Non-Prophet Organizations
“No one knows about
that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father.”
Listening to the
radio the other day, I heard something that caught my attention. Can’t tell you who said it or the station,
but it was one of those “cud quotes” you just keep on chewing. The speaker said, “Seems as if everyone wants
to be a prophet these days…but no one wants to be a disciple.” Ouch!
Like one of those paint balls pounding on the back of the leg, it had sort
of a lingering sting. But, ain’t it the truth?
End-time prophecies
are all the rage. Some Christians might even consider “Prophets
Anonymous.” In many cases, it’s a
borderline addiction. (“Hello, my name
is Steve…and I’m an end-times prophet.”)
Bible sleuths, both professional and amateur, past and present, and near
and far, have been trying to understand our days like a 500 piece jigsaw
puzzle. About the same way golf has
soared in popularity, most people feel they might as well take a “hack” at
it. And hack they do. They reason, “If I study hard enough, then
maybe I can crack the code of Christ’s return.”
Dwight L. Moody, the
famous evangelist, once got onto C.I. Scofield, the Bible expositor, for his
overzealous nature of Biblical intellectualism. He mentioned that Scofield’s intense
preoccupation with the academic side of the Christian faith brought the danger
of losing his heart of discipleship. The
same could be said for the students of the second coming. (Especially dogmatic
pre-ers, mid-ders, and post-ers.)
For decades, people
have been trying to figure out when Jesus would return. Dates from 1914 to 1968 to 1982 to 1988 to
1992 to the year 2012, these theological office pools have been wrong. Some were so convinced that they sold their
belongings and headed for the tops of mountains. I guess mountains give them a head-start to
heaven.
Grant Jeffreys, in
his book, Countdown to Armageddon,
gave factual and convincing evidence for the fact that the Tribulation would
start in 1993 and be completed in the year 2000 based on chronological data and
calendars connected to the book of Daniel.
Christ’s birth and Israel’s rebirth as a nation. Either the Tribulation is not as bad as we
thought or he missed it. Hal Lindsay,
foremost expert on prophecy, gives great insight into Revelation and prophetic
verses but also has been wrong a time or two on the timing of future
events. And again, Tim LaHaye’s
bestselling books and movies (starring Nicolas Cage) are sweeping across the
nation with breakneck speed and creating newfound interest in these age-old
questions of dates and details.
The reason that
guesses on such topics as Christ’s return are so futile is because of a simple
verse in Mark 13:32 which says, “No one knows about that day or hour, l, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
but only the Father.” (I looked up “no one” in the original Greek
language and the word actually is translated “no one.”) So as much as we try to
guess, it is really nothing more than optimistic wishing.
Now, don’t
misunderstand me. I am not advocating ignoring prophetic
research and refusing to keep our heads perched heavenward. Christians should always keep one eye in the
sky. But, true effectiveness in the
kingdom requires that we commit to love Jesus and let God handle the rest in
His timing. C.S. Lewis used to say,
“Plan as if the Lord isn’t going to come for 50 years, but live as if He’s
coming today.” Sounds like good
discipleship, if you ask me.”
Terry
Risser
Reflections:
1) How do you feel about Christ’s return?
2) Do you find yourselves keeping an eye on
heaven?
Copyright 2014- Terry
Risser
Consider reading the Word today:
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