September-October 1999
But What if It Really Is
''The End''?
by Dianne E. Butts
| Could I truly create a place where the terror of that time will not reach? |
You ought to hear this," my friend Evonne said at church one morning as she pressed an audio cassette tape into my hand. I glanced at the label. The title read, Tribulation?
Oh great, I thought. Not another one of those tapes.
Bible prophecies and end-times theology have always fascinated me. But it seems like every other day someone else comes up with another theory of how it's all coming about. I guess I'd heard enough to fear we Christians might sound like a bunch of Chicken Littles running around crying: "The End is coming! The End is coming!"
Okay, I know quite possibly the end is coming. And soon. And as the year 2000 approaches, I expect to hear more about "the end times" (assuming Christians haven't yet been raptured and so are still around to preach itand I'm still around to hear it).
But that morning, weary of the sensationalism, I tossed Evonne's tape on the table with a pile of junk mail. I'll listen to it if I have time, I thought, knowing I'd take no more time to listen to the tape than I'd take to read the junk mail.
The next Sunday, Evonne asked if I'd listened to the tape yet. (Sigh.) I went home after church, stuck it in my boom box and reluctantly pressed "play."
For the next hour, I listened as the speaker on the tape laid out the details of recent world events and how some people thought they might fit as the fulfillment of biblical prophecies. He spoke of events in Israel, the assassination of Yitsak Rabin, the actions of world leaders and the signing of an international treaty. He described the political significance of these events as well as the spiritual significance of the dates on which they occurred.
"The nice thing about this theory is that we won't have to wait long to see if it's true," the speaker said. "If the theory is correct, then not only has the last seven years of history already begun, but we're well into the first three-and-a-half years of the false peace that precedes the Great Tribulation!"
My mind began calculating. Three-and-a-half years from the date the treaty was signed was.. .was....the end of this month? Less than four weeks away!
It was interesting. Possibly even plausible. But was it true? God only knew. As a natural-born skeptic, I'd take a wait-and-see attitude.
But over the next several days, as my mind chewed on the information from the tape, I found myself beginning to play an intriguing game of "what if." What if the tape were right? What if the theory were true? What if we really were into the first three-and-a-half years of the Tribulation period?
(Well, if it were true, then one thing was obvious: the pre-Tribbers were wrong.)
But what if the "false peace" was about to end? What if the world was about to be thrust into that "great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now -- and never to be equaled again" (Matthew 24:21)?
(What if the mid-Tribbers were wrong, too?)
What if I knew we had less than four weeks? What should I do? What could I do?
My mind raced.
Should I cash in our investments and pay off our house so a government-gone-awry can't take it away? Should I buy some land in the country so we could grow our own food? Should I run out and purchase a generator? Fuel? Radios, batteries, blankets? Seeds to grow food? A water purification system?
What about weapons?
Should I take the advice given to the Christians of Judea in Matthew 24:16 and flee to the mountains of Colorado? Or should I throw faith in the face of fear and book a flight to Israel for a front-row view of the action?
Should I bury a Bible in my backyard?
If I knew I had less than four weeks before the world was immersed into the biblically prophesied Great Tribulation, what would I do?
One thing became incredibly clear: with time that short, I had none to waste. I must use every moment wisely. But to do what?
Stockpiling Weapons
Well, I could stockpile weapons. I've heard that militia groups bury 55-gallon drums full of guns and ammunition on their property. I could use our cash to purchase guns, ammunition and who-knows-what-else. Then at least we could protect ourselves. We could invite other Christians to join us. Standing together, we might create a haven for the Lord's people -- a "safe house" for the Body of Christ.
But what good would that do? Could I truly create a place where the terror of that time will not reach? Where I would be safe from what God has declared would touch every human on earth? No.
I realized even the best weapons and training wouldn't save me. The book of Revelation describes all humankind's weapons amassed against God, but they can't defeat him. How could weapons save me out of that horrible time?
