Among God's children we find these days much prophetic interest. That I believe is a good thing, for God's children ought always to be looking both to His return and His reward. However, I have had a reoccurring concern regarding what may be called a prophetic over simplification that often surfaces among us. It seems that it comes most commonly out of the Olivet Discourse. It is in this event that four of the disciples asked Christ about the coming destruction of Jerusalem (which thing He had just spoken to them of) and Christ expanded His remarks to an elucidation of the end times and His return.
In His remarks He speaks of great times of tribulation for His children as well as times of great unrest in the world. We have commonly understood His citing of these things as signs of His soon return, but the more I read and study the Olivet Discourse the more I am persuaded that He is not speaking of these things as signs of His return but rather as the character of the ages in which we shall serve Him here on this earth. The sign of the end that He speaks of is the erection of the "Abomination of Desolation" spoken of in the book of Daniel.
Yes, we are living in very troubling times and yes, the world seems ever closer to its own self-destruction, but those events are in His hand. We can look back historically and see that these same conditions have existed for hundreds of years. I make these observations to say this; let us not allow these troubling days to lull us into inaction and moving into a passive waiting when in fact we ought to be more urgent in our service for Christ and the proclamation of the Gospel. Many of our forefathers in the faith served our Lord through even far more troubling days and did it with courage and resolve. Let us follow them with equal dedication and determination to serve our Lord with courage and faithfulness.
