Texts for the Week: John 8:32; Ezek. 20:12, 20; Rev. 7:1, 2; Rev. 14:1; Joel 2:21–24; Hos. 6:3; James 5:7, 8; Rev. 18:1–4.
Opening Question: “Should we think of time as a circular thing, or a linear thing? Are we going round and round in history, or moving from a beginning to a point of destiny?”
The lesson this week looks at what might be called the closing scenes of earth’s history. It will come as no surprise to anyone who has read widely from the Bible that, in the Bible’s view of reality, time is linear rather than circular. In other words, history is moving from a point of beginning to a destiny, an end, a time when the flow of time as we experience it will be disrupted by the decisive actions of God in finally establishing His kingdom as a final replacement to the kingdoms of humans. This means there will come a time when earth will indeed experience some closing events.
A second thing to note is that the closing events will be tumultuous, cataclysmic. Reading from 2 Peter 3 makes that plain. The closing events will not just involve the machinations of humans but also the disruption of the natural cycles that currently prevail.
What is also true, particularly from reading the Books of Daniel and Revelation, is that there is going to be a time of great trouble where the focus is going to be on worship and loyalties established and nurtured. Two groups of people are going to emerge at the end, those who insist on worshipping God no matter the cost, and those who, for various reasons, fall prey to the machinations and wiles of Satan. To many, this seems simplistic if not impossible, but to those who study the Bible carefully, and who watch the dynamics that play out in human experience, this whole idea is plausible.
Of particular interest is the 14th chapter of the Book of Revelation. Three angles traverse the skies giving a final message that includes a call to worship God and to beware of loyalties to an evil power depicted as a beast. Notice that worship, the placing of loyalties, ultimate loyalties, is a key issue. And don’t forget that this struggle is set in the context of a very long struggle between good and evil in which Satan is said to be a liar and deceiver, and Christ a true and reliable leader of the good. This controversy began a long time ago, and it goes on not only in human lives but also at a cosmic level as noted by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. Humans are foolish to think that, given our limitations, we can navigate this controversy by ourselves. Satan is a wily foe, far smarter than we imagine, a being who operates sometimes in very harsh ways, but other times in very gentle and subtle ways. His goal is always to lead humans astray from loyalty to God.
With all this in mind, it is fascinating in a strange sort of way, to note that there are two great errors that are quite prominent in the Christian world. The firsts has to do with the question of the nature of humans at death, the second has to do with the day of worship. Both of these items may have significant play in the closing scenes of earth’s history. The first item, because it holds to the idea that there is consciousness after death, leaves humans open to various kinds of manipulation that would seem to come from another realm. The second because the shift away from the original day of worship leaves humans revering a day invented and endorsed by humans, not God. It places their ultimate loyalties in humanly devised systems of belief rather than the one given by God. The whole idea of a memorial in time designed to commemorate and keep before humanity the fact of the creatorship of God, is lost potentially leaving humans adrift from God’s word and plan. How all these things will play out in a final scenario remains to be seen in its detail but let there be no doubt about the trajectory that has been set.
Another feature of the final scenes is also laid out I the Bible and it is an exciting one for there is a prediction that the Holy Spirit, who ha been quite active throughout history, sometimes on dramatic ways as at Pentecost, will again be unleashed with uncommon power. The prophet Joel speaks to this making the statement that the Spirit will fall with power on all kinds of people from young to old thereby bringing the witness of God into full view and making the issues of worship and loyalty quite plain. It is to be expected that, in that season that takes place just before Christ appears a second time, that many will come to see the issue clearly that are now obscure to them and who knowns how many will come to full faith in God. The well-known metaphor is the one about an early and latter rain, concepts that have received a lot of commentary among Christians.
One item that should ever be kept in mind is that loyalty, true and deep loyalty, can never be forced. There has to come a willing compliance somewhere in the equation of life if a person is to be most deeply committed. At the same time, those with authoritarian or totalitarian impulses hate liberty, the freedom to choose and decide. They have a very long record in history of trying, by various means including using torture and persecution, to bring about a unity of loyalty to themselves. History shows that it is almost always only a matter of time before their totalitarian schemes fall apart. The human will cannot be corralled indefinitely.
The key question that continually lies before every believer is this: What loyalties are you nurturing in anticipation of what is to come?” The question Peter asked the saints of his day remains pertinent – “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:11)
