The Twenty-Ninth Epistle
The Sky Is Falling.
DATELINE: Sunday, May 27, 2001.
By Rev. James R. Bingham
Special to corndancer.com
Posted from Memphis, Tennessee
1 Thessalonians 4:17
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Revelation 18:2
And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
A famous childhood limerick by Eric Sleator McGill, goes something like this:
Chicken Little
Stood around
Underneath a tree.
Something fell and
Hit her head.
She said, "Goodness me!"
"Oh my goodness!"
She did screech.
"The sky is falling!"
She ran around
Yelling out,
"We must tell the king!"
The world is coming to an end. Indeed, the sky is falling. "The sky is falling!" She ran around, yelling out, "We must tell the king!" The remainder of the piece reflects the untold truth of why Chicken Little felt convinced that the sky was falling.
Chicken Little's unfounded warning in some respects mirrors our concern over the end of the world. We look for signs — as we should. Jesus said the hour was not known, but, while we wait, we should watch as well as pray.
The event will occur as a thief in the night.
How Will
The Second Coming Unfold?
There is a bit of controversy here. Christians have a split view over the order of events through which the end will come. The split has to do with whether there will be a second coming "twice."
Some eschatologists teach that Christ will come and get the saints, after which will occur a seven-year stretch of tribulation. At the end of the seven years, according to this school of thought, Christ will come again and destroy the world.
The other view is that the period of tribulation will occur as a great sign that the end, indeed, is near. After which, Christ will come, the evil will be taken away, and the righteous will be gathered with Him.
I prefer the latter view. It just makes more sense when we consider the tare and the wheat analogy given to us by Jesus. Our Lord said to allow the wheat and tare to grow together. At harvest, we should gather the tare for burning and place the wheat in the barn. This tells me that the separation will be at the end of the world, which is the Lord's great harvest.
Many believe that the end of the world is the end of the physical planet. Others believe it is the end of an age.
I believe the end will involve the physical planet. Ages have come and gone, time and again, over and over and over. In 2 Peter 6-7, scripture says:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
The World Will Be
Destroyed by Fire.
What are the signs of the time? The Chicken Little Syndrome, also known as the Cry Wolf Syndrome, becomes quite a factor in this matter. Remember, Peter exclaims that the world will be destroyed by fire. Could the church burnings that occurred in the 1990's be symbolic of Peter's warning?
I recall that at that time many anxious Christians were murmuring and wondering if the churches aflame represented the sign of the end's arrival. Perhaps, some opined, the incidents were the beginning of the end. After all, scripture does say that the end will begin at home. The earthly home for spiritual nourishment is the Church.
According to the 1997 National Church Arsons Task Force report to President William Jefferson Clinton, from 1994 to 1996 there were 79 churches burned in the southern United States. South Carolina had the highest number with twenty-six burnings. Tennessee was next with eleven.
For fact seekers, here is a listing of the churches burned in Tennessee.
- August 5, 1994 Greater Missionary Baptist Church, Clarkesville
- August, 1994 Benevolent Lodge #210, Clarkesville
- September 8, 1994 New Wright's Chapel, Shelby County
- September 8, 1994 Five churches in Memphis
- December 30, 1994 Salem Missionary Baptist Church, Fruitland
- January 13, 1995 Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, Crockett County
- January 29, 1995 Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Columbia
- January 29, 1995 Canaan AME, Mt. Pleasant
- January 31, 1995 Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Bolivar
- May 14, 1996 Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Tigrett
- January 8, 1996 Inner City Church, Knoxville
The Rock of A R S O N
Unleashes a Mixed Message.
Ridiculous! An outrage! Even so, according to the pattern put forth in the Chicken Little poem, the outbreak of church burnings sent mixed messages.
Yes, someone had thrown a rock. Inscribed on its bitter surface was the word A R S O N.
Suddenly, however, the burnings stopped. What in the world had happened? What did it mean?
Close on A R S O N 's heels came the advent of the new millennium. Scores of Chicken Littles ran amok through the national psyche, shouting to the king that the sky was falling, if not today then surely tomorrow.
Soothsayers and well-meaning prophets counted the days and cried wolf on this issue, so much that the masses counted it all as frivolity. In the end we took it with a grain of salt.
