Gratitude For Good & Bad Things

Back when I wasn’t a Christian, in the late 1990s, I made the following kind of argument to Christians who said that God had healed them of condition x and illness y:

“It’s all very well saying God healed you from x or y - but through, at best, the universe’s laws or, at worst, God’s unwillingness to intervene pre-emptively, He still enabled these things to happen in the first place. If Jill has painful cancer for 2 years, then gets miraculously healed, it’s strange how God gets thanked for the healing, but not dismissed or condemned for the 2 years of painful cancer in the first place. If Jack breaks my leg by kicking me, I should not praise him for handing me a crutch."

Even then, I could accept the proposition that God doesn’t directly cause the suffering, and that there may be good reasons why He allows suffering for character-building, perseverance and growth.

But when I became a Christian, He showed me through Christ that He’s the one who comes into the wreckage, binds the wounds, and then teaches me to walk again. I also learned as a Christian that even when it seems He’s not noticeably coming into the wreckage, binding the wounds, and then teaching me to walk again, He’s still present - sustaining me, shaping me, holding me up when I can’t feel it, quietly, patiently, weaving grace into the cracks, and writing a story deeper than my immediate relief.

Understanding this helps make sense of Paul’s instruction for us to “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and “Give thanks always and for everything” (Ephesians 5:20), even the really hard times. But it was only when I spent several years watching my dad suffer and slowly die with dementia that I began to understand more intimately what it means to give thanks in all things – even the very hardest things - because God is always good and always present and working in and through them.

This wisdom also applies to when we give thanks to God for everything that others might see as trivial. Before becoming a Christian, I used to find it strange that Christians would give thanks to God for food they’d just cooked, the weather, a car running well, and so forth. But after becoming a Christian, I began to understand why. It’s beneficial for us to be grateful for all things that we know are, in the long run, for our own good – and the kind of God who loves us enough to suffer and die for us as Christ did is bound to be doing immeasurable good in all kinds of ways that we can’t yet see or understand.

Are We In The Last Days Before Final Judgment?

 

Following on from parts one and two about the current nation of Israel, I want to talk now about this subject in relation to end times (or more precisely, the end part of end times). At some point, Christ is coming again, not as a humble servant this time, but as a righteous King and Judge. No one knows exactly when that will be (Matthew 24:36), but it will happen, when the right Biblical prophecies have been fulfilled. And many Biblical scholars, especially on matters concerning Israel, believe that the end times will come in our lifetime (say, the next 50 years). I’ve often thought about how the world is changing so rapidly in recent times, and with exponential technological capacity and transhumanistic endeavours, I wonder whether there might be a reasonable supposition that the end times are imminent (this is a topic I explored more fully in an essay called “Will God intervene before we become gods?”)

Scripture has a lot to say about the process of God’s Final Judgement. First there’ll be some kind of Rapture event (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) when Jesus comes for His church, taking believers to be with Him. Quite what that means literally we don’t know. Then we’ll have the Second Coming (Revelation 19:11-16) when Jesus comes with His church to establish His 1,000-year reign. Again, we are not sure what that literally means, or whether the 1,000 years are literal either, but we know His return will be dramatic, and it will bring justice to the world, rewarding the faithful, and judging those who have rejected Him. The Bible declares, ‘For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God’ (1 Thessalonians 4:16). His coming will be unmistakable, and every person will stand before Him to give an account (Revelation 20:12).

If all this sounds strange to you, you have to remember first that this is exactly what we should expect from a God who made Himself known with the Word of Truth, and who has shown Himself to be reliable, loving, just and merciful every step of the way thus far. You also need to be aware that the Bible is a book full of fulfilled prophecies – most have been fulfilled, in fact – and there aren’t currently many still left to be fulfilled. Remember too that the Bible is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12) and continues to play out in the present and the future, as the final prophecies become fulfilled. It’s a dynamic set of books, where God’s plan is at the heart of every stage of the narrative, right up to the present day, and every future period.

