Are U.S. Churches a Generation Away from being Ghost Towns?

 Ken Ham, whom many of you know is the president of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum and the Noah Encounter, wrote a blockbuster book, along with polling and statistics-minded Britt Beemer, called Already Gone.  I’m a little late on this scene, since the book and the poll were written 10 years ago—but it’s still relevant.  Let’s discuss the controversial results and conclusions he draws on some troubling aspects of teens and those who teach them.

He first points to a Barna 2006 survey (another great pollster) of 22,000 young adults who were involved in a church during their teen years—but they are now spiritually disengaged. They are no longer actively participating in the Christian faith in their 20s. Specifically, he found that the 61% of them no longer go to church, don’t study their Bibles, give very little financially, do not volunteer, and do not order Christian media.  Only 20% of those who were spiritually active in high school are maintaining their commitment at the same level.  Further, Barna found that only 6% of those in 20s and 30s can be called “evangelical.”

Confirming this serious drop-off, the Baptist Convention discovered that more than 2/3 of young Protestant high-schoolers active in church later stopped attending at all for at least a year between the ages of 18-22.

Mr. Ham wanted to study only kids brought up in conservative and evangelical churches for this poll.  His co-author Beemer made 20,000 phone calls.  The final study was balanced according to population and gender, and included kids from publics, Christian schools, and home-schooled.  He found that kids were abandoning the church proportionately, no matter the kind of schooling. Christian schooled kids abandoned the church at the same high levels.

Here are some of the blockbuster results he found:

Kids don’t wait till college to “escape” the church: One survey took all those who are now in their 20s, who have been evangelicals, who attended church regularly but no longer do so.  So these dropout rates will add up to 100%.  Please do not misconstrue what I am doing here; we are not pointing out that all kids drop out.  We are simply trying to assess when all the drop-offs actually drop off.  Here are the pollster data: 5% drop out before they finish elementary, 40% drop out in middle school and 44% of them drop out in high school.  Despite what you might think about corrupt college destroying their minds, you’re wrong:  89% of them are already gone before college.  So there isn’t much belief for college to destroy. So, only 11% disappear during college.  So no, the problem is only minimally helped by upholding young adults’ Christian views in college.  The main problem is somewhere else—and somewhere earlier.

So, from the Baptists and the Barna studies, we lose 61-67% of our kids. And they leave as soon as they are “bright” enough to figure what is going on.  So this is a serious, serious problem.  We need to pray about what’s really behind this horrible decline.  Looking at these young people as our church’s future, we have to conclude that our evangelical churches are only a generation removed from being “ghost towns” for the young. The erosion of the young continues into middle age and beyond later. (Looking at population of liberal church declines, they are getting there faster.)

Many parents who spend big bucks to send their child to a Christian college to avoid corruption are simply too late on the scene.  They should have done something radically different for their children in the 4^th or 5^th grade.

A precipitating cause of this sudden apathy among children might be a finding from the same Beemer poll: He asked questions to determine those who “no longer believe that all of the stories in the Bible are true.”  He found that 40% first had doubts in middle school, 44% first had doubts in high school, and 11% first had doubts during college.  You can see that these are the exact same percentages as those who left church at each age group.  So it seems that we should be focusing on “what makes them turned off to the Bible,” not just asking a vaguer question “why they leave.” For sure, they are not bound by tradition; as soon as they don’t believe, they scoot. And parents don’t seem to stop them.

• Beemer decided to explore Sunday School, and found an even more shocking—even mind-blowing—result. He asked the 20-somethings if they often attended Sunday School when younger.  61% said “yes,” and 39% said “no.”  Comparing how the two groups felt about critical issues, he found the following shocking facts:
  1. The 61% students who attended Sunday School were more likely NOT to believe in the truth of Bible stories;
  2. The SS attenders were more likely to “doubt the Bible because it was written by men;”
  3. The SS attenders were more likely to doubt the Bible because it was “not translated correctly;”
  4. The SS attenders were more likely to defend that abortion should continue to be legal (!);
  5. SS attenders believed more than the non-SSrs in many of the evolution ideas; the earth is old, dinosaurs were before men, animals changed from one kind to another;
  6. The SS attenders were more likely to defend premarital sex (48% vs 41% of non-SSers);
  7. The SS attenders were more likely to view the church as hypocritical.
  8. 25% of those who attended Sunday School believed that “God used evolution to create human beings;” but only 19% of that false belief is shared by non-SSers.
  9. For the question “Do you feel the Church is relevant to your needs today?” 46% of SS attenders said “no,” but only 40% of non-SSers felt the same rejection.

What is happening here?  Is the corrupting of the minds that I alluded to earlier caused by Sunday School teachers?  Upon further study, the answer is most likely No.  Remember, these are kids in conservative churches.  Other data Beemer shared do NOT show their teachers or pastors teaching corrupt Gospel. So this alarming data still cries for an answer.  The clear fact here is that Sunday School really had no impact, apparently, on what children believed in critical moral areas.  It didn’t help them develop a Christian worldview.  In fact, it had a detrimental impact—it seemed to harm the spiritual growth of the kids.

Was the problem HOW they were taught? Such as, did the teachers unintentionally teach Bible stories as fables? Or did the other kids in Sunday School, or their parents’ hypocrisy or pressure trigger the kids’ rebellion, so they were worse off than if they had never heard the Bible, and had to think it out on their own?

