Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list No. 1-219 (Sermon)

APOCALYPSE NO!

or

WHEN IS IT RIGHT TO FIGHT? (Part 4 of 4)

by Rod Benson

Matthew 24:1-14

I am amazed at the comments of many American Christians in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC. On the day the planes hit, Jerry Falwell said on Pat Robertson's 700 Club, "The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked ... the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians ... I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.' "

Hal Lindsay, author of The Late Great Planet Earth, envisions more terrorists attacks, setting the stage for the collapse of America. He said, "The decline of the United States has begun."

David Wilkerson, author of The Cross and the Switchblade, said the attacks were a warning of a greater destruction he has predicted, "unless New York City repents."

Paul Crouch of the Trinity Broadcasting Network said that this was the "beginning of sorrows ... as predicted by Jesus."

Someone else said, "You can almost hear the hooves of the horses of the apocalypse." For some, John 3:16 now reads, "For God so hated America that he sent planes..."

Should we read apocalyptic symbolism into current events? Do recent terrorist attacks prove we are living in the end-times? Did the terrorism allegedly commissioned by Osama bin Laden really hasten the Lord's return? Is it apocalypse now, or apocalypse no?

THE BOY WHO CRIED "WOLF!"

For centuries Christians have seen political or religious leaders rise to power, and have identified them with the apocalyptic Antichrist: Nero, Domitian, many of the popes including John Paul II, George III, Napoleon, Hitler, Kissinger, Gorbachev, Saddam Hussein, Bill Gates... perhaps even bin Laden.

I fear evangelical Christians are in danger of suffering the same fate as befell the fabled "boy who cried wolf." Why is there such a desire to cast certain individuals and institutions as personifications of evil plans and powers?

I suggest three reasons. First, many of us are strongly attracted to simple black-and-white explanations of what has gone wrong with our world, and we are not trained to critically assess what we hear.

Second, we love to be scared to death, or think the worst, about things beyond our control. Third, some of us like to believe we clearly understand biblical prophecy, and that our television images and newspaper stories are precisely what Jesus predicted on the Mount of Olives, or what John saw on the island of Patmos.

Prophecy is fascinating but problematic. Most prophecies, from classic Greek mythology to biblical prophecy to contemporary astrology, are vague or general. And when we examine biblical prophecy and apocalyptic literature, we discover that Christians have for 2000 years disagreed on its interpretation.

This is not the place to explain the various perspectives popular today. But when we read Matthew 24-25, it seems clear that some aspects relate to the immediate future of those who heard Jesus' words, other matters probably refer to distant future events, and others may relate to both "now" and "not yet."

This discourse of Jesus, the last of six in Matthew's Gospel, is about the end of Jerusalem (as his generation knew it), and the end of the world (as we know it). But it is also about how followers of Jesus - then and now - should live in view of persecution, war, judgment and the Lord's return (cf 2 Pet 3:10-14).

WHAT WILL BE THE SIGN OF THE END?

Chapter 23 ends with Jesus predicting the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. He leaves the temple precinct with his followers and, as they leave, some of them draw his attention to the magnificent religious edifice (24:1).

Instead of agreeing and uttering some platitude, Jesus says the opposite, predicting its total and absolute destruction (v 2). I imagine a brief stunned silence as the disciples absorb this revelation, consider its implications, and connect with earlier teaching by Jesus about the future.

Perhaps they are thinking, "If all this will soon be gone, where will we worship? What about our homes and families, our culture and nation? Will they too be destroyed? Apocalypse - no!"

Then they ask Jesus two related but distinct questions: "When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (v 3).

The form of the second question indicates to me that Jesus taught them more about the end of the world than is recorded in the three Gospels. But even that depth of teaching left his followers mystified rather than satisfied, curious rather than clear about the end times.

Jesus responds to their questions in 24:4-25:46 - but I hear in his words the warm heart of a pastor or mentor rather than the cool detachment of academic learning. We will look briefly at 24:1-14.

In verse 4 Jesus warns them to take care they are not deceived - either deliberately by others, or through the belief that they have worked out God's timetable and can definitively match current events with biblical prophecy.

Remember the Y2K crisis in late 1999? All I did amid the media hype was purchase some torch batteries and await the end (of the year, that is!).

Many US evangelicals, however, believed the impending crisis would trigger widespread social breakdown and set the stage for the rise of a one-world military government. Some even stockpiled large quantities of food, medical supplies, guns and ammunition.

Books appeared like Tim La Haye's fear evangelism series (Left Behind), and my favourite: Karen Anderson's Y2K for Women: How to Protect Your Home and Family in the Coming Crisis.

