It now appears that the Mideast civil wars were a
warm-up for a cold front in Europe. When Ukrainians rejected Russian-leaning policies and arrested their president for murdering their citizens, Putin retaliated with the annexation of
Crimea. Russian troops move to the Ukrainian border,
as a nervous international community watches helplessly.
John Kerry said: “It can get
ugly fast if the wrong choices are made.”
Indeed, the conflict is now rapidly escalating. The Pentagon announced it is sending troops to Poland. In response,
Russian allies in Belarus are asking for more warplanes. Things are as tense as they have been at any time since WWII. What does it mean for us? What does this portend?
“And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t
panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.
Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom… But all this
is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come” (Matt. 24:6-8). More to come is right. Keep alert!
Yesterday, I read about a ministry called Global Media Outreach (GMO) which presents the gospel online through websites such as WhoisJesus-Really.com and GrowinginChrist.com. Worldwide, over 5,000 cyber missionaries have been trained to respond to online questions by searchers and seekers. The ministry broke a record last year when 687,000 people made decisions for Christ in one day. More than 15 million people have indicated initial decisions for Christ since GMO's founding in 2004.
You may wonder, as I did, how effective this ministry is in securing lasting professions of faith in Jesus. Well, Global Media Outreach recently conducted a survey of those who had made decisions to follow Christ, and over half reported they had subsequently share their faith with others, and that they read their Bibles and pray daily.
Although we often focus on Jesus’ warning about the birth pains that will precede the days before His return, we should not forget that in the same sermon, He said, "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matt 24:14). Perhaps I have underestimated the positive power of the Internet in God’s plan to evangelize the world! Evidently, many people are “searching” for Jesus.
Yesterday, I wrote that increasing earthquakes are a sign of Jesus’ return. Even as I did so, I was aware that not everyone is longing for Him. Personally, I am tired of the suffering, the lawlessness, and the evil in the world. I long for His return. Did you know that Jesus promises a special crown to those who love, or long for, His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8 NIV)?
So, what would keep someone from longing for the return of the Lord? What quenches that appetite? Could it be a longing for the things in the world (1 John 2:15)? Though my generation is not exempt from such longings, it is generally the younger generation that is especially vulnerable because they don’t want to consider the likelihood they won’t have their opportunity to live a full and happy life.
This “you can have it all” promise is one of Satan’s most effective strategies to quench people’s longing for God, distracting them from the things that are really worth going after. When we truly see that the world is passing away and we are just passing through it (1 John 2:171 Peter 1:17), and the more we see ourselves as "aliens and strangers” in it (Eph. 2:19), the greater will be our longing for His return. Why would you want to stay here when there is "something so much better waiting for you" (Heb. 10:34).
Jesus’ words “this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place” in Matthew 24:34 have always felt very personal to me. The rebirth of the nation Israel is one of the end-time events that would take place before His return. And my generation is one to see this prophecy fulfilled. What’s more personal is that I was born on Israel’s Independence Day, May 14, 1948.
Less personal, but very relevant to the fact the end time may occur in “my generation” is the increase of labor pains (Matt. 24:6-8). Although these labor pains do characterize the entire Church age, Jesus said they would become more frequent, more intense as the end approaches—in other words, full head-on labor.
Given the remarkable labor pains on the earth today, is it so unbelievable that the stage is now being set, and the end of the age is near? Whether my generation is the one that sees all this come to pass or not, I can’t be sure. But I do know this: labor pains are on the rise. Labor Day is here, and the "due date" may be closer than we think.
There was a news story last night answering the question ‘why has the weather been so extreme this year?’ The weather guy blamed it on ‘la nina’ or maybe it was ‘el nino’—whatever. But in the last several years (did it begin with the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean?) the world has experienced unprecedented suffering from natural disasters. And in our country too, though to a much lesser degree, of course.
This morning as I was reading in Joel’s little prophesy, these words seemed apocalyptically relevant. After an unprecedented draught and locust invasion destroyed all the crops in the land, Joel asks, Has anything like his ever happened in your days or in the days of your fathers? Then Joel declares it to be a harbinger for the Day of the Lord. Now I am no “Joel,” and I'm not prophesying the Day of the Lord. But the Bible says, “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” (Mat 24:8). Could our generation be seeing the beginning of birth pangs?
Though ‘natural’ disasters are limited in sphere, there appears to be a coming calamity from which no one will escape. It is a financial crisis of ‘biblical proportion.’ For the first time in modern history, a country (Greece) has gone bankrupt. For the first time in our nation's existence, unmanageable debt has shut down a state government (Minnesota). Bill Clinton was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer last weekend; the former president was asked what would be the effects of Congress’ failure to raise the debt ceiling by August 2. He basically said, “Since it’s never happened before, I don’t know.” I think I know. Birth pangs.
The front page story in USA Today caught my attention: “In Chilean quake, a warning for U.S.” The title begs the question: Is Chilean quake a warning for us? I believe God is speaking through the catastrophic earth quakes in Haiti and Chile. And we should be paying attention (Matt. 11:15).
“Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also." (Heb. 12:26) …“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. 24:7)…“for we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Rom. 8:22).
Jesus said natural disasters would be "but the beginnings of the birth pains" of the last days of the earth as we know it—are we now experiencing those ‘birth pains’? There are two things that occur during labor: 1) the pain becomes more intense and 2) the pains are closer together as birth nears. Is it not apparent that the entire creation, earth and inhabitants, are groaning in anticipation of the end of this age? Who of you does not know someone whose life has been severely shaken this last year?
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they did not discern the times (Lk. 12:56). The raging seas (tsunamis) and the increase of earthquakes seem like the birth pains Jesus spoke of. And the shaking up of our personal lives is a severe reminder we are God's workmanship (there’s nothing like an 8.8 to heighten our awareness of God's activity!). If there was ever a time to remain alert and listen to the Spirit, this is it.
