Lesson 10: Millenial Expectations and the Second Coming (Matthew 24, Daniel 2)

by | Feb 9, 2022 | Topical Studies

Introduction: Prior to December 31, 1999, we heard all sorts of talk
in the media about the end of the world coinciding with “the end” of
the millennium. Speculation about “Y2K” problems that might cause a
general break down of society was taken seriously by many in
responsible positions. In my area, I was sobered when I learned the
National Guard was called up to duty during the two weeks around the
new year “just in case.”

How should we react to predictions about the end of the world?
Didn’t we decide last week that we are part of the “big angel” and we
should be warning of the final judgment? What about those who study
the Bible to interpret prophecy to have a better “fix” on when the
end will be? What about those who go further, and attack their fellow
Christians now based on their prophetic understanding of the future?
Let’s dig in and see what the Bible teaches us!

  1. WHY PROPHECY?



    1. Should we have an interest in prophecy? Since the Bible
      contains prophecy, what do you think is its purpose?



    2. Read Matthew 24:1-2. Why do you think Jesus told His
      disciples this?



    3. Let’s read on. Matthew 24:3 Did Jesus have the attention
      of the disciples?



      1. Why did they come to Jesus “privately?”



      2. What did the disciples want to know? (When will this
        happen and how will we know it.)



    4. Read on: Matthew 24:4-5. What is the problem with trying
      to understand the future? (There are many with a false
      message.)



    5. Read Matthew 24:6-10, 13. What do these verses suggest is
      Jesus’ reason for telling His disciples about the future?
      It seems that several reasons are sprinkled into these
      verses. Let’s list them. (Avoid alarm (v.6); encourage
      faithfulness and community among believers(v.10); stiffen
      the spine of the believers by reminding them of the Second
      Coming (v.13).)



  2. WHY NOT PROPHECY?



    1. Is there a danger to prophecy? Can prophecy be too
      detailed, too specific? Read Matthew 24:32-33, 36. This is
      a continuation of Jesus’ discussion about the destruction
      of Jerusalem and the Second Coming. How specific is Jesus
      being in response to the disciples initial question (v.3)
      of “when?”



      1. Why do you think Jesus is being general as opposed to
        being specific?



    2. Let’s read on in this chapter. Read Matthew 24:44-50. What
      does this suggest is a danger to prophecy, particularly a
      very specific interpretation of prophecy?



    3. Why does Jesus say in v. 44 that we will not expect Him
      when He comes again when He has just gone through the
      effort to tell His disciples “when?”



      1. Does an intense interest in prophecy discourage us
        from being ready at all times?



      2. Which is more important, being ready at all times, or
        understanding prophecy?



        1. Are these mutually exclusive — understanding
          and trying to be ready at all times?



        2. When we looked at the reason that Jesus shared
          the future with His disciples, was it to give
          them a time line, or to encourage them in future
          difficult circumstances?



        3. Should a church focus on prophetic time lines or
          the types of problems (and relief) believers can
          expect in the future?



        4. Read 2 Peter 3:8-10. What does this text teach
          us about time lines? Can any be reliable?



  3. PROPHECY DIFFICULTIES



    1. Read Daniel 2:1-4. The King cannot sleep because of this
      dream. He calls in his experts for help.



      1. Do these sound like experts to you?



      2. Do we still have these kinds of “experts” around
        today?



    2. Read Daniel 2:5-7. Ah, the danger of being an expert. Why
      do you think the King required them to tell him his dream?



    3. The wise men told the King this was impossible. Read
      Daniel 2:12-13. Do you think Daniel and his friends among
      the “top” wise men? Did we turn a corner and go from
      sorcerers to all wise men?



      1. Why would they (Daniel and friends) get executed
        without even knowing about the problem?



      2. Read Daniel 2:16. What does this tell you about the
        relative importance of Daniel? (He must have had some
        influence for he was able to see the King. On the
        other hand, perhaps God intervened for him and got
        him in to see the King.)



    4. Read Daniel 2:31-35. How do you understand the King’s
      dream?



      1. Let’s go for the toes. Read Daniel 2:41-45a. What do
        you understand the composition of the toes to mean?
        What is the meaning of the big rock?(This is a
        prophecy of the state of the world before the Second
        Coming.)



      2. Does this tell us that no country will dominate the
        world when Jesus comes again?



    5. Read Revelation 13:11-14, 16-17. How do you understand
      this end-time prophecy?



      1. Doesn’t this prophecy reveal a dominating world power
        before the Second Coming?



    6. Is the “toes” prophecy in conflict with the “two horned
      lamb” prophecy?



      1. If you say, “no,” would you bet your life on it? If
        you say, “yes,” would you bet your life on it?



      2. What should a believer conclude from these two
        prophecies? (I think absolute certainty about
        prophetic interpretation is dangerous arrogance.
        Certainty undermines the idea of constant readiness.
        What steels my opinion the most is the fact that
        God’s people completely misread Jesus’ first coming.
        Couple that with His repeated warning that His Second
        Coming will also be unexpected.)



