March 6, 2014 Member Letter

Dear Brethren,

Christ prophesied in Matthew 24 that at the end of the age, conditions in the world would be chaotic and violent (verse 6). He also prophesied that in the midst of the chaos human beings would carry on with life as though everything were normal (“as the days of Noah were,” verses 37-38). We know that we in the Church are affected by this complacency as well.

Let me illustrate this by using a personal example from the past. It was on the Day of Atonement in 1973; I arrived at services and was met by a group of members informing me that Egypt and Syria had invaded Israel that morning. This was the beginning of the Yom Kippur War. Their voices were filled with urgency. “Is this it?” they asked. “Is this the beginning of the end? Are we seeing the fulfillment of end-time prophecy?” We now know that it wasn’t the end, but it sure seemed as though many end-time prophecies were about to be fulfilled. There was an urgency within the Church in 1973 that seems to have waned over the years.

The world is collapsing in so many ways and humanity has become more and more violent, but we seem to be okay with it. There is no sense of urgency to do anything, or so it seems. The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15-16: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Jim Rohn, a well-known author who died in 2009 expressed it this way: “Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.” He wasn’t quoting the apostle Paul, but he was commenting on the same human phenomenon. As time goes on, we become so desensitized to world conditions that we go about life as though everything is normal—even in the midst of extreme chaos. What shocked us 20 years ago doesn’t even get our attention today.

Right now, as I write in my office, I am looking at a large map of the world. Wherever I look, it seems that a conflict is occurring or brewing. Syria has been bumped from the front page of the news, but there are still thousands of innocent people being killed. The new trouble spot is Ukraine, where the pro-Russian government was ousted by Ukrainian citizens. Vladimir Putin, has expressed his displeasure in the new pro-Western government by invading Crimea, where many citizens are of Russian descent. Will this lead to a war between Russia and Ukraine? Will the U.S. and Western Europe get involved? These are questions that can’t be answered at the present time, but the potential for greater conflict does exist.

Of course, Ukraine and Syria are not the only locations where violence or the threat of violence exists. There are so many civil wars taking place in Africa that it is impossible to keep up with them all. According to AfricaSunNews.com, “There are currently fifteen African countries involved in war, or are experiencing post-war conflict and tension. In West Africa, the countries include Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo. In East Africa, the countries include Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. In Central Africa, the countries include Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda. In North Africa, the country is Algeria and in South Africa, the countries include Angola and Zimbabwe.”

Last December Time magazine ran the headline “Why a Pacific War Is Possible: The Dangerous Hatred Between China and Japan.” These two countries are engaged in a bitter dispute over an island chain just off the coast of China that has been claimed by Japan since the 1880s. In the 1960s it was determined that there are likely large amounts of oil and natural gas located in the waters surrounding these islands. This has caused the dispute to intensify to its highest level in recent years. No two countries on earth import more fossil fuels than Japan and China.

With the world engulfed in violence, you would think there would be a sense of urgency in all our lives. In the famous Olivet Prophecy, Christ told His disciples to watch events and understand that when the branches of the fig tree put forth leaves “you know that summer is near” (Matthew 24:32). Christ used this analogy as a warning to His disciples: “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!” (verse 33).

As a Church, we have a basic understanding of prophecy—not all the answers, but a general outline of future events. It is impossible to read the Olivet Prophecy and the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 and not feel as though we are living in the end time. Yet where is that sense of urgency today?

We must ask ourselves, how much time do we have to make the changes needed in our personal lives? Are we redeeming the time? Watching world news and studying prophecy are both good things; but unless they motivate us to change, where is the value? Paul makes reference to this in 1 Corinthians 13 when he contrasts the “gift of prophecy” with the greatest gift, love.

We are warned in Matthew 24:12 that in the end time the love of many will wax cold. Do we still have the passion that we felt when God first called us? How passionate are we for the truth of God’s plan and how serious are we about making changes in our lives? I like the quote from Jim Rohn: “Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.” Have we lost some of that urgency and has our desire lost some of its passion?

In 1973 it was easy to hear the urgency in the voices and see it in the faces of God’s people. Have we lost that sense of the shortness of time and the urgency of the days? Let’s not just watch world events; let’s make a commitment to change our lives. This is really a good lesson for all of us as we approach another Passover in six short weeks.

We should each take the time to examine ourselves, to evaluate world conditions and to fast and pray for God’s mercy. World events indicate that we don’t have a lot of time. The world isn’t getting any better; and with increasing global interdependence, the possibility of a world war is greater today than at any time in recent memory. The Cold War may be over, but violence and hatred are on the rise. More war and the end of the age can’t be far behind.

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Jim Franks