In 2020 COVID has demonstrated just how tentative and fragile life can be. We have all witnessed how quickly governments can take liberties, and how quickly people give them up when their health and safety are at stake. The social unrest in our nation has also demonstrated how volatile our society can become and how much hurt lies beneath the surface. The uncertainty can make us wonder what the future holds. Luckily, there is hope.
I grew up on a church pew. As a child I heard preachers explain Bible passages that predict that the world would become more tumultuous. Their contemporaries scoffed. I heard preachers use Scripture to point out that someday there will be a global order and that everyone on earth will be given a number in order to buy or sell. Unbelievers mocked such an idea as impossible. Others pointed out that Scripture talks about a short period of peace in the Mideast. Those ideas were also dismissed as improbable. Yet here we are: many of those preachers have passed on, but their predictions are coming to pass. Come to find out, the Bible has accurately predicted the future for millennia, and continues to be a reliable glimpse into the future – and into eternity.
One of the most significant prophecies in the Bible predicts that even as our world experiences turmoil, many people will become believers, just before Jesus Christ (who died and rose from the dead 2000 years ago) comes back to “catch away” those who are looking for Him. Such a claim may seem far-fetched, but God is good enough to give open-minded people little glimpses into eternity by letting them see similar miracles in real time. For example, several years ago a colleague of mine, Lee Stoneking, who lives in upstate New York, dropped dead in the airport in Sidney Australia. He was pronounced dead on arrival, but forty-five minutes, and ten shock treatments later, he came back to life. His story was so exceptional, that in 2003, he was invited to tell the whole world in a speech to The United Nations General Assembly. To date millions have viewed it on Youtube and other venues.
Jesus gave us all a little glimpse into the future. Here is one of his more famous predictions:
Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:3-14 NLT)