"Where is the promise of His coming? For since the Fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:4).
A pall of apathy seems to have descended upon the American church these days. No one talks about the coming of the Lord except at funerals when the reality of death, priorities, and eternity slap you in the face with a wake-up call. Other than that most people just keep on slugging through life as if it will never end.
We all know one day we will go off to the great by and by, but as the country song says, "Everybody wants to go to heaven - they just don't wanna go now." As to an excited anticipation of Jesus return, it just doesn't exist anymore. You don't hear it from the pulpit. You don't hear Christians talking about it. Everyone is just too busy to care.
There used to be a time when Christians were eagerly anticipating Jesus' return. I'll never forget listening to my older sister in about 1950 speak of the miracle that had just occurred in the Middle East. Jews were back in the Promised land.
After more than 2000 years, Israel was a nation. Surely this was a sign that "this generation would not pass away until all these things were fulfilled" (Matthew 24:34). The Lord was going to return, possibly in my lifetime.
In 1960, I was off to college and was captured by the Jesus movement. We brothers would sit around for hours excitedly talking about prophecy and what it would mean to our generation. In 1967 we sat glued to the television for six days watching Abba Iban describe Israel's plight - then Jerusalem was taken by the Israelis. The idea that we were a step closer to His return inspired us.
A Sad History of Misses
Along came Hal Lindsey's "The Late Great Planet Earth" in 1970 and interest in prophecy sky rocketed, attracting academics, kooks, and so-called prophets. Now they had something to go on - a real date - 1948. Now we could just do the math. If Israel was the blooming fig tree of Matthew 24 and "this generation" would not pass until all these things, including the return of Jesus were fulfilled, and if a generation was 40 years, then 1988 was the year! Whoops!
Maybe it was 1967 when Jerusalem and the West Bank were incorporated in Israel after the 6 day war. That brings us to 2007! Double Whoops! Or maybe it was 1980 when Jerusalem was declared the capital??? That would take us to 2020. Who knows?
You get the point. Not only were these dates wrong, but there were many more misses, all of which discredited Bible prophecy to such an extent that pastors began to shun the whole subject like the plague. There was no better way to lose credibility than to declare a date and be wrong! But something else has happened to the Western evangelical church. The clergy have divided into several camps:
1) There are those who strongly believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church which basically means Christians are "up and out of here" before any of the major events of the last seven years get underway. This position perhaps unwittingly leads to apathy - who really cares if we aren't going to be here anyway?
2) The "Preterists" now led by Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, believe the prophecies of Revelation were all fulfilled with the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.
3) Then there are the "Dominionists" who believe the church should take dominion over the earth and then Jesus will return.
4) There are many more positions, but a growing number just don't see it happening any time soon. One friend, a local pastor, thinks it may be several hundred years out, but the bottom line to these folks is that it just doesn't affect our lives now.
Rick Warren has declared that prophecy is none of our business and something we shouldn't be concerned about in the Purpose Driven Life (pp. 285, 286). He's not the only one. The sentiment is growing. Ignorance and apathy abound when it comes to prophecy.
