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Tim Miller

Crisis

It was February 2008, and the time for the arrival of our second child was drawing near. That year, February, and the eight months leading up to it had been a particularly busy season for me. I was part of a team trying to develop the curriculum for a new missions program. During this time, it seemed like I was always in meetings. My life would have made for good Dr. Seuss material. Meetings in the morning, meetings at night, meetings in the office, meetings in flight; meetings in the coffee shops, meetings in the mall, meetings at Starbucks, would you like your latte Grande or Tall? Meetings…meetings…meetings. 
In between meetings, I fed and watered horses, changed dirty diapers, mowed the grass, and tried hard to actually get out of bed in the morning without hitting the snooze button ten times. In late January, we made a move from one house to another. Yes, life was busy. Of course, during this season we never completely forgot that a baby was on the way very soon. My wife’s beautiful stomach, growing daily with newness of life, made sure of that. 
However, there were many stretches of time when the routine and rigor of life simply dulled us to the reality that our culture as a family was about to shift radically—and soon. Soon the number of dirty diapers to be changed in a day was about to double. Soon there would be two baths to give at night instead of one. Soon there would be two children to load up in car seats instead of one. Soon we would be vacuuming up twice as many cheerios in the living room as before. Little did we realize then that before long we would find ourselves spending much of our time simply trying to keep our children from mutual destruction over the weightiest of issues: teddy bears, which books to read, and who gets to have cereal in the pink bowl instead of the green. What began as a subtle whisper in the first trimester – “change is coming” – became a blaring trumpet by the third: “change is upon you!” Nevertheless, even as we progressed deeper into the “preggy-hug” stage, the hustle and the bustle, meetings, still had a sly way of driving the impending changes to the back of our consciousness. 
It was February 27, and everything was business as usual. As I walked out of a meeting that had just finished, the call came: “Honey, my water just broke.” Suddenly, the labor pains were upon us. Just over twelve hours later, we welcomed our second little girl into the world.

INTRODUCTION

Birth stands in a category of its own. Few events in life so dramatically display such a wide range of emotions; at such climactic levels; from such a broad assortment of people; in such a short amount of time.  I have now observed my wife bring three children into the world. The tears from her eyes – a mixture of joyful expectation and pain – during the birth of our third daughter tells the story that every mother understands by experience: the process of labor is intense, rigorous, and hard work. It requires a great deal of perseverance. And yet, the end for which it exists is glorious. The joy of holding a child for the first time quickly eclipses the memory of the labor pains. Or so I am told.
 
It is little wonder, then, that Jesus seizes the “labor pains” metaphor (Mt. 24:8) to describe the most difficult time in history, when the earth will be so “thoroughly shaken” that it will “reel like a drunkard” (Is. 24:19-20): the years leading up to His Second Coming at the end of the age (Mt. 24; Mk. 13; Lk. 17, 21). The “present evil age,” as Paul describes it (Gal.1:4), is on its way out, and the righteous “age to come” (Mt. 12:32) draws closer and closer. When Jesus returns, the baby conceived in the heart of God – the earth coming under the righteous dominion of Jesus (Rev. 11:15) – will have finally arrived into the world.  When Jesus returns, He will speak the word of life (Jn. 5:25; 1 Th. 4:13-18) and the saints will come forth from the womb of the earth (Is. 26:19) with brand new bodies (Rom. 8:23) as resurrected sons and daughters (Lk. 20:34-36). The hour of greatest pain for the people of God will, suddenly and climactically, become their hour of greatest exuberance as Jesus parts the sky in glory (Mt. 24:30-31). This is the “blessed hope” that we wait for patiently: “the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13).

BIRTH PANGS AND THE END OF THE AGE

HOW CLOSE ARE WE?

Many people in the Body of Christ today feel offense arise in their hearts when they hear others talk about the last days with any kind of real conviction. I know that I used to be that way. Formerly, my impression of people who talked about the “Day of the Lord” or studied the end times was similar to my impression of Star Wars fans who stand in long lines for movies dressed like Yoda or C-3PO: they were amusing to watch and listen to, but were not to be taken very seriously. I had seen just enough poor-quality end-times films to be turned off by the whole discussion. I was satisfied in my belief that “Jesus will come back whenever He comes back.” Until then, I was going to be “pragmatic” and focus on the Great Commission. However, the more I studied the Scriptures, the more I began to realize that eschatology not only forms one Bible study topic to be discussed among others, but constitutes the interpretive framework presupposed by the entire New Testament. This was because the New Testament assumes the gospel of the Old Testament, which is eschatological in orientation from beginning to end.
 
