Dr. Robert Jeffress - Perfect Ending: Why Your Eternal Future Matters Today

PERFECT
ENDING

WHY YOUR FUTURE
MATTERS TODAY

OTHER BOOKS BY ROBERT JEFFRESS

Twilights Last Gleaming
How Can I Know?

WHY YOUR FUTURE
MATTERS TODAY

ROBERT JEFFRESS

Copyright 2014 by Robert Jeffress

Published by Worthy Publishing, a division of Worthy Media, Inc.,
134 Franklin Road, Suite 200, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027.

Worthy is a registered trademark of Worthy Media, Inc.
HELPING PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE HEART OF GOD

eBook available wherever digital books are sold

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Perfect Ending was previously published as As Time Runs Out by Robert Jeffress.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

For foreign and subsidiary rights, contact

Published in association with Yates & Yates, www.yates2.com

ISBN: 978-1-61795-183-1 (trade paper)

Cover Design by Scott Williams | Richmond & Williams

Cover Image Bateleur | Crestock

Interior Design and Typesetting: ThinkpenDesign.com

Jeffress, Robert, 1955
Perfect ending / Robert Jeffress.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61795-183-1 (pbk.)
1. End of the world. I. Title.
BT877.J44 2014
236.9--dc23

Printed in the United States of America

14 15 16 17 LBM 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Mark and Patty Lovvorn

In appreciation for your faithful
friendship through the years and your
leadership in creating the new campus
for First Baptist Church of Dallas.

Have you ever read the novel Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson? The novella tells the story of a magnificent ocean liner named the Titan that strikes an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York and sinks in the middle of the ocean. You are probably thinking, This sure does sound like the real story of the Titanic. Yet Robertsons novel differs from the actual event in several ways. The ship in Futility was 1,800 feet long while the real Titanic was 1,882 feet long. The Titan was able to displace 66,000 tons of water, while the Titanic was able to displace 70,000 tons of water. Yet both ships were triple-screw ocean liners that could travel up to twenty-five knots per hour and transport three thousand passengers.

You might wonder why Morgan Robertson would bother to write a novella that so closely approximated a real-life event. And why go to the trouble of varying some of the facts ever so slightly including the name of the ship: Titan versus Titanic? The reason is

It is amazing to think that a book written more than a decade earlier could so accurately forecast a historical event like the sinking of the Titanic. But it is even more fascinating to realize that the Bible is able to foretell with laser-like accuracy events that will occur hundreds and even thousands of years after it was written. One can hardly turn a page of Scripture without finding some reference to a future event. Yet, in spite of the large amount of space devoted to prophetic themes, few Christians have a clear understanding of the events that will lead to the return of Jesus Christ. Maybe you are one of those Christians who:

reaches for Tylenol when your Read Through the Bible plan lands you in the book of Daniel;

thinks about changing churches when your pastor announces a year-long study in the book of Revelation;

breaks out in a cold sweat if a new Christian asks you to briefly explain the terms Rapture, Tribulation, and Millennium;

wonders why you should purchase this book instead of Seven Scintillating Secrets for a Sensual Marriage.

Evangelist Billy Graham once observed that the most neglected teaching in the church today is the second coming of Jesus Christ.prophecy I have discovered four major objections to studying Bible prophecy:

Most Christians are convinced that you must possess a seminary degree (or at least some skill in reading tea leaves) to comprehend the events surrounding the return of Jesus Christ. Not long ago I was visiting with the pastor of one of the largest churches in the denomination in which I serve (Southern Baptist). This man has an earned ThD from a respected seminary and preaches to thousands of people each week. He said, Robert, would you please write a simple book explaining Bible prophecy so that people like me can understand it? If this doctor of theology feels inadequate to understand prophecy, its no wonder that thousands in his congregation will never hear a series of messages on books of the Bible like Daniel and Revelation.

One of my closest friends is convinced that God never meant for us to understand prophecy: If God really wanted us to understand these things, why didnt He make them clearer in Scripture? My response is, God has clearly explained end time events in Scripture. As an example I have directed his attention to Matthew 2425.

As Jesus and His disciples were leaving the temple, Jesus remarked that one day every stone of that magnificent place of worship would be torn down. Obviously shaken at such a statement (How would you respond if someone told you that one day the church you attend would be completely leveled?), the disciples asked the obvious question: Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3).

We know from history that about forty years after the disciples question, the Roman conqueror Titus entered Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. But it is clear from their question that this is not the only event with which they were concerned. They also wanted to know when Christ would return and what signs would precede His return and the end of the age. Notice what Jesus did not say in reply to their inquiry: Boys, there is no way you could understand these eventsespecially you, Peter!

Or, This is nothing you need to concern yourselves with. Trust me. Everything will pan out in the end.

Or, You shouldnt care about the end-time events. All you should be concerned with is sharing the gospel with as many people as possible.

Instead, Jesus answered the disciples question with a lengthy explanation concerning end-time events. Although Jesus refused to answer the question when (in verse 36, Jesus confessed that even He did not know when these events would occur), He clearly answered what will happen:

And Jesus answered and said to them, See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end... Therefore when you see the Abomination of Desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains... But immediately after the tribulation of those days the Sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:46, 1516, 2930)