Monthly Archives: November 2008

I had an extremely fun final hour,…well, actually, closer to final two hours, of my day on Tuesday. As usual, I gave Facebook one last look on my phone before bed. Not that I’m addicted to Facebook or anything… but I was waiting to hear back from my sister about Christmas plans and couldn’t resist checking people’s status updates. Well that’s when the fun began! David Sliker, who is a teacher at IHOPU, and has come to Bethany a couple times to teach on Eschatology, had a status update that immediately sucked me in; a statement that I couldn’t resist. His status update read, “David can prove that we’re in the generation of the Lord’s return in three scriptures.”

I have been thinking on this quite a bit since Janet (who by the way hasn’t blogged for a bit because our home computer is down for the count. She is rearranging the whole house. Seriously, the WHOLE house! Family members are changing rooms. Paint is being applied. Books and clothes and toys are being ditched. She is having way to much fun!) and I had a conversation with my brother, Jon, and sister-in-law, Renee. Renee asked me why I thought we were entering the last hours of natural history. I fumbled around and gave some half answers. I forget exactly what I said but it gave Janet and I desire to have a clear answer for this query. It was a great question and I wanted to be able to answer it way better then I did for Renee and Jon.  Janet has written about how we can know that Jesus’ second coming is near.  So, the question then is, if we can know, how will we know?  So, since I had so much fun last night solidifying my thoughts on this with David Sliker and a few of his closest Facebook “friends”,  I thought I’d share the my thoughts…

A common response I get to my “outlandish” statement that we are in (or at the very least, nearing) the last generation before the Lord’s return is something like this, “all generations have thought this since the book of Acts.” Really? Well we could argue that but let’s not. Instead let me give you 3 Scriptures, 3 things that Jesus said related to His return that give us the ability to measure if indeed his return is possible in our generation or not. (When I speak of a generation, I am speaking of a timeframe anywhere from 30 years to 120 years. It seems the Bible has that broad of a definition for a generation.) No generation since Jesus walked the earth have all three of these been at work.

#1. Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come“

I’ll start with the easy one.  Jesus says the gospel will have to go everywhere. Every people group and every language before his return. This is one I even heard as a Baptist kid growing up. The gospel will reach the whole earth in my lifetime. Even if we do a horrible job it will take no more than 50 years. It could take as little as 10 some say. The Call2All is one of the global initiatives that has as its mandate to finish the task of reaching the world with the gospel. Hundreds of mission organizations world wide are coming together to commit to doing this . The Joshua Project brings hard evidence of what places are left to reach.

Side Note: The fulfillment of Matthew 24:14 and the fulfillment of the Great Commission are completely different. We will preach the gospel to all nations before Jesus comes back but we will not complete the Great Commission until long after Jesus returns to the earth maybe even not until the end of his 1,000 year reign on the earth. Preaching the gospel, as a witness, to all nations is the easy job.  Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20 (the Great Commission) that all nations should be discipled and should be taught to observe all things. There is no way we will disciple all nations and teach them to observe all things before Jesus returns. In fact as the gospel goes forth and impacts thousands, wickedness will also rise and what is truly in the heart of man will forced to the surface as the end-time shaking increases. There will be such wickedness on the earth at His return that it will only be after He establishes His rule literally on the earth that all nations will begin to be discipled in all things. Jesus, in partnership with us, His bride, will do this and it will take the better part of the Millennial Reign to do so.

#2 Matthew 23:37-39, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”

Jesus relates repentance and revival in Jerusalem directly to His Second Coming. A generation ago we had no Israel and no Jerusalem. For the first time in 1800+ years, we actually have Jews living in Israel that have the potential to recognize Jesus as their Messiah and have the chance to invite Him back to set up His rule in Jerusalem. The Jews will finally see Jesus in the way they always knew their messiah would arrive. He will be a victorious King  and will literally liberate them from the clutches of a military coalition that are bent on their destruction. Even now their is a growing number of believers in Jerusalem that are declaring this with perseverance.  Literal watchmen standing on the walls night and day giving the Father no rest until He ultimately makes Jerusalem a praise on the earth (Is. 62:6-7)

#3 Luke 18:7-8, “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Jesus knits night and day prayer and the breaking in of speedy justice with His Second Coming. Crying out day and night, speedy justice and the Son of Man finding faith on the earth when He comes back. There has certainly been expressions of night and prayer throughout history. A bunch of monks did it a lot, the Moravians kept prayer meeting going for over 100 years. But it was always isolated to a particular group or region. What is happening now is an explosion. I can remember 5 years ago when I tried to find out more about this “crazy” thing called the prayer movement I could find minimal info. Today as I google “prayer movement”, I am amazed at the explosion of people interested in night and day prayer. The Luke 18 cry from the saints on earth will join with the Revelation 6:10 cry of the martyrs in heaven. These two prayers are one in the same. The cry for God to break in and make the wrong things right.  To bring justice. Jesus is merciful. He is slow to anger and rich in love, but He will not be silent for ever. This age will culminate with Jesus answering the cry of the martyrs in  heaven and the saints on the earth. He will avenge them speedily. Never before in history has there been such a desire for night and day prayer as there is now. There is a global expression of the saints’ persistent and consistent cry for Jesus to break in with speedy justice. If this movement continues to grow and mature as it has in the last 5 years, there will be literal night and day prayer happening in every nation on the earth in 20 years.

