The Doctrine of End Times

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18; Matthew 25.1-13

Who here is not a “morning person” ? Don’t be ashamed. You know who you are. You are night owls. You hunt by night and sleep by day. You are accomplished at sleeping in. But if you think you are something, consider the black bear, Ursus Americanus. The black bear in North America may hibernate for 5 to 7 months through a bitter winter. And yet bears don’t appear to waste away. What happens to human beings who are bed-ridden for months? We lose muscle mass and body weight. And when we try to get up and get going, our bodies don’t work right. Not so the bear – she can get up after a 5 month power nap and spring into action. Scientists suspect the bear’s secret is in how they sleep. While they sleep their body does a daily regimen of muscle stimulation and contraction. They awake really hungry, but ready to go.


That brings me to a story about ten virgins who fell asleep. In this story they are prospective brides waiting for the bachelor/groom to give them the rose, you know, pick them to marry. It occurred to me that if I were preaching this parable say, five years ago, three years ago, I would have probably said, “Now, of course, women don’t line up in a row waiting for a guy to come and pick them out of a lineup today – not respectable women anyway.” But now we have reality television to take us back to the future. I would suggest to you that the parable is set in a culture that is, in some ways, a little more respectful of brides and virgins. But here we are. The ten virgins waiting for Prince Charming all fall asleep! And what’s interesting is the distinction made between them. They are divided into two groups by the storyteller – five wise virgins and five foolish ones. The five who are called “wise” are not so because they knew when the groom was going to return. They are wise because they were prepared. They had prepared for a long wait, the duration of which they could not accurately predict. All ten fell asleep, but only five were watchful and faithful.

The five who are foolish, well, of them it could be said, “fall asleep on the groom and you may not wake feeling rested and refreshed.” This parable is about the last days, the end times. Most parables are about “any time.” This one begins, “At that time. . .” Theologians call it the eschaton. A crucial teaching of Jesus is simply this – I will return, you don’t know what age, what year, what hour, but I will return. So watch! Watch! And it is how we watch that is crucial. A frequent misconception that some people have is that Jesus wants us to focus on the future. But I say, by reminding us of how the future will come to fulfillment, in His return, Jesus urges us to focus on living in the present for the Kingdom.

A popular and controversial question in the church has always been, “Are we living in the last days?” I believe we are, in this sense – all the time between the Resurrection of Christ and the Last Judgment is the Last Days. We are living in the age of the Church. We are called to broadcast the gospel to every person, people, and nation, to every corner of the world. In fact this is one of the signs that we are approaching the Last Day – all the nations will have had the gospel preached to them. There are other signs:

The appearance of antichrists (1 John 4:3; Matt 24.24)
The coming of a world dictator (Rev. 13.7)
The revival of the occult (1 Tim. 4.1)
The ingathering and conversion of the Jews (Luke 21.24; Rom. 11)
Great earthquakes and famines (Luke 21.10-11)
The widespread persecution of believers (Matt. 24.9)
A falling away from faith accompanied by false prophets (Matt. 24.10,11)


These signs are not meant to be used as proofs – in fact, most of these signs are found in every age – but as reminders to the faithful that His coming is on the horizon. As that day approaches, these signs will intensify to a degree not before seen in history.

Do these signs mean bad news or good news for the church and the believer? It means a testing of faith. There will be times of trial when it becomes more difficult to witness and live as a believer. There may be a schism in the church as a whole – indeed the beginnings of this may already be happening. To be a disciple of Christ will require sacrifice, hard work, and endurance. But when has this not been true?
The first-century Christians who had to meet in secret, those who were crucified and thrown to lions – will they not look at our age of comfort and ease and wonder what we sacrificed for the kingdom?

For two thousand years the church has worked as if the coming of Jesus would happen within the lifetime of every believer. This is the only way for the church to live. To live this way is to live in virtue, in humility, with passion in serving, with a sense of urgency that there are people to love and work yet to be done.

“This much is clear and all-important for us today that the return of Jesus will take place suddenly. That fact is more certain than that we shall be able to finish our work in his service, more certain than our own death,” wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer, someone who knew what it meant to live with a sense of urgency and sacrifice.

In C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, the Land of Narnia is in the icy grip of a never-ending winter brought on by the reign of evil. That winter is not broken until the return of Aslan, the King, who sacrifices himself and in the end, claims victory over evil in the last battle. We are living in Narnia, as of course Lewis was suggesting; and we will not be freed, and the creation will not be freed until the King comes again.

I remember being taught about end times as a kid at church camp. I remembering being afraid that Jesus was going to come back before I had a chance to return home from camp and see my family. I don’t think God wants his church to fear, but rather to live with expectancy and longing for the Son’s return. Because ultimately and completely, that is what the Last Day is about – the Return of the One for whom the whole creation longs to see again, the Creator, the Redeemer, the Savior and Judge – the One who will free us from the long winter of sin and bring healing, peace, and life as it was meant to be, forever.

So I say, Sleepers awake, be ready, for your Lord draweth nigh!