Yesterday, a christian friend asked me, “is this the end times”.
I sighed, deeply.
In a nutshell:
Yep; It is the end times, but then, it has been the end times since Jesus came
I hope that helps!
Crazy Assumptions
I think what my friend was asking is whether this is the sign that the “end of the world is nigh.” That is the kind of question that makes me want to bang my head against the wall, because it is so full of crazy misinterpretations of the Bible that I do not even know where to start. I have avoided any of the crazy Christian websites, but I assume that they are rife with “prophetic” insights into the current situation.(0)
The trouble is, that it has, integrated within it, several assumptions that I suggest are neither Biblical not helpful.
- God is judging the world and bringing suffering to it.
- The book of Revelation is easy to read and we can pick obscure meaning out of it and apply it today.
- The coming of Jesus will be a time of terrible suffering.
I am sure that there are a load more, but these will do to be getting on with.
God is Judging the World
Sigh. Once again, we have to get away from the idea that the God of the Bible, who is fully revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, is actually Zeus. he is not. It is not true. The two have nothing in common. He is not an angry old man, sitting on a cloud throwing down lightning bolts on “sinners”.
Jesus came to us in our sin and took it all upon himself to defeat death and so that we could be freed. That is not a God who sits apart and gets angry. It is the opposite of that!
Judgement, according to Paul, is God allowing his children to experience the consequences of their own actions (Rom 1:18-24) and according to John, God’s judgement is a refusal on the part of people to allow themselves to see the light in the midst of them (John 3:17-19)(1). Paul regularly reinterprets Old Testament passages of apparent judgement from God, as the work of the destroyer.
Our God rolls up his sleeves, and gets stuck in with the suffering ones. He does not, repeat not, stand back and unleash anger upon them. If you want that God, stick with Greek mythology.
The Book of Revelation
This book was not actually included in the original New Testament canon. It was considered that “nobody understands it and our enemies(2) use it more than we do.” It was not allowed into the canon until it was agreed that it fit within the already agreed creeds. It was allowed in on two conditions: 1. It was to be used to worship, challenge and encouragement, and 2. It was never to be used to form theology or timelines.
Did you spot anything there!?
Revelation is anything but easy. In the fourth century, the greatest minds in the church, combined, were not even certain of its meaning. It is apocalpytic literature, which is a specific form of literature that we no longer have today. That means that not only must we try to understand its context, but we must find some way glean the meaning of the imagery in that context, before we could ever hope to work out what it means to us.
The closest thing we have today are political cartoons. Even cartoons from a decade ago can be meaningless to people today. How about this one, here? Anyone know what it means? (3) I remember the 80s and have some idea what is happening here, but even then, it is not entirely clear.
The other problem is that Revelation was written by someone under intense persecution and in exile, to churches, under intense persecution and oppression. Our perspective is so different from theirs. Essentially, the best I can work out is that the main message of Revelation is “This massive, oppressive and apparently invincible beast, Rome (nicknamed Babylon), will not win. Jesus will win. It will be fair. They will not get away with it.”
It is a dangerous thing to miss that part out and start trying to fit world events in 2020 into the text.
So, no, Revelation is not easy and taking parts of it out of context and shouting judgement at people is neither true nor Christian.
The Coming of Jesus will be a Time of Terrible Suffering
Again, several misunderstandings here. These are rooted in bad exegesis of Revelation and also the synoptic gospels. Jesus talks a lot about the coming judgement, but most New Testament scholars, such as Tom Wright, argue that this coming doom is referring to the destruction of the Jerusalem and the temple, by the Romans, in AD70. In Luke 21:31, Jesus actually makes it clear that the current generation will witness those things, which they did.
Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, is addressing the fact that a number of them had become obsessed with looking for signs of Jesus’ return and predictions of when that would be. Some of them had even stopped working because they did not see the point because it was imminent.(4) The main thrust of Paul’s letter is to stop being idiots and get on with following Jesus (my paraphrase). He makes it clear from the outset that when Jesus returns no one will be expecting it, but, in the meantime, let us get on with the job in hand (1 Thess 5). He points out the irony of them being “prepared” for the return of Jesus by sitting around waiting for it, meant that they had missed the point and as a result were not ready for it.
What is Your Point?
First, don’t watch Christian TV channels, don’t visit websites and don’t follow threads that spread utter rubbish like this. As Paul said:
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8
In other words, let us love people. Let us be kind to people. Let us serve people. Let us be characterised by these things. Let the love of Christ shine through us. Let us not get caught up in Christian scare-mongering but let us be “little” Christs at this time. Let us live as children of the light in a time of apparent darkness.
Amen
0. Before we get too caught up in it, it is worth noting that more lives have already been saved by the enormous reduction in pollution, than have been lost by the virus. All non-essential surgery has stopped – which includes abortions. how many children will grow up because of this, that would not have done so before? Our own nation, which seemed to be irreconcilably divided three months ago, has become united again, in adversity. We have seen so many acts of kindness and compassion during this time. Don’t get me wrong, there are many negative impacts from this all, but who is to say that in ten years or a hundred years, people will look back at this time as the time the world changed direction? I am thinking aloud, so don’t quote me.
1. The Greek word for judgement is Krisis, in the most popular translations the krisis in this passage is translated differently in the same same sentences, which is strange, unless you have an agenda! v.18, 19 read, ” whoever has not believed has been judged (notice the past tense) and this is that judgement, that the light has come into the world but people loved the darkness more than the light.” John defines the judgement, which has already happened, is that people have chosen the dark.
2. The “enemies” would have been the gnostics and those who held to the Aryan heresy. In fact, Revelation contains many phrases that are very “gnostic”.
3. The head is Arthur Scargill who was the head of the miners’ union in the 80s. He led a series of massive strikes in protest against pit closures, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister at the time, clearly “won” (if such a thing was possible) but the head of Scargill, served on a platter, is saying, “lets call it a draw”. It is about him not being willing to admit defeat. I think!!!
4. I had a friend at university who quite his course because he had “calculated” that Jesus was to return the following year.
One Comment
I stumbled across your blog recently and have found your posts, especially those about the LGBTQ+ members of your church, very refreshing and inspiring.
I do think, however, that your reference to abortions in your footnote above comes across as inconsiderate and narrow-minded. Lack of access to abortion should not be seen as a positive thing. The ability to choose and have access to an abortion should not be compromised and lockdown measures that limit women’s access to them is not to be celebrated.
If we affirm that life is sacred, then the health and life of the woman must take precedence over the life of the fetus. During this pandemic, the lack of access to this health service is concerning and something that should trouble us.
While there are strong public health and human rights arguments for supporting the right of women to safe and accessible abortion, biblical foundations for affirming abortion as a morally justifiable decision should also be considered.
Women have a moral capacity, right and responsibility to make the decision as to whether or not abortion is justified in their specific circumstances and we have an obligation to acknowledge and support their decision.
While the focus should be on responsible procreation, widespread availability of contraception, prenatal care and intentional parenting, I believe that scripture neither condemns nor prohibits abortion. It does, however, call us to act compassionately and justly when facing difficult moral decisions. Scriptural commitment to the most marginalised means that pregnancy, childbearing, and safe abortion should always be available for all women.
I pray for and seek a world where abortion is always accessible, safe, legal and more importantly rare, but rare for the right reasons, not simply because of a lack of access.