To close let me quote a comment by David Sliker from the discussion that got me writing this post in the first place, “These three major trends are moving towards fulfillment at the exact same time for the first time in history. That those three trends culminate in fulfillments knit to the Second Coming should get us shaking with giddy excitement…”

Consider me giddy and excited…and sober.

The three stories at the end of Jesus’ sermon in Matt. 24-25 bring Jesus’ admonitions to be watchful to a whole new level, I think.  If you’re still not convinced that eschatology should be Christianity 101, these three stories may change your mind.  If Jesus had not included them, it could certainly be argued that keeping watch is, maybe just…well, kind of optional.  I mean, if Jesus’ sermon ended at 24:44, it doesn’t seem like our salvation depends on it, right? 

But he didn’t end there.  He told three stories to drive home his point:  if we are not found watching, then the consequences will be dire.

In the first story Jesus identifies the faithful and wise servant as one who heeds Jesus’ message to watch, and passes this message on to the servants he has been put in charge of.  The wicked servant seems to be the embodiment of the end-time scoffer.  “…Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”  (2 Peter 3:3-4)   Note that this dude isn’t just called unwise and unfaithful, but wicked…and Jesus equates his not telling his servants to be watchful with beating them.  Sheesh.  And his punishment cannot be mistaken for anything else but hell.

But wait a minute…aren’t we “once saved, always saved?”  Doesn’t the Bible say that somewhere?  How can it be that a servant – a Christian – could be given the “portion of the hypocrites?”  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the “once saved, always saved” phrase that many of us have learned, is nowhere to be found in the Bible.  And this story of the wise and wicked servants is not  just some kind of literary hyperbole used by Jesus to convince us to watch.  It is literal, and it should put the fear of the Lord in us.

Let me make you aware of something that the Bible makes very clear:  During a shift, or transition in redemptive history, it was absolutely imperative that a person heed the word of the Lord.  The story of the flood in Noah’s day is a great example.  If you did not heed the word of the Lord and get on that boat…well, you were dead.  Here’s another example:  If you did not heed the word of the Lord delivered by Jeremiah the prophet, and leave Jerusalem, or surrender to king Nebuchadnezzer, at the time of the Babylonian invasion, you were dead.  And if you were a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, and were blameless according to the law, but did not accept the Jewish carpenter from Nazareth, then you were dead in your sins and going to hell. 

At the beginning of the Parable of the Ten Virgins there are three important words:   At that time.  “At that time,” Jesus says, “the kingdom of heaven will be like…” and he goes on to tell a parable about ten virgins waiting for their bridegroom.  Five are found ready, and five are not.  (Lemme tell you, in light of what happens to the five virgins who weren’t ready, I do not  want to be found unprepared!)  At that time.  At what  time?  …During the generation of Jesus’ return.  A shift…a transition in redemptive history.   And during this particular shift the word of the Lord that we need to heed is to watch, to know biblical prophecy and the signs of his second coming.  “At that time,” praying the sinners prayer, doing some leisurely bible reading, and going to church on Sunday ain’t gonna cut it.  And, also “at that time,” according to Jesus’ story about the wise and wicked servants, it won’t even matter if you’re a leader in the body of Christ…unless your being watchful and telling those the Lord has entrusted to your care to do the same.  The punishment given to the wicked servant can at first seem very harsh and severe, until we remember that he ignored Jesus’ very clear instructions to watch.

Jesus made a point of telling us that “False Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”  (Matt. 24:24)  I don’t want to debate what “if possible” means, but I do think that if Jesus made a point of stating this, that we had better take it seriously.  Could it be that Jesus has quite a bit more insight into this time of history than we do?  Could he know, for instance, that we  might miss the hour of His second coming, just as many missed the hour of his first coming?  My opinion is that he knows it will be the most deceptive, confusing and dark time in human history for the body of Christ and that he wants us to be prepared.  He’s not just suggesting  that we know biblical prophecy, he’s commanding it, and I think we sould rest assured that he knows what he’s talking about.

But what if we’re not living in this transitional generation?  How do we know if we’re “at that time.”  My conviction is that we are on the outskirts of it, at the very least.  (I hope to share these convictions in my next post.)  But what if we aren’t?  What if we’re several generations away?  Well, I think you may agree that it would be better to err on the conviction that we are living “at that time” than to err on the wicked servant’s conviction that “he is delaying his coming.” 

