Is This the End? Bible Study Guide: Signs of God's Providence in a Disturbing New World

By Dr. David Jeremiah

We have almost become immune to the reality of today's headlines: from terrorism to natural disasters to political upheavals to refugees to disease to nuclear threats to failing economies...and the list goes on. People are thinking and asking, "Is this the end?" Nobody can answer that question specifically. In fact, Jesus warned about setting dates for the end of the age. But this we can say: Never have so many world-level events developed so rapidly and with such catastrophic implications. These events bring to mind the apostle Paul's words about "birth pangs" before the end of the age. 

In Is This the End? Study Guide, Pastor David Jeremiah looks at ten major developments in America and the world that almost defy imagination. Just a few years ago, nobody could have imagined the things we hear about daily in the news. We need to understand these events: what they are, what the Bible says about them, and how we should respond as followers of Christ. 

Follow Dr. Jeremiah as he unfolds five developments in America and five developments on the international stage–all of which beg the question, "Is this the end?"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Oct 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9780310086192

Dr. David Jeremiah

Dr. David Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point, an international ministry committed to providing Christians with sound Bible teaching through radio and television, the internet, live events, and resource materials and books. He is the author of more than fifty books, including Where Do We Go From Here?, Forward, The World of the End, and The Great Disappearance. Dr. Jeremiah serves as the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California. He and his wife, Donna, have four grown children and twelve grandchildren.

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© 2016 David P. Jeremiah

Box 3838, San Diego, CA 92163

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ISBN 978-0-310-08618-5

ISBN 978-0-310-08619-2 (eBook)

First printing September 2016

Ebook Instructions

In this ebook edition, please use your device’s note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response Here]. Use your device’s highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

Contents

Ebook Instructions

About This Study Guide

Introduction

PART I: IS THIS THE END FOR AMERICA?

LESSON 1: The Age of Anything Goes (Romans 1:18–32)

LESSON 2: The Bleeding of Our Borders (Selected Scriptures)

LESSON 3: The Increase of Intolerance (Selected Scriptures)

LESSON 4: The Apathy of America (Selected Scriptures)

LESSON 5: The Remedy of Revival (2 Chronicles 34–36)

PART II: IS THIS THE END FOR THE WORLD?

LESSON 6: The Isolation of Israel (Genesis 12:1–3)

LESSON 7: The Insurgency of ISIS (Selected Scriptures)

LESSON 8: The Resurrection of Russia (Ezekiel 38–39)

LESSON 9: The Rapture of the Redeemed (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18)

LESSON 10: Translated Before the Tribulation (Selected Scriptures)

Leader’s Guide

About Dr. David Jeremiah and Turning Point

Stay Connected

About This Study Guide

The purpose of this study guide is to reinforce Dr. David Jeremiah’s dynamic, in-depth teaching and to aid the reader in applying biblical truth to his or her daily life. This study guide is designed to be used in conjunction with Dr. Jeremiah’s People Are Asking . . . Is This the End? trade book and audio series, but it may also be used by itself for personal or group study.

STRUCTURE OF THE LESSONS

Each lesson is based on one of the messages in the People Are Asking . . . Is This the End? audio series and trade book and focuses on specific passages in the Bible. Each lesson is composed of the following elements:

Outline: The outline at the beginning of the lesson gives a clear, concise picture of the topic being studied and provides a helpful framework for readers as they listen to Dr. Jeremiah’s teaching or read the trade book.

Overview: The overview summarizes Dr. Jeremiah’s teaching on the passage being studied in the lesson. Readers should refer to the Scripture passages in their own Bibles as they study the overview. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture verses quoted are taken from the New King James Version.

Application: This section contains a variety of questions designed to help readers dig deeper into the lesson and the Scriptures and to apply the lesson to their daily lives. For Bible study groups or Sunday school classes, these questions will provide a springboard for group discussion and interaction.

Did You Know? This section presents a fascinating fact, historical note, or insight that adds a point of interest to the preceding lesson.

USING THIS GUIDE FOR GROUP STUDY

The lessons in this study guide are suitable for Sunday school classes, small-group studies, elective Bible studies, or home Bible study groups. Each person in the group should have his or her own study guide.

When possible, the study guide should be used with the corresponding audio series. You may wish to assign the study guide lesson as homework prior to the meeting of the group and then use the meeting time to listen to Dr. Jeremiah’s teaching and discuss the lesson.

FOR CONTINUING STUDY

For a complete listing of Dr. Jeremiah’s materials for personal and group study, call 1-800-947-1993, go online to www.DavidJeremiah.org, or write to Turning Point, P.O. Box 3838, San Diego, CA 92163.

Dr. Jeremiah’s Turning Point program is currently heard or viewed around the world on radio, television, and the Internet in English. Momento Decisivo, the Spanish translation of Dr. Jeremiah’s messages, can be heard on radio in every Spanish speaking country in the world. The television broadcast is also broadcast by satellite throughout the Middle East with Arabic subtitles.