Besides, remember David? He went up against a giant of the Philistines -- who had the most advanced weapons of that day. With only a sling, a stone and the God of Israel -- David felled Goliath with a single shot. It is the same God of Israel who protects me today.
I'd be far better off to arm myself with the Word of God -- to learn and grow in my knowledge of him. As I get to know David's God, I'll have faith to rely on him to protect me physically. Should he determine my physical life is done, I will also have the assurance to trust him completely with my eternal life.
With my physical life in God's hands and my eternity wrapped up in Jesus, why do I need weapons?
Stashing Food
But then I began to think that maybe I should at least stash some food, like a good little soldier preparing for the "resistance." I could begin stocking my pantry with canned and dried foods. I could raid the garden centers of nearby stores and purchase every packet of vegetable seeds they have left. But would that really help?
Seeds, too, have needs in order to grow -- like water, soil and sun. A single hail storm or drought could wipe out everything. Yes, God could send the rain and keep the hail away, but would he?
In Haggai, the people of Israel planted and harvested, but didn't have enough food. God wanted the people to turn to him and rely on him in every area of their lives, but they would not. So he withheld their harvest to get their attention (Haggai 1:6, 2:16-17).
Dare I make the same mistake?
The Israelites in Moses' time also had to learn to trust God for their food. Remember how they tried to stash extra manna (Exodus 16:20)? The next day, God caused it to be full of maggots! All the Israelites could do was trust God to feed them each day. And he did.
Even with food stashed or seeds to plant, my own efforts won't save me. God wants me to depend on him rather than on my own ingenuity. And I can depend on him.
In Exodus 16, the Bible states that God provided manna for the Israelites for forty years. He supplied food for Elijah, a widow and her son during the famine in
1 Kings 17, and multiplied a few fish and loaves to feed thousands in Matthew 14. He is the same God who provides food for my physical body now. He always will -- as long as he determines I should remain on this earth.
Rather than worry about food for my physical body in the end times, I'd be far better off to feed on the Bread of Life (John 6:35). As I "feed" on Jesus, taking him into myself, letting him cause me to grow in my understanding of him, I gain faith in the fact that he will sustain me -- both in this temporary physical life and in my eternal spiritual life.
With God providing food for me physically, and with Jesus himself nourishing me spiritually, why should I be concerned with what I will eat?
Storing Water
Still, a person can survive far longer without food than without water. So maybe I ought to at least store water, or possibly devise a way to purify it, in case all of our water supplies are contaminated during the end times.
But would it really do me any good?
No.
Even with water stored, I can't save myself.
But why should I be concerned about drinking water to sustain my physical life when I know the one who made the bitter water of Marah sweet and who made water come out of a rock (Exodus 15 and 17)? I know the One who promises that everyone who drinks the water he gives will never thirst again (John 4:14).
Instead of worrying about how I will get water to drink in the end times, I could spend my time drinking the living water Jesus provides, letting him produce in me a spring of living water that wells up and bubbles out of me (John 7:38), so much that it splashes on those around me, bringing them to eternal life, too.
While it is not wrong to prepare in practical ways for possible hard times, whether from Y2K or another source, my game of "what if" challenged me to diligently tend to my spiritual health. There's nothing like a crisis to help us get our priorities straight. Can I feel the pressure of the coming crisis? Do I truly believe Jesus' words in Revelation 22:7, "Behold, I am coming soon!"? We may not know the actual date, but one thing is for certain: we are almost two thousand years closer to it than we were when John penned those words.
Any way I look at it, time is short. There's none to waste. So what should I be doing?
I should be preparing, using every moment wisely -- including diligently studying and preparing to wield my weapon, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). I should be feeding on the Bread of Life so that I'm nourished and strong. I should be gulping down the Living Water and passing it on to others.
Whether Jesus comes back next week, next month or the next millennium, aren't these the things I ought to be doing anyway?
Dianne Butts writes from Colorado.