Pathway to Victory

Guest (Male): Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today’s podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God’s word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here’s today’s podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Dr. Robert Jeffress: Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I’m glad to study God’s word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today’s edition of Pathway to Victory, if you ask most Christians to explain the events of Bible prophecy, put them in order, define them, what is the key scripture that talks about each one, most Christians would break out in a cold sweat. They couldn’t do that.

An understanding of end time events is both possible, but it’s also crucial. That’s why the Bible devotes so much space to future things.

David J. Mullens: Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. For many Christians, the end times can be a confusing and hard-to-understand topic. When the world finally does come to an end, how will the events unfold? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress outlines the seven major prophetic events that will precede and follow Christ’s second coming. But first, let’s take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.

Dr. Robert Jeffress: Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. More than ever before in my lifetime, perhaps more than ever before in America’s history, people are watching the signs of the times and wondering what’s coming next. Well, the events preceding the end of the world are no mystery. In fact, they’re fully outlined for us in scripture. But often, Christians struggle to understand and need to get a holistic view of God’s prophetic timeline. And that’s the focus of my current teaching series called Perfect Ending.

Now, before we get started, let me draw your attention to a brand new book I’ve written for you that’s intended to enhance your study of God’s perfect ending. It’s called Ask Dr. Jeffress about the End Times. One of the most powerful things you can do for someone who’s searching is hand them a book with real answers. I wrote Ask Dr. Jeffress about the End Times not just for lifelong believers, but for the skeptic, the seeker, the person who’s watching the news and wondering if God has anything to say about it. He does.

And when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I’ll make sure a copy is sent to your home right away. David and I will give more details later, but right now, it’s time to get started with our study. Today, I want to give you a bird’s eye view of the entire landscape of end times prophecy. I’ve titled today’s message, Getting the Big Picture.

Maps can be very, very important. I learned that lesson the hard way. A few years ago, a pastor friend of mine in Canada invited me to come and speak at his church. They were going to have an evening service at seven o'clock, so I got up early and I flew to Winnipeg, Manitoba. I got there in plenty of time for the service. It was about 4:00 PM in the afternoon when I arrived. So I picked up my luggage and went outside to wait for the pastor to pick me up at the curbside.

I waited and waited and waited. He didn’t show up. So I pulled out my confirmation letter, thinking maybe I got the time wrong. I went back in to call him at the payphone, and as I looked at the letter, I noticed up in the left-hand corner that the return address did not correspond with where I was. I had assumed that he was in the same place he was the last time I came to preach for him. I didn't know he had changed churches. I was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but I noticed the return address was Vancouver, British Columbia.

Now, not knowing anything about Canada, I went into the airline counter and I said, "Look, I’ve got a problem. I need to be in Vancouver in an hour. Is there a bus I can take to get me to Vancouver?" They did exactly what you just did. They started laughing. They said, "A bus? Vancouver is 1,500 miles west of here." They said, "But you’re in luck. We’ve got a plane that is leaving right now for Vancouver, and if you’ll run down to the gate, you can get on the plane. It’s a three-hour flight, but you’ll gain two hours going west and you can make it in time."

So I ran as quickly as I could down to the gate. Apparently, word of my problem preceded me, because when I went to give my ticket to the ticket taker, she handed me a map of Canada and said, "Read this. It might help you the next time you come to our country." Maps can be very important, especially when you’re traveling in an unfamiliar territory. To many people, Bible prophecy is such a territory. Today, we’re going to try to get the big picture of Bible prophecy.

In the weeks ahead, we’ll look at each of the events, but today we’re going to look at the map, the overview of Bible prophecy. Notice the first event or time period we’re going to look at called the church age. The church age is that period of time from Pentecost until the rapture during which Gentiles are invited to participate in the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. We are living in that time of the Gentiles.

The end of the church age, the end of this time of Gentile blessing, is going to be the second event on your chart called the rapture of the church. This is how the church age ends. The rapture is the snatching away to heaven of all Christians before the beginning of the tribulation. This is the rapture of the church. Following the rapture comes the third event on your chart there, the tribulation.

The time we call the tribulation isn’t just a time of persecution. It’s not hard times. There is a very specific seven-year period of time that are the final seven years of Earth’s history. The tribulation is that seven-year period that begins when the Antichrist signs a peace covenant with Israel, and it ends with Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus Christ. The tribulation is that seven-year period of time that begins when Antichrist signs a peace treaty with Israel and ends with Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The second coming of Christ is the visible return of Jesus Christ to establish his kingdom on the earth. At the end of the seven-year tribulation, all the world forces are going to gather together to try to defeat Antichrist. Tired of his tyrannical rule, the world forces are going to decide we’re going to overtake this dictator. And they are going to assemble on the plain of Megiddo. We call it Armageddon, the plain of Megiddo. And all the world forces are going to be assembled there to make war against the Antichrist.

But as they do so, suddenly the clouds are going to part. Notice what everyone is going to see. John said, "I saw a heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, he judges and wages war. And the armies which are in heaven, that’s you and I, the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him, Jesus, on the white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron."

He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh, he has a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is the second coming of Jesus Christ, and we return with him at that time. That’s the climax of the great tribulation. Why does Christ return visibly, literally, to this planet? That’s the fifth item on your chart: to establish his kingdom on Earth, which we call the millennium.

That word "milli" means a thousand, "annum" year. It is the thousand-year period of time during which Christ will reign on the Earth, fulfilling God’s promises to Abraham and his believing descendants. The millennium is that thousand-year period of time when Christ will reign on the Earth, fulfilling God’s promises to Abraham and his believing descendants. Remember, we saw last time God made an unconditional promise to Abraham and his believing descendants of a land, of a seed, and a blessing.

God has to fulfill that promise to believing Israel. And the millennium is the time when all of believing Israel will inhabit all of that real estate God has planned for them. It will be a time, according to 2 Samuel 7, when one of Abraham’s and David’s descendants, Jesus Christ, will sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem and rule over all the Earth. It will be a time when the Earth, though not recreated, will be renovated.

During this thousand-year period of time, Satan will be bound. People will live longer than they’ve normally lived. Remember, we looked at that passage in Isaiah 65 that said there’ll be no more infant death, and if anybody doesn’t make it to age 100, he will be thought to be accursed. There are all kinds of promises in the Old Testament about the renovation of the Earth that will result from a partial removing of the curse. Not a total removing, but a partial removing.

One of those familiar passages in the Old Testament about the millennium is found in Isaiah chapter 11. "But with righteousness he, talking about Messiah, will judge the poor and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the Earth, and he will strike the Earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little boy will lead them."

"They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the Earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." What period of time is he talking about? He’s not talking about now, that’s obvious. Neither is he talking about heaven. There’s not going to be any death in heaven. People are going to live a lot longer than 100 years; they’re going to live forever. So what period of time is he talking about? These prophecies deal with the reign of Christ on the Earth, the thousand-year millennium in which God will fulfill his promise to believing Israel.

Now, at the end of the millennium, Revelation 20 tells us Satan, who has been bound for a thousand years, will be loosed for a little while. He will lead one final rebellion. And at the end of that rebellion, God will judge all unbelievers at this sixth event on your outline called the Great White Throne Judgment. This is a time when God will judge all unbelievers who have ever lived.

The specific definition is this: the Great White Throne Judgment is God’s final judgment against all unbelievers who have ever lived. Look at Revelation 20, beginning with verse 11. John says, "And I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it, from whose presence Earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds."

"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." I’m going to spend an entire Sunday talking about this judgment in detail, but by way of summary, let me point out three important components of this judgment.

First of all, notice the subjects of the judgment. Who’s going to be judged? The subjects of the judgments are unbelievers. This is a judgment for unbelievers. Notice verse 13 of Revelation 20. "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them." Hades is going to be emptied. Now, who’s in Hades? All unbelievers who have ever lived. When an unbeliever dies today, when an unbeliever died in the New Testament, when an unbeliever died in the Old Testament, they all went to Hades.

What is Hades? It’s not the lake of fire. It’s not their final destination. Hades is the temporary dwelling place of the unsaved. It’s a place of eternal torment that, although not eternal in Hades, will be in the lake of fire. Remember Jesus told that parable in Luke 16 about the rich man and Lazarus? The rich man died and he went where? He went to Hades. And Jesus said in Hades, he’s lifted up his eyes to Abraham, being in torment, and he said, "Help me, Father Abraham, for I am in agony in these flames."

