Information Related to "The Crisis at the Close"
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"We have reached a point of historic crisis." |
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| - Eric Hobsbawm, British author | ||
by John Ross Schroeder
eather has always fascinated people. Men and women observe the clouds, often noticing the subtleties of shade and color, and they easily discern the changing weather patterns.
When growing up in South Texas, I had plenty of time while driving a tractor on my father's farm to watch weather patterns and even to fancy myself an amateur meteorologist. Keeping a watch on the weather seems natural to many of us.
Nearly two millennia ago Jesus Christ commented on this same predisposition: "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times" (Matthew 16:2-3, New International Version, emphasis added throughout).
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"The remarkable characteristic of the crises of today is their continuity."—David Burnett King, American educator and author British author Anthony Sampson has written at least three "anatomies of Britain" in recent decades. The first two were useful, but his latest edition conveys a clear urgency. Even the title tells us that the focus has shifted into a higher gear—a crisis mode. The Essential Anatomy of Britain: Democracy in Crisis includes a chapter containing an obvious warning to the British government to get its house in order. No such chapter appeared in the two previous editions. It was British chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks who wrote: "Today's prophets, I realised with some sadness, are often not religious leaders but a small group of academics, who breaking free of disciplinary specialisation, have surveyed our age from the broadest of perspectives and brought back a report of imminent danger" (Faith in the Future, Dartman, Longman and Todd, London, 1995, p. 65). Such prophetic voices have been sounding warnings for some time, pointing to the ominous signs on the world scene. Some are foretelling a crisis that will signal a massive change on our precious planet. This is clearly reflected in the titles of several recent books. American author James Dale Davidson and his British counterpart William Rees-Mogg jointly titled their book, The Great Reckoning. Eric Hobsbawm warned us in The Age of Extremes. David Burnett King notes in The Crisis of Our Time: "... There exists a profound feeling of unease... we are passing through some sort of crisis, riding out a sea change that will somehow make the future very different from our past" (Susquehanna University Press, Selingsgrove, 1988, p. 17). The real truth is that we are now approaching a transition period between two ages, our age and the one Jesus Christ called "the age to come" (Matthew 12:32). We now live at the end of a century of crisis, with world trends promising more in the 21st century. Wrote Hobsbawm: "We know that behind the opaque cloud of our ignorance and the uncertainty of detailed outcomes, the historical forces that shaped the century are continuing to operate" (The Age of Revolution, Michael Joseph, London, 1994). Hobsbawm shows that the earth cannot continue to bear the unwanted fruits of the darker aspects of modern technology forever. He continues: "... We have reached a point of historic crisis. The forces generated by the techno-scientific economy are now great enough to destroy the environment, that is to say, the material foundations of human life" (ibid.). As David King wrote: "The nature of crisis has changed. The remarkable characteristic of the crises of today is their continuity—they have moved in, it seems, to stay" (The Crisis of our Time, Susquehanna University Press, Selingsgrove, 1988). In this modern age, this wisdom is self-evident. GN |
What was Jesus' point? It was simply that our innate human desire to observe and analyze weather conditions ought to tell us something: that we can also observe and discern the signs of the times.
Storms building and dispersing
One thing about Texas weather I noticed was that sometimes the sky and the weather report both called for severe thunderstorms that never happened. The signs were there. The black, threatening cumulus clouds abounded. The sky was dark, and one could almost feel a rainstorm in the air. But the clouds dispersed, and the predicted storm failed to develop. Unseen factors had altered the conditions.
Studious men and women sometimes look into their Bibles and correlate prophecies with trends on the international landscape. To them conditions can appear as if the end of the age is upon us.
But then the symptoms slip into remission, and the war clouds (or whatever signals seem obvious) dissipate. This happened during World War II when for a time Nazi armies seemed on the brink of fulfilling end-time prophecies concerning Europe and the Middle East. But conditions abruptly changed. The crisis passed.
Today's literal tempests or socio-political storms are rather easy to identify. The Cold War may be history, but many of the former U.S.S.R.'s nuclear weapons still exist. Though in a weak economic state, Russia remains well armed. Said an American policy maker, Sen. Jon L. Kyl, in a speech at the New Atlantic Initiative conference in Prague in May 1995, "If the Soviet Union is no more, then why do we need to spend billions more on defense—for example, in weapons research, long-range bombers or missile defense?" But Henry Kissinger, writing in Newsweek in June of 1996, reminds us that "Russia possesses 20,000 nuclear weapons."
