Earthquakes, Adventist Evangelists, and The End Time

A few Adventist websites are addressing the “prophetic significance” of the earthquake in Japan. On AToday, Ervin Taylor makes a startling prediction

In the spirit of traditional Adventism, I would like to prophesize. I predict that, over a period of six months, the Adventist Review and Adventist World will publish, on at least four occasions, in some form either by itself or in connection with other “signs,” statements to the effect that the recent major devastating earthquake in Japan is another sign that the “End is Near.”

Well, maybe it is not so startling…Probably before he could hit the publish key Shawn Boonstra, formerly of It Is Written, already was ready to fulfill Taylor’s prediction by saying:

Without the Bible’s prophetic road map, large-scale disasters become nothing more than unfortunate random events. And from the perspective of tragic ignorance, the signals of Jesus’ rapid approach shake us up, but fail to make a lasting difference. People are shaken, but not stirred.

Fulfillment of Prophecy?

An article that Alexander Carpenter over at the Spectrum website took great exception.

OK, lets be honest, you gotta admit that it is really quite easy to say this is a “fulfillment of prophecy” even if you don’t ultimately buy it. I mean Jesus himself said there would be “earthquakes in diverse places.” Mark 13:8. I would bet that you will find many more Christians of many denominational groups making assuming that there is prophetic significance for this event. I mean really Taylor’s prediction is like predicting that the sun will set tomorrow…

A church built on apocalyptic eschatology will have a tendency to see significance in every event that comes. You may not like it, but you certainly can’t be surprised by it.

Pastoral Sensitivity and The Preacher’s Language

Now there is a question of pastoral sensitivity that we must ask however. OK, you might argue that Evang. Boonstra and the Adventist Review shouldn’t have used the verbiage “shaken not stirred” to apply that ongoing terrible tragedy. Maybe so. however, I read it as a preacher turning a popular saying into a homiletic device. I agree that it was not the most sensitive thing to do. I would also agree that despite my best attempts, from time to time my sermons include sayings and verbiage that I probably should have said better.

It is true that Adventist eschatology points Adventists to see prophetic significance in every terrible event. But to be honest, anyone who reads those apocalyptic texts in the Bible could come to the same conclusion (and many do).

Is God Trying To Tell Us Something

Now there is the whole “God is trying to tell God’s true church something” bit. Ok it is possible to read this as “God killing of thousands of innocent lives just to tell the church something.” I don’t know, but I don’t think that is Boonstra’s interpretation. I would guess that Boonstra would mean that “God is withdrawing God’s hand of protection and thus the evil one is allowed to do more and more of these things. Thus it is a signal to us that the end is near.” Certainly folks may disagree with that due to having a different theology, but is it really an insidious attack on God’s goodness.

To conclude, I think that Boonstra is simply giving a traditionalist Adventist explanation of what we can learn from terrible events that happen in general and specifically the earthquake in Japan. Does this mean that the end is right now? No, some would argue that , but I doubt Boonstra would. But certainly you can’t be surprised. I mean the church often measures how close we are to the end by disastrous events. So certainly it will see disastrous events as meaning we are closer to the end.

Stop Fighting…Nobody is Winning

I remember looking at a TV show a while ago where a soldier thought that WWII was still going on long after the final defeat of Germany. The warrior was in a cave with his last orders from command and never received notice that the war was over. Sometimes in our churches it seems that many are just like that warrior. I hear people fighting “those who emphasize jewelry, makeup, and movies” going on in some contexts. They wonder why Adventists spend so much time teaching and emphasizing the doctrines. They wonder why your average Adventist can cite 1844 but can’t tell you about the Jesus they love. People of this mindset seem to assume that we are living in an era where doctrinal understanding flourishes while love and knowledge of Jesus languishes.

On the other side are those who see that the doctrines are totally ignored in today’s Adventism. They find it ridiculous to argue that Adventists overemphasize lifestyle issues and wonder where are these Adventists who can derive 1844 from the Bible. They believe it is high time we stop leaving the doctrines aside. they argue that yes we need Jesus, but Jesus calls us to doctrinal integrity.

I agree that it is ridiculous to argue that your average Adventist knows 1844 or can defend the State of the Dead or even the Sabbath. I doubt many modern Adventists could defend 1844 from the writings of Ellen G. White let alone the Bible-alone standard that we are called to use. Certainly there are groups out there that emphasize these doctrines. Probably there are some who do it to the detriment of a Jesus emphasis, but to spend your time fighting a battle against the Ellen White Worshipers is to fight a very limited fight. Come on, who worships Ellen White?

However the other side, a smaller but more vocal group, in its emphasis of the doctrines. Also miss a key point. We need more than just a regurgitation of doctrinal facts. It takes more than just proving your point, relevance must be a part of any theological discussion. Tell me why I care if the doctrines are true in your presentation.

Along those lines, I think that the Sanctuary message has marvelous keys for connection. Its “story-like” presentation of the gospel appeals to the narrative angle.

In addition, today there is a call towards spirituality and prayer. What is better suited for that discussion than the Sanctuary where every sacrifice was a prayer. We cannot simply continue to use the “brute force method” of relevance and assume that we will win the day. The day where you simply attempt to prove you are right and therefore you win is over.

So where do we go from here? We need to get past the “1844 is true…no it ain’t” arguments that have characterized a lot of theological discussion since the 1980s. No one is listening to that anymore. Folks wonder “what is 1844?” We also need to get past the “theater…no theater” arguments because it is irrelevant as well. We need to start over. If you want to teach modesty, teach it, but don’t teach rules that condemn one form of jewelry and not another one. If you want to teach health, teach it, but don’t teach rules that allow obese people talk about their vegetarianism as if it is some kind of virtue. If you want to teach love and grace, stop acting as if everyone else is teaching doctrine.

In short, the old fight is over, and no one won. Lets come together on the platform of truth and attempt to understand what vision our doctrines give us to understand Jesus, His love, and His work in us and for us and the entire world.

End Time and Contemporary Living

I was listening to an Adventist preacher this weekend who said that the Second Advent is not receiving the emphasis among Adventist preachers that it once did. His point was that our reason for being is not simply to “Spread the Love of Jesus,” but to specifically tell the world of the second Advent that is soon to take place.

Interestingly enough, it does seem that much Adventist preaching does seem to take on the characteristics of the fads and popular approaches current among evagelicals. Many are seeking to preach the message of “God is gonna hook you up” that is so popular right now. Some are preaching exactly what their congregations wish to hear rather than a prophetic voice that calls them to change. Some messages are only theraputic to be a salve or an elixir to help us make it through another week. And some are simply time wasted. But then there are those who engage in speculation about end time events. They purchase excitement at the expense of their credibility. These are the ones who forever find Sunday Laws on president’s desk or who predict every economic downturn is the final one.

But then, there are those who attempt to preach a relevant word in the present tense, but also attempt to help us look to the future. In some ways it is a difficult undertaking. It is not always easy to preach about the end time without degenerating into speculation about Jesuits and secret meetings. It is not always easy to preach a relevant word to contemporary society without degenerating into preaching an empty shell that assures a “breakthrough.”

Perhaps our end time preaching should be less about events and more about the mindset that will make it through. Perhaps, if we talked about the mindset then we will realize that that mindset not only has future implications, but it will help us through even the difficulties of today. Perhaps God’s work for us and in us in the present time is exactly what is needed to make it through our contemporary problems and our future problems.

And maybe just maybe our end time focus would move from the fear that is based solely in self-centeredness to an assurance that is based in God’s work for us which will most assuredly work “out” of us.