Topic Archives: The End Times

The following words, so contemporary in their feeling and import, come from John Kennedy (presumably of Dingwall), and were published in the 6th Issue of the Banner of Truth Magazine (May, 1957). In times such as ours it is easy to seem a bigot, if one keeps a firm hold of truth, and is careful […]

In the book of Revelation the apostle John is taken up through an open door into the throne room of the whole universe. We watch through his eyes as the Lord Jesus appears before the throne of God and takes a scroll from the right hand of God. This densely-worded scroll contains God’s blueprints for […]

In no time at all, the world has changed. Plague has brought the global economy crashing down; trade and industry has ground to a standstill, except for essentials; that ubiquitous first-world leisure activity — shopping — is a thing of the past. Stores are closed and long-established household brands are going bust. It used to […]

‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.’  , Revelation 21:1 The ethnic cleansing and atrocities against the Christians in the Nuba mountains by Sudan, as well as that against the Christians in South Sudan, has been going on for years with no end in sight. Thousands of people have died, including children. […]

‘And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.’ , Revelation 20:15 My dear friend, if you die without being a Christian, without being born again through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, if you never gain the life of God in […]

There is a text in the Bible that is often misunderstood (one of many, sadly). Paul writes, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’ (1 Cor. 2:9). Preachers especially are prone to quote these words as if they were […]

What is our hope for loved ones who, in the language of Scripture, now ‘sleep in Jesus’ (1 Thess. 4:14 ESV)? We are sure that, like the thief on the cross, they are at this very moment with the Saviour in paradise. But what of the future? In a glorious section of his first letter […]

An extract from Chapter 5, ‘The Hope and Puritan Piety’ in Iain Murray’s The Puritan Hope,1 due to be reprinted (2014) in a new, larger format. At the outset it has to be admitted that an interest in unfulfilled prophecy is not always conducive to Christian piety. The Christians at Thessalonica were only the first […]

. . . wrath and indignation on the contentious, on those who disobey the truth, who obey unrighteousness. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek. Romans 2:8-9 In August 79 A.D. the people of Pompeii awoke to nearby Mt. […]

In the year 2000 this author’s The Promise of the Future, a hardback volume of over 500 pages, was published by the Banner of Truth. The present book abridges the previous one, intending to whet the appetite for the more substantial volume. Setting out to pursue ‘a disciplined study of what God promises in the […]

The question of whether or not God will on the Day of Judgment expose to the world of men and angels the secret sins of his redeemed children is one that vexes many and is somewhat unclear to all men. On the one hand, there are passages in Scripture that appear clearly to say that, […]

The thought of heaven and especially the second coming used to unsettle me. I can remember growing up with a certain measure of fear associated with the end of this life (whether occasioned by the conclusion of this age with the coming of Christ or the conclusion of my physical life and entrance into heaven). […]

In his book titled Miracles, C. S. Lewis writes concerning the time when Christ walked on the Sea of Galilee that it was a glimpse given to us of the powers of the new creation. By that he meant that whereas many of the miracles of our Lord demonstrated some of the powers that the […]

On recent Sundays I’ve been preaching on the return of Christ. I grew up with some very mixed-up ideas about the Second Coming, but understanding the doctrine in our heads surely isn’t enough. As I’ve preached these sermons, I’ve found myself asking again and again, ‘how much do I look forward to the return of […]

When I was a young minister, a man who never attended church (though formally a member) died unexpectedly. Some time later I was visiting with one of his sons and the son’s wife. During our conversation the young man said to me, ‘My Daddy believed that the Second Coming was near and would occur, if […]

On March 11-13, 2008 Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (GPTS) hosted its 11th annual Spring Theology Conference: this year exploring ‘A Reformed View of the End Times.‘ About 420 people attended the conference, held at Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville, SC. ‘Our Spring Theology Conference aims to equip Christian ministers and lay persons with sound. […]

THE PROMISE OF THE FUTURE SEMINARY PROFESSORS ARE REALLY AMAZING PHENOMENA One of the many privileges of my seminary education was to sit at the feet of Dr. Cornelis P. Venema, professor of doctrinal studies at, and recently named president of, Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. Seminary professors are really amazing phenomena. Although you […]

“Left Behind” has reached Wales. On Saturday April 28 the religious section of the Western Mail contained the following large block advertisement. In capital letters it announced: “NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CALAMITIES, FLOODS, EARTHQUAKES, TORNADOES, ETC, ETC, ETC. IS GOD SPEAKING TO US? WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? See the film “LEFT BEHIND” (based on the […]