Apocalyptic Thinking

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

In times of great political division, our thinking tends to become what some sociologists have dubbed “apocalyptic.” We begin to believe that what takes place at this moment—in the next election, during the next session of Congress or the next ruling from the Supreme Court—is going to determine the fate of our lives, indeed, the fate of all history. One side says: “If this person wins the White House or this party wins the Congress, we are all doomed.” And the other side says: “If that person wins the White House or that party wins the Congress, we are all doomed.”

Such thinking is not only false, but also revealing. It reveals where our real hope is. (Interestingly, the word “apocalyptic” literarily means to “unveil” or to “reveal”.)

Christians, however, need not think like this—not because there are not issues at stake in any given election or that what happens in Washington is of no significance. Rather, Christians have an anchor that goes beyond the chaos of the present moment. Our hope ultimately does not come from the White House in Washington but from our Father’s House in Heaven. Our hope is not in human power, but in the power God.

As the Psalmist put it:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7)

Such confidence allows us to enter the public square, not desperately seeking salvation, but rather seeking to serve. We are free to bring the hope of the true Savior to a world bent on finding it in earthly saviors destined only to disappoint.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed;

 He will answer him from His holy heaven

 With the saving strength of His right hand.

  Some boast in chariots and some in horses,

 But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.

  They have bowed down and fallen,

 But we have risen and stood upright.

  Save, O Lord;

 May the King answer us in the day we call.”

~ Psalm 20:6-9 (NASB)