What next for Britain, Europe and the world?
A commentary by John Ross Schroeder
Good News magazine Senior Writer, United Kingdom
In the wake of the horrific bombings
on the London underground transport system, where do we stand in the
year 2005—the first decade of the 21st century? From what perspective
should we view the time in which we live?
For over a quarter of a century I have been weighing and reporting
on significant occurrences that relate to Europe's destiny in light
of Bible prophecy. My religious convictions have significantly shaped
my worldview and my evaluations of the European scene.
Yet I am very much aware that all human observations are fragmentary
and fleeting. They are mere snapshots in history captured by the camera
of the eye. As soon as one analyzes a specific event of the present and
puts pen to paper, history has passed him by and the focus of the world
media has shifted to some other troubled arena on the earth.
Like all human observers, I share this limitation. Yet I am confident
that my knowledge of biblical history and no-nonsense approach to biblical
prophecy has given me a useful perspective!
Jesus Christ told the leaders of the religious establishment of His
day that they understood regional weather patterns well enough, but could
not perceive "the signs of the times" (Matthew 16:2-3). Those
particular clerics had little sense of history, current affairs or prophecy.
That early first-century world, however, was a turning point in history—a
momentous benchmark period in human affairs. It was the time when the
divine Word came to this earth as the incarnate Christ—born into
the world as a human being in order to redeem humanity from its sins
(John 1:1-3, 14; 3:16).
In biblical history we clearly find unusual men and women who in some
measure comprehended their place in history and understood the important
principle of cause and effect well enough to know which direction to
take in their day. In the time of Queen Esther, the Persian King Ahasuerus
had some wise men in his ruling cabinet "who understood the
times" (Esther 1:13, emphasis added throughout).
They advised the king during a royal marriage crisis involving his
first wife Vashti. They grasped how the consequences of certain actions
would affect the empire, how the Persian people as a whole would respond
to a domestic event occurring in the royal house. During the days of
King David of Israel, wisdom also was found in the "children of
Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel
ought to do" (1 Chronicles 12:32).
Also, in more contemporary historical times, we have had such men.
America's president Abraham Lincoln was a national hero with a global vision.
He read widely and he saw and talked with many citizens. His thoughts
not only ranged across oceans and continents, but also delved into the
realm of the spiritual. Lincoln read his Bible and placed importance
on what he found in its pages.
Lincoln scholar, Stephen Oates, tells us, "He [Lincoln] had an
acute sense of history—an ability to identify himself with
a historical turning point in his time ... He perceived the truth
of his age and embodied it in his words and deeds." Lincoln understood
that what menaced Americans also threatened the destinies of peoples
everywhere.
Today terrorism has proven to be a very serious global threat. Clearly
we live in a time when the very foundations of the world in which we
live are beginning to shake in a strong symbolic sense. Severe mega-problems
cut right across national boundaries. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah stated
that "The foundations of the earth do shake ... under the weight
of transgression the earth falls down" (Isaiah 24:18-20).
Such horrific visions of ancient biblical prophets are now well within
the realm of physical possibility. They threaten to become historical
reality.
Even the secular prophets of our modern world have spoken of these
times in a similar manner. In some respects, their visions are not all
that different from those of the ancient Hebrew seers and the New Testament
apostles. Today's scientists register the shakings of the earth
and proclaim that man's destructive way of life now threatens the
delicate ecological systems that support life on this earth. And world
leaders are working desperately to devise a credible defense against
the lethal destructiveness of committed terrorists.
 Do you grasp the significance of the times in which we live, a time
in which a single suicide bomber can take many lives? Do you comprehend
what is happening to our world today? To understand much more about where
the events of our time are leading, please request or download our free
booklet: Are We Living in the Time of the End?
|
