Video Transcript: What the Bible really says about the end times Dr. Chip Bennett

The First-Century Expectation of God's Deliverance

If I could take you back to the first century,
and we could walk through the Middle East,
and we could actually talk with Jewish people,

We would find something remarkable.

And here’s the thing—
We don’t even need the Bible to tell us this.
We know this historically.

In the first century,
There was a buzz in the air.

There was a sense of excitement.
A feeling of anticipation.

Because the Jewish people were a proud people,
And they had a story—

A story given to them by God.

And in that story,
God had promised that one day, He would deliver them again.

And in the first century, many believed—
"Maybe, just maybe, God is finally about to do what He said He would do."

Understanding First-Century Jewish Hope

Now, for many of us today,
It’s hard to understand what that first-century world was like.

Because let’s be honest—
Most of us haven’t spent our lives studying first-century Judaism.

And that’s okay.

But what I can tell you is this:

The Jewish people of that time
Saw things differently than we often do.

• They didn’t expect some cataclysmic end-of-the-world event.
• They didn’t believe in a destruction of everything.
• Instead, they believed that God would act in history.

Why?

Because their God was a God of history.

And just as God had:

• Delivered them from Egypt
• Led them to the Promised Land
• Given them laws and a new way of life

They believed that God would do it again.

Not in some abstract or distant way—
But in real time, in real space, and in Israel itself.

• O Come, O Come, Emmanuel—
• And ransom captive Israel.

They believed this deeply.

And it sustained them.
It gave them hope in the midst of suffering.

Because no matter how dark things got,
They had the prophets’ promises to hold on to.

And if we could go back and talk to them,
It wouldn’t take long before we’d hear those stories of hope.

A World Groaning for Redemption

Even Paul—
A great Jewish thinker—
Understood this.

In Romans 8, he writes:

"The world is groaning for its redemption."

Notice—
He doesn’t say the world is groaning to be destroyed.

He says it’s groaning to be redeemed.

And even in Revelation, when we read about a new world,
The word "new" isn’t about obliteration—

It’s about renewal.

Like a new moon—
It’s not a brand-new celestial body—
It’s a renewal of the cycle.

So, in first-century Jewish thought,
The world wasn’t going to be annihilated—

It was going to be restored.

And they believed it could happen at any moment.

The Prophetic Vision of a Renewed World

They would tell stories about it.

They would encourage one another with these poetic visions of the prophets.

They would say things like:

"In the latter days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the highest of all the mountains."

Now—
Anyone who’s been to Jerusalem knows—
It’s not a mountain—it’s a hill!

So these words are poetic.

They’re telling us something deeper than what’s on the surface.

They’re saying:

"One day, God's kingdom will rise above all the kingdoms of the earth."

And in that day—

• All nations will flow to it.
• The glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

They believed that one day,

People would say:

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways, and that we may walk in His paths."

And why would they do that?

"For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

And what would happen next?

• He will judge between the nations.
• He will decide disputes for many peoples.
• And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.
• Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

These were the stories that sustained them.
These were the promises that gave them hope.

The Tension Within Jewish Expectations

Now—
Not every Jewish person saw things unfolding the same way.

• Some believed one thing.
• Others believed another.

They had differences in how they thought God would act.

But one thing was certain—

They all believed that one day, God would act.

And so—
There was a buzz in the air.

There was excitement.

Because they were waiting for something big to happen.

Talking About the End Times

Now—
Let’s bring this back to today.

Because when we talk about the end times,
or the last days,
or eschatology (which just means the study of last things)—

Here’s what happens.

You know it. I know it.

In every church,
There are two kinds of people when you bring up this subject.

• Some people are like: “I don’t care about this stuff, man. I’m just trying to get through my day.”

  • “I just want my daughter to serve the Lord.”
  • “I just need to figure out my job situation.”
  • And listen—I hear you! 100%.

• But then there are others—

  • The moment you say “end times”,
  • The flag goes up.
  • Because this is their jam.
  • They love talking about it.

And in every church, in every service,
There are people thinking:

"Oh yeah, here we go—now we’re gonna see where Chip stands on this."

Because they already know where they stand.

And let’s be honest—
It’s almost like politics.

It can get that intense.

So let me just say this up front—

I am not here to try to persuade you to see things my way.