Also, I think it’s a must to instill watchfulness and an inquiring spirit in our children, grandchildren, and the generations to come.  It needs to become “the norm,” not the exception.  Studying the end-times content in the Bible should be Christianity 101.  And even if we don’t live to see Jesus’ second coming, we will  fall more in love with Him, and marvel at this incredible “script” that God the Father has written.  I know it’s totally rocked my  world!

One more thing…the third story that Jesus tells at the end of his end-times sermon is The Parable of the Talents.  He begins it with, “Again,” relating it to the previous parable, the one about the ten virgins, so, this parable is also to be understood in relation to the last generation.   I’m thinking most of you are familiar with the story, so I won’t recap it (but, although I knew this parable well, I was surprised to discover that it is primarily about the end-times!), but you can read it here if you want to. 

I feel that I am like the last servant, the one to whom is given the one talent.  I don’t have a very big sphere of influence, just my four kids and those of you who read this blog.  I’ve struggled a bit with sharing these things that I’m learning with you because I don’t want to seem…um, weird.  I can get bogged down by thinking that many of you may care little about this subject, and no matter what I write, eschatology will forever remain just a little too “out there” for you to take an interest in.  However, I just can’t “bury my talent” and not share it with you.  My hope is that somehow my writings will be a catalyst for someone, somewhere to be inspired to dive into eschatology.  But, you know, even if that never happens, I feel like I am being faithful with sharing what the Lord has entrusted to me…I wan’t to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.” 

“Uh oh…oh dear,” many of you are no doubt thinking after reading that last post, “Dave and Janet have finally gone off the deep end.  Pretty soon they’ll be moving out to the country, growing their own vegetables and storing guns in their basement.  Then they’ll be pinpointing dates of the second coming, claiming angelic visitations to back up their claims, and thinking their Elijah is the “Elijah to come” and that their other two sons are the two witnesses that the book of Revelation talks about.”

I mean, really, to be honest, those thoughts kind of sum up how most of us feel about those interested in eschatology…they just get weird, right?  And granted, there have been a few people in recent history who’ve earned that title by claiming they’ve figured out the year and the day by all manner of mathematical equations based on this or that Jewish holiday.  I think It’s important to remember, though, that just because a handful of people have “got weird” we’re not to ignore Jesus’ command to keep watch. 

Obviously, I don’t think that trying to find a secret code in biblical prophecy to predict Jesus’ second coming is being watchful.  It’s just being silly.  I believe, rather, that biblical prophecy says what it means, and means what it says.  I believe reading it, studying it and asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom and revelation into it, while paying attention to world events is what Jesus meant by being watchful.   And when I speak of revelation being given to the watchful, I believe that it will be primarily given through the Word of God.  And clearly, any extra-biblical revelation should always be measured against Scripture.

I also wanted to clarify what I believe about the second coming of Jesus and, perhaps, my argument that we can know will make more sense… 

I don’t believe that the removal of Christians from the earth prior to the tribulation, the time when the Antichrist will come on the scene, is a biblical idea.  What little biblical information that has been used to support this idea has been taken completely out of context in my opinion.  I don’t want to get into all the particulars of why I believe this, but I will say that it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that the Lord would give us such detailed information about this time in history if we’re not to be here for it.  I firmly believe that the Church will be on earth for the tribulation and also that it will be our finest hour…if we’re prepared.  So much of end-time prophecy is about the Lord judging the earth in righteousness, and to the Church this is a very offensive idea.  We’re really not prepared in that way.  We need to be wrestling with these issues now… believe me, I don’t think this is the kind of test we want to cram for at midnight!

I will admit, though, that if the Church is indeed to be raptured before the tribulation, that this would be impossible to predict.  Also, becoming acquainted with what will happen during the tribulation is redundant if we’re not going to be here for it.  (But, again, I wonder, why else would God have given us such detailed information about it?)  However, I’m sure you might agree that it would be much better to err on the post-trib side of things.  I’d much rather find myself suddenly removed from the earth prior to the tribulation when I was expecting and preparing to be there, then to find myself thrust into the most terrifying and cataclysmic time in history when I thought I was going to escape it!

To end, I want to say that, for me, first and foremost, the study of the end-times has been about falling more in love with Jesus and about longing for Him to come.  If you don’t buy into the whole “being prepared” shtick, then study end-time prophecy with a desire to know Jesus and love Him more. 

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”  Matt. 24:36

Studying the end-times now-a-days is kind of a no-no .  It’s just not politically correct.  Remember the sensation it caused when the media got a hold of the fact that Governor Palin’s home-church believed in the end-times?  (It just made me love her all the more.)  The mocking spirit that  Paul and Jude warned us would come in the last days is out in full force, I think. 

