My very first mental picture of the Antichrist had the face of Pope John Paul II. Although sometimes he looked a bit like Jimmy Carter. For a while his face was more obscure (after all, Reagan was a Republican and we all knew in those days that if the Antichrist was an American, he was surely a Democrat). Of course that funny mark on Gorbachev's forehead might have been a tantalizing clue...does anyone know what 666 looks like in Cyrillic characters?
Then the Soviet Union was crushed by a boulder made without hands and the ten toes of the European Union rose out of the ruins in 1993. Daniel prophesied something like that would happen, right? But now there are 27 toes, and 9 more toes in various stages of candidacy for membership. Oops.
Now we're in 2011, and the old theories have faded. The new craze is that Antichrist is a Muslim. And this time there's no doubt. He's the long-awaited Shiite Mahdi, a Muslim Messiah figure, and he might even be alive today. Technical details are available in recent book, or, if you prefer, a more popular prophetical fiction version is also available. And, sadly, someone in your church might very well be reading one of these books right now.
But, then again, maybe not, because eschatological interest is not particularly high right now. I have mixed feelings about this decline. Undoubtedly the interest during my youth was excessive--a product as much of fundamentalists' prevailing views of American culture as of their reading of Scripture (see an old but fascinating article on this by Stan Gundry). Now that our countercultural impulses have eased, eschatology has been largely bundled up and stashed in the back room of embarrassing historical Christian curiosities. And, sadly, the people in your church that are not reading about the Muslim Antichrist probably aren't reading much biblical prophecy either. It's sad because in some cases this lack of interest represents a satisfaction with the world as it is. It's sad because in some cases this lack of interest represents a measure of embarrassment about Christian eschatology. It's sad, worst of all, because in some cases this lack of interest represents the first misgivings about the Christian faith as a whole.
A recent re-reading of 2 Peter has given me a renewed commitment to be mindful of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I highly recommend it. No, I'm not on the Muslim Antichrist bandwagon. And I didn't give away my life savings to put up billboards for Harold Camping. But I do believe that Jesus is coming again. And I pray that this belief will always shape the way that I live.
MAS
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About Me
- Mark Snoeberger
- After growing up in the great state of Pennsylvania, I settled down in 1994 with my new bride, Heather, in Allen Park, Michigan, and have been here at Detroit Baptist Seminary ever since (with a bit of time away for doctoral work). Since 2007 I have been privileged to be a part of the systematic theology faculty here. I love teaching, researching and writing, hunting with my two boys, and enjoying any little bit of God's unadulterated creation I can find (which means I occasionally have to get out of Detroit). But all these things matter to me only because theology matters. For it is God himself who gives all men life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25).
1 comments:
Your comment that " It's sad because in some cases this lack of interest represents a satisfaction with the world as it is" is more true that many would like to admit. By losing sight of the future we live casually, comfortably and complacent today. Growing up in church I always heard that there were Christians who were so heavenly minded they were of no earthly good. I am not sure if that was true, but my oberservation is that most Christians today are so earthly minded they are no heavenly good.
Bill Toothman
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