“the grace that is to be brought to you at
the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:13, NKJV)
In his excellent book The end of time: Faith and Fear in the shadow of the Millennium Damian Thomson writes: “no event has contributed to End-time speculation more than the foundation of the State of Israel”. He shows how this event finally brought about the American fundamentalist movement’s involvement on cultural, spiritual and especially political level to bring about their understanding of God’s prophetic agenda. (The Bush-administration was largely supported by this religious right.) An enormous part of this growing end-time rhetoric (John Hagee aptly terms it as the title of his book, Jerusalem countdown) is the so-called prophetic fulfillment of the establishment of the state of Israel. In the light of the earlier teachings it is very important to investigate this from a Biblical perspective.
Perhaps it is important, for the sake of personal indemnity and to prevent any misunderstanding, to make certain elements clear: I am in no way anti-Semitic. The fate of the Jews, as a specific group of people to whom the word of God had been entrusted to (Rom 3:2) has always deeply touched my heart, to the extent that I had titled my first poetry anthology Diaspora. Jesus the Saviour was born of the flesh from this particular people, and this privilege is a matter of great honour. In literature, music, philosophy and politics the Jews have, more than any other nation, set the standard – read Paul Johnson’s excellent The history of the Jews for this illustrious history. They are indeed a gifted and graced people who deserve my respect.
But this does not mean that I can make a curiosum out of Israel, rendering them iconic and untouchable. I am not so much interested in the fateful events that have befallen them as I am in God’s agenda with the world. Many people read the book of Revelations as if it specifically maps out how Israel holds the key to the end-times. The book of Revelations is not so much about the end times as it is about the revelation of who Jesus the Christ truly is! Rev 1:1 spells it out – it is a revelation of Jesus Christ, it is the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev 1:2)! The purpose of this is made clear in verse 3 – “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”
The time is near. This simple sentence has, for the last two centuries, caused shivers to run down the spines of believers and non-believers alike. But the word time in Greek here is not chronos (as in chronological time) but kairos (revelatory time). In short – this is not so much about what happens when, it is more concerned with us understanding the following – “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind; be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet 1:13). There is a certain measure of grace which we gain access to when we understand who Jesus the Christ is, when we receive that revelation. The word apokalips (the Greek word which was translated as Revelation, full of images of horses and blood and cruel persecution being denoted) merely means an unveiling, a disclosure of truth of who the Bridegroom is, and what our true identity as the Bride is. Without that you would anyway not be prepared for the wondrous things that will follow. Kelly Varner aptly comments – the Bride does not prepare for a specific calendar date, but for a wedding feast.
- Sela: Pray through the Scripture quoted at the beginning of this teaching.
- Read: Deut 9; Amos 6; Ezek 35 (Amos 6 is a very frightening Scripture about Israel and the nations).
- Memorize: Deut 9:24.
- For a deeper understanding: Read Paul Johnson’s The history of the Jews.