In it she answers the vital apocalyptic questions: Which is better to stockpile - canned or powdered milk? How does a woman handle her period without running water? How do I make coffee without electricity or gas? It occurs to me that most ordinary Afghan people could easily answer these questions.

But the Y2K crisis disappeared with not even a whimper. There was no crisis. That is not to say, though, that when the biblically predicted global crisis does arrive there will not be enormous disruption, distress and destruction of life and lifestyle, property and institutions. There will be.

Many Christians today, in churches not unlike ours, want to believe that the events of September 11 herald the beginning of the end of the world.

They may be proved correct, but I believe the end of the world will come according to God's sovereign and secret plan, and will owe nothing to the good or evil intentions of men and women. People of biblical faith expect and await the return of their Lord, not some apocalyptic conflagration.

NOT A WONDERFUL WORLD

Verse 5 warns of messianic impostors, false claims and widespread deception. Our world has had plenty of would-be Christs leading people into delusion and death. All were flawed; all have failed. To these we say, "Apocalypse no!"

In verse 6 Jesus predicts that people will hear of wars and rumours of wars - just as we do today on television, and in newspapers, and on the Internet.

Verse 7 highlights political and military conflict, widespread famines, and earthquakes. Jesus describes these as "the beginning of birth pains."

Verse 9 speaks of something closer to home: persecution of believers, and their martyrdom. Some take this to mean tribulation that occurs after a secret rapture. It certainly refers to people of Christian faith hated by the world.

This is part of our identity with Christ. Not only does it guarantee forgiveness from sins and eternal hope; it guarantees suffering and persecution. The world "did not know him" when he came; it likes his followers today no more; and it will never voluntarily accept Jesus or his people or his rule.

Verse 10 reveals that "many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate one another": apostasy, betrayal, hatred. I see that happening today.

Verse 11: "many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." We have had false prophets inside and outside the church for 2000 years. We have them today, and false prophets promulgating false doctrines will increasingly feature as the end approaches.

As evil increases on multiple fronts, "the love of most will grow cold" (v 12). This is not a comforting or secure place to live, or work, or raise children, or build Christian community.

In verse 13 comes a wonderful promise: "but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." This promise is for the faithful who endure the apocalypse. But it can also be a promise to us today in our trials, in our tribulations, for those in Kabul this morning, and on the Indonesian island of Maluku.

AND THEN THE END WILL COME

Then in verse 14 we read that, amid the smoke and ruins, the screams and slaughter, the encroaching evil, "this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

The end will come when Christ returns in glory to the earth, to the Mount of Olives - where he was standing as he spoke these words to his disciples.

Do you know what "apocalypse" means? It has taken on a secondary meaning associated with total war and large-scale devastation (witness the movie Apocalypse Now). But its original meaning was "the revealing." The book of Revelation is literally "the revealing of Jesus Christ" (Rev 1:1).

When the apocalypse arrives it will reveal Jesus Christ to the world - not as a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger, but as the unconquerable, irresistible King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

These words of Jesus in Matthew 24 bring clarity, comfort and challenge to us. As darkness precedes dawn, so the worst times and the greatest troubles and the strongest evil will arise immediately before Jesus returns (vv 6b, 13b).

THE POSSIBILITY OF WORLD PEACE

What causes wars? What ends them? Is world peace possible? There are many answers to questions like these, and the explanations and qualifications are complex. There is also a biblical explanation of what has gone wrong with our world: "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23).

Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God. That is what ultimately causes war. The solution to human sin is also the solution to the problem of war. Wars will end when people acknowledge and accept their own sin and the full salvation offered by Jesus Christ (Gal 1:20; Rom 5:1).

People discover the foundation for social and world peace when they find the cross, receive forgiveness and new life from Jesus, and begin the journey toward a new creation, "the home of righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13).

Are you ready for when Jesus returns? Are you living a Spirit- filled life? Are you reading Scripture with a desire for the Holy Spirit to illuminate it and teach you its truth? Has Jesus absorbed your sins and absolved your guilt? Faced with crisis and calamity, do you hear Jesus say, "See to it that you are not alarmed"? Is your heart satisfied with God?

God is on the throne. God is in control. History moves forward according to God's plan. The end will surely come, and it will vindicate and glorify God.

Until then we have work to do: Jesus calls each of us to implement the great commandment (Mt 22:37-40), and to fulfil the great commission (Mt 28:19-20) - "and then the end will come."

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E063 Copyright (c) 2001 Rod Benson. Reproduction in any form is permitted only with full copyright notice intact. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

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