COULD IT BE?
by Gregg Gibbons
(April 2007)
Some
Christians claim that the end of this world is near because, in part, there are
increases in earthquakes and hurricanes.
This claim follows up verses like Matthew 24:7-8 and Luke 21:25,
"There will be famines and earthquakes.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
And there will be distress of nations, and perplexity, the sea and waves
roaring."
However,
when I recently checked these claims for myself through the United States
Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), I found the claims
misleading. The average number of
world-wide tropical storms each year continues to be around 90. And seismographs available since 1900 show
the number of earthquakes above a 6 magnitude has not significantly changed. The apparent rise in total number of
earthquakes is attributed to the fact there are 8,000 more seismograph stations
in the world today with the ability to detect small earthquakes.
The false
claims by some Christians are puzzling to me.
It appears that they are (hopefully inadvertently) wrongly applying data
to fit their self-conceived doctrines of the end times. And it seems that they have established
doctrines of the end times to replace the present hope we have in Christ. And what is most puzzling is that so many
Christians accept these claims as being from "authorities," while God
actually is the final authority. I know
about this, for I was one who blindly accepted the claims of Christian
"authorities."
I long to
hear personally from God. And long to be
an instrument of God to help nurture others to personally hear from God. I am seeking to teach people not WHAT to
believe, but WHO (Jesus) to believe.
Transformation in people comes from a personal word from God, and not
from some man's interpretation of God's word for them.
Following
are questions I am sincerely asking regarding "end times" to fulfill
the yearning in my heart to personally hear from God, and to encourage others
to do the same. ;Some of these questions
will sound radical to you, as they do to me.
However, please know that these questions are sincere. I truly yearn to see Christ face to
face. I believe the Bible is the
inspired (expired) Word of God, and I literally believe every word in the
Bible. And I am trusting that the Christ through the
Holy Spirit enlivens these words in my heart.
Be
challenged. Be encouraged. Trust in God's ability to speak to you more
than your ability to hear God. For you
are in Christ, and Christ is in you…all because of the cross and resurrection. Everything flows from that blessed
foundation.
1.
Could it be…that thinking so much on the end times can take our gaze off of Christ in the now times?
2.
Could it be…that our true motive to share the gospel of Christ
with the whole world is unconditional love and not on the condition that this
will allow Jesus to return?
3.
Could it be…that God’s promise of a Land is so much greater than a
tract of land that is 0.02 percent of the earth’s total land surface?
4.
Could it be…that the Promised Land is the kingdom of heaven
subduing the entire earth for God’s glory?
5.
Could it be…that Christ's return in His physical body will be the
consummation of His spiritual body subduing the earth?
6.
Could it be…that true love really never will fail and that
Christ's love through His church will ultimately permeate the whole earth?
7.
Could it be…that a focus on a doctrine of "end times"
can subtly tempt us to trust in Christ's
return later rather than to trust in
Christ Himself now?
8.
Could it be…that it is a deception to want to be rescued from
tribulations when our true hearts actually yearn to know Christ in the
fellowship of His sufferings?
9.
Could it be…that an "end time" focus could deceive us
similarly to those in biblical times who missed the truth that Jesus the
Messiah had already come and dwelt among them?
10. Could it
be…that Jews and Gentiles are now one in Christ under one glorious new
covenant, and not separated under two covenants?
11. Could it
be…that the Old Covenant is obsolete not because it is done away with but
because it is gloriously fulfilled in the New Covenant more than we could have
ever imagined?
12. Could it
be…that all of God's promises in all of His previous covenants with us are
gloriously fulfilled in His New Covenant with His Son Jesus?
13. Could it
be…that we can be deceived into a false contentment by trusting words of men regarding "end
times" instead of expecting personal revelations from words from God?
14. Could it
be…that Christ will not have to return to rescue His body from failing to
subdue the earth?
15. Could it
be…that there can never be a more glorious temple than a child of God indwelt
by the glorious life of Christ?
16. Could it
be…that we really are the living stones of God's ultimate temple?
17. Could it
be…that Christ is now as much King as He will always be?
18. Could it
be…that the continuance of sin after the Flood is God's testimony that evil
cannot be purged from the earth by forced judgment apart from the cross?
19. Could it
be…that God's plan is to purge evil from the earth by preaching the gospel of
righteousness in Christ alone through His children?
20. Could it
be…that all Christians as God's new
creations partaking of the New
Covenant actually comprise the New
Jerusalem?
21. Could it
be…that Israel's purpose in God's history has been gloriously fulfilled by
producing the ultimate Israelite – Jesus Christ?
22. Could it
be…that the greatest honor for a Jew today is to be in Christ, and not in
Jerusalem?
23. Could it
be…that there is nothing more powerful than the leaven of love in each
Christian permeated in routine daily activities?
