A Manifesto for Living in the End Times

Readings: Daniel 12:1–3; Hebrews 10:11–25; Mark 13:1–8

A few weeks ago, while sitting in the church pew, we heard the unusual sound of a meteorite entering the atmosphere nearby. What if instead, we heard a great trumpet blast, the singing of the angelic host, and a proclamation that Jesus Christ has returned? How would that make you feel, and how would you respond? Would you be ready?

The problem with the end times is that every Christian generation was convinced they were living in the end times. Surprise, surprise, I too think we are living in the end times, but then so did the Apostle Paul. I just need to look at the wars during my short lifetime, there was, the Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, the Iraq War, the Syrian Civil War with ISIS, and most recently the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Gaza War. Morality is at an all-time low and the persecution of Christians globally is at an all-time high. The social and political tensions are off the charts, and we can go on. In many ways, our world today seems like a repeat of the apocalyptic reading of Daniel 12:1, “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.”

Most Christians find the topic of the end times fascinating and draw up biblical prophecy charts mapping out the end times. You might be surprised to know that there are four primary views, (1) Historic premillennialism, (2) Dispensational premillennialism, with a number of variations, (3) Postmillennialism, and (4) Amillennialism (the view that I hold). Although the Amillennial view is the simplest and generally most accepted view in Christianity, I’m sure you will agree with me that all of this is very confusing.

I happen to believe that having a proper understanding of the end times is important, but irrespective of one’s views on the end times, what’s more important, I believe is, “how do we live in the end times?” As I was reflecting on our broken world and longing for the return of Christ, I thought what the church really needs, more than biblical prophecy end time charts, is a manifesto for living in the end times. More than ever, we need a declaration of what we believe in broad brushstrokes about the end times that all Christians can agree upon, a commitment to faithful Christian living as we live in these perilous times. And we need a hope to cast our eyes upon, that Christ would come again in glory and restore all things, raise the saints in resurrection glory, and usher in eternal bliss for the righteous. So here is my Manifesto for Living in the End Times.

1. Core Beliefs About the End Times

A. Christ’s Return (Mark 13:26–27)

The very first core belief that Christians ought to have when it comes to the end times is that Jesus will come again. The first part of Mark 13 talks about the regional and global events during the first few years after Jesus’s resurrection, which include the impending destruction of the temple and the breakout of persecution. In the second part, Jesus talks about the distant future, a time of cosmic events, and the transformation of the world at his Second Coming. One day Jesus will return in great power, as Mark 13:26–27 proclaims, “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.”

B. Resurrection and Judgment (Daniel 12:1–3)

The second core belief of the end times is the resurrection and final judgment. We see this all over in the New Testament, but there is a remarkable reference to it in the Old Testament too, in Daniel. He writes, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2). Jesus rose several people, like Lazarus, from the dead, but that was a resuscitation. Resurrection is different.

Christ Jesus inaugurated the promise of the resurrection; he was the “first fruits,” being the first to rise in resurrected life after he had been crucified. He rose in glory physically. It might surprise you that he exists at the present moment in physical form which is why his tomb was empty. Even though our faithfulness to Jesus Christ might cost us our lives, there is such great hope in the resurrection, because those who were faithful to Jesus whose name is written in the book of life will rise to everlasting glory, while others will rise to everlasting shame and suffering.

C. The Victory of God (Hebrews 10:11–25)

One of my favorite themes in Scripture is the victorious Christ. This is a powerful core belief for the end times. The author of Hebrews writes that Jesus “sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.” (Hebrews 10:12b–13). While you and I wait for the second coming of Christ, Jesus waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, meaning that he waits for his victory and domination over all the evil forces to be complete. Jesus has already neutralized the power of Satan, and he has freed us from the power of sin and the fear of death. The forces of evil resist the rule of Christ and are still very much at work in our world today. But in the end, they will be utterly subjected to Jesus Christ.

2. How Are We to Live in the End Times

A. Be Vigilant and Watchful (Mark 13:1–8)

In Mark 13:1–8, Jesus leaves the temple and goes to the Mount of Olives—which is the place where it is said the glory of God would be revealed (Zachariah 14:4)—there his disciples approach him and point out how magnificent the temple buildings are and how large the stones were, that were used to construct them. This temple was an expansion under Herod the Great and is said to be almost double the size of the temple that King Solomon had built. Jesus replies, “All those stones will be thrown down.” In other words, the temple you think is so magnificent will soon be in ruins. In fact, archaeologists today point out that there is evidence of several layers of stones that date back to New Testament times and exist in several places in Jerusalem’s walls and the walls that surround the temple mount. But nothing of the temple itself remains. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’s day misused the temple, and it was destroyed, along with the city of Jerusalem by Titus, son of the emperor Vespasian in 66–70 AD.

Some of Jesus’s closest disciples came to him later and asked, “Jesus, when will this happen? And what signs should we look for, that may show that this is about to take place?” Keeping in mind that the destruction of the temple would set off a chain of devastating events, Jesus highlights five signs that they should watch out for, (1) People will deceive many claiming that they are the Christ, (2) You will hear of wars, (3) nation will rise against nation, (4) there will be earthquakes, and (5) There will be famines. Jesus describes these as “the beginning of birth pains” (v. 8). Meaning that the frequency and duration of these catastrophic events will increase.