Armed to the teeth
The wielding of weapons is not a problem just among nations. Terrorist groups operating inside the boundaries of countries constitute a major civil concern because they exist outside the law and are generally armed to the teeth.
Researchers frequently discover new and better farming methods, but population growth still careens out of control in many countries least able to support such increases. Some are concerned that the earth houses far too many people in terms of our current track record in mastering global resources and world distribution. Said The Times (London) June 17: "A ballooning world population is taking such a heavy toll of the planet's resources that it is putting the survival of humankind in jeopardy, according to a group of international experts."
Concerning the environment, Professor David King describes the box canyon we have gullibly sauntered into: "The West is destroying the ecological systems upon which its economic life depends. We are in a difficult position, forced to choose between the short-term interests of an economy that sustains us and the well-being of the natural world that will be needed in future to sustain us" (The Crisis of Our Time, Susquehanna University Press, Selingsgrove, 1988, p. 215).
What is missing to solve our dilemma is the wisdom and understanding to be found in the Bible, even though a few secular forecasters do not hesitate to draw upon the perspective of Holy Scriptures.
Wrote William Rees-Mogg: "The book of Genesis tells the story of Joseph. By listening to Joseph's hint, the (Egyptian) Pharaoh rightly anticipated the seven lean years that followed seven years of plenty. From that date to this, it has always been true that the future belonged to those who prepared for it" (The Great Reckoning, Sidgwick & Johnson, London, 1992, p. 35).
But how can you properly prepare unless you know in advance what is coming? This is where the Scriptures come in. Throughout the Bible we find a prophetic theme, in Old Testament and New. An unbroken thread of prophecy runs through the Scriptures from the first book to the last.
A time of great crisis
The Bible specifically warns us that an unprecedented time of universal distress is coming on planet earth. This period of world-jarring chaos is spoken of in several biblical books, written at various times by different authors.
Consider the book of Daniel (ca. 535 B.C.), written by a great prophet of God who was in effect prime minister under kings spanning two governments ruling much of the then-known world.
Daniel 11 begins one of the longest, most detailed prophecies in the Bible. It commences with the first year of Darius the Mede, first monarch of the Medo-Persian Empire, and comes down to "the time of the end" (verses 1-40). The remainder of that chapter centers on a great power struggle in the Middle East.
The first verse of chapter 12 brings us to a crucial passage in this long prophecy: "At that time Michael (an archangel) shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time."
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"To those who do not wish to understand, all news is a surprise."—William Rees-Mogg, Times (of London) columnist The main purpose of our regular features "Behind the Headlines" and "World News and Trends" is to keep Good News readers informed about the way the world is going, but always from a biblical viewpoint. The contents of these features do not always reflect front-page news in the accepted sense. Often the news behind the news proves far more important in the long run. Veteran columnist and former London Times editor William Rees-Mogg tells us that "you can depend on the fact that normal channels of information will seldom if ever give you advance warning of major political and economic events." The main source for The Good News magazine is, of course, the Bible. Inevitably, then, almost all material appearing in "World News and Trends" and "Behind the Headlines" is written from the perspective of God's purpose and plan for humanity as revealed in the Scriptures. Somewhere from a fourth to a third of the contents of the Bible is prophetic in nature. Much of this eschatological material is profoundly connected with developments in world affairs. In that sense the Bible is always an up-to-date, vitally relevant book. Regarding global trends and affairs, no section of Scripture is more applicable to our world than the Olivet prophecy, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. That is where Jesus Christ Himself warns us to be vigilant about our own spiritual condition. He also describes conditions and events leading up to His second coming. After describing the grievous state of the world to which He would return, Jesus Christ told His disciples, "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Mark 13:32, New American Standard Bible throughout, emphasis added throughout). But does the fact that we cannot know the exact time mean we should throw up our hands and forget about the whole scenario? By no means. Notice what Jesus instructs in the next verse: "Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is" (verse 33). He then compared Himself and His second coming to a man who traveled to a distant country, left his servants in charge of his property and asked the doorkeeper to "stay on the alert" until he returned. Then Jesus Christ gives His warning to His disciples a second time. "Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming" (verse 35). Next He warns His servants not to fall asleep on the job, followed by a third and final appeal emphasizing the importance of their task. "And what I say to you I say to all: 'Be on the alert!"" (verse 37). Luke emphasizes our personal conduct in his Gospel's account. In it Jesus warns us to be diligent in keeping our personal spiritual house in order and shows us exactly the kind of distractions His disciples must avoid. "Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day (of Christ's return) come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth" (Luke 21:34-35). The vast majority of people, says Jesus Christ, will be taken by surprise. This is partly because they will have little or no idea of the need for high standards of personal conduct. Of course, Christ wants His servants to avoid falling into this trap. So He tells all of us: "But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man" (verse 36). GN |
But even before the time of Daniel, the prophet Jeremiah wrote similar words of warning. "Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labour, every face turned deathly pale? How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it" (Jeremiah 30:6-7, NIV).
