I love the nonsense talk about ‘we are in the end-times’ (or I could have written I do not respect the talk that we are in the end times – read whichever sentence you wish!).
This post is a little tongue-in-cheek, but only a little!
I was quite taken by Anne’s comment on my last post:
Hope in this new earth? I can’t comment on a new heaven, not sure what that means anyway but I can comment on a new earth. Unfortunately it does not resemble what many of us have longed for. What to do? Is this something we can hope for or hope in?
First just to clarify ‘new earth and new heaven’ is a merism for ‘creation’ so I very much doubt if we are to be concerned about the ‘new heaven’ part. But if I understand Anne and anything to do with others who can document what we have done to what was our responsibility to steward is that what is future will be different – it will be a ‘new earth’ with or without a belief in a parousia along any conventional understanding of that word.
We are in the end times – theologically correct cos the resurrection and outpoured Spirit brought us there, so no worries about the term… however, when used to support so much bad all around, ‘wars and rumours of wars’ etc. we are (I consider) way off target. And even the ‘gospel to the nations and then the end comes’ approach does not get us too far, unless Paul’s multiple claims that that box was already ticked pre-AD70 was missing it.
So let’s get to the sign that we are really, really, and by that I mean really close.
See, I am coming soon…
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift…
The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
(I found those words in a book I read – right toward the end of an amazing story that is told in the previous chapters.)
A whole lot of ‘comings’ in there, of movement from heaven to earth. I don’t think I am pushing it too far to suggest that the voice of the Spirit, connecting to the bride, connecting to everyone who is thirsty uniting their voices… and shouting ‘Come’ seems to be what is needed so that truly ‘we are in the end times’.
The Spirit has been calling ‘come’, for the heart of God has always been for heaven to come to earth. The whole of creation was with heaven as being God’s place, the earth as the place where humans were to represent God and thus bring whatever was in heaven to earth. The tabernacle was a visible representation of that – the holy of holies being representative of heaven – OK enough of that… At Jesus’ death the inner curtain was ripped – that is the future – heaven (holy of holies) and earth (the various courts) no longer separated. So from the beginning there has been a God-desire (the Spirit is calling) for everything that is ‘above’ to come.
The bride has been calling ‘take me out’ – OOPS a contrary call to that of the Spirit!! (I appreciate that the bride has many voices, but the predominant one is that of ‘I need to escape’.) So we cannot be too close to the end if the first two voices are not in harmony. The call from the second voice is ‘NO DON’T COME, I WANT TO GO’. So until that voice changes how can we be close to ‘the end’?
Where should the voice of the bride be present? Wherever we want / need heaven to come. Every and all parts of creation where it is evident God isn’t at a significant level. That of course might mean relocation.
Maybe there is a third voice… the voice of ‘everyone’?
With or without the third voice it seems that the second voice is the key / the transition. Until it changes from ‘this world is not my home, it is a hostile place, so my hope is to be taken from here’ how can we be in the ‘end-times’.
Only semi- (if as much as that) tongue-in-cheek.