The problem could not have been simply the overwhelming secular system, with its 30-hours of teaching a week (vs. 30 minutes of teaching the Bible in Sunday School). If that were the cause, both Sunday School and non-Sunday School would have, at worst, similar results.  The problem is that SS attenders were worse.

Mr. Ham and Mr. Beemer considered what to do about this grave problem.

He asks: Should we eradicate Sunday School?  He does say that Deuteronomy 6:6-9 insist that fathers and mothers teach their children the Gospel:

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  

 Likewise Ephesians 6:4:

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

 He also acknowledges that Sunday School is not a long tradition in the church; it only dates from the 1700s.  Finally, he feels that Sunday School allows parents to shrug off their responsibilities as the primary teachers of the children.

Nevertheless, he can’t bring himself to the radical step to eradicate Sunday School.  He proposes a second idea:

Shall we renovate Sunday School? He says Yes, by, among other things, teaching more apologetics.  Apologetics is defending every teaching of the Bible as the Word of God.  Now here’s my thought:  Aren’t we supposed to be teaching the Bible to these elementary, or middle schoolers, before they are overwhelmed by their secular schools’ doctrines?  But how can we teach apologetics, a conceptual and difficult process, to those so young?  And, keep in mind, few in the adult teachers have this capability.  Also, renovation has already been tried a thousand other ways, but we still get the distressing results above.  I personally don’t see this idea turning things radically around like we need.

Then he writes about how some of those who left church might return if they have children of their own.  Here is his quote about those who might return when they have children.  But what I see in this statement is that he might have stumbled upon possibly the root problem for these “turned off” kids instead.

“What they object to, however, is hypocrisy, legalism, and self-righteousness.  The Bible is relevant to them, but the church is not.  This group needs to be convinced that Christians in the church are living by God’s truth, and are living in a way that is relevant to their lives.”

 So let’s run with using this quote as maybe why kids are turned off.  Let’s consider each charge individually.  Hypocrisy is defined as living in a different way than what you say. Elementary kids pay attention to what their parents say; so when their parents run down the pastor’s salary, or the Sunday School teacher’s lazy lifestyle, they pick that information up.  Then when that teacher or that pastor preaches about how they should live a holier life, when the child sees how they live (per their parents), the child become familiar with hypocrisy.  The kids then are not interested in “holier” as is represented here.

Legalism is defined as judging people based on surface criteria.  Let’s say mom is fundamental enough to send her kids to Sunday School.  Mom also happens to mention about how some teenage girl dresses like a slut in church.  Her daughter knows that girl, and knows how the girl took time to help her at her homework once, or how she has a perpetually friendly personality (and how she wishes she had one too).  The daughter becomes familiar with legalism of her mother.

Self-righteousness shows in too many families.  A lot of kids get the general feeling that since their parents have more money, the parents feel that God must love them and is rewarding them with wealth for being good parents, having sent them to Sunday School and all.  But the kids know how their parents ignore them when they have real needs, and don’t have time for them—work gets in the way. Getting more money, to them, means work and cash are placed higher than the kids.  The parents’ view of God is wrong, they conclude, so Christianity must have deeper flaws when it makes their parents like that.

Brothers and sisters, what do we learn from this?  For one thing, speak carefully about other people when your kids are around.  Avoid picking one a child or adult that you know little about.  Avoid speaking critically about other people, knowing that we each have sins of our own to wrestle with.  Never sacrifice your kids, putting work or money on a higher plane.  And certainly avoid thinking that God’s love for you can be measured by how much money you have. Explain to kids that money is simply a gift from God, and we seek His approval other ways instead. Sadly, as Jesus pointed out, many rich people are living the best life that will be available to them—they will go to hell when they die.  Many poor people will have an eternity in heaven. So riches are not a measure of God’s approval.

Maybe this idea of renovating the parents is not the solution that will work. We’re asking parents to sacrifice and change habits and somehow focus on what their child really needs—is that asking too much?

I wish the Sunday School problem could be solved by making an astounding curriculum.  But the truth is, Satan is temporarily the god of the earth, and targets the young children to win them over to the world and never live for God.  Parents should make it the FIRST desire of their heart to prepare their kids to face up to all of Satan’s tricks, by reading and learning His Word.  Don’t forget, when Jesus was tempted, He answered Satan with Scripture.

The book covers a lot of other topics, but this one is the one that touches my heart.  This is not meant to be a summary of the book, but just about certain eye-popping data and thoughts around it.

Acknowledgement:  Already Gone, by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer.

A Different Perspective on Suffering

In these verses upcoming, Peter is helping prepare the Christians for suffering and persecution that they were either already enduring or about to experience. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you can find yourself suffering for your faith in Jesus Christ.  Peter did not want them to be surprised by it.  He wanted them to know what to do beforehand.  He lays out for us some striking truths about how God sees suffering compared to how we naturally see it.  And then he has some advice for how we should handle it.

Our text:

1 Peter 4:12-19

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

The word of God is teaching us in this passage that there is a natural perspective or reaction to suffering – and then there is God’s perspective.  First, we will look at

1.    The natural perspective on suffering: avoid it

 

In verse 12 it says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

 

A.   We are surprised by it

 

When Peter wrote this letter, Christians were enduring suffering and persecution.  While Peter is vague about exactly what form the persecution took, he is describing at the very least, experiences of pain comparable to the pain of being burned with fire.

