Unafraid
"Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my
name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars
and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must
happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various
places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. "Then you will be
handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all
nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will
betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive
many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow
cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and
then the end will come." (Matt. 24:4-14)
I could do
without all of those pharmaceutical warnings. I understand their purpose, mind
you. Medical manufacturers have to caution us against every potential tragedy
so that when we take their pill and grow a third arm or turn green, we can't
sue them. I get that; I’m a lawyer. Still, there’s something about the merger
of happy faces with voice-over advisories of paralysis that just doesn't work
for me.
Life is a
dangerous endeavor. We pass our days in the shadows of ominous realities. The
power to annihilate humanity has, it seems, been placed in the hands of people
who would be happy to do so. If global temperatures rise a few more degrees . .
. if classified information falls into sinister hands . . . if the wrong person
pushes the wrong red button . . . What if things only get worse? Christ tells
us that they will. He predicts spiritual bailouts, ecological turmoil, and
worldwide persecution. Yet in the midst of it all, he contends bravery is still
an option. "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will
grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of
the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations,
and then the end will come." (Matt. 24:12-13)
Things are going
to get worse before they get better. And when conditions worsen, "See to
it that you are not alarmed." (v. 6) Jesus chose a term for alarmed that he didn’t use on any other
occasion. It means "to wail, to cry aloud," as if Jesus were counseling
the disciples, "Don't freak out when bad stuff happens."
The disciples
were making a big to-do over the buildings of the Jerusalem temple. Impressed
with the massive hewed stones – some of them nearly twenty-four feet long – the
followers applauded the awesome structure with its variegated marble that
resembled the waves of the sea. Jesus wasn’t impressed. "'Do you see all
these things?' he asked. 'I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left
on another; every one will be thrown down.'" (Matt. 24:2) Now, imagine
someone forecasting the collapse of the White House, Buckingham Palace, or the
Louvre. Wouldn't you want some details? The disciples did. So, they said "Tell
us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of
the end of the age?" (v. 3) So, sitting on the Mount of Olives, in full
view of the temple and the City of David, Jesus issued a "buckle your seat
belt, no kidding, life can be fatal to your health" warning.
He began with,
"Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name,
claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many." (Matt. 24:4-5) Note
the twofold appearance of the word many.
Many deceived and many deceivers. Churches are petri dishes for self-serving
egomaniacs who masquerade as ministers of God. They will do so "in his
name," claiming a special status, a superior spirituality. They boast of
insider information and use phrases like "God told me . . . ," or "God
spoke to me . . . ," or "God led me . . . " They present
themselves as religious gurus, code breakers, or members of an inner circle,
implying that they have access to knowledge unavailable to the common person.
Some even position themselves as Jesus himself, saying “I am the Christ."
(v. 5)
Don't be misled,
Jesus warns. Don't be wooed by their slick appearances, silver-tongued oratory,
or performances. Later in the same sermon Jesus said, "False Christs and
false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even
the elect – if that were possible." (v. 24) Multitudes and miracles. Large
audiences and spectacular deeds. Throngs of people. Displays of power. When you
see them, be careful. High volume doesn't mean sound faith. Don't be impressed
by numbers or tricks. Satan can counterfeit both. Filter all messages and
messengers through these verses: "And who is a liar? Anyone who says that
Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an
antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son doesn't have the Father, either." (1
John 2:22-23) False prophets always minimize the role of Christ and maximize
the role of humanity. So, be doctrinally diligent. Stick to one question – is this
person directing listeners to Jesus? If the answer is yes, be grateful and pray
for that individual. If the answer is no, get out while you still can.
Along with
heresy we can expect calamity. "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars,
but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is
still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning
of birth pains." (Matt. 24:6-8) Nature is a pregnant creation,
third-trimester heavy. When a tornado rips through a city in Kansas, or an
earthquake flattens a region in Pakistan, this is more than barometric changes
or shifts in ancient fault lines. The universe is passing through the final
hours before delivery. Painful contractions are in the forecast. As are
conflicts: "wars and rumors of wars." One nation invading another.
