Can it be the closer we get to the end of the age, judgments
of every sort will be the grist of every day?
Before preceding farther two definitions are needed: (1) “the end of the age” and (2) “judgments”. Writing as I do from a biblical perspective
means that an appeal to the Bible will color, if not totally dictate
definitions I might cover. “The end of the
age”, from a biblical perspective, clearly and simply refers to a time when the
Gentile World (non-Jew world) will no longer have dominance over Jerusalem-“And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). “Judgments”, as a ruling handed down by a
judge in either a civil or criminal case.
In this case, the judgment is handed down by God and covers the whole
gamut of life.
Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible say history is “headed
somewhere” and will have a conclusion, one not of man’s ordering but God’s. One verse of scripture speaks comprehensively
of this conclusion: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with
Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory” (Matthew 25:31).
Leading up to this glorious consummation of the ages, the
question is asked, “Can it be the closer we get to the end of the age,
judgments of every sort will be the grist of every day?” A certain amount of logic says, “Yes”!
because that’s what the end of the age is all about, one judgment following
after another until Christ comes to judge the nations (Matthew 25:32-46).
Ultimately, as history grinds to a close, God, as the author
of history, is much concerned with extending every possible opportunity to His
wayward children to come to Him. Logic
simply insists that forerunners of what’s to come—“Judgment Day”—be manifest in
every area of life. Possibly beginning
with the home, society in general, then one’s nation, the nations, and then the
physical condition of the earth itself. God Himself said, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven”
(Hebrews 12:26). Why? “‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of
those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things
which cannot be shaken may remain” (Hebrews 12:27).
God wants people to focus on things that cannot be shaken
and are consequently eternal—this require much “shaking”. The scope of the “shaking” will be such as to
cause reasonable people to think, “What’s happening is of God and we best get
our lives in line with His principles.”
So, it will be step-by-step, pressure-laden happening after
pressure-laden happening, until people either turn their hearts to God or
harden them, thus precipitating still greater judgments.
Can you "read" the signs of the times?
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