The Arab nations are in turmoil. Demonstrations in the streets threaten the governments in several nations and have already overthrown the Tunisian government. The state of Israel, always a flashpoint in that region, likely faces even more hostility if Egypt’s Mubarak is driven from power, since he has been one of the ‘friendlier’ leaders in the Arab world. Is this cause for End Time Fever to rise? Apparently some Christian ministers think so. I am not jumping on that bandwagon! A thousand other political upheavals over the last 60 years have supposedly been ‘the beginning of the End’ - the signal for the start of the final drum roll that announces the Kingdom. Yet, here we are.
When we are too quick to sound the alarm we risk deepening apathy about the wonderful promise of our Lord’s return if our warnings and prophecies turn out to be half-informed fulminations of fevered dreamers, more sensational than thoughtful. The Lord Himself cautioned His followers about being seduced by those who point to various ‘signs of the end of the age.’ “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming." (Matthew 24:4-8, The Message)
The Truth that keeps us faithfully engaged with the work of the Kingdom; serving the poor, defending the weak, praying and working against evil’s death grip on humanity, proclaiming the Gospel that transforms, and pointing people to the Way of Christ; is that our future is secure in the One who loves us. Jesus taught that if our hearts are in tune with the Spirit, if we are holy in our words and actions, we will be ready for the King’s arrival! We don’t need prophecy charts and doomsday clocks! He said, "Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:32-36, NLT) Instead of playing guessing games around the political events, as interesting as that might be, we should live with our hope firmly anchored to the Eternal Christ even as we are doing what He taught us to do right now, right where we are!
Spinning wild theories about Arab Caliphates, Anti-Christ, and angelic armies sells books and raises offerings from the gullible, but these things do next to nothing in the true work of the Lord. They may give us a little soul shiver, even a kind of thrill that we may be the generation that sees the coming of the King, but if we pay too much attention to it all, we risk becoming so distracted that we are no earthly good to the Lord. End Time Fever infections have turned good churches into irrelevant little bands of kooky people who spend too much time peering into things that will ONLY be clearly revealed in the Father’s good time.
Jesus Christ will come back to this Earth. This is promise of the prophets of the Old Testament and the hope that underlies the eschatology of the New Testament. We cannot dismiss this doctrine. It is the Blessed Hope of the Church. It assures us that evil will be defeated someday and that which Isaiah so grandly described. "In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all." (Isaiah 11:6, NLT) "Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord." (Isaiah 11:9, NLT) Until then, there’s a lot of work to do, so let’s be about it.
__________________
But until then
My heart will go on singing.
Until then
With joy I'll carry on.
Until the day
My eyes behold the city.
Until the day
God calls me home.
Until Then
Hamblen, Stuart
© 1958 Hamblen Music Company
CCLI License No. 810055
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