One superpower defying another. Borders will always need checkpoints. War correspondents
will always have employment. The population of the world will never see peace
this side of heaven. And Christians will suffer the most.
"Then you
will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by
all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and
will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and
deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most
will grow cold." (Matt. 24:9-12) Paradise is populated with people whose
deaths fulfilled this prophecy. Peter. Paul. Stephen. James. Ignatius of
Antioch. Polycarp. Justin Martyr. Origen. The world hated these
Christ-followers. Hatred still abounds. Voice of the Martyrs, a Christian
agency that defends religious liberties, contends that more Christ-followers
have been killed for their faith in the last century than all previous
centuries combined. The Global Evangelization Movement reports an average of
165,000 martyrs per year, more than four times the number of a century past.
America, proud
as she is of religious freedom, suffers from increasing anger toward
Christians. Professors publicly mock Bible-believing students. Talk-show hosts
denigrate people of faith. We can expect the persecution to increase. Spiritual
stowaways will jump ship. The halfhearted will become coldhearted. A great many
church attenders will be disclosed as faith pretenders. They’ll not only leave
the faith; they’ll make the lives of the faithful miserable. But "see to
it that you are not alarmed." (v. 6) Don't freak out at the heresy,
calamity and apostasy. Don't give in or give up, for you'll soon witness the
victory. "But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of
the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations,
and then the end will come." (vv. 13-14)
Jesus equipped
his followers with farsighted courage. He listed the typhoons of life and then
pointed them "to the end." Trust in ultimate victory gives ultimate
courage. Real courage embraces the twin realities of current difficulty and
ultimate triumph. Yes, life stinks. But it won't forever. I heard someone say
one time, "Everything will work out in the end. So, if it's not working
out, it's not the end." Though the church is winnowed down like Gideon's
army, though God's earth is buffeted by climate changes and bloodied by
misfortune, don't overreact. "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and
wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or
fret about their wicked schemes." (Ps. 37:7) Avoid Pollyanna optimism. We
gain nothing by glossing over the brutality of human existence. This is a toxic
world. But neither should we join the Chicken Little chorus of gloom and doom.
Somewhere
between Pollyanna and Chicken Little, between blind denial and blatant panic,
stands the levelheaded, clear-thinking, still-believing follower of Christ.
Wide eyed, yet unafraid. Unterrified by the terrifying. The calmest kid on the
block – not for lack of bullies, but for faith in his older Brother. Christian
hope is knowing that although the world may collapse, the work of Christ will endure.
“So, see to it that you are not alarmed.” (Matt. 24:6)
"See to it
. . . ." Bosses and teachers use that phrase. "See to it that you fill out the reports." Or, "Your essay
is due tomorrow. See to it that you
finish your work." The words call for additional attention, special focus,
extra resolve. Isn't that what Christ is asking? In this dangerous day, with
financial collapse on the news and terrorists on the loose, we have every
reason to retreat into bunkers of dread and woe. But Christ says to us,
"See to it that you are not alarmed." (NIV). "Keep your head and
don't panic." (MSG) "These things must come to pass." (Matt.
24:6)
“Must” is a
welcome word that affirms that all events, even the most violent, are under a
divine plan. Every trial and trouble has a place in God's scheme. The reason
why we shouldn’t be terrified is not because wars are not terrifying. Just the opposite.
It’s because above all the chaos reigns a divine plan. All things, big and
small, flow out of the purpose of God and serve his good will. So, when the
world appears out of control, it isn't. When warmongers appear to be in charge,
they aren't. When ecological catastrophes dominate the day, don't let them
dominate you. Trust your heavenly Father. "Everything will work out in the
end. So, if it's not working out, it's not the end."
Grace,
Randy
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