WHEN, O WHEN WILL THE END COME? (SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PART 3)

Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy’” (ESV). The International Children’s Bible words it this way: “The everlasting God is your place of safety. His arms will hold you up forever. He will force your enemy out ahead of you. He will say, ‘Destroy the enemy!’” These are comforting words to spiritual warriors. King Jesus has defeated the enemy and exposed him to open shame. He has triumphed over death, freeing us from it. Nothing and no one can defeat our King! Not even the church’s failures can keep Jesus from accomplishing all the aims of His reign. He will return and judge the whole world. We’re free to fight fearlessly. We will be victorious in the end. But we can delay the victory.

The church has a mission to fulfill, and no Bible passage states it so completely and succinctly as Matthew 28:19–20: 

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (ESV). 

There is an implication in the passage that’s not usually stressed. Jesus promises to be with us “to the end of the age.” I think this is more than just a promise that He will, in fact, be with us, though it is certain that He will. Consider Matthew 24:14 alongside it: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (ESV). Both passages are about the church’s mission to proclaim the gospel. Both passages mention “all nations” (forms of the same phrase in Greek). Both passages say something about “the end.” The former commands us to do the work; the latter tells us what will happen when we’re done. 

Consider 2 Peter 3:11–12:

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

The context is the end of this world, and Peter plainly says that our conduct affects its timing. If Christians live holy and godly lives as we ought to, it will somehow “hasten” the coming of the end. About this, the ESV Study Bible says,

Hastening (Gk. speudō, “hurry [by extra effort]”) the coming of the day of God suggests that, by living holy lives, Christians can actually affect the time of the Lord’s return. That does not mean, of course, that the Lord has not foreknown and foreordained when Jesus will return (cf. Matt. 24:36; Acts 17:31). But when God set that day, he also ordained that it would happen after all of his purposes for saving believers and building his kingdom in this present age had been accomplished, and those purposes are accomplished when he works through his human agents to bring them about. Therefore, from a human perspective, when Christians share the gospel with others, and pray (cf. Matt. 6:10), and advance the kingdom of God in other ways, they do “hasten” the fulfillment of God’s purposes, including Christ’s return.

For readers in the churches of Christ, brother James Burton Coffman's words may speak with some authority:

This is a striking suggestion, implying that men, in some way, can speed up God’s plans.’ Such an understanding does not commend itself to all commentators, but there is no good reason for rejecting it. Peter implied the same thing. No! He said the same thing in Acts 3:19-21 (Commentary, P. 346).

On the same page, bro. Coffman mentions (correctly, in my opinion) that this is what Jesus referred to when He instructed us to pray, “Your kingdom come.” He mentions Peter’s preaching in Acts 3:19–21 as further support. It reads:

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

About Acts 3:19–21, brother J. W. McGarvey said, “The sending of Christ to them refers no doubt to his final coming; and it was dependent on their obedience ... that a certain amount of work in the saving of men was to be accomplished before his coming.”

Question 1: Must the church effectively evangelize all nations before the end can come? It seems to me the answer is clearly, yes. This gives rise to the question, “What does all nations mean?”

The phrase, “all nations” is translated from the original Greek, τὰ ἔθνη (“ta ethne,” article and noun, accusative plural neuter of “ethnos,” from which we derive our words, “ethnic” and “ethnicity”) and τοῖς ἔθνεσιν (“tois ethnesin,” dative, plural, neuter forms of the same words). A phrase some use in our times is “people groups.” I think it’s fair to translate the phrases in Matthew 28:19 and 24:14 as “people groups.” A Grok inquiry about this reports:

According to data from the Joshua Project, there are over 7,000 unreached people groups (UPGs) worldwide, which means they have less than 2% evangelical Christians and less than 5% adherents to any form of Christianity. These groups collectively encompass over 3 billion people, indicating a significant portion of the global population that has not been effectively reached with the Gospel. Various missionary efforts are actively working towards reaching these groups. However, the challenges are immense due to cultural, linguistic, and sometimes political barriers. While there have been successes, such as over 300 UPGs receiving their first exposure to the Gospel in 2023, the need for more workers and resources remains critical. The Joshua Project estimates suggest a need for thousands more pioneer workers to effectively engage with these groups for initial church planting. The task is far from complete. Missionary efforts are increasingly focusing on training and empowering local believers and leaders from within these groups or nearby regions. This approach not only respects cultural nuances but also aims at sustainability and multiplication of the Gospel message within these communities.

I don’t know much about the Joshua Project, but the figures, whether or not they’re perfect, identify the fact that Matthew 24:14 has not yet been fulfilled in this generation, and, thus, the church has not yet fulfilled the Great Commission. It ought to go without saying that producing capable proclaimers of the gospel, especially missionaries and those who can convert and train members of presently unreached populations to preach the truth to their own people groups, ought to be a primary emphasis of every faithful Christian family and congregation, everywhere. I don’t like to point out the negative, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t broadly the current generation of Christians’ present highest priority. Please meditate on this!

