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extremium

HOPE FOR A WORLD IN CHAOS

Kevin D. Paulson

            Speaking to His disciples on the Mount of Olives, just before His death, Jesus described what would happen on earth just before His second coming:

            Luke 21:25-26:
            “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
            “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”
           
            Thoughtful men and women of the world are wondering what is coming.

            It isn’t just religious conservatives, or people who believe the Bible, who are interested in this subject. 

            Men and women in every walk of life, from every ideology and every worldview, are wondering—with increased anxiety—which direction the world is going.

            The death of Steve Jobs last year served to remind us of the accomplishments and potential of human genius.

            But it also reminds us that while the modern age of technology has witnessed advancement in every phase of our outward existence, it has failed to transform the human spirit.

            Albert Einstein perhaps said it best, surveying the savage wonders his own inventive prowess had helped create—in the two pillars of cosmic fire over Japan which brought the Second World War to an end:

            “Everything has changed—except the human heart.”

            Now we’re going to talk in future meetings of what God promises to do for the hearts and motives of us all.                               

But for now, we can find hope in the awareness that the chaos and tragedy seen in our world today has been predicted, long ago, by a God who loves us.

            Our series of meetings is titled, “Sharing Christ With Your Neighbor.”  We’re going to consider in these meetings how Jesus, through the teachings of the Bible in both Old and New Testaments, offers hope to our twenty-first century world. 

            Men and women throughout the world are dying for hope, for peace, for security.  We’re going to find in our studies together that Jesus provides all of these for those who submit to His grace and His power.

 

  1. Current apocalyptic interest

The interest of contemporary society in the end of the world and Bible prophecy, so evident ten years ago at the turn of the millennium, has not abated.

            Too many disasters and disruptions in the social order continue to follow one another, in rapid succession. 

            But not too long ago a number of interesting survey questions were being asked in some prominent news publications:

            "Will the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occur sometime in the next thousand years?

            Yes            53%
            No              31%"       
Time special issue, "Beyond the Year 2000,: Fall 1992, p. 13

 

            "When asked if they think Jesus will return to the earth during their lifetimes, 18% of American adults answer yes."
                Newsweek, Nov. 1, 1999, p. 71

            "Some 40% of U.S. adults believe the world will end as foretold: in a Battle of Armageddon between Jesus and the Antichrist."
            Newsweek, Nov. 1, 1999, p. 68

 

  1. Jesus on the end of the world

 Let’s look again at some of the things Jesus said to His followers just before He died, regarding the end of the world:

Matt. 24:3-4:
"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?
            "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you."

            Now we’re going to speak in this series regarding a variety of deceptions that even many Christians are presently falling for. 

            Jesus continues:

            Matt. 24:6-8:
            "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
            "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places.
            "All these are the beginning of sorrows."

            Remember the verse we saw at the beginning:

            Luke 21:26:
            “Men’s hearts failing them for fear.”

And the previous verse talks about:

 Luke 21:25:
“the sea and the waves roaring”

            Have we seen that lately?

            On the March 27, 2000 broadcast of the CBS Evening News, Tom Karl, a leading climactic expert, predicted that violent storms are likely to increase 50 percent in the next 100 years.             
 
 He claimed that while global warming, El Nino, and La Nina have received various degrees of blame for the increase in such disasters, he admitted that in the final analysis, "we don't know" what is going on.

"Natural disasters have increased more than fourfold since the 1950s."
            Joseph D'Agenese, "Why Has Our Weather Gone Wild?" Discover, June 2000, p. 76.
 
            When do any of us remember so many killer tornadoes, devastating floods, major hurricanes, windstorms, wildfires, and earthquakes? 

            What else did Jesus say would happen before His coming?

Luke 17:26:
"And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man."

And what does the Bible say it was like in Noah’s day?

Gen. 6:11:
"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."

            The recent focus on the threat of Middle Eastern terrorism has perhaps distracted us from the reality that we are all, given the right circumstances, capable of such horrors.

            How many workplace and school shootings have we heard about in recent years?

A survey of American schoolteachers in the 1940s revealed that the most serious problems among students were:

  1. 1. Chewing gum
  2. 2. Talking out of turn
  3. 3. Cutting in line
  4. 4. Running in the halls

            And then, of course, there’s the economy.

            Surveys have shown for some time that a great majority of Americans no longer believe their children will have a better life and greater opportunities for prosperity than their own.

            From Wall Street to Main Street, from the upscale suburbs of America to the ancient vistas of Europe, from Albany to Athens, from Boston to Berlin, multitudes find their security crumbling and their hopes disappearing.

            Economic and political leaders struggle in vain to place business on a more secure footing. 

            Too many, I fear, look for quick fixes, and then blame their leaders when problems aren’t solved fast enough.

            This shouldn’t surprise us, of course.

            Most of us have grown up with instant-everything, haven’t we?

            Instant Orange Juice
            Push a pedal—instant transportation
            Turn a dial—instant entertainment
            Flash a card—instant money
            Click that little device in your palm—instant data from every corner of the world

            So people apply that same principle to the great issues of our time. 

            Unfortunately, the sad reality is that anything involving human choices, human risk, human commitment, human perseverance, generally can’t be repaired or changed overnight. 

            So fear, anxiety, and public rage have become the norm. 

            But now, we see the fabric of society becoming more and more unraveled. 

            Anger and a sense of betrayal—whether contrived or genuine—now saturate our public discourse. 

            And all those things we can’t control—like chaos of the elements and the natural world—multiply and further inflame our anxiety.

            Indeed, the words of our Lord have never been more relevant:

Luke 21:26:
"Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."

But praise God, the passage doesn't stop there!

Luke 21:27-28:
"And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads: for your redemption draweth nigh."

Jesus points our attention to these signs, not to scare us, but let us know a new world--free of all such tragedy--is just around the corner!

Some people refuse to take this seriously.

"Apocalyptic imaginings are fun, but they're wishful thinking.  It's more likely that the world will just churn on as it is."
Time, Jan. 18, 1999, p. 70

The Bible predicted that people would think this way.

II Peter 3:3-4:
"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying,
"Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."

The trajectory of world events in recent times clearly puts this scoffing to shame.
 
Luke 21:29-31:
"Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;
"When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now night at hand.
"So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand."