What is the best way to study Bible passages on the end times?

There are many reasons for reading the entire Bible over and over again. One reason is to ensure that we find all its references to whichever theme we are studying, including the end times. More important, however, is that we cultivate a biblical worldview.

Instead of reading and interpreting the Bible through the lens of our worldly experiences and what others have told us, we look out on the world and judge what we see through the lens of Scripture, ingrained into our hearts by the Holy Spirit as we study carefully and prayerfully.

Today, particularly in the West, we live busy lives and have access to a wealth of information on all subjects, including Bible themes. Such information is no longer contained in Christian bookshops but also proliferates online. Without realising it, we can end up taking shortcuts in our Bible studies, gleaning from others rather than studying for ourselves. In so doing, we are in danger of imbibing the mindsets of others, rather than working out our own through a personal walk with God.

Instead of reading the Bible through the lens of our worldly experiences, we should look out on the world and judge what we see through the lens of Scripture.

This surely is a major reason for many of the conflicting views on the end times. Would it be different if our attitude was like that of the Bereans (Acts 17:11), who searched the scriptures for themselves to see if what they heard was true?

Biased Perspectives and Their Consequences

For example, perhaps even without realising it, we may still retain an element of Replacement Theology in our thinking, leading us to concentrate overmuch on God's plan for the Church in the Gentile world. In turn, we easily lose a balanced perspective on his designs for Israel and therefore his overall covenant plan.

We might also cultivate a habit of seeking to select verses of Scripture – often out of context - as 'proof texts' for our hopes for the future of the Church. Surely this is why there is so much contemporary emphasis on an expectation of the 'rapture', when the Church will be taken out of the difficult circumstances of the world, and when this will occur. 'Proof texts' used in support for this are Matthew 24:37-41 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.

If we focus too much on this hoped-for event, out of context with the rest of Scripture, we begin to read every other aspect of end times Scripture through this lens. We become more and more concerned to find the best estimate of where to place the 'rapture' – and others do the same, with different conclusions, resulting in conflicting views of 'pre-', 'mid-' and 'post-tribulation' rapture.

Though Paul told the Thessalonians to comfort one another with an expectation of the Lord's return (1 Thess 4:18), I do not think he would have had them take his dramatic description of the way it will happen so out of context, as many today seem to have done.

If we lose a balanced perspective on God's overall plan, we can end up taking Scripture out of context.

The Background of the Covenant

The context of the end times (and all the events leading up to the return of the Lord) is the overall covenant plan of God. 'Covenant' and 'end times' are two intersecting themes that weave through Scripture, overlapping to become totally dependent on one another. If we read the entire Bible with this in mind, we cannot also fail to see that there is another theme bound up with these two – namely, God's purpose for Israel. A biblical mindset holds all this in balance. We find these overlapping themes behind the writings of all the Prophets, e.g.:

• The promised New Covenant proclaimed to Israel and Judah (Jer 31) is within the context of God's end times plan for Israel.
• The end time passages in Ezekiel 38 and 39 are in the context of the re-birth of Israel in Ezekiel 37.
• The great end time deliverance of Israel shown to Daniel (Dan 12) is in harmony with the other Prophets and with the Book of Revelation.
• Jesus, in speaking of his return (Matt 24; Mark 13; Luke 21), was talking to his disciples in the Land of Israel, to where he will return.

Harmony of Scripture

In reading the scriptures as a whole, we find that there is balance and harmony in all the major Bible themes. But without realising it, we often read one set of scriptures and put it in one compartment of our mind and another set and put it in another compartment, as if there are parallel worlds to which they apply.

This applies to reading the New Testament and Old Testament in isolation from each other, as much as to reading certain passages and Books in isolation. All the scriptures build together to emphasise one period of end time history. Ezekiel and Daniel, for example, both speak of the same time and circumstances, as do Jesus in the Gospels and John in the Book of Revelation.

The context of the end times is the overall covenant plan of God, including his purposes for Israel.

If we study the scriptures in a balanced way, we will find themes echoing across the whole of the Bible that will help us prepare, understand the signs of the times and have a sense of God's timing. For example:

• The 'sacrificial meal' and its context in Ezekiel 39:17-20 is echoed in Revelation 19:17-21. These surely are descriptions of the same event.
• Could we consider before God whether the sealed scroll of Daniel 12:4 was the same one opened by Jesus in Revelation 5:9-10? It is reasonable to assume this, since the last things on this earth could only be released after the Sacrifice of Jesus opened the way for the Gospel to go out to the entire earth, prior to the final judgments.
• Also, surely, the events so clearly revealed in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 are precisely the same events proclaimed more mysteriously in the Book of Revelation. All these things line up in harmony.

Haggai Speaks of the End Times

Many of us believe that, over recent years, God has spoken to us concerning the fulfilment in our day of the great shaking of Haggai 2:21-22, repeated in Hebrews 12:25-29. This is not independent of all else that is prophesied for the end times but fits into the overall picture, helping us to understand where we are on the final run-up to the return of Jesus.

This also focuses our attention on the covenant priorities of our age - completion of God's purposes for Israel and the strengthening of believers across the world.

All the scriptures on the end times build together in harmony.

Our Purpose

This short series on the end times is not intended to bring yet another formula, but to encourage the reading of the entire Bible afresh, with prayerful desire to understand the times. At four chapters a day this would take about a year, by which time world affairs will have moved on and it will be wise to consider it all again. There is no substitute for this prayerful study on our own and in our local prayer and study groups.

When the disciples asked about the signs of the Lord's coming, they were told to watch and pray. That command has been passed down to us. In so doing, we will be drawn closer to the Lord and to one another as the events unfold before us. We will achieve a stronger biblical worldview and we will learn to find harmony in all the scriptures.

Next time: An overview of Matthew 24.

For other articles in this series, click here.