“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.” 1 John 2:18
The movie “2012” is now out on DVD. No, I am not going to watch it or buy it. In spite of all the hype on television, I thought it was interesting that the movie did not last long in the theaters. Perhaps it’s because we have heard these ‘end of the world’ stories before.
In the short span of my life, there have been numerous times that I have heard people say the world was coming to an end. Even now, there are prophecy preachers, most notably with their own television shows, also predicting the end of the world in “2012”. They are selling tons of materials, books, DVD’s, and CD’s just like they have been doing for decades. I have no doubt that the world as we know it could come to an end in 2012; but it could also come to an end this year or 200 years from now.
One of the great pleasures of reading history, and more specifically church history, is that one can see how each generation felt like theirs was the last. Even the disciples, who knew Christ better than anyone else on earth, thought that He meant He was coming back in their life time. There have always been Christians whose lives were so persecuted that they knew the return of Christ must be just around the corner.
One thing we do know is that we are in the last age in regards to salvation history. We are now awaiting the return of Jesus Christ. If you think like I do, then you are probably wondering what is taking the Lord so long in light of the chaos in our world. Our world systems are just not working and we need Christ the King! I am reminded of the words of St. Augustine when he wrote, “It is the last hour. It may be an extended one but it is the last hour.”
John had already felt the barbs of persecution as he had been exiled, but not before seeing (or at least hearing of) his friends and fellow disciples killed for their faith. Surely Christ was coming back soon, so he writes, “Dear children this is the last hour…” But alas, it’s been 2,000 years and we still eagerly await His return. Or do we?
When it comes to prophecy and those who teach it, especially those that are profiting by it, I know that I battle cynicism. One guy says this and another says that. Who can you believe? I could well infuriate some folks with this statement, but I think most prophecy conferences are more about entertainment. The men that I heard speak on this subject as a young man would have been stoned already (an Old Testament practice), since they have proven themselves to be false prophets by not getting Christ’s return right. The Lord’s return is not something to make money on or the means to draw a crowd; it’s much, much deeper than that.
By reading through the ages of church history, one can see that whenever there were great persecutions and it felt like the end was near, the Christians focused on two things: personal holiness and the spreading of the Gospel. There were no prophecy conferences during the reign and persecution of Nero or Diocletian; but there was Christianity in its highest form. Even in the reign of terror, people were coming to Christ as they were attracted to the holiness of the Christians.
In 150 A.D. Justin wrote, “He [Christ] has not wished us to imitate the wicked, but rather by our patience and meekness to draw all men from shame and evil desires. This we can show in the case of men who were once on your side but have turned from the ways of violence and tyranny, overcome by observing the consistent lives of their neighbors, or noting the strange patience of their injured acquaintances, or experiencing the way they did business with them.” Justin makes it clear that the Christ-like behavior of the Christians had an evangelistic impact on those outside the church.
I doubt that many of us wake up each morning with the thought that Christ could return today! How would that impact our thoughts and behavior? I would dare to say that we would make a few changes if we got into the habit of sipping that first cup of morning coffee and saying, “This could be the day!”
J.C. Ryle was the first Anglican Bishop of Liverpool. I believe it was in 1879 that he wrote a masterpiece called Holiness. He stated that, “Sound Protestant and Evangelical doctrine is useless if it is not accomplished by a holy life.” This makes me think of one prophecy speaker that is now on his fourth or fifth wife! Holiness?! What difference does it make if I am pre-this or post-that if I do not live the life Christ indwelt me for?
Bishop Ryle writes in his book, “True holiness does not consist merely of believing and feeling, but of doing and bearing, and a practical exhibition of active and passive grace.” This comes from what is inside our hearts. Francis of Assisi reminds us, “A worldly spirit loves to talk a lot but do nothing, striving for the exterior signs of holiness that people can see, with no desire for true piety and interior holiness of spirit.”
Looking for the return of Christ should be something in our hearts, just like that of the mother who looks for her son to return from war. We should long for our heavenly home as much as we long to return home after a journey. And in our waiting and longing, we should be filled with the desire to be holy, to be Christ-like in our thoughts, affections, and behavior.
With eternity in mind,
Dan Owens
Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries
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