Spinning Out of Control One Last Time

A recent Associated Press story on the Internet was headlined "Everything seemingly spinning out of control." It would be difficult to find anyone who would disagree with that premise today. With news of the Middle East conflict, corrupt politicians, a queasy economy, natural disasters and the breakdown of the traditional family bombarding our psyches, many wonder how and where it will all end. Clearly there have been other traumatic moments in world history. The Dark Ages, Crusades, bubonic plague and World Wars all brought the realization man simply cannot, on his own, master his fate. But it's different this time. The world has become a very small place. Our problems are global and evil is ubiquitous. The world's answer after World War II-the United Nations-has become a large part of the problem. It gulps our finances, hates our God, redistributes our wealth and is constantly mired in corruption and scandal.

One suspects that the end really is near. Not the end of the human race. That's the good news. The world and its inhabitants will go on forever. This promise is reiterated in the Bible many times. However, one could make an excellent case for this fact: We are now at the end of man's 6,000 years of dominion, which God gave to Adam in Genesis 1:28. According to the Judeo-Christian tradition, when everything is spinning out of control and all appears lost, the Messiah will come to literally save the Day. But when? That's what Jesus' disciples wanted to know as they sat talking with Him on the Mount of Olives. Three days before He died they asked Him this question: "What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" The Lord answered them in explicit detail in Matthew chapters 24 and 25. His words came to be known as the Olivet Discourse. They are especially poignant, because He knew He would soon be crucified. It must be said that virtually every generation of Christians has had adherents who believed theirs would be the "terminal generation."

In fact, it is Biblical to desire that your generation will see the Lord's return. Didn't John close the Bible with the words, "Even so come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20) in AD 95? A cacophony of catch phrases from Matthew 24 have reverberated throughout 2,000 years of Church history-famines, pestilence, earthquakes, wars, hatred, lawlessness, false christs and false prophets. These are the signs that precede Messiah's coming according to the Olivet Discourse. But theologians who had applied these symptoms to earlier generations had missed the immutable sign of Jesus' return. The Lord absolutely could not come until the modern state of Israel was born. It had been prophesied by Isaiah 2,700 hundred years ago, that a nation would be born in one day (Isaiah 66:8). That day was May 14, 1948. Jesus told His disciples to watch the fig tree. "When its branch . . . puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near." (Matthew 24:32) In Hebrew, the words "summer" and "end" have the same root. Israel is the fig tree of Joel 1:7 and Hosea 9:10. Jesus then goes on to say the generation alive in 1948 ". . . will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled." (Matthew 24:34) In other words, if you were alive in 1948, your generation will still be here when Jesus returns. So cheer up and look up. This earth is due for an upgrade, when Jesus returns to rule and reign.

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