I am here as your pastor
To talk about what really matters.

Because—
Unless your head is completely buried in the sand—

You know the world is pretty crazy right now.

What Matters Most

So here’s what I want to say—

No matter where you stand on how the end times unfold—

Here’s what we know for sure:

God is in control.

And at the end of the day—
It’s not about charts and theories.

It’s about trusting the One who holds history in His hands.

And as we go deeper into this—
I want us to keep our eyes on Jesus.

Because no matter what happens—

He is the One who reigns.

He is the One who redeems.

And at the end of all things—

He is the One who wins.

A Message of Hope, Not Fear

Okay? And I think we all know this—
The world feels crazy right now.

But as your pastor,
I want to do one thing:

I want to give you hope rather than fear.

That’s really important.

Now, I also know that some of you are very passionate about this topic.
You’ve got your charts.
You’ve got your systems.
In fact—
You brought them with you today just in case you needed to correct me afterward.

Listen—
That’s fine.

I love you.
Seriously—I love people who get excited about this stuff.

But if this is your jam,
I just need you to hear this clearly—

At Grace, without any reservation,
we believe that Jesus will return one day—physically and literally.

I want to make sure you hear that.

So there’s no confusion,
So no one walks out of here saying:
"I don’t really know what that guy believes about Jesus coming back."

No, no.

Let me say it again—
Physically and literally.

Let’s not overcomplicate it.

I may not have your exact charts.
I may not have your exact timelines.
Who knows?
Maybe I do.

But here’s the bottom line—

We are all on the same team.
We believe that Jesus is coming back.

This is not a message about how it unfolds.
This is not a message debating views on the end times.

This message is here for one reason—

To give you hope.

The Common Phrase We Keep Hearing

Now, I say all of that because you know this, and I know this—

If you’ve been paying any attention lately,
you’ve probably heard this phrase a lot.

It’s all over social media.
It’s coming from pastors.
It’s on Christian TV.

And the phrase is this:

“The signs of the return of Jesus are all around.”

I see it all the time.

Now—
I want to be really clear here.

I’m not trying to be snarky.
I’m not trying to say that Jesus isn’t coming back.

But I just want to walk you through my life—

Because my life is probably not that different from yours.

1988: The Signs Were “All Around”

If I could take you back to 1988—

• No internet
• No Facebook
• No constant news cycle

But if you had been in my church back then,
You would have heard the same phrase—

"The signs of Jesus' return are all around."

There were books predicting His return.
One book, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Happen in 1988,
Was flying off the shelves.

Hal Lindsey had written The Late Great Planet Earth,
Where he publicly stated—
"I don’t think the world is going to last much past 1988."

Because in 1948, Israel became a state,
And 40 years later, 1988 must be the moment.

There was a fever pitch of excitement.

I was in a youth group prayer meeting,
And it was getting intense.

Then, suddenly, someone yelled out—
"We’re being raptured right now!"

And I looked up like—
"Really? This is it? Oh... guess not."

And again—
I’m not making fun of that person.

(Her name was Becky, by the way.)

But my point is—
People were convinced.

And then...

It didn’t happen.

1990: The Gulf War Was “The End”

Now, that wasn’t even close to what happened in 1990
when the Gulf War started.

At the time, I was at Lee College.

One day, I was walking across campus,
just trying to get through school,
just trying to figure out what God had called me to do.

And as I passed a gathering spot,
I saw hundreds of people standing in front of a TV.

Some were on their knees, praying.
Others were laying on their faces, crying out to God.

I walked up and asked—
"What’s going on?"

And someone said—
"It’s the end of the world. The President is speaking."

I turned and saw George H. W. Bush saying—
"We are invading Iraq."

And people were losing it.

"This is it. The signs are all around. It’s the time."

And then...

It didn’t happen.

1999–2000: Y2K and the Prepper Movement

Not to be outdone,
Let’s talk about 1999–2000.

This was when the preppers really started.

People were in full panic mode.

And guess what phrase we heard again?

"The signs of Jesus’ return are all around."

And again—
I’m not saying this to be snarky.

I’m just saying—
Every time we hear this phrase,
And then nothing happens,

Here’s what I see as a pastor—

• People get confused.
• People get fearful.
• People get dismayed.

And worst of all—
Many people end up discouraged.