    7. Today we see Christians ganging up with pagans to attack
      fellow believers over religious liberty issues. Pat
      Robertson, James Dobson and Jerry Falwell are common
      targets. Part of the attack stems from a prophetic
      certainty that fellow believers (as opposed to pagans)
      will try to limit religious liberty by breaching the “wall
      of separation” between church and state. Let’s turn to
      that next.



  4. SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE



    1. When you hear the term “separation of church and state,”
      what do you understand it to mean?



      1. Does it mean the government cannot give money to
        church schools?



      2. Does it mean the government cannot put the Ten
        Commandments, a manger scene or a cross on public
        property?



      3. Some say Christian parents who home school their
        children or send their children to religious schools
        should get a tax credit because they pay to support
        the local public schools, but do not use them. Would
        a tax credit violate the separation of church and
        state?



    2. Can you think of any Bible text that says it is wrong for
      the government to give support to religious institutions?



    3. Can you think of any Bible texts that support the idea
      that government should give support to religious
      institutions?



    4. Let’s turn to Nehemiah 2:1-3. Do you know this story? What
      had God put in the heart of Nehemiah? (Read Nehemiah 2:4-5.)



      1. Was Nehemiah just asking to be sent to be able to
        rebuild Jerusalem and God’s Temple? (Read Nehemiah
        2:8 – he was asking for building materials.)



    5. Was the idea that the government should give God’s people
      money to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple unprecedented?
      (No! Read Ezra 1:1-3.)



    6. If God put it in the heart of these governmental leaders
      to financially support His cause (even the rebuilding of
      His “church”), on what basis can we claim it is wrong for
      that to happen today?



      1. Can we claim the times have changed?



        1. If so, does this apply to other Biblical
          principles?



      2. Can we claim God changed His mind? He no longer wants
        government money?



    7. Our lesson (Thursday) has an interesting historical note
      about attempts to limit religious freedom in the United
      States in the late 1800’s and efforts by church leaders to
      stop this problem.



      1. Should the church try to stop infringements on
        religious liberty?



      2. Should we be careful about the advice given to us by
        “religious liberty” leaders? How can we know what is
        good advice and what is not?



        1. Should all advice be tested by the Bible or (in
          the U.S.) the U.S. Constitution? (Consider a
          very interesting quote from a writer involved in
          the debate of that time period who took the
          position that government aid to religion should
          not be questioned: “The Lord still moves upon
          the hearts of kings and rulers in behalf of His
          people, and it becomes those who are so deeply
          interested in the religious liberty question not
          to cut off any favors, or withdraw themselves
          from the help that God has moved men to give,
          for the advancement of His cause.” E.G. White,
          Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 197-203)



    8. From where does the term “separation of church and state”
      come? (It is not in the U.S. Constitution. It comes from
      an exchange, in 1802, of letters between Thomas Jefferson
      and Nehh Dodge (among others) of the Danbury Baptist
      Association. Jefferson wrote that he thought the
      prohibition in the First Amendment against any “law
      respecting an establishment of religion” created a “wall
      of separation between church and state.”)



      1. While it is far from clear (to any student of
        Jefferson) that Tom Jefferson would consider any of
        the items we previously discussed as church state
        separation problems, to whom should we look for our
        position- the Bible or Tom Jefferson?



      1. What do the disciples tell us we should do when we
        face a conflict between the words of man and the
        words of God? ( Acts 5:29)



    1. Our lesson (Wednesday) speaks of religious people having
      influence at all levels of government. Is it wrong to
      encourage our laws to reflect Biblical principles instead
      of pagan principles? (Our lesson seems to suggest this is
      bad.)



      1. Should, for example, we try to encourage our
        government promote the teaching of the Creation
        account as opposed to the evolutionary theory?



        1. Or would that have the government improperly
          promoting religion?



        2. Or are both explanations (Creation and
          evolution) of the origins of life “religious” in
          that they are a matter of faith (belief based on
          observation) rather than evidence?



        3. Are we promoting pagan religious doctrine by
          sitting idly by while Biblical teachings are
          swept from the public schools and the public
          square?



        4. Is it a violation of the separation of church
          and state to pattern the laws of a nation after
          Biblical principles? (Consider this counsel:
          “The laws of [earthly] governments shold be in
          harmony with the law of Jehovah, the standard by
          which all created beings are judged.” E.G.
          White, Letter 187, 1903, p.5)



    2. Friend, God gave us prophecies about the future for our
      comfort during difficult times to come, not to make us
      arrogant about the future. Our best course is to
      constantly be prepared and alert for Jesus’ Second Coming
      however events unfold. An important part of being prepared
      is to encourage prominent fellow Christians and not join
      with pagans in heaping scorn on them.



  1. Next week: The Certainty of the Second Coming.