CURRENT WORLD INSTABILITY

August 2008 article by John Lockyer

One of the last conversations which the Lord Jesus had with His apostles prior to His trial and crucifixion has sometimes been referred to as ‘The Olivet Prophecy’, frequently mentioned in these monthly articles. This is perfectly understandable because it is so relevant to our day and age, yet it developed from an apparently innocuous comment by the apostles as they voiced their admiration for the architecture of the Temple which Herod had built over a period of 46 years. They were astonished at Jesus’ observation when He said that the whole edifice would be razed to the ground within a generation, and shortly afterwards they asked Him the obvious question: “When would it happen?” But they linked this question to two others:

i) when would He return, and

ii) the end of the world (or age)?

Their Master’s reply was to give them a panoramic view of their nation’s fortunes over many centuries. Their Temple was destroyed in AD 70, the Jewish nation was expelled from their land (as Jesus foretold), and were restored once again (as Jesus also stated) to nationhood in 1948. The 60^th anniversary of this was the subject of a recent article in this series by Mr Tim Beall. But Jesus’ predictions continued with this critical observation in Luke’s account:

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring. Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken”. (Luke 21 vs 25 and 26).

Those apocalyptic sounding phrases in verse 25 of Luke 21 have been understood in both a figurative and literal sense. Whichever way we understand them, they conjure up an image of great uncertainty and instability, a situation which we are seeing all around us at present. One of the buzz phrases at the moment is ‘global warming’, and whether we go along with these predictions or not, there are certainly many very unusual features about our national and international climate and weather patterns at present which should make us pause and ponder.

If we take the phrases figuratively, there is even greater evidence of this uncertainty and instability, with much of the world in a state of flux. For example, Pervez Musharraf has been forced to resign as President of Pakistan, plunging that volatile country into a period of uncertainty whilst it chooses a new leader, and creating doubt and apprehension about its future relationship with the surrounding countries and its former allies in the West. The Prime Minister of Israel has announced that he is stepping down next month, which again means uncertainty in that country as well, until a new government is formed with a possible changed agenda. The crisis in Zimbabwe remains unresolved in spite of the efforts of Tabo Mbeki to broker a power sharing agreement between the rival parties. He, himself, is weakened since he is stepping down as President of South Africa next year, to be replaced by a leader of that large country who has a very different policy. And we have also seen the re-emergence of a more arrogant and aggressive Russia as it has invaded Georgia at a time of a weakened United States of America because of its preparations for an election which will change the presidency.

However, this instability is not confined to the political scene as we witness the economic turbulence which is being experienced throughout the world, and nowhere more so than in Britain where it is widely predicted that we face the prospect of a recession, and where the words ‘credit crunch’ are daily features of our vocabulary! The latest pronouncements of the deputy governor of the Bank of England can only add to the gloom and pessimism.

It certainly adds a new dimension to verse 26 which speaks of “men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth”, for very few things are guaranteed to cause fear and apprehension in men’s hearts as threats to our financial security! The vast amounts of money spent by the Chinese in their Olympic Games’ extravaganza simply highlight the parlous fiscal situation which is descending on large sections of the world’s population.

It was in a world such as we have described that the Lord Jesus gave His answer to the apostles’ third question:

“And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory”.

And for those who might be sceptical and inclined to dismiss His message, the Lord Jesus added this comment:

“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away”.