The First Two Waves of the Real End Times

Continue with this week’s Soul Fuel…

Just in case you haven’t gotten your fill of apocalyptic/alien invasion movies over the past few years, you now have a great opportunity to watch a mass destruction billion body count thriller that will have you nail biting from beginning to the end in The 5th Wave.

And have you noticed (and isn’t it ironic?) lately that the end times theme is increasingly more prevalent as we actually do, in fact, move closer to the real end times? It is almost as though humanity as a whole has a subconscious awareness of the coming final act, and we need to create art that reflects our anticipation and uneasiness surrounding the mystery of the last days.

But for the Christ follower, our perspective can stand in sharp contrast to the general anxiety demonstrated by our culture, because—praise God—we have been given supernatural previews about what is really coming to Planet Earth when the final chapters begin to unfold!

So let me give you a trailer of what we might call the “Two Waves” from Scripture, and then we can talk about how we should respond.

Sadly, the Biblical picture of the first wave of the latter days is not a happy one. The Bible says that:

…in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly…But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived (2 Timothy 3:1-5;13).

Yikes! That doesn’t even sound like a preview does it? Because it seems pretty obvious to me that we are already in this state of affairs.

But at some point in the future the second wave will hit:

For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17).

The second wave is actually incredibly encouraging—and even more mind-blowing than all the special effects in Hollywood combined! Jesus calls His followers to Himself, and eventually He establishes His Kingdom of love and righteousness that will never come to an end.

Nor will any alien force from whatever planet be able to conquer!

So what’s our response? Simple…

Knowing that one day all this will come to pass, think what sort of people you ought to be—how you should be living faithful and godly lives, waiting hopefully for and hastening the coming of God’s day when the heavens will vanish in flames and the elements melt away with intense heat. What will happen next, and what we hope for, is what God promised: a new heaven and a new earth where justice reigns (2 Peter 3:11-12, The Voice).

Movies like The 5th Wave can oftentimes bring fear and worry about where Planet Earth is headed. And without the truth of the Word of God—I can see why! But as Christ followers, we can fully trust and put our hope in the fact that while there are difficult times ahead, we ultimately end up under the rule of our Lord Jesus Christ in a new heaven and a new earth.

So the next time you look up at the sky, don’t fear waves of aliens, rather, look hopefully for the return of Jesus!

Flashpoint: Ignite Into Action

If your friends have read the book or go see the movie, pray for opportunities to start a spiritual conversation with them about the end of the world and how the Bible lays it out.

Accelerant: Fuel for THE Cause

Pray: Jesus, thank You for the promise of Your return! We pray that we would be hopeful and obedient to Your command to us to make disciples of all nations.

Read: Revelation 5:9.

And they sang a new song with these words:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Get:  Is ISIS A Sign of the End Times? Have you ever considered this question? Check out this interesting article from our friends at gotquestions.org. Then use it as a springboard to talk to your friends about Jesus!