I’ve known so many people who were convinced
that Jesus was coming back at a certain time.

And when it didn’t happen,
They walked away from the faith entirely.

Because they felt like they had been lied to.

The Danger of Frenzies

See, here’s what happens—

When we get into these frenzies about Jesus’ return,
We’re usually stirring up fear and anxiety more than anything else.

And then, when the timeline doesn’t pan out—

What happens?

The church gets ridiculed.

Pastors who made bold predictions lose credibility.

And honestly—
It makes us all look bad.

So I just want to ask a question.

And I ask this humbly.
I ask this without any agenda.

I just ask this:

Is it possible…

That we might be missing something?

What Really Matters

Listen—
I’m not here to argue timelines.

I’m not here to criticize those who earnestly watch for Christ’s return.

I just want us to remember this:

Jesus is coming back.

We know that.
We believe that.
That is certain.

But let’s be careful.

Because our job isn’t to get caught up in hype.
Our job is to be faithful.

Jesus Himself said—
"No one knows the day or the hour."

So instead of worrying about when He’s coming back,
Maybe we should focus on being ready.

Because that’s what really matters.

Are We Missing Something?

Is it just possible?

I know, I know—
You’ve got your charts.
You’ve got your pitchforks ready.
You’re waiting for me to say something you don’t like.

But I’m not going to do that.

I’m not here to attack anybody.
I’m not here to stir up controversy.

I’m here to be your pastor.

I’m here to help you through a very tumultuous time in our world.

And listen—
If the Lord comes back today, that would be awesome.

Can you imagine?
Can you imagine what it would be like to finally see Jesus—
The one I’ve given my life to?
The one you’ve given your life to?

I can’t imagine what it would be like to see my mom again.

That would be incredible.

But I also know this—
I’ve lived long enough to see all the frenzies.
I’ve watched all the fear and anxiety.
I’ve seen how it plays out.

So I’m just asking the question:

Is it possible that we might be missing something?

The Next Two Weeks

So here’s what I want to do—
For the next two weeks, I want to talk about this.

And I want you to hear me out.
I want you to lean in.
I want you to trust me as your pastor.

I’m not here to mess you up.
I’m not here to teach you something crazy.

I think you know me well enough by now—
I try to be very biblical.

But I want to take us through a passage
that, honestly—
I have never seen used in popular end-times teaching.

And that’s strange.

Because the people who study first-century Judaism,
the scholars who study apocalyptic literature,
the experts who analyze the Dead Sea Scrolls—

They all know this passage.

And they all say—
"If you don’t pay attention to this, you’re missing a lot of what Jesus was actually saying."

A Challenge for Those Who Love End-Times Study

So, if this is your jam,
If you love prophecy,
If you think you’ve got all the codes and all the keys figured out—

Here’s my challenge to you:

If I go to a passage that you’ve never considered before,
And you realize—
"Wow, I didn’t know that."

Just be honest.

It’s okay.
No one knows everything.

I’m not here to give you a hard time.
I’m not here to debate.

I’m here to say—
"Hey, maybe we’ve been missing something."

And maybe, just maybe,
What we’re about to look at
Could bring us more hope, more security, and more freedom—
Instead of the fear and anxiety
That often comes from getting caught up in end-times frenzies.

Jesus on Trial: A Profound Declaration

The only person who could destroy the temple and rebuild it was God Himself.

And they knew that.

Because in their history, when the Babylonians came in and destroyed the temple,
it wasn’t just the Babylonians.

God had allowed it.

It was an act of judgment.

Jeremiah lamented over it.
Isaiah prophesied about it.
The other prophets spoke of it.

They couldn’t believe the temple had been destroyed.

Because—

• No temple meant no sacrifices.
• No sacrifices meant no atonement.

But they also knew this—
God had promised through the prophets that He would rebuild the temple.

And He did.

And this temple—the one that Jesus walked in—
was the rebuilt temple.

So now, here’s Jesus—
standing before the high priest—
and they accuse Him of saying He will destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.

And look at how the high priest reacts:

The high priest stood up and said,
“Have you no answer to make?
What is it that these men testify against you?”

He’s got something now.
He’s excited.

But then—

Jesus remained silent.

Jesus Speaks

But the high priest isn’t going to let it go.

Because if Jesus is walking around saying He can destroy the temple,
then that must mean He is more than just a man.