The biggest factor, though, that keeps the body of Christ in such a lackadaisical attitude towards eschatology is the false belief that it’s just a waste of time.  There’s even a common misconception that Jesus himself told us that it’s none of our business.  The verse at the top of the page is the premiere verse that is used by many to justify this argument and, in my opinion, it’s one of the most miss-taught, miss-preached and misunderstood verses in the Bible.  It’s been used to insight lethargy and apathy towards the study of the end-times when Jesus actually spoke it in the exact opposite spirit.  Jesus spoke these words to encourage watchfulness and an inquiring spirit, not to discourage it.  When we stare at this verse and peer into it’s context we find that it does not mean what so many in the Church think it does.

First off, it’s surrounding verses are full of admonitions to watch, beware and take note.  Jesus lays out in quite a bit of detail what will be happening on earth as His second coming draws near.  At one point Jesus says, ”See, I have told you ahead of time.”  I like this one…I use this tactic often with my kids.  When we’re going into a setting where they might not know exactly what is expected of them, I like to lay out in detail what behaviour is and is not acceptable and then remind them that they have been fairly warned.  That’s what Jesus is saying here; that since he’s disclosing this information ahead of time, no one will be without excuse, and all will be held accountable for not seeing prophetic signposts that Jesus gave fair warning of.

Secondly, the verse simply states, that “no one knows.”  It does not  state that we cannot know, or that no one will ever know.  The idea that no one can ever know and that God the Father is just going to pull a fast one on us, goes against His prophetic nature.  Whenever a transitional time in redemptive history was on it’s way, God always gave His people fair warning.  Always.  Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.” 

Thirdly, Jesus qualifies His statement that “no one knows,” with this, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”   So, the question should be, did anyone know in the days of Noah?  Were the people of Noah’s generation fairly warned?  Did God release a prophetic witness on the earth?

Of course He did!  We all know the story.  Noah was divinely warned many, many decades before the flood, and then – get this! – God even entrusted Noah with the very day that He would send the flood (Gen. 7:4).  2 Peter 2:5 tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and that he warned his generation of the coming judgement.  And my guess is that that gi-normous boat that Noah built over the course of several decades served as a daily opportunity for them to either heed the word of the Lord or ignore it.  They were totally without excuse.

So…if the days of the coming of the Son of Man will mirror the days of Noah then, when the time is right, God will release a prophetic witness on the earth.  It goes against His nature to not do so.  And it’s pretty clear to whom revelation will be given.  It’s going to be given to the watchful, the ones who are heeding Jesus words to “take note.”  How was it that God saw fit to entrust Noah with the very day the flood would come?  It’s because Noah was building that boat, when everyone said he was a fool.

The point of Matthew 24:36 is not that we can’t know, it’s that we can know, and that we will  know…if we’re watching like Noah was.  The only people who were caught off guard by the flood were those who were not watching. 

In my opinion, it’s frightening that we use this verse to justify our lack of knowledge and interest in what the Bible has to say about the end-times.  Quite frankly, it’s false prophecy.  And do you know who false prophets were in OT times?  They weren’t the one’s with the name tag saying “My name is ___, I’m a false prophet,” they were declaring the word of the Lord right along with the “real” prophets.  Do you know what they’re message usually was?  It was, “Peace and safety.  Don’t worry, it’ll all “pan out” in the end.  Just carry on…business as usual.”  Does any one else find it troubling that this is the counsel in the body of Christ right now?

So…back to bit about the study of the end times being politically incorrect.  I know, it’s kinda weird and not very “seeker sensitive” for the subject of so many of my posts to be about the the end-times lately.  But, although it may seem foolish, I will continue to interpret world events through an eschatological lens and measure them against biblical prophecy.  Why?  Because Jesus told me too!!!  (I’ve also taken the Parable of the Talents, a parable that relates directly to the end-times, very personally and I feel like I have to share what I’m learning.)  To me, it’s utterly foolish not  to! 

Friends, there is so much information in the bible pertaining to the end-times that most Christians just ignore.  Why, oh why, is it there if we’re not meant to read it, understand it, and use it to help us be watchful?   I’m fearful that the lie that it’s “not for the church to know” is seriously going to cripple us as we move, with little to no understanding, into the last hours of history.  Remember, the question is not whether it will pan out or not, but whether or not it will pan out well for you and those around you.

P.S.  If you have an extra moment I’d love to hear your thoughts on these passages of scripture.  It’s been my serious intention lately to read and understand the bible in a very literal sense, and these passages have pretty serious implications when read in such a way.  The “once saved always saved” mantra sure looses it’s substance and fortitude in light of them. 

P.P.S.  Dave came across this sermon yesterday.  It’s quite comical (for me anyway).  In it the preacher addresses the question, “Are we living in the end-times?” and…well, he basically says the opposite of everything I’ve said here.  Oh dear…