When unjust suffering happens to us, we are surprised and shocked by it.

 

This persecution was specifically against individuals who professed to be Christians.  It was harassment, from officials and the general populace reacting to the lifestyle of Christians. This type of persecution is described many times in the Bible in the stories of the early church.  1 Thessalonians 1 describes believers who received affliction for turning from idol worship to worship the One true God.  In Acts chapter 5 the Christians were beaten and threatened not to speak in the name of Jesus. Back in 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 6 he speaks of being grieved by various trials.  Just for being Christians.

 

It is difficult for us, if we have grown up in the Western Hemisphere, to understand this type of persecution.  Being a Christian has been socially acceptable and even the norm. But from the time Peter wrote this until today Christians in many parts of the world have suffered at the hands of others, just for being Christians.

 

So Peter says - don’t be surprised by this. This word carries the meaning of not being bewildered or resentful or bitter. It was hard to understand, but these trials are not accidental, they are part of God’s purpose.  Sometimes you’ll hear people say that if you are a Christian, Jesus will bless you with wealth, and bountiful blessings.  Your relationships will thrive.  So we expect smooth sailing.  And when the suffering comes our natural tendency is to be surprised by it. Peter says, “No.  Don’t be surprised by the fiery trial.  It is to be expected.  For one thing, if Jesus suffered, how can His followers expect something different? We share in the sufferings of Christ in the sense that through suffering we identify with Christ.  To be a disciple involves suffering like the Jesus.

 

Another natural reaction when facing suffering is to conclude that:

B.   It’s not the way life is meant to be; it makes no sense that God will not make you suffer

We think:  Life is too short.  You only live once.  God doesn’t want you to suffer.  A loving God wouldn’t ask you to suffer.  If you are not suffering, it must mean that God has given His stamp of approval on your life.  But Peter is teaching the opposite. The absence of suffering does not mean God’s approval. On the other hand, suffering is to be expected.

We seem to assume that God knows what he is doing when we are happy and well. Suffering for simply living our Christian faith can rattle us and make us question if God knows what He is doing.  We question whether He is in control or even cares about us. It’s a natural feeling to have doubts when we suffer because we expect God wants us to be comfortable above all else.

 

We also tend to think that if suffering comes our way, its payback for something that we did wrong.  It’s the idea that

C.   It’s your fault, like karma.

 

We all enjoy the idea of poetic justice until we are the ones facing it.  It’s natural to like the idea of karma when bad things happen to bad people.  Karma is the belief that a person’s actions decide their fate in the future.  So if you as a basically good person are experiencing suffering, something is out of whack.  You are shocked by it.

 

Peter is teaching that suffering for Christ doesn’t mean we are punished for something. We think that we must have done something wrong, and it must be our fault.  Those natural tendencies are wrong about suffering.  God has a different perspective. These are important lessons for the Christian life.  We need a different perspective, a different focus.

 

2.    God’s perspective on suffering: embrace it

 

A.   It’s an opportunity for joy - Verse 13

13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed

Is Peter off his rocker?  In one verse about suffering he mentions joy and happiness three times - “rejoice…rejoice…and be glad.”

 

If I suffer for being a Christian, it isn’t about something I have done. It’s not even about who I am.  It’s about what Jesus Christ has done and Who He is.  In that circumstance, I am sharing Christ’s sufferings.  The Son of God who loved me and died for me – He was rejected and despised.  And when I suffer for following Him, I’m sharing His suffering.

 

Have you ever noticed something about people you go through tough times with?  You are closer to them than anyone else.  You love someone deeply when you are in the trenches next to them during battle.  You trust a person completely who has held your hand as you walked through the fire. Now make that other person Jesus. Thus, we learn to love Jesus more deeply and trust Him when we share in His sufferings.

 

There is joy in the present – even in suffering.  Paul the Apostle put it this way in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 where he mentions afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, sleepless nights, hunger, slander – verse 10 –“As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”  There is joy even in the present with Jesus.

 

Then Peter quickly points to the future.  God’s perspective on suffering is that it isn’t about the present only, it’s about the future too.  “That you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

While we feel the present joy, and it surprises us; this present joy will turn into super joy when the pain is gone at the return of Jesus

Joy is a deep confidence that God is in control of every area of our lives, even the painful places.  The fullness of joy comes from the deep sense of the presence of God in our lives.

 

My younger brother is dying from liver cirrhosis and cancer.  He is receiving hospice care at home. He has days or weeks left on earth. The other day we were praying together and he said this – “Thank you God, for breaking my heart.  For helping me to see how much you love me and drawing me closer to You.” There can be joy in the present, even in suffering.  But nothing compared to when His glory is revealed.  Just think about that day.

 

Peter goes on to say the second reason to embrace suffering for Jesus is that

B.   It’s a path of blessing and God’s presence

14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Peter mentions a specific kind of suffering; namely, you are insulted.  This could also carry the meaning of being abused or slandered.

Guess what.  If that happens, you are blessed. What’s that again? You are blessed!

 

Those who suffer for Christ, Peter says, are blessed.  The blessing is not in the suffering itself but because the presence of the Spirit of glory and of God is present with us. God has not abandoned the Christian who suffers; to the contrary, God is powerfully present in the experience of suffering.