And that is unacceptable.

So the high priest puts Him under oath.

“I adjure you by the living God,
tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

This is serious.

The high priest is demanding,
"Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of God?"

If you’re reading this,
you should be on the edge of your seat.

What is Jesus going to say?

This has got to be important.

And the first sentence is cryptic:

Jesus said to him, “You have said so.”

The Mysterious “You Have Said So”

This phrase—
"You have said so."

It appears three times in Matthew.

• To Judas
• To Caiaphas (here)
• To Pilate

And every time, Jesus is saying—
"What you’re saying is true, but you don’t fully understand what you’re saying."

It’s as if He’s saying—
"Yes, but not in the way you think."

And then—

Jesus drops a bombshell.

“I tell you, from now on,
you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power
and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Whoa.

You may have read that and thought—
"I don’t remember reading this."

Or maybe you do remember it,
but you never really thought about what it meant.

That’s okay.

Because you know who didn’t miss it?

The high priest.

He knew exactly what Jesus was claiming.

And look at his reaction—

Then the high priest tore his robes and said,
“He has uttered blasphemy!
What further witnesses do we need?
You have now heard His blasphemy!”

And he turns to the council:

“What is your judgment?”

And they answer:

“He deserves death.”

Do We Really Know What’s Going On Here?

Now—let’s be honest for a moment.

If I were to ask you,
"What exactly is Jesus saying here?"

Would you be confident in your answer?

If I were to ask,
"Is He quoting something?"
You might say,
"Maybe?"

If I asked,
"Is He quoting from the Old Testament?"
You might say,
"Possibly?"

If I asked,
"Where exactly is He quoting from?"
Would you know?

And if you did,
Would you know the context?

If we don’t know,
we might miss a crucial piece of what Jesus was saying.

Because when Jesus says,
"You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power
and coming on the clouds of heaven,"

He’s quoting Scripture.

He’s actually quoting two Old Testament passages.

The Two Key Passages

1. Psalm 110

“The Lord says to my Lord:
Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”

2. Daniel 7

“Behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a Son of Man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before Him.”

Now—
if we don’t understand these two passages,
we might misinterpret a lot of what Jesus is saying here—
and in other places in the Gospels.

Psalm 110: The King and the Priest

Psalm 110 is one of the most quoted Old Testament passages in the New Testament.

The Jewish people knew it well.

But they struggled with it.

Because David writes:

“The Lord (Yahweh) says to my Lord (Adonai):
Sit at my right hand.”

Hold on.

Shouldn’t David’s Lord be Yahweh?
Who is this other Lord?

They didn’t know what to do with this passage.
Some Jewish commentaries even debated—
"Is this hinting at two Lords?"

But that was blasphemy,
because God is one.

So they didn’t quite know how to handle it.

But Jesus knew exactly what it meant.

Because when He rose from the dead,
He sat at the right hand of power.

And He tells Caiaphas—

"In just a little while, you will see me seated at the right hand of power."

Caiaphas knew exactly what He was saying.

That Jesus was claiming to be—

• The King in Psalm 110.
• The Lord in Psalm 110.
• The Priest in Psalm 110.

And that was unacceptable to them.

Because in Jewish thinking,
the kings came from one lineage,
and the priests came from another.

They were never combined.

But Psalm 110 prophesied that one day,
someone would come who would be both King and Priest.

And Jesus was saying—
"That’s me."

Next Week: Daniel 7

So—

Is it possible
we’ve been missing something important?

Is it possible
that when Jesus said this,
He was telling us something far greater
than just an event that happens in the future?

Next week, we’ll look at Daniel 7—
because if you understand Psalm 110 and Daniel 7,
it changes everything.

And it might just give us
more hope, more confidence, and more peace
than we’ve ever had before.

Jesus Has All Authority

Jesus came and said:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

Listen to me.

We don’t live as if this is true.

Because when we run around in fear and anxiety, saying,
"Oh my gosh, the world is falling apart!"

We forget something crucial.

All authority—not some, not partial—
ALL authority in heaven and on earth
has already been given to Jesus.

He rules in the midst of His enemies,
because He is seated at the right hand of power.

The Great Commission & Isaiah 2

Then Jesus says:

“Go therefore off the mountain into the nations.”

Oh.