There’s no way-station that people go to when they die. No, this is a very real place of suffering, but it’s not the final place of suffering for the unsaved. That comes later. At the Great White Throne Judgment, at the end of time, God is going to empty Hades of all unbelievers, and they’re going to stand before God in judgment. This is the final judgment of all unbelievers.

What’s the basis for the judgment? The basis for their judgment will be their works. Look at verse 13. "They were judged, every one of them, according to their works." You may be thinking, "Wait a minute. Judged by their works? I thought God didn’t care about our works." Oh yes, he does. Works are very important, especially if you’re an unbeliever. In fact, works are everything if you’re an unbeliever. Because what you’ve said as an unbeliever is you’ve said, "I don’t need the grace of Jesus Christ in my life."

"I don't need God's forgiveness. I may not be perfect, but I'm good enough to get into heaven. God, I’ll take my chances. I’ll let you judge me according to my deeds, according to my works." God says fine. If that’s how you want me to judge you, that’s how I’ll judge you. So at the end of time, everybody who has ever lived who is an unbeliever will be judged just as they’ve chosen to be judged, by their works.

And so God says you want to be judged by your works? Let’s look at your works. And the books are going to be opened of your life. And you’re going to see all of your works—the good, the bad, and the ugly. And suddenly, your self-confidence you had in your works is going to evaporate, because you’re going to realize that your works, no matter how many they are, are not enough when measured against the perfection of Jesus Christ.

He’s the standard by which everybody is judged. Every unbeliever who’s ever lived will understand on that day why he is not being welcomed into heaven. His righteousness is not enough righteousness to merit eternal life. The basis for the judgment will be works. The result of the judgment will be eternal condemnation. Look at verse 14 of Revelation 20. "And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire."

That is, the occupants were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if any man’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. And there, like the devil, the beast, and the false prophet, they will be tormented day and night forever and ever, John says. After that event, the final event that awaits everyone is eternity future.

What is eternity future? It is that permanent state of both believers inhabiting the new heaven and earth and unbelievers inhabiting the lake of fire. After this Great White Throne Judgment, the present heaven and earth that have been renovated for the millennium, they’re ultimately going to be destroyed by fire. Did you realize everything in this Earth is eventually going to melt away one day? This entire planet, this entire universe, is going to be destroyed.

Peter talks about that in 2 Peter 3, verses 7 and 10. He says, "But the present heavens and Earth by his word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the Earth and its works will be burned up." And once this present heaven and Earth have been completely destroyed, then God is ready for the new heaven and the new Earth.

Turn over to Revelation chapter 21. After the present heaven and Earth are destroyed, notice what John says. He says, "And I saw a new heaven and a new Earth, for the first heaven and the first Earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men.'"

"'And he shall dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be among them. And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall no longer be any death. There shall no longer be any mourning or crying or pain, for the first things have passed away.'" John said, "I saw a new heaven, but I also saw a new Earth." And I saw this heavenly city coming down out of heaven to Earth.

As we’ll describe in detail in the weeks ahead, the greatest misconception about eternity future for Christians is that we’re going to spend all eternity up there someplace, floating around on a cloud, plucking a harp. No wonder so few people are interested in going to heaven. No, we’re not going to be up there. That’s not where we are.

John said, "I saw the new heaven and the new Earth. The new Jerusalem was coming down here." I didn’t see people going up to dwell with God; I saw God coming down to dwell with man. This Earth is going to be our eternal home. This newly recreated Earth, just like God planned for it originally, but even better. That’s where we’re going to spend eternity. Now we can buzz around other places if we want to, but our primary home is going to be right here, just as God created us.

Doesn't that make you excited to think about what this world’s going to look like once the curse has been removed, once the tears and the heartache is gone, and we’re going to experience life as God intended it? That’s what John says he saw. Eternity future is the eternal future not only for believers but for unbelievers as well. Revelation 20:15, "If anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Now, I know we’ve covered a lot of ground. You may be thinking, "Pastor, do we really need to know all of this stuff?" The last time I stood on the Mount of Olives, I read Matthew 24 and 25 when Jesus and his disciples were there at that very same spot. And the disciples said, "Remember, Lord, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?"

