“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” – Jesus (Matthew 24.14 NIV).
By Grant McClung
There is chaos in the streets of Cairo, a massive cyclone across Australia, and a monster snow and ice storm covering more than half of the United States. Unless you have been on a remote island with no communication (in that case you are not reading this!!), you have seen the headlines of the past 72 hours. As my wife and I turned off the television news last night I asked her the question that I honestly had not considered for some time, “Are we witnessing the beginning of the end?” My mind went back to January 1991.
Can it really be true that twenty years have passed since the January 1991 “Desert Storm” campaign to liberate Kuwait? Do you remember where you were the night the bombing of Baghdad began? That night is sharp in my memory. We were in our midweek missions prayer meeting that night and churches in our city were open all night for intercession. In the days following, there were 24/7 prayer vigils. Across the Christian community there was talk of apocalypse, the potential for massive loss of soldiers in combat, and significance of the Middle East in Biblical prophecy. We talked much about the sense of imminence and the coming of the Lord. A few years later we walked through the tensions of the “Y2K scare” as we moved into a new millennium.
With the latest spotlight on the wave of protests and rage across North Africa and the Middle East, my prediction is that we will now see a new rash of “prophecy preaching,” a proliferation of Christian television chatter about “signs of the times,” and the usual rant about extremists, terrorists, and fundamentalism. Along with this will be the predictions about what interests superficial people the most: a raise in gas prices that will affect the driving costs of their SUVs and luxury automobiles. “After all,” as common “Christian-speak” goes, “God can stir the world as long as He doesn’t rock mine. Let’s pull back and wait for the Rapture.” We’re like the first-century disciples – wrong again.
Their inquiry to Jesus, prior to his Ascension to heaven, was filled with the usual questions about prophecy and end times. “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority,” He reminded them, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1.7-8). Growing up Pentecostal, I have had quite an “education” in premillenial prophecy (and I do, by the way, believe in the premillenial coming of Jesus Christ). We heard anything and everything Biblical, sub-Biblical and extra-Biblical preached as a “sign of the times.” In the Matthew 24 list are signs such as wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution, false prophets, and extreme wickedness.
In our uncertain times, however, don’t forget the clincher, the obvious sign of the end as stated by Jesus (see Matthew 24.14 above) – the worldwide proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom to all nations! Space in this commentary doesn’t allow for my complete article on this but you can read it at www.MissionsResourceGroup.org at the “Globalbeliever.com” free online “eBook” link. Go to “Read the book” and scroll down to p. 54 for “Eschatalogy” and “The Forgotten Sign of the Times.”
Let’s stop predicting and start proclaiming! This is not the time to pull back in fear but to pray for the nations and those in the midst of the turmoil who are faithfully serving Christ. In three weeks I will be with many who lead ministries serving the Arab/Muslim world in a special missions leadership consultation. Please pray for me and my colleagues as we prepare for this significant prayer/strategy meeting in Paris.
Let us hold up our global “community in chaos,” fellow Christians who are living through the turmoil of our times, many of them in harm’s way. While keeping our eyes on the sky, let us keep our hands on the plow and remain faithful to Christ’s commission.
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Dr. Grant McClung, President of Missions Resource Group, is Missiological Advisor to the World Missions Commission of the Pentecostal World Fellowship and missionary educator at large for Church of God World Missions.