I find this a hopeful post thanks Martin-read through a glass half full perspective…
Does living with an ‘in the imminent end times’ perspective mean hope is lost not only for the future of this earth, but also for the maturing of the church? What are our expectations?Hearts have been captured by a far off heaven rather than heaven on earth which we do pray for do we not? I mean, if the end were imminent would a sign not be a mature(ing) church? Perhaps that is what we are begining to see as old forms are challenged. Paul’s goal was to bring people to maturity- what does that look like? Entrenched as we are in a consumer society to be changed in the blink of an eye is preferable to a process of maturing. I’m thinking out loud here because I know in myself that escapism is easier and more comfortable than engaging and letting myself change. If the end is not nigh then the evolution that is the transformation of the church is to continue as is the journey to be fully human and as the body we need to discover what it means to be Jesus shaped. I think another couple of lifetimes may help me mature, but I remain optimistic that humanity has the capacity for so much more and life governed by love is possible because that is what we were made for. But our hearts need to be in it
The biggest problem I have with the insistence that we are in the ‘end times’ and everything is going to burn and we will all be judged because of the terrible things that are happening all around us at this particular time and the proliferation of wickedness as being worse now than ever before etc. is that is completely erroneous. There was far more brutality, wars, rumours of war, death, destruction, total disregard for human life, extreme cruelty, slavery, major earth disasters in the ancient world and during the dark ages and early modern history in comparison with now. I’m not saying there is not a lot of work to do in that respect still but somehow the idea of the fundamental value of human beings as being made in the image of God is permeating through the ages particularly in the West but elsewhere too. If that wasn’t the case than evil totalitarian regimes would not try to hide their ‘sins’ but be completely nonchalant about them and there would not be a United Nations which tries to insist on human rights and charities which address human rights abuses worldwide. Yes there is much evil and climate change is a massive issue and there is still misogyny, racism and disregard for the poor and the dispossessed but nothing in comparison with what went on before the message of the gospel. I have mentioned this before but I really do think it’s true. I think your view that the earth and world is going to be redeemed and rescued is so very encouraging and gives much hope for the future and that there will be new expressions of the kingdom and new ways of the ways of Jesus being learned by this world. (I hope I understand what you’ve written correctly). This was the plan and in the words of the Lord’s Prayer which has been prayed for millennia and God does not fail – it is crazy to think he will. Jesus did make the way for us to reach this future and restores, cleanses and redeems us all and all creation and it’s already happening whether we see it or not – not complete of course by any means.
We need to figure out what is our hope. What is it we are hoping for?
Yesterday I read the review of a book in the Guardian called End Times by Peter Turchin. I bought it. In it he says that societies tend to go through cycles of collapse and rebuilding around every 50 years. We are in such a collapse now. Today I read an article (Guardian again) on Peter Pomerantsev where he puts forth that Russia basically seeks death as it is preferable to life. And it would seek to lure us all to long for death. We long for death as an escape, a way of evading responsibility, to avoid hard decisions, or simply to get out of a life that is untenable often due to state violence. It can be seductive.
Chaos, collapse, creation, life, death. This planet exists on such cycles. Death is required to feed life. Without death, none of us eat or have shelter. Our own death is also a way to contribute to this ongoing cycle and life. On the larger scale these cycles involve civilizations and ecosystems.
So, at this point, with collapse all around us (I remember the dream of facades collapsing Martin) what do we hope for? In Martin’s dream a group of people stood in the square and sang the same old songs they had always sung. That means the collapse did not challenge them to rethink their dreams and find new hope in a new way. Their hopes remained the same and hindered the rising of the new. Something Jesus warned against.
We have seen in segments of what we call the church (I don’t think of them as representative of Jesus at all) theologies that seek the ‘end times’, the destruction of everything so that they, and they alone, can be rescued from the mess they have longed for and at times act to bring about. Right wing nationalists across the world often have a similar vision though for them, rescue might simply be that they gain power and can impose their vision on all. They hope in their own vision of society. Oops, how similar is that to portions of the ‘church’? Most of these people offer death first and foremost often to masses of other human beings but also to other species and the planet. And all wish to lure us with that vision.
What does Jesus hope for? A restored and beautiful bride? A relationship with someone who loves and cares, does not seek death, and isn’t abusive. Simple right. How do we achieve that? Well, presumably with Jesus’ help. But many of the people who claim that relationship are a problem not a solution at this point because of their own embrace of death.
What do we hope for? I suspect most of us hope for stability, normalcy, for things to return to what they were at whatever point we want to designate. That is not possible. It cannot and won’t happen. There is no magic to make it happen. The climate regime under which agriculture developed and civilizations followed is going and gone. Jesus gives us the chance to craft something new. What will that look like? The lure of death and dystopia? Right living in relationship to the earth and each other? We choose. We act on our hope.
It has been a very long time since I cracked open a bible so feel free to critique my theological understanding. My memory of who Jesus is may be faulty.
BTW – in interacting with my students I always offer hope and life, the time to vision and imagine life going forward despite the crises and the tools to create a better world. I must. I have a responsibility to do that. I cannot ever offer death. And one of my hopes is that they will find their hope and act on it.