This is a study on the end times. When I say this, I know it will cause different reactions. Some will dive into this study with excitement, hoping to learn more about future events. Others will approach it with reluctance, wondering why they should dedicate the next six weeks to poking into what the Bible says about the future. 

Not surprisingly, I’m in the first camp. I’m genuinely interested in what happens next. Maybe because I’m getting older. My hourglass has more sand on the bottom than on the top. Eschatology (the study of end times) has become a fascination for me. I want to know what's around the corner.

I also find that understanding the future empowers me to face the present. Paul had this same opinion. He wrote, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize” (Philippians 3:13–14). The best of life is yet to be. Got challenges in the here-and-now? Then ponder what is to come.

This is why I’m delighted the Bible offers so much on the topic. Yet I offer this advice to those fascinated by the end times: Don’t ignore the Giver by focusing on the gift. Or, to put it another way, don’t ignore the Planner by focusing on the plan. Yes, the Bible speaks about the future of our world, the end of history, and the span of eternity beyond. But God didn’t give us these glimpses just so we could understand the future. He helps us see the plan to invite us to spend eternity with him.

Now to those in the second camp—those hesitant to study the end times—let me offer this advice: Setting your eyes on the future is good for you. In fact, it’s necessary. Listen again to Paul:

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1–2).

Set your minds on things above. Your soul needs gazes into the life to come. You need to envision your eternal home and the face of God. Why? Because heaven is the green vegetable in the spiritual diet. It keeps us healthy.

So read on. Study on. Ponder on. And be consumed with the things above.

-Max Lucado

Since entering the ministry in 1978, Max Lucado has served churches in Miami, Florida; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and San Antonio, Texas. He currently serves as the teaching minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. He is the recipient of the 2021 ECPA Pinnacle Award for his outstanding contribution to the publishing industry and society at large. He is America's bestselling inspirational author with more than 150 million products in print.