The passage is one of those that biblical scholars wrestle with because Jesus speaks of some of these events as happening before 70 AD before the destruction of the temple, and other events that may have happened during this time, seem to be more applicable for the distant future, namely Jesus’ Second Coming. These five signs are often referred to as the time of the tribulation.

Jesus tells us to be vigilant and watchful, but as you would pick up in other biblical passages on the same theme, he does not encourage speculating about the dates and details of future events. Instead, the point is to be vigilant and watchful, be ready to suffer for your faith and trust in God’s providence, participate in God’s mission to the world, and trust in God’s power over the forces of evil. In other words, be prepared!

B. Enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:11–21)

The temple was destroyed some 35 years after Jesus’s resurrection, which means that since then there have been no sacrifices for ceremonial cleansing. But even if we could make such sacrifices, they were unable to atone for our sins and remove our guilt, instead, they provided ceremonial cleansing but could never take away the guilt of our sin in any meaningful sense. Yet, through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, he has offered a sacrifice so perfect and so powerful that it cleanses us of our sins and overcomes the power of Sin. And so, by the blood of Christ, we now have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place. Sitting now at the right hand of God, Christ’s sacrificial work secures the final forgiveness of our sins. Therefore, with a sincere heart, we draw near to God because our guilty conscience has been cleansed.

Christians live in the new covenant, looking to Jesus Christ as their redeemer for he has forgiven our sins and cleansed our guilty conscious, making us more like Christ. While we approach God with awe and reverence, we draw near to him with confidence. And having a purified consciousness does not mean that we live however we like. No, we begin to live more like Jesus every day.

C. Spur One Another on toward Love and Good Deeds (Hebrews 10:24–25)

The author of Hebrews writes, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24–25). Through the blood of Christ, we can draw near to the Father, and yet it also encourages us to profess our hope in him, because we are confident in God’s promises to his people, for he is faithful. Whilst we look to the faithfulness of God, we also encourage others to remain steady in their Christian faith, to grow in their love and devotion to God, and to do good deeds. We live in the end times in great hope and faith spurring others on in love.

D. Do Not Give Up Meeting Together (Hebrews 10:25a)

So, how do we spur one another in our Christian faith? We do this by meeting together. I love the illustration of coal in a fire. Take the coal out of a hot fire, and in minutes its glow will go out and it will cool down. Place it back in the fire with the other coals and it will glow again and become hot. Similarly, the author of Hebrews encourages us never to forsake meeting with one another so that our faith in Christ Jesus can grow, especially as we see the last day getting closer. The Jewish Christians in this letter to the Hebrews had given up meeting together, that is no way to live in the end times. It’s the end times, so you need to strengthen one another because things are not going to get any easier, and you need encouragement from each other so that you may persevere in your faith.

E. Encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25b)

One of the distinctions between the Christian community and the people of the world, ought to be that we encourage one another. There shouldn’t be “upmanship,” gaining a competitive advantage over others among brothers and sisters. Instead, how might we serve others and help them become great, to become more successful than you are? Provoke one another to greater love, greater service to others, greater compassion, greater devotion to Christ, and greater works. If you truly live for Christ, you won’t feel threatened by others. This manner of living in the end times is counterintuitive, but if we set ourselves to live like this, we will be a light in the world during times when the world around us is falling apart and growing dark.

3. Hope for Those who Persevere (Daniel 12:1–3)

We are living in the end times, more than we ever were! Things are getting frightening and even disturbing, you can already feel it in the world today, we will be entering tribulation, if we haven’t already. Perhaps not in our community, or even in our country, but we are already seeing a serious increase in great trials and martyrdom of Christian believers in other parts of the world. And yet all through Scripture, God gives hope to those who persevere in their faith. This hope is proclaimed as early as the prophet Daniel. And yet, to be sure Daniel, as well as Jesus in the gospels, warn of the dangers of sin and the coming judgment for those who reject God and live lives of evil, they will suffer shame and ever-lasting contempt (Daniel 12:2). As unsettling as it is, the danger of hell fire is very real.

St. Michael is the great angelic prince of heaven who was sent to engage in spiritual warfare during the time of the terrible persecution of the Jewish people by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The tribulations we read about during the time of Daniel and many of the prophets are almost like a foretaste of what is to come. And yet, God brings his people through these tribulations to refine and purify them, and eventually raise them up on the last day.

The hope is that faithful believers will be vindicated by their resurrection. God did not allow Antiochus IV Epiphanes to have the last word, and neither would he allow any other political power or technocrat to have the last word in our day, not even death itself has the last word.

Concluding Thoughts

This Manifesto encourages us to respond in gratitude to Christ’s work in faith and to live that out in devotion to God and love and faithfulness to one another. Through Jesus’s sacrificial death, we are reconciled to God and can now draw near to him in confidence and confess our hope in his promises. This ought to encourage us to care for the needs of others and stir them up in faith in Jesus Christ as the Redeemer and Victor. In Luke 18:8, Jesus asks this question, and it’s addressed to all of us, even today, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8b). How would you respond, would you be one of those living out their faith in anticipation for the coming of Jesus Christ? Would you be like one of those of whom Daniel writes, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever?” (Daniel 12:3).