Here is a question that might put this issue in perspective: If you were Satan and knew that your demise was linked to the Second Coming of Jesus (Rev. 20:1-3), what would be the one issue you would spend most of your time and effort trying to create disillusionment over in peoples’ minds? Perhaps you would try to foster a scoffing spirit through movies and television? Perhaps you would try to create a trivial spirit over the entire topic, so that people tune out as soon as they hear someone bring it up? Perhaps you would sow seeds of relativism in a culture so that people actually begin believing and acting as if God were not actually going to hold them accountable for their motives and actions one day? Perhaps you would try to discredit the church’s witness concerning the Day of the Lord by inciting groups that call themselves “Christian” to do un-Christian things in the name of the end times? Perhaps you would subtly try to keep people so busy – always going from one meeting to the next – that they never stop to think or pray about what it would mean for them and their families if the “end-time crazies” actually turn out to be right after all? 
Saints of the Most High God: When did Noah stop feeling foolish for building an ark? We must guard our hearts against the scoffing spirit that Peter said would surface in the last days: 
  
First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”…But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  2 Pt. 3:3-4, 8-9 
  
In this passage, Peter attributes a scoffing and unwatchful spirit to “evil desires” and a failure to remember God’s mercy toward sinners. God has been restraining from the Day of Wrath because of His great love for human beings, and because He burns with a deep desire for people to repent of their sins. However, at some point, the curtain must close. God will not let the wicked devastate and pillage His creation forever. The Day of the Lord is at hand. 
In light of the cumulative weight of the four points mentioned above – not to mention the noticeable increase in earthquakes, wars, and famines throughout the world over the last century (Mt. 24:6-8) – we at the Daniel Institute of Prayer and Missions burn with a deep sense of urgency on a number of levels. 
First, we ache for the Body of Christ to be braced and prepared more immediately for the “beginning of birth pains” (Mt. 24:8), and ultimately for what Jesus calls a time of distress “unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again” (Mt. 24:21). 
Second, we long for the biblical gospel to go forth in power to those who have never heard it. Jesus promised that the “gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations” before the close of this age (Mt. 24:14). Time is running out, and the lost must hear the good news of the kingdom of God before it is too late. 
Third, we yearn for the Body of Christ to have biblical clarity as to how God is administrating His purposes among both Jew and Gentile. God is going to draw the wayward nation of Israel back to Himself once and for all in context to a time of unprecedented difficulty for that nation. The Bride of Christ, both Jew and Gentile, has a dynamic role to play in God’s climactic dealings with Jacob’s biological descendants (Rom. 9-11). The resurrection of the dead, the earth’s restoration, and Jesus’ Second Coming are ultimately linked to the fullness of the Gentile harvest coming in and Israel’s national repentance (Rom. 11). In order for each part of the Body of Christ to faithfully walk out its assignment in this hour, right understanding of what God is doing with and between Jew and Gentile is crucial. 
Why the urgency? The Day of the Lord is at hand. 
  
  
  
  
  
[1] See Walter Kaiser, The Messiah in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995), 37–42. 
[2] Epistle of Barnabas, quoted in Tim Warner, The Coming Millenial Sabbath Part I: Eschatology of the Creation Week (July, 2009), &lt;<a href="http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf">http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf</a>&gt;, accessed March 2010. 
[3] Irenaeus, quoted in Tim Warner, The Coming Millennial Sabbath Part I: Eschatology of the Creation Week (July, 2009), &lt;<a href="http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf">http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf</a>&gt;, accessed March 2010. 
[4] Commodianus, quoted in Tim Warner, The Coming Millennial Sabbath Part I: Eschatology of the Creation Week (July, 2009), &lt;<a href="http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf">http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf</a>&gt;, accessed March 2010. 
[5] Methodius, quoted in Tim Warner, The Coming Millennial Sabbath Part I: Eschatology of the Creation Week (July, 2009), &lt;<a href="http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf">http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf</a>&gt;, accessed March 2010. 
[6] Lactantius, quoted in Tim Warner, The Coming Millennial Sabbath Part I: Eschatology of the Creation Week (July, 2009), &lt;<a href="http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf">http://www.oasischristianchurch.org/air/chiliasm.pdf</a>&gt;, accessed March 2010. 
[7] Hughes, R. B., &amp; Laney, J. C. (2001). Tyndale concise Bible commentary. Rev. ed. of: New Bible companion. 1990.; Includes index. The Tyndale reference library (659). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

CONCLUSION 

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