24. Could it
be…that there is no such thing as a mundane routine for those who are indwelt
with the living and majestic Christ?
25. Could it
be…that we can be deceived into believing we need the excitement of "end
times" while the truth is that we have all of Christ's joy in us now?
26. Could it
be…that we can be deceived into believing we need the fear of the "end
times" to keep us in check while the truth is that we are already and
forever free in Christ?
27. Could it
be…that God does not need a cataclysmic act of judgment to add to the finished
work of Christ through the cross?
28. Could it
be…that a focus on "end times" can deceive us to seek judgment for
our enemies rather than to seek mercy and salvation for them?
29. Could it
be…that a discipler of Christ is not a person who merely warns others of future tragedies but who is willing to
relate to others in their present
tragedies?
30. Could it
be…that "go and make disciples" really is the great commission and
not "watch and be ready"?
31. Could it
be…that the bodily return of Christ is simply the glorious consummation of
God's unfolding revelation of His dear Son, and is not an abrupt end of the
ages?
32. Could it
be…that all of history is the unveiling of Christ?
33. Could it
be…that our true hope is Christ now, not rescue later?
34. Could it
be…that prophecy is not about the amazing fulfillment of random predictions so
that God can prove the Bible is His Word, but prophecy is all about the
unveiling of all of God's promises fulfilled in Christ?
35. Could it
be…that there will never be a "rapture" as glorious as when God drew
me out of Adam and transferred me into Christ?
36. Could it
be…that salvation is a literal transformation that occurs when a person beholds
Christ Himself, and is not a reaction for escaping the "end times"?
37. Could it
be…that a man who falsely predicts the bodily return of Christ diverts the attention
of people away from Christ?
38. Could it
be…that a man should ask for forgiveness when his predictions of Christ's
return prove to be false?
39. Could it
be…that we should repent from listening to man's
unsure predictions rather and turn to listening to God's sure promises?
40. Could it
be…that intentional daily disciple-making is infinitely more effective than
hasty efforts to "get people saved" before the "end times"?
41. Could it
be…that God is providing ample time for high-quality disciple-making
relationships?
42. Could it
be…that there is a reason for the fact that there is not one clearly defined
"end times" doctrine agreed upon by Christians over the past 2000
years?
43. Could it
be…that a focus on Christ's Second Coming can be a subtle temptation to believe
the lie that I am separate from Christ and not one with Him now and forever?
44. Could it
be…that a focus on Christ's Second Coming can deceive us to believe Christ is
not as close as He actually is?
45. Could it
be…that the greatest "end time"
there ever will be for me personally is when my identity in Adam ended and my
identity in Christ began, so that Christ's bodily return in the world's
"end times" will simply be an affirmation of my personal "begin time"?
46. Could it
be…that although the time periods of history are indeed unique, they are not
disjointed, and are a continuum of the single unfolding story of Christ?
47. Could it
be…that the Holy Spirit in us is literally the Second Coming of Christ, and
that we are actually yearning for the bodily Third Coming of Christ?
48. Could it
be…that our greatest privilege is to not be taken away from making disciples
through Christ who indwells us?
49. Could it
be…that all Scriptures really do point to Christ and not to the "end times"?
50. Could it
be…that we can be deceived to think we want to be snatched up "in
victory" because we are not trusting in the true victory we already have
through Christ's cross and resurrection?
51. Could it
be…that God can use, but does not really need, satellites to propagate His
gospel, and that His plan is to use people indwelt by the life of Christ to be
His gospel "brush fire" across the face of the earth?
52. Could it
be…that the "end" is not about man's
time but is about God's purpose which is to reveal His Son Jesus?
53. Could it
be…that true teachers don't teach us what
to believe, but Who to believe?
54. Could it
be…that true teachers don't only teach us what they have heard from God, but they
use their hearing to testify to us how we also can personally hear from God?
55. Could it
be…that the book of Revelation is not only about the future, but is about the
revelation of Christ in every age?
56. Could it
be that there's a reason words like "rapture" and "antiChrist"
are not in the book of Revelation?
57. Could it
be…that seeing Christ face to face later
will gloriously affirm seeing Christ
heart to heart now?
58. Could it
be…that we'll recognize Christ when He bodily returns because this sight will
only affirm what has been real in us all along?
59. Could it
be…that the greatest "coming" of Christ other people see is Christ
shining in His glory through you?
60. Could it
be…that God doesn't want us to label ourselves as something like
"pre-millennial pre-tribulation dispensationalists" and that He only
wants us to know our true identity as His "dear son" or "dear
daughter"?
61. Could it
be…that every moment given to us by the grace of God is actually a new
beginning, and is not so much an expiration of time leading toward an end?
62. Could it
be…that we will spend eternity in a precious awe of the grandeur of the gospel?
63. Could it
be…that the gospel is not about Christ,
but is Christ?