Until the 20th century mankind could not have grasped the awful portent of these words. Yet they are rendered even more ominous by the later warnings of Jesus Christ Himself in what came to be known as the Olivet prophecy, originally given on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem shortly before His death.
Some find it difficult to comprehend how Jesus Christ—the Savior of mankind, the One who came to sacrifice Himself for every sinner, the One who came to bring us abundant life—could also warn us about how bad conditions would ultimately become on earth in the epicenter of this unprecedented passage.
But He did!
A trial like no other
Matthew records these fateful words from the mouth of Jesus of Nazareth—the Christ, or Messiah: "It will be a time of great distress; there has never been such a time from the beginning of the world until now, and will never be again. If that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive; but for the sake of God's chosen it will be cut short" (Matthew 24:21-22, New English Bible).
It is difficult to exaggerate the significance of this prophecy. Except for the promised divine intervention, human life would cease on earth. The most horrifyingly surreal catastrophes as depicted in movies and television programs will come to pass, to the point that life will face extinction if not for God's direct intervention to save it.
These are not our words, but the warning of Jesus Christ Himself. It is all too easy to read right over these verses and emphasize only those passages we want to hear, such as Christ's miraculous healings and promises of forgiveness, mercy and peace (Matthew 6:14; 5:7; John 14:27), as important as they are.
Christ clearly told us that we are to live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4). We are not at liberty to ignore biblical prophecies about horrors to come. Hiding our heads in the sand is not the way to deal with future troubles. Luke's Gospel expresses this somberly worded warning by quoting Christ: "For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written (in the Scriptures) may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:22).
These predictions herald a time like no other in the history of our already crisis-charged world while it hurtles inevitably toward the greatest crisis of all time, the one that James Moffatt called "the crisis at the close" (Daniel 12:9, Moffatt Translation).
When will it all happen?
But when? At what time will these things occur? Christ's disciples posed the same questions: "Tell us when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3).
Jesus did give His followers some general indications (verses 4-35), but He pointedly avoided precision in terms of the time that would pass before these events occurred. "But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (verse 36). Later, after His resurrection, the disciples again asked Him when He would initiate a new age and the Kingdom of God would be established on earth. Christ replied, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority" (Acts 1:7).
Historically, many have been so anxious for the return of Jesus Christ that they have been slow to accept His own testimony. This has led to much confusion and misunderstanding of prophecy. Too often down through history have some cried wolf.
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"Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase" (Daniel 12:4). Daniel 12 concerns the "time of the end." So the Bible clearly predicts that an enormous increase in knowledge and travel would characterize this final age of man. But what kind of knowledge? We have seen great progress in material knowledge, particularly in the almost instant transmission of knowledge and information. The Internet—that proverbial information superhighway—is alive with bits and pieces of data of every stripe. America sits on the leading edge of the fantastic ability to transmit information from nation to nation, corporation to corporation, person to person. Wrote Joseph Nye and William Owens in Foreign Affairs: "America has apparent strength in economic power and military production. Yet its more subtle comparative advantage is its ability to collect, process, act upon, and disseminate information, an edge that will almost certainly grow over the next decade" (March-April 1996). From God's point of view, however, growth in technical knowledge and information is not enough. Wrote the Hebrew prophet Hosea: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children" (Hosea 4:6, emphasis added). This is the great conundrum of our age: massive growth in material knowledge coupled with an unbelievable paucity of spiritual understanding. Make no mistake about it. America and the other Western nations possess vast knowledge that has produced and increased untold wealth. But this prosperity is not being undergirded and supported by national obedience to God's great spiritual law, the Ten Commandments. The authors of the above optimistic article titled "America's Information Edge" freely acknowledge in their conclusion: "The final and most fundamental requirement is the preservation of the kind of nation that is at the heart of America's soft power appeal. In recent years this most valuable foreign policy asset has been endangered by the growing international perception of America as a society riven by crime, violence, drug abuse, racial tension, family breakdown, fiscal irresponsibility, political gridlock, and increasingly acrimonious political discourse in which extreme points of view make the biggest headlines." Their first paragraph begins: "Knowledge, more than ever before, is power." Yet, to maintain the power and strength of a nation, much more is required than mere material knowledge. Hosea continues his prophecy about knowledge with the solemn words, "The more they increased (in population and prosperity), the more they sinned against Me" (verse 7). The Bible defines sin as the rejection of God's law (1John 3:4). Unfortunately the fantastic growth in technical knowledge is paralleled by an ugly growth in all kinds of evils. Every day the Western news and entertainment media broadcast an unceasing litany of these societal evils. In the long run the only thing that will save humankind is a humble compliance with the spirit of these words spoken by our Creator nearly 3,000 years ago: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2Chronicles 7:14). GN |
Yet these end-time prophecies remain as valid as on the days they were originally spoken and written. They will come to pass—but in God's good time.
