing to follow his own will and effectively be God to himself, Christ succeeded, remaining faithful to God and doing his will perfectly and consistently. He is the perfect image of God.

“If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” – John 14:9

“For in him, all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” – Colossians 2:9

All of this brings us back to the time of the end.

The purpose of the end times is to bring in the Kingdom of God with Christ at its head, to do away with everything that is contrary to the will and character of God, and to establish eternal righteousness and blessing with man restored in perfect, eternal fellowship with his creator. In the words of the angel Gabriel as recorded by the prophet Daniel:

“…to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” – Daniel 9:24

Just as the events of the creation in Genesis prepared the world to be handed over to the government of humanity, which was made in the image of God to represent him in the world but fell into rebellion, so the events of the end times are to prepare the world to be handed over to the government of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect, unfailing image of God and will reign in eternal righteousness. He has indeed declared the end from the beginning.

As they say, “That’s what it’s all about.”

“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and he will reign forever and ever.’” – Revelation 11:15

Did Jesus Really Say He Was "Coming Soon"?

"Jesus is coming soon!" is a common expression in the evangelical church; but given that it has been 2,000 years since He left, skeptics frequently throw this expression out and ask "What gives?" Even stand-up comics sometimes use this in their routines to make fun of Christians and the Bible.

So what's going on? Is the Bible wrong? Is the Second Coming of Christ just another empty religious prophecy? Or is there another answer?

Proximity to Christ - the Key to overcoming in the End Times

"We're more than conquerors, why? 'Through Him that loved us.' Where does the strength to overcome come? It comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. And your deliverance, your Bible study, your prayer will help you get close to Him, and to that end, they're extremely valuable to help you get through the hard times. If Christians don't get ready for hard times, when they hit they're going to think God died...

"We're more than conquerors, but it's through Jesus Christ. Now everything that gets us close to the Lord is going to get us further from these things that can overcome us. It's the consciousness of His presence with us that's going to cause us to look past the tribulation and see the glory coming, past the distress, past the persecution, past the famine, past the nakedness, peril, or sword. If you don't have that, then you're going to crumple and pile up and you may have a nervous breakdown.

"When the hard times hit...and when the bottom drops out, as it one of these days will, when that happens, you're going to see a lot of Christians have nervous breakdowns. A lot of preachers are going to have nervous breakdowns. Because they honestly have no earthly way to cope with disaster. Some of these so-called great ministers are going to just completely come apart at the seams, because they've been built on a pipe dream, and on a bubble, and when that bubble pops, there'll be nothing left to support it; it'll come crashing down...

"The people have not been taught to do anything but gather together in great big bunches saying 'Hip-tee-doo!' and 'Hallelu,' in one extreme, or they sit together like wooden Indians, saying 'Amen. Now let's go out the door.' But either way they're not getting anything that's going to take them through hard times when they hit. They have not been taught to be individual believers, and households to be individual groups, locked together for the purpose of resisting the enemy and reaching out to minister to other believers and others who are in need. It's wonderful to have a church to come to, and we should thank God every week that goes by that we're still permitted to worship without soldiers breaking through the back doors back there, and police coming and marching the preacher off to jail, because you never know when that's going to cease. The enemy is working ceaselessly...

"But you have to realize that most believers are not ready for anything like this. Their whole lives are geared to the world system, the economic and social thing, and when that tears and rips, they'll have nothing left, nothing to cling to. Have you ever thought how it would be if you came to a situation where you were suddenly swept away from your church and your preacher and you didn't even have a Bible? And all you'd have to go on spiritually would be what you could remember, from the messages you had heard, from the scriptures you had studied...all the songs you could remember and bring back to mind to sing. And maybe you're off in an isolation ward someplace by yourself. How are you going to keep from going crazy?

"You say, 'That's scary stuff. That'll never happen.' That's what everybody thinks....Do you remember the first time you had an accident in your car? You knew you'd never have an accident, you know, because you were very careful and everything. You forgot that there were other people involved. You remember the shock you had the first time you had an accident, how fast it happened? It happened so quickly you could hardly remember what happened at all. All of a sudden everything was all crumpled up, and it couldn't be! It was like something out of a dream, it happened so quick. 'Where did they come from...I didn't see anything," you know. And yet here's the two cars all smacked up, all torn up, in a moment. It happened *so* quick. And that's exactly the way the disaster will strike the world. It says like labor pains coming, just suddenly, out of nowhere...bang! Now the signs are here.

"You know, a lady who's carrying a baby has many signs that she's going to have one. You're a fool if she walks around for nine months and when she has labor pains you think, 'Oh, I never expected that!' You know, that's a little ridiculous. Because she's obviously been going to give birth for a good while. And you'd be a fool not to anticipate and make some type of preparation for the time when that's going to happen. But that's exactly what's happening in our world. This old world is pregnant with evil and wickedness, and it's going to be birthed one of these days, and we'd be a fool to stand by and say, 'Oh, I didn't expect anything like that!' And yet that's where many believers are. They have no idea that there's anything wrong at all. It's roses and buttercups all the way down the path. But God's people aren't supposed to get like that. But we *are* supposed to get close to the Lord, because in the times that are hard, whether they're moderately hard, very hard, or extremely hard, no matter how difficult they become, it's going to be your relationship to the Lord and your geography concerning the Lord that's going to help you."

- Pastor Win Worley, January, 1985