But our mission isn’t only about reaching the lost, it’s about keeping the New Commandment among the saved. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34–35 ESV). Note the similarity of terms between John 13 and a portion of the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer in John 17 (and, as you do, recognize the link between it and the Great Commission):

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me (vv. 17–23 ESV).

“By this all people will know,” “That the world may believe,” and “So that the world may know,” these phrases all highlight the connection between brotherly love and Christian unity and connect both to succeeding in the mission the Lord has given us (individually and collectively as the church) to reach all people groups with the gospel before the end of this world. Could this be something Ephesians 4 is teaching too?

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–13 ESV).

Do you see the word, “until”?

Question 2: Must the church achieve full Christian unity all over the world before the end comes? 

Unfortunately, I think this question is a little harder to answer with certainty. In 1 Corinthians 11:19, the apostle Paul writes, “For there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized” (ESV). It seems some degree of division within the universal church may be a permanent feature of this age. It’s hard to say whether Paul meant this as a permanent reality of church life in this age or if he meant it as a means to an end. I hope it’s the latter, but suspect it’s the former. The point is, truth matters! * I interpret Paul to mean that instances of serious disagreement in the church prod the faithful to search the Scriptures to discover what’s right and wrong, and by this process, those who are genuine followers of Christ can be recognized. So, despite the tragedy of division in the church, God makes something good come from it. 

Three observations are warranted here: (1) The Lord doesn’t want His people to compromise His word to have unity with those who won’t believe it or follow it faithfully. (2) It’s clear that among the primary purposes of church leaders ought to be a loving desire to try to increase Christian unity throughout the world. I’m glad to say that this is something many church leaders desire (including me) and I hope the number increases! This must involve efforts to “build bridges” between alienated groups of Jesus-followers to facilitate intentional dialogue about disagreements in the hope of restoring fellowship (1 Cor 1:10). This must be done for doctrinal disagreements as well as cultural, racial/ethnic, and personal. (3) It’s apparent from the New Testament that there were continual disagreements between brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the apostolic era and that not all of these disagreements were seen as serious enough to warrant breaking fellowship. It has been a matter of continual debate throughout church history as to what teachings are essential vs those that are of secondary importance. Matthew 4:4 makes it clear that no Scripture is unimportant, but if brothers must sever fellowship over every disagreement, small or great, the quest for the unity of the Faith is futile. Jesus’ prayer for our unity was heard (Heb 5:7). The unity of the Faith is possible. God doesn’t command the impossible. 

I want to encourage us all to believe we can fulfill the Great Commission by reaching all people groups in the world in this generation, and that we can achieve much greater, if not perfect, Christian unity if we make it our sincere aim and build Christian family and church cultures around these two goals, which certainly must be among the most important. 

In conclusion, the Bible says we cannot predict the specific time of Christ’s return (Matt 24:36, 25:13), but it tells us we have a vital role to play in whether it’s sooner or later. The Father knows the Day, but He set it in His foreknowledge including foreknowledge of how we will and won’t fulfill the mission He’s given us. The more single-minded we are about the mission, the sooner that Day will come. Specifically, our unity or disunity has a prophesied impact on when we will accomplish our mission because the more divided we are, the harder it is for the world to believe our message. Our behavior impacts the timing of Christ’s 2nd Coming! We still have work to do. 

Applications:

• The church’s mission is to be made holy by the truth of God’s word and to share that truth with the world “so that the world may believe.” 

—WE ARE A TRUTH MOVEMENT!

• To succeed in our mission, we must be unified enough to preach the gospel globally with one voice.

        —WE ARE A UNITY MOVEMENT!

It is possible to have both truth and unity! God never asks us to do the impossible!

More to come, stay tuned...

---JLP

*Concerning the Christian dedication to truth, see: John 1:14, 17, 4:23–24, 8:32, 14:6, 17, 15:26, 16:13, 17:17, 19, 18:37, 19:35; Romans 1:18, 2:8; 1 Corinthians 2:13, 5:8, 13:6; 2 Corinthians 4:2, 6:7, 13:8; Galatians 2:5, 14, 4:16, 5:7; Ephesians 1:13, 4:15, 21, 25, 6:14; Colossians 1:5–6; 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 12–13; 1 Timothy 2:4, 7, 3:15, 4:1–3; 2 Timothy 2:15, 18, 25, 3:1–8, 4:1–5; Titus 1:1, 13–14; James 1:18, 3:14, 5:19; 1 Peter 1:22; 2 Peter 1:12, 2:2; 1 John 1:5–10, 2:4, 21, 3:18, 4:6, 5:6; 2 John 2:2, 4; 3 John 3–4, 8.)