On (Mis)Reading the "Signs of the Times"

David S. Dockery, Ph.D. - President of Union University

In recent days we have seen new apocalyptic predictions arise with a fresh intensity. The terrorist attacks of September 11 have brought forth renewed pronouncements regarding the march toward Armageddon. Some of these predictions are wildly optimistic about a golden age of peace and joy. Others, like Hal Lindsey, author of the best-selling The Late Great Planet Earth, have proclaimed that the events of the last month have set the stage for the collapse of America. “The Battle of America” has begun, he claims.

A 1997 Associated Press story announced that one in four adult Christians expect Christ to return very soon, or certainly in their lifetime. Forty percent of adults and 71 percent of evangelical Protestants, according to a 1999 Newsweek poll, believe the world will end in a battle at Armageddon. The question for many is not whether Christ will return or whether there will be a battle of Armageddon, but whether these recent attacks are a foreshadowing of that battle. Many believe that is the case, but others before us have also believed that they could read the “signs of the times” and identify that eschatological day.

Today a new movement called the End-Time Handmaidens pray and sway with expectations that they will dance on golden streets. A meeting of the Handmaidens includes a gathering of women, clad in white and gold robes, proclaiming “the end is near,” as ram horns sound announcing the coming Kingdom of God. Certainly this group is on the fringe of American Christianity, but the increase of new books and conferences are readily present throughout the country as many similar fringe groups expand their influence. For example, Zola Levitt, a television evangelist, said, “I look at prophecy as a Polaroid picture that takes 5 minutes to develop and we’re at 4 minutes, 55 seconds.” The Internet now offers more than 100 popular sites, and the number is growing, announcing the countdown to the end. Among many others the sites include: “This Week in Bible Prophecy,” “The End of the Age,” and “Apocalypse Now.”

Such expectations have reached emotional peaks at various times throughout the history of the Church. Certainly a renewal of the Christian hope for the return of the Lord is a good thing. Even in Mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic denominations where such expectations are rare, congregations gather each Sunday and recite the words of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come…” as well as the Apostles’ Creed, confessing faith in Jesus “who will come again to judge the living and the dead.” Such confessions should not be taken lightly.

The establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 and the Israeli war of 1967 raised visions of Armageddon, as did the 1991 Gulf War. Faulty predictions of Christ’s return by various groups in the 20th Century included 1909, 1914, 1948, 1967, and the widely-circulated publication, 88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Return in 1988.

Several aberrations of Kingdom expectations also developed during the 19th Century. Exemplary of these aberrations was the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Coming, also known as the “Shakers” because of their distinctive worship style. At the height of the Shaker movement in the 1830s, the group had over six thousand followers. They believed they were the “first fruits” of the coming Kingdom.

Another faulty example was the Oneida Community in Oneida, New York. Their leader, John Humphrey Noyes, believed the second coming had taken place in A.D. 70 and that the only thing preventing the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth was the lack of Christian love. To address this matter he founded the Oneida community in 1838. His view of love resulted in a practice of “complex marriage” based on the assumption that in the Kingdom all men would be married to all women. His views obviously embarrassed many Christians.

Alexander Campbell (1788-1866), who founded the Disciples of Christ, named his movement’s publication The Millennial Harbinger, which advanced the hope for a golden age. The conflict of the French Revolution and widespread political upheaval revived Kingdom expectations. William Miller of Vermont developed “Kingdom arithmetic” to predict that the second coming would occur between March 21, 1842 and March 21, 1843. Obviously, Jesus did not return during that time. Disappointment swept through the Millerite ranks and once again embarrassment hovered over the Church. Miller himself seemed undaunted, asserting that he simply miscalculated his “arithmetic.” He refigured and asserted with confidence that Christ would return on October 22, 1844. As time drew near, a sign with this message was displayed on a Philadelphia store window:

THIS SHOP WILL BE CLOSED
IN HONOR OF THE
KING OF KINGS WHO WILL APPEAR
ABOUT THE TWENTIETH OF OCTOBER.
GET READY, FRIENDS,
TO CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL

Most of the Millerites sold or gave away their possessions and prepared their wardrobe for the coming of the Kingdom. They gathered in white robes and waited—and waited. Of course October 23, 1844 came and went and Christ did not return. Five years later William Miller died and these words were penned on his tombstone:

AT THE APPOINTED TIME
THE END SHALL BE.

Following their disappointment, Miller’s followers formed the Seventh Day Adventist movement. Predictions of this kind have been wrong 100% of the time.

Should this dampen our hope in the return of Christ? No. Yet, it should temper such predictions for the sake of the integrity and credibility of the Christian message. It is important for Christ-followers especially in times like these to be faithful to watch, to wait, and to work. While the return of Christ and the events associated with the establishment of the kingdom are clearly affirmed in Scripture, the sequence and time of events is much less clear. Jesus Himself said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matt. 24:36).

I have no doubt that today we are one day closer to the Lord’s return. Yet, since we cannot pinpoint the time or season, the year, the decade, or even the century, Christians are instructed to “keep watch.” Jesus said, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24:42).