This morning I received another video on my cell phone, which proposed to
be a message of alert:
I don't know exactly when was the video recorded or where it came from, but it's post-Covid-19.
In short, the guy is saying that THE INTENSIFICATION OF SOCIAL CONTROL IN CHINA IS A SIGN OF THE END, which is why it is necessary to seek God.
There's no reason to be surprised by messages of this kind when they come from people full of theological confusion, whose beliefs about Jesus' return are completely obscure and give margin for anything. But what to think when Seventh-day Adventists, who are said to be well-established in various aspects of the truth, advertise signs of the end everywhere?
Overall, three very different versions of the signs of the times seem to be circulating around (even among Adventists), some more others less backed by Matthew 24. Let's call them:
* Skeptical: does not believe there are any signs of the end, whether in the Bible or elsewhere. It can be summarized in Luke 12:45: "my Lord delays in his coming...";
* Sensational/mystical: arbitrarily chooses certain events or processes and frames them as signs of the end. It doesn't care if connections to Biblical prophecies are quite vague and it is always willing to take the leap of faith before even trying a superficial study of the Scriptures. It believes it has a keen spiritual awareness (a feeling of ardor or the like), which frees it from the study of theological questions;
* SDA Official Scholar Theological: discreetly condemns the skepticism of "my Lord tarries to come back" and attacks with more vehemence the sensationalism and superficiality in scripture study. It remembers that "ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars... but the end is not yet.” (Matthew 24:6). It reinforces that the "gospel preached in all the world", of verse 14, is chronologically posterior to the wars and rumors of war, and thus a far more evident sign of the end, which, however, cannot be observed by anyone, as it will happen in a sudden and supernatural way. It will be just too wonderful and incomprehensible for men to undestand.
A debate between representatives of the three versions usually goes something like this:
SKEPTICAL: Jesus is not coming back.
MYSTICAL SENSATIONALIST: Yes, He will come back, because social control in China is growing.
SDA SCHOLAR : Social control in China is Matthew 24:6. No one should be alarmed, for verse 14 (gospel to all nations) comes after and this and is the clearest sign of the nearness of Jesus' return.
MYSTICAL SENSATIONALIST (silently and thinking to himself): good answer... I had not thought about it...
SKEPTICAL (chuckling): If the gospel is the clearest sign of the end, why doesn't the SDA Church preach it as they should? How much time will the SDA spend beating around the bush?
SDA SCHOLAR (with the answer on the tip of his tongue and quite willing to preserve his job and/or recognition): the gospel preached to all nations is not a human effort. It will be executed only when the Holy Spirit descends upon the Church in the latter rain. And even if it is so, there will be help from the angels.
SKEPTICAL: So the sign of the end is in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the latter rain? If we see this happening will we know the end is near? How will we know how to identify these events?
MYSTICAL SENSATIONALIST (excited): I can answer that one! You know these things are happening when you start seeing news of miracles on the internet and amazing things happening! And when there are young people crying out to the Lord in Church camps!
SDA SCHOLAR (bored): the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which is the latter rain itself, can only be spiritually discerned and will only happen in God's timing.
MYSTICAL SENSATIONALIST (silently and thinking to himself): good answer... I had not
thought about it...
SKEPTICAL: then the preaching of the gospel to all nations will only occur from a powerful,
punctual and invisible divine intervention?
SDA SCHOLAR: Yes.
SKEPTICAL: So is there really no observable sign?
SDA SCHOLAR: No, none.
SKEPTICAL: So the mystical sensationalist may be a lot more right than the two of us... Perhaps he perceived with the eyes of faith this powerful, punctual and invisible divine intervention.
MYSTICAL SENSATIONALIST perks up.
SDA SCHOLAR: See... At some point true news will arrive, but these last news the mystical sensationalist brought, about social control in China, may not be a sign of the end. I particularly believe that it might not be.
SKEPTICAL: Do you believe this based on your spiritual discernment?
SDA SCHOLAR: You see... As I've said, we need to remember that it's just the beginning of the pains. The gospel still needs to be taken to all nations...
SKEPTICAL: I don't want to get into circular reasoning. The mystical sensationalist at least had a more direct approach..
MYSTICAL SENSATIONALIST (proud): And I haven't even told you about the last agreement between the Vatican and the European Union, which is very close to being signed...
SDA SCHOLAR slaps his forehead.
This typical conversation about the signs of the times is especially sad because is unaware of the existence of an alternative version for the final events, which takes into account the Great Controversy, Justification by Faith and the Church's effort in world evangelism, which takes place in cooperation with God. Although little known even among Adventists (and perhaps even among Adventists professing the Present Truth), this version exists and we can call it:
Pioneer Adventist: understands the final events in light of the Great Controversy between God and Satan, according to which the Planet Earth is a spectacle for a Universe full of thinkful and intelligent beings, which are endowed with conscience and free will, before whom Satan desires to discredit the government of God and present it as unjust, arbitrary, inconsistent and inferior to his. The Pioneer Adventist view understands that, in light of this Great Controversy, God's people have a decisive role in future developments. By following the example of Christ, christians may live just accordingly to God's character and demands and therefore be a decisive argument in favor of the Creator and against Satan, given the context of the battle of ideas between two different proposals for the government of all creation. Further, according to this view, the second coming of Christ is not related to great geopolitical, economic or social events, but only to the formation of a people (Revelation 14) that claims the character of God. It also believes that these people will achieve greater success in the world evangelism the more sanctified they become and that they will find themselves much more sanctified as their real commitment to world evangelism become more intense. The main belief is that spreading the the Good News to all nations requires not just trust in the Holy Spirit, but hard work, courage, discipline and planning, as well as correct and intelligent administration of resources.
Without a doubt, the conversation between the skeptic, the mystical sensationalist and the scholar takes a totally different turn when the pioneer enters the scene, even to the point that it deserves a place in another post...
Therefore, I close this first publication on the signs of the end here, with the participation of the Pioneer Adventist already scheduled, after which the theme will be completed.
A hug to everyone!
Lucas
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