When will Jesus return? Who knows. Could be 10 months, could be 10 years, or maybe even 100 years. Although we can’t predict the timing, Jesus did tell us to watch for the signs.
So here it goes as best as I can put together on a Saturday morning. Before I do, here is a link to a brief overview of the end times as an introduction; and as a side note, I’m going to use a lot from gotquestions.org.
- Apostasy/secular humanism/progressivism
In Paul’s two letters to his protege, Timothy, we read “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” Paul goes on to talk about some things that haven’t happened, such as forbidding people to marry and ordering them to abstain from certain foods.
He also says, But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
Now, I’m not really going to take the time to comment on every single point he makes, but I’m sure you’ve noticed that these things have been increasing in our society, even if just a trickle (which is how things erode in front of our eyes without noticing it). Donald Trump probably comes to your mind right off the bat, and I can’t blame you if he does.
But how is this a sign of a society? And is it our society now? Well, I think we’re getting there. I believe there are two reasons for this–the first is a lack of child discipline which results in (once they become young adults) a lack of self-discipline, which over the course of a couple of generations, snowballs even further.
I see this exemplified in our ‘mostly peaceful’ protests over the past few years–from BLM to the recent college protests over Israel–and we can throw Jan. 6 in there too, if you want.
The second reason is that fewer people are going to church, and we know that secular humanism (even atheism) is being taught in higher educational institutions, so not only are adults allowing their children to grow up intentionally ignorant of Christianity, but what they do eventually learn in many cases is a fairly negative and grossly twisted slant on Christianity from a secular rather than Christian) institution. And as we know, ignorance breeds hatred, and what we’re seeing is a growing distaste for Christianity.
So if young people are not being raised with true Christianity, but are instead taught a twisted Christianity (doctrines of demons), and we’re prone to sinful desires to begin with, where does that lead? Paul said in the beginning of his letter to the Roman church (in the past tense, though I think we’re repeating ancient paganism, which we would naturally do if we are ignoring God and following our own desires):
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Though I wanted to avoid getting into the subject of LGBTQ+ -ism, with the Paris Olympic opening ceremonies blatantly mocking Christianity (and with gay pride parades and drag queen storytimes, etc. having children present and participating), you see how I can put two and two together here. The opening ceremonies were very deliberate, and may I remind you, The Olympics are a worldwide ceremony that is supposed to celebrate our humanity and bring people together setting aside our social/political/religious differences. Yet, what do they do? Mock Christianity in the spirit of worldwide unity. Try mocking Islam (which is brutal as far as LGBTQ-ism goes–ironic how the LGBTQ community is supporting Hamas right now) and see what happens.
This is a good segue into the thought of Progressive Christianity. If I can describe Progressive Christianity in one sentence, it would be from one of the verses above, “5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.”
From gotquestions.org:
In recent decades, implications of the label “progressive” have changed dramatically. Believers of prior generations would consider the expansion of racial and gender rights legitimately “progressive,” because they represented true “progress” toward an understood biblical ideal. But not every social change is compatible with God’s intent for humankind. In that sense, some goals pursued by “progressive” groups are merely “different,” not necessarily “better,” and many of their goals are worse.
A born-again Christian may legitimately believe in a collective responsibility to curate the environment, attain social justice, care for the disadvantaged, and so forth. Those ideas are not unbiblical in and of themselves. In that sense, some Christians may label themselves “politically progressive.” However, taking on that identity raises concerns about the unbiblical concepts also tied to the term. When secular political preferences begin to steer one’s beliefs about God, politics becomes its own form of religion.
Theologically “progressive” Christianity
As political progressivism has grown, so too have attempts to square it with claims to Christian faith. As noted, not all aspects of progressive thinking are unbiblical. Some facets are within the bounds of a biblical Christian worldview. Others are not. Mankind has always tried to take God’s Word and bend it to their preferences. Political trends influence how people attempt to interpret the Bible. That is to say, popular interpretation generally follows cultural trends. The two aspects resonate and amplify one another.
The greatest difference between political progressivism and “progressive theology” is that the latter is wholly incompatible with the Bible. Good theology isn’t guaranteed to remove all “doubtful issues” (Romans 14:1). Yet a person’s approach to theology is either correct or incorrect. God’s Word means what it means and says what it says. Convoluted rejections of clear biblical teachings about sin, gender, sexuality, salvation, sanctity of life, family, morality, Scripture, and so forth are not “progress” toward truth. Neither does a reinterpretation of Scripture represent an evolution of truth. Truth does not progress or develop: it exists, and we either come closer to it or drift further away.
Progressive theology broadly rejects historic views of the Bible. That usually means discarding concepts such as biblical inspiration, inerrancy, and preservation. Progressive-minded readers may attempt to insert their ideas into passages where such ideas were never meant to be found. When eisegesis becomes inconvenient or impossible, the progressive may dismiss certain texts or ideas as outdated and thus safe to ignore.
Christianity, as historically understood, and modern “progressive Christianity” are diverging enough that some consider them separate religions. What once implied “tolerance and openness within a biblical framework” has now shifted. In practice, modern “progressive” faith means “religion conforming to left-leaning political and social trends.” What’s celebrated as “progressive Christianity” today is mostly an earthly, secular, humanist political framework covered by a thin religious veneer.
Going back to the idea of eisegesis, Exegesis, and eisegesis are two conflicting approaches in Bible study. Exegesis is the exposition or explanation of a text based on a careful, objective analysis. The word exegesis literally means “to lead out of.” That means that the interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text.
More on that here: Exegesis and Eisegesis – What is the difference? | Bible Study Tips | GotQuestions.org
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on A Closer Look
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