A Matter of Life and Death

I recently had a video trailer produced for my book, Right at The Door. I sent the producer a page of talking points to give him some ideas to include in the narrative. One particular line that he included in the trailer caught my attention. “Understanding prophecy accurately is a matter of life and death.” When I heard my talking point restated in the trailer it seemed very bold. I had to ask myself, was it dramatic hyperbole – exaggerating for effect? Or is it really true?

There are many people – Christians, for the most part – who say that understanding prophecy correctly is not that important. After all, God is going to do what He is going to do, anyways. Oh my, you cannot believe how many times I have heard that statement. In my opinion, that view pretty much relegates Biblical prophecy to the same level as Aztec folklore of the end of the world.

That view conveniently goes hand-in-glove with the prevailing belief amongst most American Christians that the rapture will precede a seven-year Great Tribulation. If that were true, God’s prophecy is not really much of a matter of life and death. It’s more like an intriguing puzzle to contemplate and debate. Because, after all, God will dish out death and destruction after Christians escape. You must admit, there is no urgency, no matter of life and death in prophecy when you believe that you will be blissfully caught up and rescued from any severe turmoil and suffering which is coming upon the world. Yes, for the rest of mankind prophecy is certainly a matter of life and death. They must look forward to extreme tribulation, death, torment, famine, and pestilence. But not Christians, there is simply nothing too scary or painful on the horizon.

But if the Great Tribulation theory is jettisoned, along with an early-escape rapture, then the end times prophecies become much more urgent. They take on a foreboding character. The seven trumpet warnings of Revelation have already been sounding, for over 100 years. The end is very near, like at the door, right now. Daniels vision (Dan 7) and John’s vision (Rev 13 and 17) both make it clear that America is the beast nation of the end of the age. And here’s the crux of the matter, the matter of life and death. God also makes it clear that America will be destroyed (Dan 7:11; Rev 17:16), before the ten-nation Arab alliance rises up as an eighth beast, before the great battle of Armageddon, before Christ’s second coming and simultaneous rapture. Armageddon is the sixth trumpet, and Jesus does not return until the last trumpet. So, then, Americans are in fact facing a life and death scenario. And Christians will still be here when America’s destruction happens.

America’s destruction is very, very near on the horizon, and it will be unexpected and utterly cataclysmic. Many, many people will be killed when America is destroyed. I hate to have to say it so bluntly, millions will meet their death. Are you ready to die? Have you believed and trusted in Jesus as your savior, God’s provision for the forgiveness of your sin so that you can spend eternity with Him in heaven?

And for those few who do not die in the destruction, prophecy is a warning to prepare for living in extreme hardship. How do you prepare to live in a war-torn, nuclear destroyed landscape? How do you prepare psychologically? How do you prepare logistically? How do you prepare socially – family, friends, neighbors, and enemies?

And there you have it. Interpreting and understanding the prophecies of the end times is a matter of life and death. That’s no exaggeration.