I have to admit that I have been VERY busy these past few weeks and I haven't been doing much blogging...sorry about that. But I do read a lot of blogs every day and there is one that recently had a post on the end times that got me going. My friend Shane Vander Hart posted his thoughts on the end times (you can read that HERE). I thought it was a good topic, so let me fill you in on my own thoughts on this.
I feel that there is a whole bunch of bad information out there about the end times. People like Hal Lindsey with his Late, Great Planet Earth and Tim LaHaye and his novel series Left Behind have propagated so much sensationalism into this issue that it is hard to really navigate biblical truth from pop culture fantasy.
In the first century, Nero (the zero!) and Domitian were emperors of Rome who had a fetish for killing Christians. These evil men wanted to stamp out Christianity using a "whatever-it-takes" mentality. Countless thousands of Christians were murdered and suffered under the reigns of these men.
Christianity was on a knife blade. It was literally on the brink, right after it had just begun. And never was there a more needed time to receive a message of hope and victory as this. When John wrote his Revelation, that was precisely the message being communicated. In short, we will win, he was in essence saying.
Most commentators today take the newspaper in one hand and their Bible in the other and they do a great injustice to the plight of the Christians who suffered so much in the 1st century. The over-arching message of all of the New Testament concerning the end times is very simple: Be Ready!
We need to live like Jesus' return can happen today. Because, frankly, it very well could. No sensationalism, no fanfare. Just simply be ready for Jesus to come back.
I guess the one thing I do appreciate about Hal Lindsey or Tim LaHaye is that at least they get people thinking about Jesus' return. When was the last time you even gave it a thought? It is really good to stay focused on Christ's imminent return. That will change how you live.
1 comment:
I agree with you on Hal Lindsey's book and the Left Behind Series.
I like telling people about LaHaye and Jenkins' series - makes great fiction, poor theology. I've enjoyed the series, but I am concerned when people derive their end times views from it.
Go to the word, but let's be humble and realize we're not meant to know how everything will transpire.
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