Is the End Near

IS THE END NEAR?

Eschatological Musings as AA 587 Crashes

Samuel Ling

I am the last person to take the initiative to write about the End Times. I believe that the Bible is the inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God, and every prophecy in the Bible will be fulfilled. This means that Jesus Christ will return imminently (soon), personally, visibly, and gloriously to consummate God’s plan in history. But when? Only the Lord knows.

Most of my fellow-evangelical friends appear to be pre-millennial in their views on the End Times, and pre-tribulational pre-millennialists in particular. In other words, they expect a secret rapture, followed by tribulation on earth (which Christians will escape). This view, known also as “dispensationalism,” has gained much popularity particularly with movies and novels as well as theological works.

Some of my friends are exposed to prophecy writings which seek to identify the time of the rapture. In the current post-911 atmosphere, many are seeking to making sense of what is happening in the world. What do I have to say, since I am not a pre-millennialist? And what do I have to say as the an American Airlines plane crashes today, the third time this year, in Quens, New York?

The 911 crisis catapulted all of us into a new soberness. Life is short, and history will end soon. The Lord Jesus promised he will return soon, and it is sooner today than yesterday. We have less time, but perhaps more opportunities, to share the Lord Jesus with those around us. Beyond that obvious fact, the return of our Lord will be imminent in view of the tremendous potential (and present reality) of mass destruction. The evening news is sounding a lot like the end-time movies which have come out of evangelical production houses in the past 3 decades. But we sometimes forget that 911 came on the heels of two world wars and numerous atrocities in genocide and horror throughout the 20th century.

My doctrine of the end times (eschatology) tells me that God is still on the throne, every day, every moment. Jesus Christ is my risen Lord; he is living, ruling in heaven now. And his will is to extend his rule, his kingdom, to the ends of the earth through the preaching of the gospel and the building up of his church, in every tribe, nation and language group. I may not know, I do not know how to unravel all the facts of history, all the facts of the evening news. But, praise God, Jesus is still triumphant, he is still in charge, marching forward with the gospel in word and deed.

My doctrine of the end times also tells me that Christians will, Christians must suffer before the end comes. In this world there will be suffering. Jesus guaranteed that. For Christians who identify with the Lord Jesus, persecution, toil and labor are par for the course. We are all missionaries, we all carry the cross with and for the Lord Jesus. We are to expect difficult times, and difficulties are confronting us from day to day, from week to week.

I also believe that, along with suffering and persecution, God gives a deep sense of his presence and his power to every child of his, moment by moment. We serve in hope, we move on each day with an unspeakable sense of contentment and peace. It’s worth it to live for Jesus, to serve him and to make him known. Will the world understand? No, not unless they repent and own Jesus as their Lord and savior.

Finally, my doctrine of the end times tells me that while Christians and churches may deny the name of the Lord and falsify the Word of God, many will remain faithful. It is not popular to be faithful and obedience to all of the Word of God. But it is tremendously satisfying to know that the Holy Spirit who inspired the writers of Scripture, is the same Spirit who witnesses in our hearts – we are his, and he is ours.

So come, Lord Jesus! Please come soon! Meanwhile, every day that the Lord tarries, every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.

La Mirada, California

November 12, 2001

(Eve of AA 587’s crash in Queens, New York)