A beginning and an end
Pulitzer Prize-winner and professor of astronomy at Cornell University Carl Sagan wrote: "There was once a time before the sun and earth existed, a time before there was day or night, long, long before there was anyone to record the beginning for those who might come after" (Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Century, London, 1992, p. 11).
"Before time began" was the way the apostle Paul put it (2Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2). It is, however, enormously difficult for a person to imagine such a time, a period before the creation itself. Yet some scientists, and most important your Bible, speak of it as a surety.
Almost equally hard for humanity to grasp is the future laid out in the last four chapters of the Bible's final book, Revelation. But a beginning leads to an end. A start leads to a finish. History can be described as linear in nature. From this perspective time does march on.
Our personal world can seem so permanent. We get up in the morning, and the sun is rising as usual. We still have a home, we drive our familiar route to work, we get absorbed in the day's routine, and life goes on as it always has.
All this, however, is not forever. We know, in moments of reflection, that our lives are not permanent. They will all come to an end, and "the living know that they shall die," wrote King Solomon (Ecclesiastes 9:5).
Bible prophecies are sure
In the same way, fulfillment of biblical prophecies is sure. God is the Sovereign of the universe and possesses the will and power to carry out what He says will happen: "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please" (Isaiah 46:9-10, NIV).
World conditions seem bad enough. The plight of humanity gets worse. Just watch the news on television or take a good daily newspaper. Occasionally read the kind of books mentioned in "A World in Perpetual Crisis" on page 11. They will help open your eyes to our afflictions as the 20th century draws to a close.
What lies beyond these great troubles should motivate us. After describing some of the many traumas that will come to pass, Jesus Christ said, "When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near... So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near" (Luke 21:28,31).
The book of Daniel ends its long Middle East prophecy of chapter 11 with these strong words of assurance and encouragement: "And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever" (Daniel 12:1-3).
A call to true repentance
Why does it sometimes appear that the curtain is about to come down on the world stage—and then conditions rapidly change and it simply doesn’t fall? For centuries people have simply misread and misunderstood biblical prophecies concerning the time of the end. Leaders have arisen who have confidently predicted specific events, only to see the specified dates come and go with nothing changed.
Another perspective on this subject is important to God, but not understood by most people. That is the spiritual dimension. The apostle Peter's words sum up God's concerns in dealing with humanity and carrying out His purpose: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2Peter 3:9, NIV).
Repentance is an important aspect of the great commission given by Jesus Christ to His followers as recorded in Matthew 24:14 and 28:18-20. Luke mentions specifically that "repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47, NIV).
Christ told His followers that a work will be done on earth—a message of both warning and hope to go out to a spiritually sick and chaotic world, proclaiming in full power the gospel of God's coming Kingdom. God wants many to be turned to righteousness, to experience genuine repentance. This is a vital part of this great commission!
To better understand this critical message, be sure to request our free booklet The Gospel of the Kingdom. You may contact us at the phone numbers or addresses on the contact page. GN
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Table of Contents that includes "The Crisis at the Close"
Other Articles by John Ross Schroeder
Origin of article "The Crisis at the Close"
Keywords: prophecy end of the age end time prophecy tribulation
Prophecy, end time - world: