I am just beginning to pray through this verse for insight
into how it helps us interpret some of the amazing symbols of the book of
Revelation. This morning my starting place revolved around the first part of
the phrase, “Children, it is the last
hour…” Since this is emphasized by the conclusion: “Therefore we know it is the last hour,” there has to be some
reason that it is necessary to think of the remaining time in this way. With
that in mind, let’s consider the two parts of this initial phrase.
“Children…”
I
have learned over my many years that the wording of an apostle’s description of
himself and his readers gives a sense of how he wants people to think of their
relationship in light of what is written. At times the focus is on the man as
an apostle, emphasizing his authority to teach something that the people need
to receive, take seriously, and put into practice.[2] Other
times the focus is on the man’s personal connection to the readers, appealing
to their love and affection for one another as the motivation to continue
walking in the things that have been given them in Christ.[3]
Now
that we see John writing the church, and addressing them as “children”, we can
see the relationship between an elder and his little ones. This draws the
picture of a mature man concerned for his children, attaching to them in an
affectionate way that was aimed at drawing them to respect his wisdom in
addressing the issues they were facing.
The
tone, then, is that we are to feel like children in the company of an elder who
has us seated down around him listening to what he has to say. We are to listen
like children who are facing things we don’t know how to handle. We are to see
ourselves as those in need of cautions, and reminders, and warnings, and teachings
that we will take to heart, learn our lessons well, and let the wisdom of the
mature guide us into the truth and knowledge of Christ.
“…it
is the last hour…”
While
we know that nineteen centuries have passed since John wrote these words, we can
affirm that the time we are in is the last time, and its length of time,
understood from the heavenly viewpoint, is as an hour. If nothing else, it is
the imagery of a clock that has been ticking down through the years, passing
through the twelve hours of the morning, on into the daytime, and evening,
heading through the night, and has now arrived at the last hour. In other
words, this is not so much telling us how much time is left, but that it is the
same kind of thing as when we are in the last hour before something happens.
This
is the way we are to view our lives, no matter how much more time remains until
Jesus comes. We are in the last hour. We are in the last season of time before
the coming of Christ. It has been that way since the first century, when the
church eagerly awaited the second coming of their Savior, and it is that way
now.
The
point is not so much about how much time we are talking about, but that we are
in that last epoch of the work of God. What began with Jesus’ life, death, burial,
resurrection, and commission to the church to carry on his work, is the last
thing that is going to happen in history. There will be no more manifestations
of Jesus Christ to prove to new generations that he has come. The cross of
Jesus Christ has been so strongly established as an historical fact, that now
there is this one last hour in which the gospel will go out to the whole world,
as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.[4]
The bottom line is that, no matter how long this last hour
takes to finish, we are in this last hour, the final work of God before he ends
the whole world. We are little children living in the last hour. We are
surrounded by many adversaries, and false teachers. To whom do we look? We look
to our elders, like John, Paul, Peter, and James, who are all ready to continue
teaching us how to remain true to this gospel of the kingdom, and make Jesus
Christ known until he comes, until the clock hits midnight and Jesus returns.
It is interesting that this is the wording used in the
parable of the ten virgins.[5] The description of the coming of Christ is
presented as, “But at midnight there was
a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’”[6] The final hour is the twenty-fourth hour of the
day, or the twelfth hour of the second half of the day. Whichever clock we use
to present the imagery, the last hour ends at midnight. That is the end, the
end of the day, the appointment with the coming of Christ and the judgment of
God.
So, we are living in the last hour. It is not midnight, but
midnight is closer now than it was when John wrote. The next thing on the
horizon is the coming of Christ. When the gospel of the kingdom has been
proclaimed throughout the world, the midnight hour will strike on the grand
clock of heaven, and the Father who had set the times and seasons by his own
authority will conclude what he started. He will command his Son to return in
judgment on the earth.
What the book of Revelation gives to us are the pictures of
what earthly life will look like during this last hour. It is not a pretty
picture. We are not going to be able to walk by sight and get encouragement
from the way the world opens its arms to the gospel. There will continue to be
suffering and hardship in the whole world, including that targeted animosity
towards the children of God. The animosity of the world, the expansion of religions
and ideologies in their militant takeover of countries and nations, the
worldwide materialism, hatred of God, and love of pleasure, are all signs that
things are happening as God said, so continue making Jesus Christ known until
he comes.
Now, picture yourself like a little child in a room full of
little children. The elders have gathered you together to tell you something. Jesus
is coming soon. He will come suddenly, like a thief in the night. There is
still much work to do to get the gospel of the kingdom out to all the nations,
the provinces, the cities, the neighborhoods, the homes, and schools, and
workplaces. And now the elders tell you that it is the last hour. What will you
do?
While the children wonder about such things, the elders
continue their counsel: “Look
carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”[7] It makes sense that the children would make the
best use of the time considering it is the last hour, and midnight approaches
quickly.
“Walk in wisdom
toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.”[8] Again there is the necessity for children to have
the wisdom in relating to outsiders because time is running down. If we are
here to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to outsiders, and this gospel must
reach all the nations before midnight, we must seek this wisdom that is from
above, so that we will know how to live here below.
Once again, I am not left with a lot of words rattling
through my head trying to find some correct wording for a theological position.
Instead, I picture the last hour of the day ticking down, and the midnight hour
looming terribly close for all those who do not yet know Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior. It does not matter whether this last hour ticks on for another
thousand years, even as it has done twice (almost) since John wrote his letter.
What matters is that midnight is closer than it was yesterday, and there is
still time to do the work of the kingdom for one more day. Instead of being
like the white rabbit of Alice in Wonderland fame running around in constant
fear of being late, we can be as those who make the best use of the time that
is left, little or much as it may be.
From my heart,
Monte
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~
Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise
noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible,
English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
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