So what should we be looking forward to? What does the world have in store for the future? What Revelation 19 tells us is that one day, Jesus Christ is going to have complete, unconditional victory over all of the enemies of heaven! Total victory. No contest. Jesus wins, the beast and the false prophet are captured and thrown into the lake of fire, and the armies of heaven STOMP all over the armies of hell. Not a single doubt about the outcome. Go check out Rev 19.11-21 yourself because I doubt there is a greater, more epic battle scene that has ever existed in past, present or future in any form, whether history or fiction. It's like all the battle scenes from Lord of the Rings put together times infinity.
Anyway, my point is, if you read carefully you'll notice that interestingly enough, there isn't a single mention of a battle. What you see is two vast armies gathered to make war, and then immediately evil loses! The beast and false prophet are captured and thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, the rest of the army is killed with Jesus' sword, and some vultures come down to gorge on the flesh of the dead. That's it! No struggle, no wavering back and forth... from the very start, victory was sure for Jesus' side.
Lately I've been watching a number of "post-apocalyptic" films. It didn't occur to me until recently, but something that all s0-called post-apocalyptic films have in common is that they are social commentaries on the depravity of man and the hopelessness of good to triumph over evil. Sometimes they just want to tell a good story, but most of the time, these movies are a producer or director's observation about the world. And what is most striking is that, it's always humanity that's the cause of the end of the world. What's the premise behind every zombie apocalypse movie? It's science gone horribly wrong. "I Am Legend" is a clear example of that. "The Book of Eli" takes place a number of years after a catastrophic world war that has led to famine and shortage of drinking water. In a sense, it's the same mold as the Matrix films and even the Terminator series, though they might not be traditional apocalypse movies.
Underlying all these apocalyptic movies is an incontrovertible human focus. Even in the apocalypse, the circumstances and story is markedly man-centered. WE messed up the world. WE brought judgment on ourselves. There is no need for an outside force, a transcendent owner of the world to come and wrought judgment. No. In typical post-modern fashion, hope is dashed and futility reigns for humanity, yet we REFUSE to acknowledge that anyone could have done this to us but ourselves.
A few weeks ago someone lent me the movie, "Children of Men". The story takes place some years after a mysterious illness has caused all the women in the world to become infertile and explores the panic and dystopia that comes from that condition. The entire story is an allegory of hope. Children of Men recognizes an intrinsic hope of goodness in the face of a bleak human condition, but it is instrinsic. It is within us! We can save ourselves if we try hard enough and the circumstances are right! But there is certainly no need for an outside savior.
In post-modern film, hope is shattered but autonomy remains. We're crushed by the weight of our sin, but not enough to bend our knees. It is because ages change, but human nature stays the same, and its nature is rebellion.
Earlier this morning, I was reading Isaiah 24. The first few verses say this:
See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants - it will be the same
for priest as for people,
for master as for servant,
for mistress as for main,
for seller as for buyer,
for borrower as for lender,
for debtor as for creditor.
The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken the WORD.
It is true, we as humans do bring a lot of suffering and disaster on ourselves. The Bible says that. The Bible says that in our rebellion and idolatry God gives us over to a depraved mind; he in a sense allows us to tear ourselves to bits in our evil ways. The whole world has become untethered from the God who sustains it, and now it is subject to futility and frustration, pain and suffering, boredom and death. But we are fools if we think that God's judgment ends in abandonment. No. The just God is going to return and he's going to pay us back for our evil. If God had left us alone after the Edenic exile, that would be terrible enough. But the rebellion has yet to be quashed and evil has yet to be finally punished.
In that day, the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously.
- Isaiah 24.21-23
This is what's to come and it's guaranteed by the holy Word of God. So how does this foreknowledge of the future affect the way we see and understand our present? I wonder if many Christians live knowing that the end is coming. I wonder if I have been living a life informed by the knowledge of what's to come. If I knew that one day Jesus will return and he will have total victory, how should that make me live? It would make me want to live each day trying to validate the fact that I'm on the right side of the war. "Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure." (2 Peter 1.10)
If I knew that one day God will judge the earth and every man and woman for their deeds, how will that affect the way that I experience injustice now? It will give me a heavenly reserve of patience, for I know that God's patience doesn't mean his failure to judge. Rather, God's patience and kindness lead to repentance! "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Pet 3.9). If that's the case, then am I urgently preaching the gospel and teaching about Jesus whenever I get the chance?
Our sure future in Christ informs and affects our present. One day, Jesus will return to finish unfinished business. Terrible judgment and wrath is in store for the entire world. If we're in the age of patience and kindness and mercy; the age that comes before final justice, how then should we live like it?