Jesus did say to watch as well as pray. That's most important. Not knowing just when the end will occur places a dutiful charge on believers, who want to be ready when the end does come.
We must watch for the signs.
Wars, Earthquakes,
Blood against Blood.
What signs? Wars, wars and rumors of wars; earthquakes in diverse places; mothers against daughters, and fathers against sons: These are some of the scriptural warning signs. (I was really taken recently when I read about three teenage girls charged with conspiracy to murder one of their fathers.)
At this point we must observe and ask the question, "Who will be saved?" I don't mean who will be born again. I mean who will meet the Saviour in the air? That seems like some fairy tale, doesn't it? The dead rising and meeting the redeemer "in the air." It may seem like a fairy tale or something out of a comic book, but remember, stranger things have happened in our lives.
Stop and think about what you were doing before you were born. Just where did you come from? I ponder the miracle of birth. Many of us take it for granted, but is the act of being born any less astounding than the act of being transformed into another form of life?
Here we are on a strange planet, living and growing and ever-changing. Daily we are bombarded with knowledge of good and evil. What do we do with this knowledge? How do we use it to be favored by Christ?
To put it another way, just who are the saints? Scripture says that for those who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, they shall be saved.
The Faith of Abraham
And a Bar of Chocolate.
Pope Paul VI decided that this kind of confession included all who believed and subscribed to the lineage and the faith of Abraham. Error! The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Pope Paul VI, November 21, 1964, section 16, reads: "But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Mohammedans, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind."
Pope Paul forgets that confessing belief verbally must agree with the heart.
I'm saying that one's beliefs take him in certain directions. Chocolate candy is believed to be chocolate because it has the traditional attributes of chocolate. In any other form, its chocolate-ness is questioned. For instance, I have problems eating a white bar of chocolate candy and calling it chocolate. In other words, what is identified as one thing can be something entirely different because of certain additives or the deletion thereof. The difference makes the item a derivative, or a version of the real thing.
There is a difference in the gods of varied religions, even though each is called god. Just what are believers confessing to believe? Peter gives us a solution to all of this jabberwocky. I Peter states:
4:6 For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Saving Grace.
Peter is defining the concept of saving grace. You object, do you? Am I missing something here? I'm not addressing the minds of people who are deeply entrenched in their ways of success. "I'm doing fine," they proclaim. "I help people. I pray. I don't have to go to church because the church is in the heart." O-o-o-Kay.
Be sober-minded. Maturity doesn't end with a comfortable level of success. We must continue to pursue perfection until the end.
When is the end? Praise God in the highest! We are living in the end times now. All that Jesus told us to look for, we are seeing. The signs are clear. Be vigilant and continue in prayer.
Here is your blessing. If you are aware of what is happening and are able to compare spiritual to spiritual, then you are among the saints, who will be able to see Him. If you can discern the truth in a maze of deceit, and if you can choose righteousness over evil, then you will be able to see Him when he comes.
I Thessalonians 4:17 says, "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
What does it boil down to? Pray for a clean, sincere heart. Only the pure in heart shall see God.
Love the Lord
With All Your Heart.
You must love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy mind. Never mind if others chide or mock you. Some people will come to you and say, " Pssst. Pssst. The end is here. We are going to meet in secret to discuss what we shall do." Tell them to go and meet without you. It's no secret what God will do. He will descend from the heavens with a shout!
Be fair in your dealings. Run away from evil. Run to the heaven-bound Train of Salvation.
The old Negro Spiritual proclaims,
This train is bound for glory.
This train.
This train is bound for glory.
This train.
This train is bound for glory,
The only way you ride, you've got to be holy,
This train.
Listen for the Grand Conductor to call out, "All aboard! All aboard!" If you are one of the righteous, you don't even need a ticket to ride. Just thank the Lord with shouts and praises…. and get on board!
Revelation 18:2 speaks of the condition of the world at its end. It is the call which summons the dead in Christ to rise: "And he cried mightily with a loud voice saying, 'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!' "
All aboard! All aboard!
Next stop: New Jerusalem!
Give God Some Praise!!!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Rev. Bingham
can be reached by E-mail at
jamesrbingham@juno.com.
His phone number in Memphis is
901.785.5691.