 

This is because we have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 1:13 teaches us that from the very beginning when we believed, we received the Holy Spirit and He never leaves us – “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” 2 Timothy 1:14 says, “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.”

 

Verse 14 in our passage says, “The Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”  “Rests” indicates that the Holy Spirit is within us continually to refresh and strengthen. We can always rely on the Spirit but especially in moments of crisis and suffering.

 

The Spirit is equipping us to keep following Christ and not turn aside due to the persecution and suffering.  We can’t do this on our own. When I’m feeling threatened because I’m standing for Biblical values and Christian convictions – I need the Holy Spirit to find the strength and resolve to stand firm.

 

Warren Wiersbe made a great observation – “Suffering Christians do not have to wait for heaven in order to experience His glory.  Through the Holy Spirit, they can have the glory now.  This explains how martyrs could sing praises to God while bound in the midst of blazing fires. It also explains how persecuted Christians can go to prison and to death without complaining or resisting their captors.”

 

In verse 15 we find that God’s perspective about suffering includes the idea that

C.   We should suffer for the right reason

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.

 

Sometimes we’ll bring suffering on ourselves through our own actions and we’ll say - It’s not my fault (when really it is my fault)

 

We all tend to believe our own bad decisions are not our fault.  It’s interesting that murder and meddling are used in the same sentence as if they are equal offenses.

They may not have recognized that at least some of their suffering could be coming from meddling in a way that did not seem obviously wrong to them. It’s possible for us to claim we are suffering for Christ when we are really just suffering for our own bad behavior.

 

We shouldn’t say we are suffering for Jesus because we broke the law; or we stuck our nose into situations where we have no business sticking them.  When we bring punishment on ourselves; or when we play the victim of oppression when its not for the right reason – we shortchange the gospel.  We lose our credibility and have no real voice with those who need to find and follow Jesus.

 

Peter’s point is that if we are suffering for being Christians, let’s make sure that’s the reason we are suffering.

 

As we move on to verse 16, Peter instructs that suffering is nothing to be ashamed about.  In fact, it brings glory to God! 

 

D. It glorifies God to suffer for His Name

16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

 

If you search your Bible you’ll find that followers of Christ were only referred to as Christian three times. Once in Acts 11 when they were first called Christians; once in Acts 26 when King Agrippa said he was almost persuaded to be a Christian by Paul.  And here – in our passage.  “if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed.”  It may have been a derogatory term culturally. (We’re getting close to that now). But Peter said it glorifies God if we suffer in the name of Jesus.

 

In Acts chapter 5 when the account is told of how the Christians were beaten for their faith and told not to speak the name of Jesus, in verse 41 is says, “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer disgrace for the name.”

 

One of my relatives had a little plaque hanging in their home that convicted me when I was young.  It said, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”  Peter is not referring to being a Christian in name only, but in lifestyle and behavior.  Faithfulness to Christ will produce suffering and persecution.  The reverse is also true: a lack of persecution in a believer’s life may indicate we aren’t faithfully living Christian values.

 

Faith in Christ is nothing to be ashamed of, even when society says it is.  What is more, suffering for Christ is actually a mark of honor to God—who is more important than man.

 

The next part of God’s perspective on suffering contains a couple of the scariest verses in the Bible, in my opinion.

 

E. It’s revealing true faith vs. false professions of faith

17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Suffering is communicating something very important - If you suffer as a Christian and continue to stand for your faith – even though it results in more suffering – it’s still better than the alternative.  If you reject Christ now to escape persecution you will suffer much worse in the coming judgment as one who has denied and rejected Christ.

 

Peter is teaching that God is separating the true believers from those who don’t really have faith in Christ through this fiery trial.  It’s like testing for precious metal in the refiner’s fire. 

 

You say, “This doesn’t sound like the gospel of love and grace.”  The thing is, God’s love and grace are real because His judgment is also very real.  Acts 17:30-31:

 

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

 

Jesus died and rose again that we might be saved from the judgment and punishment our sins deserved.  He died and rose again that we might have eternal life.  And we know that if we accept Him as our Savior we do not face condemnation.  Romans chapter 8, verse 1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

 

Judgment and punishment is coming for those who disobey God and reject Jesus Christ. Christians also will still be judged and their faith in Christ will bring this judgment to a good end.  Our chapter says, we will scarcely be saved.  But we will be saved through faith in Christ.  Is that faith real?  God knows. We don’t have to fear that judgment.

 

I know we feel that society is going downhill.  We see Biblical values under attack.  Our culture may have no use for the Bible.  We may face growing criticism and persecution for standing firm in our faith and against evil. But make no mistake, it is God’s judgment that ultimately will stand. Where do you and I stand with God?

 

God’s final judgment could come at any time.  Today is the day of salvation.  Have you been putting off getting right with God?  The Bible teaches that when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we cross over from death to life.  Our status is changed from an outcome that is so awful it can’t be adequately described to “There is therefore now no condemnation.” I urge you, don’t let another day pass before you get right with God. You can start your personal walk with Jesus today.

 

So God’s perspective is different from our natural perspective when it comes to suffering. We:

ü  Are surprised by suffering and avoid it at all costs

ü  Think it’s not the way life is meant to be, that God will not make you suffer

ü  Think if you suffer it’s your fault, like karma.