Jesus didn’t rebuke his disciples for asking that question. Instead, he went into a detailed explanation covering two chapters of Matthew of exactly what was going to happen. He started talking about the great tribulation, and then he talked about the coming of the Son of Man visibly for all to see. And then he talked about the judgments that would occur at his second coming. And then he talked about the kingdom that believers would be welcomed into.

But curiously, Jesus never said anything about the rapture. Didn't speak about it. Now, you would think if the disciples wanted to know, "Lord, tell us what things are going to happen," you would think Jesus would talk about the rapture. Why didn’t he mention the rapture? Is it because the rapture is simply a figment of our imagination and it’s really not going to happen and we are going to go through the great tribulation? Before you go out and build your bomb shelter in the backyard and start loading up on peanut butter and tuna fish, I encourage you to come back next week. Because next week, we’re going to talk about the rapture of the church and why I’m absolutely convinced that no Christian is going to be left behind for the great tribulation.

Dr. Robert Jeffress: I’ve been studying the Bible for several decades, and I’ve been teaching about biblical prophecy most of my life. As a result of the countless hours invested in this topic, I’m convinced that Christians will not remain on Earth for the great tribulation. And I urge you to listen again next time, because I’m going to explain how I’ve come to that conclusion. But right now, I want to share a wonderful note I received from Norman, who leads a Bible study group at a correctional facility in Ohio.

Norman said, "Pastor, thank you for the gift of the Perfect Ending series. This teaching helped me dig deeper into Bible prophecy because the teaching is direct and clear. Sometimes we had as many as 40 men watching and getting involved in the discussion. Thank you and God bless you." Well, thank you, Norman, for those encouraging words. And if you’re a financial supporter of Pathway to Victory, those words of gratitude really belong to you.

You’re the one who’s making it possible for Norman and countless others to hear the truth of God’s word. Today, when you invest in the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, I’d like to send you my brand new book, Ask Dr. Jeffress about the End Times. In my book, I answer 20 of the most common questions about the end times, and I describe why it matters to you right now. Here’s David to explain how you can request your copy.

David J. Mullens: You’re invited to request a copy of Dr. Jeffress’s brand new, just released book, Ask Dr. Jeffress about the End Times, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. This book provides clear biblical answers to the top 20 questions people ask about the end times. Just call 866-999-2965 or visit online at ptv.org. You can also support this ministry by texting PTV to 78800.

And when your gift is $125 or more, you’ll also get the complete Perfect Ending teaching series on audio and video disc and the stunning full-color resource, The End Times Illustrated: A Panorama of Bible Prophecy from Genesis to Revelation. To request these resources, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. If you’d prefer to write, our mailing address is PO Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that’s PO Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I’m David J. Mullens, wishing you a great weekend. Then join us again next time when Dr. Jeffress continues his series Perfect Ending: Why Your Eternal Future Matters Today. That’s Monday, right here on Pathway to Victory.

Guest (Male): Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Robert Jeffress: Join us on the Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska. Let me paint a picture for you. You’re standing on the deck of a beautiful cruise ship, coffee in hand, watching a glacier calve into pristine waters while bald eagles circle overhead. You’ve got to see Alaska with your own eyes. Refresh your soul in God’s cathedral of natural wonders, Alaska. Call 888-280-6747 or visit ptv.org.

Guest (Male): You made it to the end of today’s podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we’re so grateful you’re here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway Partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in his word. To become a Pathway Partner, go to ptv.org/donate, or you can follow the link in our show notes.

We hope you’ve been blessed by today’s podcast from Pathway to Victory. Oh, and one last thing before we go: have you reserved your spot yet for the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska? You’ve been hearing me and Dr. Jeffress mention it, so what are you waiting for? Just picture yourself on the deck of Holland America’s elegant Koningsdam and stepping out on deck to witness nature’s grandeur. It’s beautiful. These moments in God’s creation will deepen your faith in powerful ways. It really will. Experience five-star dining, luxurious staterooms, and visiting iconic ports like Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. We’re also bringing along our own Christian entertainment; you’ll love it. Seats are filling up, so book your spot today at ptv.org.