According to scripture, several major prophecies must happen before the Second Coming, including: The tribulation period (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:21), The rise of the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Revelation 13), The battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16), and the Gospel preached to all nations (Matthew 24:14). After the prophecies leading up to the Second Coming of Christ, there are still a few major prophecies that remain after Christ returns. We have the judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-46). After Jesus returns, He will judge the nations based on how they treated His people during the tribulation. Then, Satan will be bound for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3), where we are told an angel will seize Satan and lock him in the abyss for 1,000 years, where he will no longer be able to deceive nations. Then we have the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4-6, Isaiah 11:1-10), where He will rule from Jerusalem in a glorified and more direct way on Earth for 1,000 years. During this time, we are told there will be peace, righteousness, and restoration - but mortal humans will still be living and having children. Furthermore, some people born during this time will still choose to reject Christ, which says a lot in itself. We can expect that Satan is released much later on for a short time and there will be final rebellion (Revelation 20:7-10). During that time, Satan will deceive the nations once more, leading a final rebellion against Christ. But God will destroy this rebellion instantly with fire from Heaven, and Satan will be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever. Then we’ll have the final judgment of all unbelievers throughout history (Revelation 20:11-15), and the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21:1-5, 2 Peter 3:10-13), where there will be no more death, pain, or suffering - only eternal joy and reign with God.

I grant you that if you’re not familiar with this kind of language, it sounds absurd. But once you become familiar with the genius of the Bible, and the notion that God created everything and is enabling His plan to unfold, this narrative isn’t just palatable, it is inevitable. Now, as I said, I don’t think we can comprehend to what extent some of these numbers are literal, or to what extent the drama and eventual denouement symbolises or reflects knowable things in the present day global unfolding, but it can be interesting to speculate on these things in relation to a current world that promises to be so radically different from anything we’ve ever experienced, certainly in terms of scale and magnitude. Because once you understand that the Bible is an active set of prophetic revelations, this stuff becomes interesting at a level beyond the narrative with which everyday social commentary preoccupies itself.

There are still several significant prophecies that believers and scholars believe have not yet been fulfilled, though there aren’t many unfulfilled prophecies left relative to the number of prophecies that have been fulfilled. That is why there are a growing number of the ecclesia who believe we are in the very last period of end times, and that Christ will return very soon. Of the key prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled, there is the rise of a global government or institution (Daniel 7, Revelation 13), and a future world leader (often referred to as the Antichrist) who will establish a one-world government and economic system. Famously, Revelation 13:16-17 describes a "mark of the beast" that will be required for buying and selling. There will also be the rebuilding of the third temple (Ezekiel 40-48, Daniel 9:27, 2 Thessalonians 2:4), where a new Jewish temple will be built in Jerusalem before the return of Christ. The battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39 speaks of a coalition of nations (presumably Arab) that will attack Israel, and we know that this has been a reality for Israel especially in the past 60 years. I note too that in the Psalm 83 war, it looks to be describing a future war where Israel’s neighbouring enemies (again, probably modern Arab nations, though likely Iran too) will unite against it (perhaps the nations listed - Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, Tyre, and Assyria correspond to modern-day nations like Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and maybe even fundamentalist Islam in the Palestinian regions). Revelation 13 prophesies the emergence of a charismatic world leader, making a peace deal with Israel, with a false religious leader supporting him, deceiving people with signs and wonders.

Isaiah 17:1 has a famous prophecy that predicts that Damascus (Syria’s capital) will be completely destroyed and left uninhabitable – and I don’t think this has ever happened in history, even though Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities. We all know what’s happening with Syria’s ongoing conflicts, and the wider Middle Eastern instability continually on a knife edge. The third horseman of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:5-6) describes hyperinflation and economic turmoil during the last days, and with digital currency and the spectre of a one world overarching institution, we could be vulnerable to this sooner than we think. We read of a massive falling away from the faith that will occur before the return of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:3, Matthew 24:9-12), a significant division of Israel (Joel 3:2, Zechariah 12:2-3) – and this could be fulfilled when there is a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, where a major peace agreement ironically causes conflict and division in the long run. Revelation 16:12 predicts the Euphrates River will dry up, making way for the armies of the east, and there will be an increase in natural disasters & pestilences (Luke 21:11, Matthew 24:7), where Christ warned of earthquakes, famines, and plagues in the end times – which I’ve always been unsure of, but then years ago I was unsure if we’d ever live through a global pandemic, and now we have, with more to come, surely.