But God’s perspective is different.  We should embrace suffering because:

ü  It’s an opportunity for joy

ü  It’s a path of blessing and God’s presence

ü  We should suffer for the right reason

ü  It glorifies God to suffer for His Name

ü  It’s revealing true faith vs. false professions of faith

Peter ends this section by helping us understand that

3.    The best response to suffering: trust

 

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

It is really important to note that phrase “according to God’s will” in this verse.  If His will is for us to suffer persecution, there is no other place we want to be than at the center of His will.

Wayne Grudem puts it this way -

“No better comfort in suffering can be found than this: it is God’s good and perfect will. For therein lies the knowledge that there is a limit to the suffering, both in its intensity and in its duration, a limit set and maintained by God Who is our creator, our savior, our sustainer, our Father.”

What do we do? We do what Jesus did. What did Jesus do when He was reviled and suffered?  He entrusted himself to the one who judges justly (2:23).  This example of trusting God even unto death is the example Jesus left that Christians might follow in his footsteps.

We entrust our lives to the faithful Creator, who is the one who has the authority and power to judge all humanity justly. He made our souls and He saved our souls.  We can trust Him. He is purifying us, making us more like Jesus.  And drawing us closer to Him.

In understanding God’s perspective on suffering we learn that faith does not keep us from suffering.  But it’s better than that – it helps us get through it. We get so occupied with our problems, but we should focus on the One who carries us through them. 

Peter’s last piece of advice regarding suffering in this passage is that we

Don’t turn away from doing good in the face of suffering

 

The pressure of our society will try and make us bend, to conform to the opinions of this world.  There is a temptation to surrender clear Biblical guidelines for living, in order to avoid any pain or persecution. We don’t like to be called right wingers, or bigots, or Bible thumpers or any number of names that can be used to undermine our faith.

 

It is important for us to establish clear moral boundaries and restraints for our lives based on the clear teaching of the Word of God. Continuing to do good is how we express our trust when suffering.

 

Continue to live as a Christian. Do not let persecution and suffering deflect you from your calling in Christ, because as we learn from this passage, suffering is a part of our calling.

 

Acknowledgement: Steve Collard, Elder, Lakeside Bible Chapel 

End Times Part 2: God's Wrath and the Great Tribulation are NOT the Same Event

 In Part I last week, we showed the End Times chronology had this order of events: 

Deception, wars, famine—called “the beginning of sorrows”—then the “abomination of desolation” (done by the antrichrist) in Jerusalem's holy place, then the tribulation, consisting of systematic death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians, then cosmic disturbance; then on the same day, Jesus appears, a rescue (rapture) and then Day of the Lord’s wrath. We spent time proving, Scripturally, that Christians go through the tribulation. Today, that point gets further proof. 

1. Let’s take a closer look at Jesus’ Olivet discourse in Matthew 24:27ff: 

"For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be… 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven... 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

What Jesus is saying is, immediately after the tribulation (v.29), here’s what happens: first the cosmic disturbance (v.29) prophesied in Joel 2 (See Part I). It has completely blackened the sky—everywhere--so that then a sign, like a huge bolt of lightning stretching from the earth’s east to the west would be visible in all the world. This rivets everyone’s attention upward—and then will appear our Lord, in glory, visible to all--it is His return. The first event of that return is the rapture (though it’s not mentioned until v. 31, see Part I for proof of this order); Jesus has come to rescue righteous men. But His coming, secondly, is to judge disobedient men (as intimated in v.30 with the word “mourn.” More on that later). Thus, five events happen on the Day of the Lord, in order, from these verses and in Part I: Cosmic disturbance blackens the sky, then lightning or a highly visible sign showing the Lord’s appearing in the sky, then the rapture, and the mourning of rebellious men who know judgment is coming.

2.Note the details of the rapture, vv.30b-31: (a) Jesus appears on the clouds of heaven in visible glory, and can be seen by all in a blackened sky lit up by huge sign--thus there is no "secret rapture," as is fantasized by some; (b) angels will sound a trumpet; (c) His elect (genuine Christians) will be gathered “from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other;” i.e., in the air. 

3.For anyone who would argue that Matthew 24 isn’t the rapture, look at I Thess. 4:16-17, which all acknowledge are rapture verses: 

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 

Note the important events: (a) Jesus appears from heaven, with some noise--a shout and the voice of an archangel--so there is no secret rapture; (b) angels blow the trumpet; (c) believers are gathered in the sky, to meet the Lord in the air. Note that these are the very same critical three elements as Matthew 24:30b-31. Is this not the SAME EVENT? Of course it is. Thus Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse, presents the Rapture, as does I Thess. 4:16-17.  

4.***Now the order of End Times is: Deception, wars, famine, then the abomination of desolation (antrichrist) in the holy place, then tribulation--systematic death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians, and then—on one day--cosmic disturbance blackens the sky, then the sign (like bright lightning, seen by all), then His Coming in the clouds with angels blowing the trumpet, believers rescued, gathered in the sky—and on the same day, other people mourn, the Day of the Lord’s wrath begins on them (more on that wrath later).

