Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, Global Unrest, Financial Meltdowns
HELP! Is this THE END?
Living as we do now in New Zealand this is all very relevant. Our Second City, Christchurch, known as ‘the Garden City’, has been rocked by two major Earthquakes in the last 10 months, as well as hundreds of un-nerving aftershocks. The second quake devastated a lot of the Central City and nearly two hundred people were killed.
The main city, Auckland, where we and a third of the population live, seems to be too far north to have a problem. Scientists have assured us that the plates have moved further south, and we are more vulnerable to volcanic eruption than earthquakes. Small comfort when a few weeks ago we were sitting in our lounge watching TV and an earthquake banged and shook its way through our house! This was apparently centred offshore offshore from Mission Bay, the popular Beach Community, which is just a mile from where we live.
What as Christians are we to make of all this? In 1999, on the eve of the New Millennium, I published a Prophetic Word for the Year 2000. The title was:
THE END IS NOT THE END!
Recently, I have re-visited this word and read it to the Congregation at The Edge one Sunday morning. I am reproducing some of it here, asking once more that as Christians we focus again on God’s Prophetic Purpose, and not on all the nonsense pedalled by the many doom and gloom merchants. The books I have commended elsewhere on this site are particularly helpful in the light of all this:
N. T. Wright – Surprised by Hope
Rob Bell – Love Wins
This is a time for the ‘breaking out’ of the people of God [2Samuel 5 v.20]. Although Jesus declared to Peter the invincibility of his Church, often it has seemed as though the gates of hell have prevailed against us, and we have been hemmed in on every side. Now the Lord is rising up to do his work, His strange work [Isaiah 28 v. 21]. As with Joshua’s victory at Gibeon, and David’s triumph at Mt. Perazim, so the Lord is breaking out before us [Joshua 10 vs 9-14; 2 Samuel 5 vs 17 - 25]. There will be unusual Heavenly manifestations and supernatural signs, and in many situations where darkness has seemed to encroach to the point of snuffing out the light of God’s testimony, so a reversal of this trend will be evidenced, even in nations not known for their Christian tolerance.
This process will be greatly assisted by a fresh wave of understanding among Christians world-wide concerning God’s Prophetic Purpose.
Without wishing to appear cynical, I must say that doomsday style prophetic books, tapes and videos find a ready market. Christians are often both vulnerable and gullible! Paul rightly encourages us to
‘…no longer be infants,tossed back and forth by the waves,and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.Instead, speaking the truth in love,we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head,that is Christ. [Ephesians 4vs 14 and 15]
We need to keep our heads in THE HEAD, and not allow our hearts to be driven by fear and fantasy.
Instead of majoring on the “..darkness that covers the earth”, we need to declare with Isaiah that “…the Lord rises upon you and His Glory appears over you.Nations will come to your light,and Kings to the brightness of your dawn.” [Isaiah 60 vs 2-3]
When Jesus prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and gave a Global view of escalating wars, conflicts, famines and earthquakes, he declared that these were the preliminary contractions of an impending birth! “All these are the beginning of birth pains” [Matthew 24 v. 8]. He follows this with the assertion that
” This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations,and then the end will come.” [Matthew 24 v.14 ].
Older translations of scripture, such as the Authorised Version and the Revised Version are somewhat misleading in rendering this as “the end of the world”. W. E.Vine rightly points out that the Greek word ‘Sunteleia’ “…does not denote a termination, but the heading up of events to an appointed climax”!
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans has been described as the Himalayas of the New Testament, with the magnificent chapter 8 being Mt. Everest! Taking up the child birth theme of Jesus, Paul says :
“The creation itself will be liberated from it’s bondage to decay,and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”[ Romans8 v.21 ]
No! The end is not the end! God’s ends are His beginnings! This should give us some magnificent hope for the future. I can’t get excited about the disintegration of everything. I can thrill to the thought of an emancipated creation – God’s New Age. Yes! This much abused term actually does belong to Him.
Just as our Heavenly Father instructed Jesus to “Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance,the ends of the earth your possession” [Psalm2 v.8], so the Church, which is His Body must take up that prayer and determine to see its fulfilment. This is not simply the discipling of individuals, but of Nations. Why should the Devil have the inheritance that is rightfully ours?