I’m not denying the speculative nature of some of the specifics above – and nobody knows just exactly how all this will play out in terms of specific world events. But in all of this - amid the prophetic signs, global uncertainty, and rapid transformation of our world – we can have confidence that at the heart of the Biblical message is hope, where the culmination of God’s plan will be rooted in mercy and truth. And we don’t understand this properly until we understand that Israel is central to God's unfolding plan - past, present, and future. To understand God’s end time plan, we must understand the significance of Israel, both as a nation and as a people still chosen and cherished by Him.

 

Luxury Beliefs

 

Society is awash these days with what psychologist Rob Henderson calls "luxury beliefs” - which are beliefs that are designed to make you look good at a cost to those less fortunate. Like the purchasing of designer clothing to signal material status, luxury beliefs are intended to signal virtue and status, but at a cost to society’s poorest people.

Perhaps the most obvious case in point is climate alarmism, where well-off people call for policies that make energy more expensive for the world’s poorest people who need cheap energy the most. It’s the height of hypocrisy to see middle class commentariats lecture the public on carbon footprints while paying no regard to the ill-effects this posturing has on the lower-income people. These same elites often live in comfortable homes, use high-end electronics, rely on fossil fuels (directly or indirectly) for virtually everything they do, and outsource their energy-heavy lifestyles to poorer countries. That’s why it’s even more repugnant when rich celebrities jump on the bandwagon.

Another clear example of a luxury belief is the insistence of well-off individuals and the cultural literati that the UK should be ceaselessly welcoming and tolerant of all immigration, while labelling those who express concerns about the social tensions and pressures on services it can bring as ‘racist’ or ‘xenophobic’. Those who virtue signal with calls of ultra-tolerance and spout ‘Everyone’s welcome!” platitudes rarely experience the direct costs of highly concentrated influxes of immigration in areas already strained on public services, housing or social tensions, which disproportionately affect residents in deprived areas. This disconnect allows the belief to function as a status signal of moral superiority, while the real challenges are left to be borne by the most vulnerable communities.

Socialist rhetoric is another luxury belief - popular among wealthy students and cultural elites who benefit from capitalism but call for its dismantling, without facing the consequences of the economic instability such systems often bring. The anti-Israel stance often seen in elite academic and media circles serves as a moral status symbol, yet disregards the lived realities of ordinary citizens affected by terrorism and conflict, especially those in Israel, who have faced decades of bloodshed and persecution from militant Islamists who wish to wipe their nation off the map. Cancel culture is another classic example - it is embraced either by those with institutional or economic protection, or those with no real skin in the game - who can afford to make mistakes and recover - while it devastates the careers and reputations of the majority of people trying to make society a better, more truthful place. 

In each case above, the luxury belief serves more as an expression of virtue-signalling and a desire to look good than a genuine attempt to improve the world. Luxury beliefs often come at little cost to the elites or comfortably off people who hold them, but invariably come at a big price for less comfortable and less well-off groups if widely adopted. As a society, I think we should become more familiar with instances of hollow status symbols dressed in virtue - and never shy away from calling them out before their cost is passed on to those who can least afford it.

God Only Commands Of Us What We Should Command Ourselves

 

God only commands us to things that are good for us and good for the world. Therefore, He instructs us to do things that would be good even if He hadn’t instructed them. It’s like how a good parent tells their child to eat their vegetables, brush their teeth, and be very careful on busy roads. The child would benefit from doing these things after being taught by their parents, but would still benefit from those things even if they had worked it our from their own experiences and hadn’t been told to do so.

If God commands us, it’s because the thing being commanded is already good for us. That’s why, when Jesus says, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God” – the corollary is that in doing what is good for us in God’s eyes, we come to see more clearly who He is, and that His commands are rooted in truth.