5. For further proof: Let’s spend some time on a second chronology of end-time events. As you will see, this confirms the Matthew 24 order. In Revelation 6:1-11, the order of the seals 1-5 correspond exactly to the same five events in Matthew 24 (read Part I for more). Here are the Revelation verses:

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. 3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. 5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” 7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. 9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

6. In verse 1 we have seal 1, with the white horse. The rider has a crown, and goes forth conquering. If you think this is Christ, you are deceived—this Greek word for “crown” (v. 2) is “stephanos.” But the Greek word for the crown Christ wears is “diadema,” for kingly or imperial dignity. Stephanos, on the other hand, is given for triumph in the games or for military prowess—it is a garland of oak, ivy, parsley, myrtle or olive. The wearer is an aggressive conqueror, not a king. The crown-wearer of verse 1 wants us to think he is Christ, but he isn’t. Thus seal 1 is deception.

7. Seal 2, the red horse, is clearly wars. Seal 3, the black horse, where they are carefully handling and measuring expensive food, suggests famine. Seal 4, the pale horse, is death. The seal 5 refers to martyrs. Now turn back to Part I’s analysis of Matthew 24:5-9—the order is the same! Revelation 6 and Matthew 24 refer to the same events!  Deception, wars, famine, death, and martyrs is the order in both.

8. Now observe how these two sections of verses, the same thus far, suddenly part in how they detail seal 6, the last event: Matthew 24:30-31 (see #1 above) gives us the rapture, and only hints at the wrath of God (it just gives you the word “mourn.”) Since we’ve looked at Revelation 6:1-11 in seals 1-5, let’s see how Revelation 6:12-17 handles the sixth seal. This seal begins with our familiar cosmic disturbance--a further proof that these are the same events as Matthew, since Matthew also has that. But Revelation 6 details the judgment, the second part of the Day of the Lord, switching away from the rapture. Whereas Matthew 24 detailed the rapture, and only hinted at the judgment (“mourn”). Here’s Rev. 6:12-17's key phrases:

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth…. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men…every slave… hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” 

Please note v.17! God’s wrath, even at the 6th and last seal, is only set to BEGIN—yet this is AFTER the tribulation, seals 4-5, as our Matthew 24 study in Part I also outlined. Thus, we conclude the following:  Matthew 24, after tribulation, details the rapture, and hints at the wrath. Rev. 6, on the other hand, also after tribulation, details the wrath, not the rapture. The solution to this “controversy” is simply to put both events—rapture and wrath—after the tribulation, at the same day. Both these sections of verses talk about these events—they just each emphasize a different one on the final Day.  (I proved how these two events will be on the same day in Part i, from Luke 17:26-30.)

Now let's re-emphasize some important points for those "pre-tribbers" to chew on:  

9. Clearly, after reading the previous note and Revelation 6 and Matthew 24, the tribulation is NOT the wrath of God; actually, the tribulation is the wrath of Satan, per Rev. 12:12, as we proved in Part I. 

10.In the tribulation, Satan is having a field day through his antichrist, killing Jews and Christians. But the wrath of God is different: In His wrath (particularly seen in Revelation 8 and 9), only the person of God is mentioned. He does not allow Satan to strut his stuff like the antichrist does who dominates the scene in the tribulation. Proof of this differing emphasis is found in Isaiah 2:11-Let's see what it says about the wrath: 

The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 12 For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up—And it shall be brought low. 

The image we get for the wrath of God in the Day of the Lord is this: unanswered destruction which centers only on God, glorifying His holy nature and cleansing the earth. That’s not the tribulation, where Satan is having a gay old time sticking it to the saints. The wrath and the tribulation are just not the same event. As we have abundantly shown, the wrath of God is after the tribulation, after the rapture. As we have shown you here and in Part I, you have the tribulation, then on the day of the Lord, you have the rapture, then the wrath of God. 

NEXT WEEK: HOW LONG IS THE TRIBULATION? God's Word is abundantly clear on that, too.

Scripture Gives a Definite Order of Events for the End Times

 When Jesus ascended back into heaven in Acts 1:11, angels said to His disciples:This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner.

So we are promised a Blessed Hope of a visible return of our Lord. Scripture elsewhere clearly records it will be in the Last Days, a tumultuous period of martyrdom, beheadings, and rapture. But a huge question is still debated: Do Christians get raptured early, and escape all the terror, as I hear some people say? I have a theory, based on Scripture, that I will lay out for you, and it will hopefully be as clear as anything you’ll read. The End Times scenario is not as confusing as some make it out. The answers are surprising.

Fact #1: From Joel 2:30-31 and 3:15 we learn that a particular cosmic disturbance will precede the day of the Lord.

 

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth… 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD…15 The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness…

What’s noteworthy about this cosmic disturbance is that (1) it gives us a blood moon, and the sun and stars 'turn off,' as well, and (2) it blackens the sky—which has a specific purpose (more on that on a later article). And, these cosmic events are before the Day of the Lord.

 

***The order thus far: Cosmic disturbance, then Day of the Lord.

Fact #2: Well, what is the Day of the Lord? Is it the same as the tribulation? No, they are not the same. From Isaiah 13:6-9 we understand that the “day of the Lord” is primarily God’s wrath on earth, on sinners, i.e. on people whose sins have not been covered:

Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as from the Almighty.  7 …Every man’s heart will melt…8 And they will be afraid… They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth… 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger… And He will destroy its sinners from it.

