(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better — and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
Are we living in the end times?’
Intro:
With the state of crazy in the world right now, more than once recently I’ve been asked about whether or not I think this could be the end times. In a way I want to say yes, and in a way I want to be quick to listen and slow to speak. I’m not alone.
Less than a year ago one of the larger, more respective Christian research consultancies released the results of a study that found, and I quote, “Vast majority of pastors see signs of end times in current events.”
Hey Hopeful, welcome to ForTheHope’s Daily Audio Bible and a chance to see our stories and work in light of God’s story. And today we’re going to do a hybrid program — longer-than-average reading in the NT so we can catch the whole of a particular event with a little reflection about how we might approach the idea of living in the end times.
NEW TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
In the NT today we read of the birth of what we now think of as the NT church — a church comprised not of a building, but of a people who are themselves the temple of the Holy Spirit. Along the way we’ll hear Peter preaching a sermon in which he directly quotes from the prophet Joel mentioning the last days and dreams and visions. What’s he referencing, and does that apply to today at all?
Passage: Acts 1:12-2:47
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 63
Words: ~1498
THE BOTTOM LINE:
I’ve been thinking about dreams of late — and that reference to Joel, because of a dream I recently had. Like you (probably, anyway,) I promptly forget most of my dreams. But this one woke me up with the strange feeling that it was prophetic. It’s hard to say way, other than I just lay there mulling it over in my head and asking God for confirmation and the patience to wait on Him. I can’t do anything with it except treasure it in my heart and trust God with my life.
As you might imagine, though, it’s hard not to read a passage like today’s and wonder what all that end times and dreams and visions stuff is about.
To be clear, if we’re being faithful to the text, the point of Peter quoting Joel at the beginning of his sermon was his subsequent declaration that it was Jesus who, in fact, fulfilled that prophecy. We think of the last days as future to us, and we’ll come back to that in a sec. But Peter’s talking to a first-century crowd of Jews, quoting a prophecy from hundreds of years earlier…meaning those “last days” that would be future to Joel, Peter is telling his listeners is right now.
But there’s more to the story, too, and it’s useful to maybe catch a 50K foot view of Joel like those first century Jews likely would have understood it.
OT prophecy was a big deal, obviously. Prophecy is history that hasn’t happened yet.
As it relates to the overall theme of the short book of Joel, Joel talks a lot about the Day of the Lord, something scholars generally see as related to a) spiritual war and b) having a paradoxical now-and-not-yet aspect to it.
In the NT we see this in something like the arrival of the Kingdom of God — something Jesus says has arrived with His arrival…while at the same time we know it’s not yet fully consummated until His return.
So here’s Peter. Jesus has ascended into heaven, but not before he gave the general command for us to be witnesses to the world and the specific command to the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the promised arrival of the Holy Spirit. Well, there you go. Bam!
Now how about us?
What we do know clearly are a few things. One, God knows all, including all of time, and that history that hasn’t happened yet is a done deal — the question is if we’re going to trust Him. Two, Jesus said we won’t know the day or the hour, but that we will see signs like knowing when spring is around the corner. Three, God, through Moses, gave instructions in what we know of as Deuteronomy about how to test the trustworthiness of a prophet — the “ability to predict the immediate future (Dt 18:22) and consistency of message with previously revealed truth (Dt 13:1–4).”(1)
Back to that study about pastors. Of all the various things you can glean from Scripture about what the end times will be like, the three they rated most highly were:
Rise of false prophets and false teachings, 83%
Love of many believers growing cold, 81%
Traditional morals becoming less accepted, 79%
For the sake of time, I’m not going to launch into more stats and research. I hope and pray that these are obvious to you, and if they’re not, I’ll pray for you all the more. It’s a time to be sober and discern the times, particularly praying that we’ll avoid conspiracy theories and the huge number of voices going, “Look over here!”
Are we living in the end times? We wouldn’t be the first generation to think so. And at the same time it appears that we’re in a time that is unique and distinct from the generations of the previous couple millennia. Let’s close with remembering two things.
One, in the big picture, we think in very small terms. If the tribulation and serious conflict going down happened a hundred years from now, that’s soon in God’s terms. Could I see it happening in my lifetime? Yes, more now than ever.
Two, our only hope is in Jesus, and by that I mean the ability to discern the times by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said that even the elect —those filled with the Holy Spirit whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life — even the elect would be deceived if it were possible (Mt 24:24). And since the only one for whom nothing is impossible is God, it’s not by our power or smarts.
What about my or your dream or vision? Wait. Test it against what has already been revealed in Scripture. And pray.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Dreams,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 642–643.