Wait.

Isaiah 2?

That passage the Jewish people knew so well—
the one about the nations coming to hear God’s Word?

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

And then—

“Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Three Takeaways for This Weekend

1. We Don’t Need to Fear Tumultuous Times

Because Jesus has all authority and power.

There’s not some secret group running the world.
There’s not some guy coming to take over everything.
There’s not some conspiracy behind it all.

Jesus rules the world right now.

And if He reigns,
then even in ways we don’t understand,
He is working everything for His children’s good.

You might say,
"I don’t know how that works."

Guess what? Nobody does.

That’s why we call it faith.

Think of David when he faced Goliath.

We talk about his faith—
but where did his confidence really come from?

David had a word from Samuel
that he would be king of Israel.

And guess what?

He wasn’t king yet.

So what did that mean?

Goliath couldn’t kill him.

David knew that,
because God had already spoken.

And if God’s Word said it,
then it was settled.

And Jesus said,
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

So if Jesus reigns,
then He reigns.

Revelation: What We Know for Sure

Now, I know the book of Revelation can seem overwhelming.

But regardless of how you interpret it,
there are three truths in that book that cannot be debated:

1. The end of Revelation brings long-awaited justice.
2. The end of Revelation is the renewal of all things.
3. The end of Revelation is God with us.

How do we know that’s true?

Because Jesus has already been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

That should make us rejoice.

No matter what happens in our world, we can say—
"I know God is good."

Even when we can’t see it—
Even when it looks dark—
Even when everything seems chaotic—

We know that on Friday,
when Jesus was crucified,

it looked bad.

But then—

Sunday came.

And everything changed.

2. We Shouldn’t Live in Paralysis During Tumultuous Times

But we do, don’t we?

We sit around, watching the news, saying—
"Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?"

No.

We have work to do.

Jesus said,

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."

We don’t have time to sit around watching doomsday predictions.

We don’t need to stock up on freeze-dried food.

We need to be going out and making disciples.

Why?

Because Jesus reigns.

And He’s coming back.

And when He does—
it will be glorious.

We ought to be the happiest people on earth,
because we already know how the story ends.

3. We Don’t Need to Unhealthily Obsess Over the End Times

(We Need to Be Redeeming the Time Instead)

Jesus Himself said:

"No one knows the day or the hour."

Yet somehow,
every couple of years,
somebody thinks they figured it out.

Paul says it best:

"Look carefully then how you walk,
not as unwise but as wise,
making the best use of the time,
because the days are evil."
(Ephesians 5:15-16)

Our job is not to try and crack the end-times code.

Our job is to redeem the time.

A Final Encouragement from Revelation

In the book of Revelation,
John sees Jesus holding seven stars in His right hand.

The seven stars represent the angels of the churches—
some believe they are the pastors,
some believe they are spiritual beings—
but either way, it means this:

Jesus holds the affairs of the church in His hands.

Then John falls at His feet as though dead.

But Jesus reaches down—
and lays His right hand on him and says:

"Fear not.
I am the First and the Last,
the Living One.
I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore.
And I have the keys of death and Hades."

Let that sink in.

Jesus—
the One who holds the universe together—
can also reach down and personally touch us with His hand.

He rules all things—
and yet, He cares for you and me.

And He tells us,
“Fear not.”

Why?

Because He has the keys.

And if you are His child,
you don’t need to be afraid of death or hell.

Because you’ve already been given the keys to the kingdom.

A Final Word of Encouragement

So here’s my challenge for you this week:

Instead of getting caught up in the frenzy—
Instead of letting fear take over—

Would you consider embracing the hope and security that Jesus offers?

Would you consider trusting that the One
who holds the universe in His hands
also holds you?

We’re going to sing one final song.

It’s actually a compilation of two songs,
and I asked the worship team to do it for this very reason.

I just want you to sing it freely.

Let faith rise up in your heart.

And next week—

Bring everyone you know.

Because we are going back to this passage,
and we’re going to dig even deeper.

And my hope and prayer is this—

That you walk away from here with a real sense of hope.

That you leave knowing,
He’s got the whole world in His hands.

And He’s a good God.

And no matter what comes our way,

He will deliver us—
and one day,
we will be with Him forever.

And that, my friends—
is the greatest message of hope you could ever hear.

Amen.