A Spiritual Coma
In 1979 I received a dramatic commission from the Lord to prepare God's people for the soon appearing of Jesus Christ. For the past 45 years I have been concerned mostly about my ministry in the sense of, Have I fulfilled the Lord's command enough? Have I done what I was told? Am I ignoring Jesus or not taking His calling seriously? Today, however, a different concern has replaced that original one.
Much of my season of ministry opportunities has passed. What I should or should not have done 30 years ago is sort of pointless speculation, now. Today my attention seems to be drawn in a different direction. It is not about what how I can advance my message. It is that many seem to be in a spiritual coma. In Matthew 25 we have a Kingdom of Heaven parable. However, it can have some applications for our day. All of the virgins have fallen asleep. At a certain point they all wake up. But only about half are prepared for what is about to take place. The unprecedented events of the Last Days slap everyone out of slumber. Only about half of them, however, are ready for the next things.
A recent poll was taken of those who would identify themselves as Pre-Tribulationalists. We cannot know the time of the coming of the Lord with 100% certainty. The Scriptures would seem to make allowance for several different viewpoints as to the timing of the appearing of the Lord. These people were asked, What would they do if they found themselves clearly in the “Tribulation”. The majority replied that that would make no difference in their understanding of end time things. God must be mistaken. I am having a nightmare or things of that nature. This is the nightmare: Apparently, it does not matter what the Bible says. It does not matter what Jesus said. The facts do not matter. Logic does not matter. This is frightening. The attitude of many seems to be: Heaven and earth may pass away but my opinion will stand forever as the supreme reality. This is terrifying.
One's particular eschatology is important but it cannot be compared with the words of God. We need to fall on our knees and say, “I am wrong” if we clearly see that the Bible points us to an understanding other than what we have held. We are supposed to be Seekers of the truth, not Defenders of our doctrine.
I know of a man who has been friends with several ministers. He also was in communication with some well know ministries. As he pointed out the words of Jesus (mostly regarding end time things) they all were in agreement that these things were true and applicable to us. Discussion had gone on for a while. As he continued to come to the obvious conclusion of these things, something suddenly happened.
...dead silence...
Ministries and ministers that had been open and communicative abruptly stopped all discussion. It is not so important what the particulars were. That is not the point. The point seems to be:
How dare God interrupt our tradition and impose His opinions on us!
These people are intelligent and well known men. These men are leaders in today's Christian thought. It is not a matter of one man's opinion against another person's opinion. Do the words of Jesus have any place in today's church? Do they carry any weight? This is the sobbing tragedy of the days just before the King returns. Moses is not going to return on the clouds of Glory. The pastor is not going to appear in the sky. Jesus is going to personally appear in the air. He is not looking for people with perfect theology. He is looking for people who tremble at His words (Isa 66:2).
It is not really your end-times eschatology that God is going to test. It is, What place do the words of Jesus have in our heart?
Feb. 5, 2025