Jesus and the End Time | Introduction
General Overview
This is the Introduction page of an End Time prophecy website which includes sets of web pages and Adobe ® PDFs that together make up a writing which shows and discusses End Time teachings of Jesus that appear in the King James Version of the Bible, a version that the writer will often refer to as the KJV Bible. It does this mainly by quoting Bible passages ("texts" for short) that describe these teachings. In most cases these texts are followed by annotation-like Notes which cite and discuss other New Testament texts that are related to them or otherwise shed light on their meanings. In other cases these texts are followed by Notes which cite and discuss Old Testament texts that Jesus quotes from or alludes to in order to explain or support his End Time teachings. In all but a few cases the words of these texts are shown, in full, along with all of the accompanying verses necessary to read them in context. By showing texts this way the writer lets the KJV Bible describe the End Time teachings and End Time prophecies of Jesus in its own words and, where possible, in the words of Jesus himself. It is therefore reasonable to think of this writing as a description of the eschatology of Jesus that is based on the actual words of the Bible, and on discussions of how their meanings may be affected by the ways in which the same or similar words are used in other parts of the Bible.
In this writing the writer will often use the terms "End Time" and "End Times" interchangeably, both as nouns and as adjectives. He does this so that he can use these terms as generic substitutes for any of the many different terms that the Bible uses in texts that describe a time or period of time when God will intervene in human history, and put a final end to all evil and injustice. Examples of such texts include texts that describe teachings of Jesus about the end of the world, the world to come, the regeneration, and the Last Day. Other examples include texts that describe teachings of Jesus about heaven, the coming of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, salvation, and eternal life. Still others include texts that describe the teachings of Jesus about hell, everlasting punishment, eternal conscious torment, damnation, and the Day of Judgment. Using the terms "End Time" and "End Times" also has the advantage that it enables the writer to refer to texts of these kinds simply as "End Time texts" anytime he is making a point that does not require him to specify which kinds of texts he means. Finally, although these terms do not appear as such anywhere in the Bible, their use is supported by the Bible's use of the similar term "the time of the end" as such five times in the Book of Daniel; see Dan. 8:17, Dan. 11:35 and 40, and Dan. 12:4 and 9.
The Scope of This Writing: What Is Included and Why
This writing is not intended to show and discuss everything that the KJV Bible teaches about the End Time. Instead, it is mainly concerned with showing and discussing the things that Jesus is described as teaching about the End Time in New Testament books other than the Book of Revelation. It is also concerned with the things said about the End Time in the Biblical books that Jesus would have known and used during the time of his public ministry, i.e., the books of the Old Testament. While limiting the scope of this writing in this way prevents it from being used to learn everything the Bible teaches about the End Time, this limitation can be beneficial. This is because limiting the scope of this writing in this way forces readers to focus on understanding what the teachings of Jesus about the End Times were before these were added to by others who wrote about them long after his death. This is also because it means that, in cases where the writings of others are open to different interpretations, readers can use their understanding of the End Time teachings of Jesus to decide which interpretation he is most likely to have agreed with.
Some people will no doubt object to this writing on the ground that, since all of the things said in the Bible are inspired by the Holy Spirit, there is no reason to treat the things Jesus said about the End Time any differently than the things persons like Paul, Peter, John, James and Jude said about it long after his death. While this objection makes sense to a point, it does not take into account that, in the writer's opinion, it is unreasonable to treat Jesus as if he were just another person whose words and actions are described in the New Testament. This is because Jesus is much more than that. He is, in fact, its central figure and the person without whom it would not have been written. This is also because the New Testament describes Jesus as a person who is one with the Father (John 10:30), and who speaks the words his Father commands him to speak (John 12:49 and 14:10). As a result, the writer submits that giving words spoken by Jesus the same weight as those spoken by persons like Paul, who was not a follower of Jesus during the time of his public ministry, is tantamount to reducing him to "just another face in the crowd."
Other people may object to this writing on the ground that, by leaving out the Book of Revelation, it leaves out the book that has the most to say about the End Times. While this objection also makes sense to a point, it does not take into account that this book uses such obscure symbolism and enigmatic language that it supports many different and inconsistent interpretations. It also does not take into account that the Book of Revelation often leaves unclear who it is that is speaking, e.g., its author, Jesus, an unidentified angel, or simply a great voice from heaven. Finally, it does not take into account that the parts of the Book of Revelation that Red Letter editions of the KJV Bible show as words spoken by Jesus (parts of chapters 1-3 and a handful of verses in chapter 22) are not the parts of this book which are responsible for the elaborate and controversial descriptions of the End Time that often appear in the popular apocalyptic literature, and on other End Time prophecy websites. For all of these reasons, the writer believes that it is better to leave discussions of the meaning of the Book of Revelation to others and, instead, focus on providing the Scriptural background information that readers ought to have before trying to evaluate the claims that others make about this book.
