Are We In The End Times?

Written by Dr Andrew Corbett, President of ICI Theological College Australia, and author of the popular commentary on the Book of Revelation- The Most Embarrassing Book In The Bible, April 26th 2013

Wars, earthquakes, floods, and famines have long been considered the traits of what many believe to be the Biblical description of the "end times". Added to this is what many understand to be the predictions of increased apostasy, the rise in persecution, the deterioration of society's morals, and the increased compromise and lukewarmness of the Church. And surely, if these are the characteristics of what the Bible describes as the last days, we must be in the last days, right? But are we? And if we are, so what? And if we aren't, then what? But are we in what the Bible describes as the 'end times'?

¶ But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty."
Second Timothy 3:1

WHAT ARE THE "END TIMES"?

The expression "end times" is used by Christians to describe a brief period immediately preceding the return of Christ to earth. The expression, however, does not actually occur in the Bible. Rather, expressions such as "the last days", "end of the age" are regarded as synonyms for "end times". The Bible presents a picture of our world as being subject to God's redemptive plan which climaxed in the coming to earth of the eternal Son of God as one of us and will culminate one day when He returns to judge the living and the dead (Rev. 20:12).

knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.
Second Peter 3:3

SIGNS OF THE "END TIMES"

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Revelation Daily Devotional - Day 5

Day 5

Revelation 2:8-11

[Rev. 2:8] ¶ “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: ¶ “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but came to life: [Rev. 2:9] ‘I know the distress you are suffering and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know the slander against you by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. [Rev. 2:10] Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison so you may be tested, and you will experience suffering for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself. [Rev. 2:11] The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will in no way be harmed by the second death.’

From and In. Two little words. Yet as different as Everest (a mountain in Nepal) is to the You-Yangs (a ‘mountain’ range near Lara). Christ promises to keep His followers in times of trouble not from. When troubles come, said Christ, to His disciples, not if troubles come, He would keep them in it. Keep, not abandon. Another little word which we today we only half use by employing it in reference to things we’ve stored away somewhere (but can’t find right now.) Whereas to keep means to hold and guard. Jude thought this was the most valuable thing he could pray for his readers - May the Lord keep you...

It is in this light that Christ tenderly speaks to the beleaguered Smyrnians. Their troubles had started. They felt poor because the rich didn’t have such troubles. Yet because they were depending on Christ, they were truly rich.

We sometimes confuse Christ’s promise to us to keep us as meaning He will keep us from troubles when we should thank Him for keeping us in the midst of our troubles. For the Smyrnians this required spiritual ears to understand just as it does for us today who all too readily confuse Christ's blessings as supplying how we want Him to bless us. Christ had called the Smyrnians to be victorious which He also calls us to as well. But there can be no victory, no overcoming, no conquering, unless we have battles, difficulties, troubles to deal with. And just in case the we lose focus on what this life has to offer compared to the possible glorious life to come, Christ reminds this embattled church that the prize for doing so would be eternal life. We were born to live forever so let's not be like Esau who sold his birthright for a piece of bread by selling out on our commitment to Christ in times of difficulty.

Andrew Corbett

Revelation Daily Devotional - Day 4

Day 4

Revelation 2:1-7

[Rev. 2:1] “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. [Rev. 2:2] ¶ “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. [Rev. 2:3] I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. [Rev. 2:4] But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. [Rev. 2:5] Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. [Rev. 2:6] Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. [Rev. 2:7] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

John is told to write to seven actual churches. The first one he writes to, Ephesus, is an old familiar friend to New Testament readers. We are introduced to its birth in Acts 19, we read of its maturing in Paul’s Epistle to them, and then track their progress in the letters to Timothy (who was pastoring them).

But sometimes the hardest thing for any church to do is to maintain a heartfelt passion for Christ and His Cause when they’ve been at it for a long time. The Ephesians church had “lost its first love” for Christ. One translation renders this indictment as Ephesus having “abandoned” their first love. They didn’t merely drift from their love for Christ - they intentionally stopped it.

How does a church intentionally cease loving Christ? Love for us in the 21st Century West is a positive feeling. But Biblically, love is something done. Love is shown more than it is felt. And love is shown before it is felt.

This is why Christ calls the Ephesians to return to their former “works” which they “did at first”.

How often do we lose sight of where we should be with Christ as believers but more importantly as a church?

How is your love for Christ? If I could observe your service within, and on behalf of, your local church I could answer that question without exchanging one word with you. Have you lost sight of where your heart should be with Christ? Has your heart been wounded by others within your church and caused you to pull away from serving Christ by serving others within your church? Do you need to overcome your coldness and conquer your growing laxness?

If these questions seem uncomfortable, imagine how the Ephesians felt receiving this letter from Christ via John. Perhaps we should never forget that repentance always takes humility and our  humility is one of the key measures of Christian maturity.

Andrew Corbett

Tricky Bible Prophecies Can Be Confusing

Dispensational Disappointment

Dispensationalism comes in various forms. A "dispensation" is a period of time. An era. In its most extreme form it regards God as having multiple plans of salvation depending on the particular dispensation. These dispensations generally commence with the Dispensation of Innocence and include other Dispensations such as the Dispensations of Works, Law, and Grace. This is contrasted by the orthodox Christian view of regarding God only ever having one means of salvation: the work of Jesus of Nazareth, especially His suffering, death and resurrection. But Dispensationalism is most notably distinguished from orthodox Christianity in the way it regards Israel. Dispensationalism says that God has a distinct plan and salvation for Israel. The roof of Dispensationalism is then supported by the walls of a novel form of end-times teaching. This includes such things as a rapture of the Church, a two-part Tribulation period, the global rule of an Anti-Christ, the reconstruction of a Temple in Jerusalem, the Battle of Armageddon, and then the Return of Christ. Dispensationalist Bible Prophecy teachers have gone to great lengths in their predictions of what the future holds based on their interpretation of the Bible. I have written a separate article on some of these predictions. But there's a problem. A big problem.
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