The Last Day of the World

Ten years ago, the world had eight days left.

December 21st, 2012 was looked on by more than a few people with fear in trembling. It was the day the Mayan calendar ran out, or, to be more precise in terms of what actually happened, completed its present cycle and reset. But some people preferred to believe it simply marked the end of the world.

Personally, I don’t believe many end of the world scenarios simply because there are prophetic markers that have yet to transpire. However, I want to qualify that by saying that I do believe in the possibility of prophetic markers being stacked up like dominoes, with an apparent chain reaction of events happening in quick succession, much like the 60s board game Mousetrap, or to use a more contemporary example a Rube Goldberg machine.

In The Church, much has been made of this verse in Matthew:

^{24:36 (NLT)} “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.

and its parallel in Mark

^{13:32 (NASB)} But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

but I am always quick to remind people that not knowing the day and the hour, does not mean we cannot know the times and the seasons.

^{Luke 21:8 (NCV)} Jesus said, “Be careful so you are not fooled. Many people will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the One’ and, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t follow them. ⁹ When you hear about wars and riots, don’t be afraid, because these things must happen first, but the end will come later.”

¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nations will fight against other nations, and kingdoms against other kingdoms. ¹¹ In various places there will be great earthquakes, sicknesses, and a lack of food. Fearful events and great signs will come from heaven…

^…25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On earth, nations will be afraid and confused because of the roar and fury of the sea. ²⁶ People will be so afraid they will faint, wondering what is happening to the world, because the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to happen, look up and hold your heads high, because the time when God will free you is near!”

Now I hear you saying, “Wait a minute! This passage is referencing the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and was fulfilled in AD 70.”

That’s true, Jesus says,

³² “I tell you the truth, all these things will happen while the people of this time are still living.”

I asked an old friend of mine and former seminary student about this, because it happens in the prophetic writings and also in the Psalms. He shared with me that he was taught that the prophets see across a line of time, with the vision of someone following stones skipping across the water. So we find prophecies having fulfillment at various junctures in history; and while the the Luke text here would seem to have its primary fulfillment in the destruction of the temple, it could also be argued that this is actually a secondary fulfillment because it is a mere foreshadowing of the main events to come.

Or consider the texts in Joel (2:10 and 2:31 and 3:15) where the sun is darkened and the moon shines with a red glow. This could be seen as having had a fulfillment in the Babylonian captivity, but in Matthew (24:29) and Revelation (6:12) the same phrase is applying to things taking place at the end of time.

Skipping stones, again.

Ten years later, as we read this, we are safely on the other side of the Mayan controversy. Until the next controversy happens. Or shocking news events remind us that while the entire world may not end today, your world or my world might. Life is short.

We need to live each day in the expectancy and immanence of Christ’s return.

 

Eschatology as Entertainment

This is David Wells, General Superintendent of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (direct Canadian equivalent of the Assemblies of God) writing this month in the denominational magazine, Testimony.  I believe his writing has broad application to Evangelicals and Christians in general…

An emphasis on the soon return of Christ (“Are you ready?”) has been replaced by a speculation regarding prophecy that tends to thrill more than mobilize.   It has to be said of Pentecostals that “…upward social mobility is clearly affectin gthe apocalyptic fervor and urgency as the world looks a little better to contemporary and more affluent North American Pentecostals.”  Thus in our orthodoxy (doctrine), we believe in the parousia (second coming); but in our ortopraxy (practice), the majority of us are not influenced by its reality.   This has obvious impact on values, lifestyle and ministry priorities.

When Jesus told His followers He would return again, He warned them about slipping into speculation or apathy.  “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”  (Matt 24:36).  Then, using three parables, He taught them to focus on watchfulness and fruitfulness while waiting for his return.   Lots of things were going to distract them from kingdom truth and priorities, so their posture had to be to one of watchful prayer (Parable of the Ten Virgins, Matthew 25: 1-13).  In that condition of readiness they were not to go and hide in a cave, but they were to live their lives in Him with productivity (Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30) and selfless service (Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Matthew 25: 31-46).

While we may not speculate quite as much today as those before us did on issues such as the identity of the Antichrist, we must ask ourselves if we are prepared to take Jesus’ promise of His second coming seriously.

~ David Wells

 

Quotation is from Steven Land, Pentecostal Spirituality (Academic Press, 1994)