Living in the End Times

Recently I had the rare opportunity to speak on Bible prophecy a total of 10 times in seven days to two camps—for families and teens—organized by one local church.

This has been an annual event for the Grace & Truth Bible Church of Virginia, Minn., since 1990. The camp they utilize, the George E. Sigel Bible Camp, is local so some of the people went back and forth to their homes. There were also others involved from outside the congregation.

The family camp ran from Friday evening through Sunday morning, and the senior camp (for those ages 12 and up) went from Sunday evening to Friday morning. Even after family camp was over, a surprising number of people came back for the evening teen gatherings, making them like special church services.

The church also held a junior camp before I arrived, making for a solid two weeks of ministry. For many within the church, this is an annual event and a highlight of their summer. Several people take vacation during this time to attend, enjoy and serve at the camps.

The theme for both camps at which I spoke was “Living in the End Times.” I purposely did different messages for each service, especially so that people would be encouraged to attend all of them. In addition to a question-and-answer session, these were my topics, in order:

Family Camp:

• “Are We Caught Up With the Rapture?”
• “Discerning the Signs of the Times”
• “America’s Place in Prophecy”
• “The Great End-Time Revival”

Teen Camp:

• “From Creation to a Nation” (two parts)
• “What Everyone is Missing About Israel” (two parts)
• “How Should We Then Live?”

Here are a few observations from the time I spent presenting these messages on Biblical prophecy to these dear people.

1) People are still interested in prophecy.

Ecclesiastical experts often report that people have been burned out on Bible prophecy, that sophisticated congregants need more relevant topics and that prophecy charts are passé—especially for today’s young people. Nothing could be further from the truth, if these camps were any indication.

I not only found people to be attentive and interested, but I received some of the most intricate and perceptive questions on prophecy that I have ever heard, right there in the north woods of Minnesota.

The teenagers were incredibly respectful and attentive, and also came with some great questions. These young people have been bombarded with messages of antisemitism and antizionism in the last two years—and they want to know the truth. Does the Bible encourage Christians to support Israel, or does it not? Will Israel be returned to the land in the prophetic future, or will she not? These are not just theoretical questions for them, but real-world issues that will impact their faith and their lives—and they realize it.

2) People long for substance, not sensationalism.

If people are exhausted with Bible prophecy, perhaps the reason is that they have seen it abused, misused, or poorly presented.

Regular readers will recognize that I have a passion for church history, and the Reformation in particular. I often use incidents from this period of time—both good and bad examples—to demonstrate a point and remind the audience that our study of Bible prophecy is rooted in both Biblical and church history.

When we lift Biblical prophecy out of its historical context and share it as though it is relevant primarily because current events show it to be so, we may make a sensational splash for the moment, but we ultimately lose people for the long term. Today’s young people, especially, are too sharp and savvy for that kind of mischief, and appreciate something real, solid, and grounded in history.

3) People really want to know how to live in the end times.

They want to know why we believe in a pretribulational rapture, and how that affects our lives today. They want to know what will happen after the rapture, in the tribulation. They want to know what we will be doing in the millennial kingdom. They want to know what eternity will be like.

May God gives us wisdom, as preachers and teachers, that we might never obscure the answers to such questions.

The Apostle Paul told the Thessalonian believers, “Let no one deceive you by any means” (2 Thess. 2:3). Although this verse has a very specific purpose in its prophetic context, we may apply it to almost any situation in our lives as we approach “the end of the age” (Matt. 24:3).

Pray for your family, your church, your young people—and yourself—that we might thrive in these prophetic times in which the Lord has placed us, by His grace, for His glory, and for our good.

May He help each of us to learn to live in these end times.