The tribulation, on the other hand, is Satan’s wrath on Christians (people whose sins have been covered).  Revelation 12: 12-13, 17:Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. 13 Now when the dragon (Satan) saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman (Israel, the Jews) who gave birth to the male Child (Jesus had a Jewish heritage)...17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring (Christians), who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

 

For proof of my parentheses identifying people in this symbology, I give you:  (a) the dragon as we look further in Revelation 12:9-10:  

...the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him... the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 

b) Christians are those who "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

c) The woman is Israel, the ascendants of Jesus.  The Old Testament's prophets referred to Israel as a "woman" (Isaiah 54:5-6; Jeremiah 4:31; Micah 4:9-10).

d) Finally, "the rest of her offspring" means that the Jews (the woman) brought new life in Christ to the non-Jews.  See the book of Acts, chapters 10-28.

As this clarified symbology points out, the tribulation pinpoints true Christians (and Jews) as the target of Satan. But as we pointed out before,  in the Day of the Lord, God is targeting men whose sin has not been covered.  Thus, the Day of the Lord is not the same as the tribulation, and those being punished are exact opposites. This will be further proved soon by the chronology. They also have different descriptions. It will also be proven in Part II of these blogs next week.  By the way, The Day of the Lord is not God’s Final Judgment Seat, when He decides eternity on our souls.

Fact #3: On the Day of the Lord, there is a surprise event just before God’s wrath breaks loose: namely, the return of Christ to gather His own. In that return, He will rescue righteous men whose sins have been covered (the rapture).   Scripture promises this will occur immediately before His wrath on unsaved people—in fact, the rescue and then the wrath happen ON THE SAME DAY. Proof for that is in Luke 17:26-30. There, Jesus cites Noah and Lot as the pattern for His return. The pattern is: (1) the rescue precedes the wrath, and (2) both happen on the same day:

 

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until THE DAY that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all (So there’s the pattern: in the same day, there was rescue of the righteous Noah, then a cruel Day on the disobedient.) 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate… they built; 29 but ON THE DAY that Lot went out of Sodom (i.e, Lot was warned and then rescued), it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be IN THE DAY when the Son of Man is revealed.

Note that Jesus emphasizes "the Day" and "on the day" to conjoin two event--rescue, then judgment. The word “revealed”  in v. 30 mean His single Second Coming will be visible; it is not two returns, as has been fantasized. So from Facts 1-3 we have the following order of events:

 

***The cosmic disturbance. Then, on the same day, Jesus makes His single visible return for (a) rapture of the righteous and (b) the Day of the Lord--wrath on unsaved men and women. 

Note again that the cosmic disturbance occurs BEFORE rapture and God’s wrath.

 

Fact #4: From Mark 13:24-25 we learn that our cosmic disturbance occurs AFTER the tribulation.  This is a VERY important point:

 

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

 

Now we see the following necessary order of End Times so far:

 

***The tribulation, then cosmic disturbance, then, on the same day: Jesus’ visible return for rescue (the rapture), then the Lord’s wrath begins. 

Note how the rescue/rapture is after the tribulation. Thus, genuine Christians living at that time do not escape the tribulation. Note also that the Lord’s wrath and the tribulation are NOT the same thing because the tribulation is BEFORE the cosmic event, but God’s wrath is AFTER the cosmic event.

 

Scripture gives lots more information on the tribulation. Let’s look at events happening around it.

 

Fact #5: Jesus, in Matthew 24:5-31, in what is called the Olivet Discourse, describes three important trends BEFORE the tribulation, then gives two more trends DURING the tribulation. Here’s the relevant passages we will draw from in today’s installment (more study on His Discourse in our next article, Part 2):

 

"For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake... 15 Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”… 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. …21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. …

Summarizing events from the verses above: In order, they are:

a. In verse 5, the key word is Deceive. (Keep in mind: the tribulation has not begun yet.)

b. Then we have Wars in verse 6-7a.

c. In verse 7b, there is Famine (along with pestilences and earthquakes). These first three are called the “beginning of sorrows” in v.8.

d. THEN the TRIBULATION BEGINS, as verse 9 clearly points out, with two trends: Death (they will...kill you) and Martyrdom (you will be hated…for my name’s sake).

Thus, there are five important disastrous events, in the order given. Three before the tribulation begins, two after.

In verses 15, 16, and 21 of Matthew 24, Jesus breaks away from straight chronology, with some details, that flesh out our events: For one thing, He gave an important “tip-off” as to when the tribulation begins: The tribulation begins when they see the “abomination of desolation” (that’s the name given in Daniel to the last-days antichrist) standing in the holy place, in Jerusalem. They are urged to then flee into hiding as fast as they can, because the antichrist will begin the tribulation by starting to kill two groups of people: the Jews first, but he particularly goes after Christians. Note Revelation 13:7 on that:

 

It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Note: The “saints” referred here are all genuine Christians living at that time. Nobody got raptured away from this, as we proved at the end of Fact #4 above, from Scripture. Christians living then will have to endure the tribulation. Rescue doesn’t come til’ after the tribulation, just before God’s wrath.

 

***Now the order of End Times is:  Deception, wars, famine (the 3 called the beginning of sorrows), then the “abomination of desolation” (done by the antichrist) in Jerusalem's holy place, then tribulation begins with the widespread death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians. Later there is the cosmic disturbance, and then on the same day, Jesus appears, rescues/raptures His people, and then the Lord’s wrath on the unsaved. 