The Structure of This Writing: How It Is Organized and Why
In this writing the writer tries to present the End Times teachings of Jesus in a manner that is free of sectarian bias. To do this he chooses the texts he includes in it by using selection and presentation processes that are as objective and transparent as possible. In the selection phase of this process he does this by including only Bible texts that are of objective End Time interest or significance. Generally speaking, this means that selected texts must include terms of the kind mentioned above, and other terms that have basically similar meanings or connotations. Some of the most important of these kinds of texts includes texts which use terms that relate to a kingdom or a judgment associated with the End Time or, in other words, to an End Time kingdom or End Time judgment. Others include texts which use terms that relate to a person's final destiny, and to any places, rewards, or punishments associated with that destiny. Not least among the latter, of course, are texts that seem to support or negate the idea of eternal conscious torment. By choosing texts in this way, the writer uses these terms in much the same way that a person uses a fishing net: to separate and keep things that are of value to him, and let other things go.
In the presentation phase of this process the writer assures objectivity and transparency by simply putting all selected texts in the order in which they appear in the Bible, and then dividing them into sets of texts that correspond to the books in which they appear. He then used those sets of texts to make web pages and PDFs that are named after those books. Because these sets of texts and their associated Notes are relatively long, the writer has found it necessary to include complete versions of these documents only as PDFs that can be read and downloaded from the Table of Contents page of this website, and to include only greatly shortened, preview-like versions thereof as web pages on its Home page. These web page versions may be opened by clicking the links shown under the heading titled "Main End Time Files" that appears at the lower left part of the Home page.
Also included under the Main End Time Files heading are links to web pages which focus on the lengthy speeches or discourses that the three Synoptic Gospels describe Jesus giving on the Mount of Olives shortly before his arrest. The writer singles these discourses out for special treatment because they include the Bible's longest and clearest descriptions of the teachings of Jesus about the events that will lead up to or accompany the coming of the Son of man, the Last Judgment, the criteria by which people will be judged, and the final fates that will be decreed for them. This is also because they also include the Bible's one and only use of the term "everlasting punishment" as such. While these discourses are commonly known as "Olivet Discourses", the writer will normally refer to them as "End Time Discourses" in order to make them fit seamlessly with the End Time terminology he uses throughout this writing.
Finally, the Main End Time Files include a web page titled "Notes on Everlasting Punishment". This page differs from the other pages shown under this heading because it does not limit itself to simply showing and discussing End Time texts. Instead, it cites and briefly discusses numerous End Time texts that shed light on the meaning of everlasting punishment, and the merits of arguments about the extent to which the teachings of the Bible in general, and Jesus in particular, support that idea and the arguably similar idea of eternal conscious torment. As a result, this page provides a good overview of the teachings of Jesus about the afterlife, and may therefore be a good place to start for readers who want no more than that. For those who do want more, the writer recommends the page titled "Issues", which has a link with that name that is located near the center of the Home page. This is because the Issues page brings together information from all parts of the Bible, and uses it to describe, in an orderly way, the origins of and relationships between the ideas that underlie the teachings of Jesus about the End Time, and the fates of those caught up in it.
In addition to the web pages included under the Main End Time Files heading the Home page includes a number of PDFs that appear under the heading titled "Auxiliary End Time Files". These PDFs have been included under this heading to provide important background information that could not be included in the Main End Time Files without greatly complicating them. The most important of these PDFs are called "Auxiliary Sense Files". In them the writer describes the senses, or possible different meanings, of the words the Bible uses to describe things. One of the most important of these is the PDF that describes different possible senses of the word everlasting. Others include PDFs that describe different possible senses of the word hell, the word heaven, the word kingdom, and phrases like the Son of man. In these PDFs the writer begins by formally describing the different senses in which the Bible uses a word, and then quoting examples of verses which use that word in those senses. Where necessary, he goes on to discuss the foreign language words from which these words have been translated into English. Because the things that can be learned from these PDFs can put the meaning of a text in a whole new light, their value should not be underestimated simply because the writer found it convenient to distinguish them from the Main End Time Files by using the word "Auxiliary".
While the Home page of this website shows other documents under the heading "Auxiliary Text Files", only the documents called Old and New Testament Text Lists are PDFs that can actually be opened from the Home Page. The other documents listed there are place holders that the writer shows on the Home page to make readers aware that there are other documents which are too numerous to show there, but which are shown and can be opened from the Table of Contents page. Most of these other documents comprise PDFs that include sets of Bible texts which are like those included elsewhere on the Home page, except that they do not include any annotation-like Notes. These PDFs are included so that readers can show any two Bible texts that appear in this writing in side-by-side or above-and-below relationships with one another. This capability is important because it enables readers to easily compare those texts on a line-by-line or word-by-word basis to easily determine if and how closely they are related to one another. Because instructions on how to do these things are described in Part III, the Special Display Features section of the Frequently Asked Questions (or FAQ) PDF, the writer will say no more about them here.
Finally, the Home page of this website includes an Illustrations page which can be opened via a link that appears near its center. In it the writer has included four collections of paintings, photos, and maps that he has selected to add a touch of visual reality and depth to some of the persons, places, and things he discusses on other pages and PDFs. In each case these illustrations are accompanied by descriptions that help explain what they show, why they are of interest, how they are related to one another. While this page is less densely packed with information than other parts of this writing, the writer believes that it helps put those other parts in a clearer physical and historical perspective. If any readers have additional or alternative illustrations they have the right to use, the writer will be pleased to make contact with them to discuss the possibility of adding or substituting them, and giving them full credit for their contributions.