Contact Turning Point for radio and television program times and stations in your area. Or visit our website at www.DavidJeremiah.org.

Is This the End?

INTRODUCTION

The title of Dr. David Jeremiah’s series, and the title of this accompanying study guide— Is This the End? —could have been plucked right from the daily headlines. The entire title— People Are Asking . . . Is This the End?— says it all. People are trying to understand the crises erupting all around the world. From terrorism to natural disasters to political upheavals to refugees to disease to nuclear threats to failing economies . . . and the list goes on. Never before have so many worldwide events developed so quickly and with such catastrophic implications. People are, in fact, asking, Is this the end?

Jesus Christ said it was vanity to theorize about the exact time of the end of the age (Mark 13:31–33). But we do know there will be birth pangs as all of creation labors under the effects of sin, laboring to give birth to new heavens and a new earth (Romans 8:22). Are we approaching the end of the age?

This series and study guide can’t answer that question specifically. The purpose of this series is to step back from the trees and look at the forest. To swap our daily micro-view that we get from the media and take a macro-view at what is happening in the world. To do that, Dr. Jeremiah focuses on ten developments that signal a significant shift in the moral, spiritual, and geo-political landscape of our world and the United States.

The ten developments are divided equally into two parts: Is This the End for America? and Is This the End for the World? Each is explained and evaluated from a biblical perspective.

The first part explains five developments taking place in America:

The Age of Anything Goes: Looks at the devolving moral standards in America. Our nation has lost her moral compass and is adrift.

The Bleeding of Our Borders: Tackles the divisive issue of immigration from a biblical and practical point of view.

The Increase of Intolerance: Examines how those who believe in Christ have become the most persecuted group in America. Christianity has been moved out of the mainstream of the culture in both politics and the marketplace.

The Apathy of America: Studies America’s founding and past blessings, our present loss of God’s favor, and possible scenarios for America’s future.

The Remedy of Revival: Reviews the historical revivals that kept America from sinking into immorality and apostasy—and how revival could yet rescue America again.

The second part explains five developments taking place around the world:

The Isolation of Israel: The nation where God’s chosen people are coming back together is both prosperous and persecuted. What does the future hold for the world’s most important people?

The Insurgency of ISIS: The recent insurgency of ISIS on the world stage, with ancient roots in Middle Eastern racial and religious tensions, epitomizes radical Islamic militancy. Their goal of a worldwide Islamic government means those outside the Middle East must be cautiously aware of their intentions.

The Resurrection of Russia: The nation that was almost irrelevant following the dissolution of the Soviet Union has come roaring back. Russia will play a significant role in end-time events.

The Rapture of the Redeemed: The next event on God’s prophetic calendar—the removal of the Church before the start of the seven-year Tribulation.

Translated Before the Tribulation: The one event that no right-thinking person on earth should want to be around for. What it is and how to avoid it.

This series and study guide will equip you to understand some of the shifts happening in our world today—and to make spiritual preparations for whatever comes.

PART I

Is This the End for America?

LESSON 1

The Age of Anything Goes

ROMANS 1:18–32

This lesson defines the issues playing a role in our culture today and offers insights into how the Christian can make a difference in an age where anything goes.

OUTLINE

We live in a time that is historically unprecedented in its open idolatry, debauchery, and pursuit of immorality, but as we look to God’s Word we gain understanding on how to live for Christ during a time of moral decline.

I. The Expression of Our Moral Decline

A. Depravity in Our Minds

B. Depravity in Our Marriages

C. Depravity in Our Military

D. Depravity in Medicine

II. The Explanation of Our Moral Decline

A. The Historical Explanation

B. The Biblical Explanation

OVERVIEW

We live in an age of decadence, where the shameful acts of yesterday are the celebrated triumphs of today. Perversions are seen as normal, purity is labeled as puritanical, and the pursuit of personal pleasure is king. As Christians we should not be surprised at the depths to which humanity continues to sink because Scripture clearly speaks of man’s propensity to sin and God’s holy intolerance of it. It is no wonder that we have found ourselves in a place where anything goes.

Anything Goes is the memorable toe-tapping song written by Cole Porter in 1934. If you listen closely to the lyrics you will find they celebrate the moral free fall of the American twentieth century. We’ve rewound the clock, say the lyrics. Profanity and nudity are in vogue, and now God knows—anything goes.

Anything Goes represents the moral relativism that has infected our culture, leaving the West on the brink of spiritual collapse. Ironically, it’s a philosophy that ruined Cole Porter’s own life. His secretary lamented that her boss never found the strength that came from faith in God. We’re living in a world where anything goes, but nothing satisfies. That is why it is vital for Christ-followers to resist the siren calls of our decadent age.

The