My next two articles expand further on this chronology.

 

I would like to take our final minutes on Part I to address two arguments brought up by the pre-tribulationists (those who believe saints are raptured before any of the five terrible events in Matthew 24). Their idea is, Christian rapture is before any of the above disasters.

 

One of their first lines of defense is their insistence of “imminency,” that there are no signs preceding the rapture. Under their scenario, with no signs, the rapture can occur at any time: maybe today, maybe in 50 years, or 500 years from now. Under the scenario I’ve laid out, however, clearly there are signs preceding the rapture.

Let me give more proof that there are signs Scripturally as well. Matthew 24:31-33 below, a description of Jesus' rescue, says rapture events are preceded with signs. It begins with a description of rapture:

 

And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it (the rapture, his subject matter) is near—at the doors!

As you can see, when you see all these things, these signs, you know that summer (harvest, the rapture) is near. Thus, Scripture blows the “no-signs-imminence” idea away.

 

“Pre-tribbers’” second argument is based on I Thessalonians 5:9:

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ

They think this says that Christians will avoid the tribulation--but they think the tribulation is God’s wrath, and God will not allow such massive suffering on their bodies.

 

To argue their point, firstly, does the word “salvation” in Scripture usually mean saving our bodies? Not really—it usually means saving our souls. Pre-tribbers assume (1) the five disastrous events above are all tribulation, and (2) the tribulation is God’s wrath, and (3) To them, avoiding God’s wrath means that God wants to save our bodies from suffering. But these are three wrong ideas, as we have discussed. They then conclude Christians won’t go through any of the above sufferings. But the tribulation is not God’s wrath, they’re two separate events, as we have shown and pointed out above. Wrong assumptions, wrong conclusions.

But we still have to ask ourselves, will God allow massive suffering and death to His children? The simple answer is, yes. Consider all the martyrdom that has gone on (see my last blog). Another perspective on that question, ask yourselves, what’s more important, the body or the soul? The soul, of course (Matthew 5:30 and 16:26). Christians WILL endure intense persecution of their bodies during the tribulation. Our bodies may be sacrificed for Him, but thank God, our souls won’t be touched by His wrath, whereas most souls go to hell. THAT’s what I Thessalonians 5:9 means when it says we’re not appointed to God’s wrath. We need to take the long view, thinking about our eternal souls, not our temporary bodies. Also, if we are martyrs, we go immediately to be with the Lord—which is a blessing!

 

I’d like to plead a word of exhortation to today’s pre-tribbers: What if all this happens while we’re alive, say in the near future? If my Scriptural proofs are right, pre-tribbers will be shocked when they have to endure suffering.  With the wrong mindset, pre-tribbers are terribly unprepared for the End Times. They will feel deceived when they’re surprised by one more disaster after another and they are still around and haven’t been rescued yet. We’re talking about a lot of people who believe this theory--most evangelicals have been swayed by popular teachers like Hal Lindsey, movies and books like the “Left Behind” series, a lot of TV evangelists like John Hagee, and most teachers from Dallas Theological Seminary. But the earliest church fathers (closest to Christ and the apostles) felt Christians would go through tribulation in the End Times. It’s clearly taught in Scripture—not only in my above chronology, but look also at II Thessalonians 2:1-4:

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him (Paul is getting ready to answer their question about the timing of the rapture) we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come (the phrase "day of Christ" is translated the “day of the Lord” in NIV, it’s the same thing.  Thus, he’s implying that the rapture is at the same time as the day of the Lord--which I'm asserting above.) 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (remember, Paul is answering their question about the rapture) will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

 

Scripture clearly points out that the rapture, the beginning of the Day, cannot come until after the antichrist is revealed! But that means they’ll still be around, and have to run for their lives, as death and martyrdom are coming. And those Christians (and Jews) alive at the time will have to suffer the Deception, the Wars, and the Famine, as well.

Sure, it would be great to whirl off and avoid suffering. It’s easy to see how such a theory, even if it had no real Scriptural basis, would become VERY popular. But popularity is not truth.

 

Pre-tribbers, think about this, too: Wouldn’t this pre-trib flight of yours abandon unsaved relatives and friends to go through the world’s worst hell-on-earth without you? So, are you saying that you want to leave your unsaved friends and relatives without the Holy Spirit in us to help them? You want to leave them without explaining the meaning of all that's happening, you don’t want to try to get them saved before they die in countless numbers in God’s wrath? If you ask me, if a real Christian is a soldier for the Lord, that’s “absent without leave,” or AWOL thinking! The pre-trib theory recommends an irresponsible “AWOL” mentality. Thinking that way seems uncompassionate, to say the least.  Now I ask you to probe yourself: What behaviors do you have (not counting the number of appearances in church) that prove you’re a Christian? When we consider that only a minority of people on earth make it to heaven (Matt 7:13-14), it is really possible that you might be deceiving yourselves by assuming you’re Christian. Do you have the fruits (Galatians 5:22ff) and obedience (John 15:6) necessary? Pray, confess sin, get baptized, make Jesus your Lord and follow His commandments; repent, seek a new life daily abiding in Him. Be ready to suffer or die for Him if necessary, rather than sticking to this desire to run away. He did the ultimate sacrifice for us. We may have to do it for Him.