A Revival?

In many Evangelical circles there is talk of an end-times revival—but where is this mentioned in the Bible? Sure, it would be a wonderful thing to see people repenting and turning to the Lord in droves as his coming draws near, but nowhere does the Bible promise such a phenomenon.

Rather, Jesus warns of a time called the dry wood (Luke 23:31) in which people will behave more wickedly than they did when they crucified him. And Paul tells us how evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse (2 Timothy 3:13). The World is not moving towards a revival. It’s moving towards darkness and the dominion of the Antichrist.

Nobody is more interested in a revival than Jesus himself. He would love to see it, but he is a realist. He wants us to think realistically too, so he asked about what he would find when he returns.

The Big Question

So, what will Jesus encounter? Will he find a Church pure in doctrine? Will he find the Faith in the hearts and minds of Christians? This is what Jesus is asking us today:

…when the Son of Man comes, will he find the Faith on the Earth? (Luke 18:8; NASB)

According to the way Jesus frames his question, it appears that he will not find the Faith on the Earth when he comes to rapture his Church. That is, there will be relatively few Christians to rapture. That’s a much different picture of the Rapture from what we see in the popular Christian movies where a large part of the world population disappears suddenly.

Too much drama! Is the Rapture about how much people will miss us when we're gone or about how God is faithful to save those who persevere?

Better to take the approach of Jesus to the status of the World when he returns and be more sober about how many people are going to be raptured. Here's what he said about the status of things:

… will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find the Faith on the Earth? (Luke 18:7-8)

If we study the context of Christ’s question 'when the Son of Man comes, will he find the Faith on the Earth?' we see that he explains how God will answer the cries of persecuted Christians and will be faithful to help us in our distress---but then he says however.

That however means that although God will be faithful to the Church, the Church will not be faithful to him.

The Apostasy

But there’s more. Our Lord Jesus knows that something called the Apostasy must take place prior to his return. What is the Apostasy? The Apostasy is one event on the timeline of the Last Times. Many Bible passages warn us of it. Here are three:

… the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will apostatize from the Faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons (1 Timothy 4:1; NASB).

Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day [Christ’s coming in the clouds] will not come until the Apostasy occurs… (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

At that time many will turn away from the Faith and will betray and hate each other (Matthew 24:10).

Knowing that such a terrible falling away is projected to occur, we can see why Jesus would ask whether he would find the Faith on the Earth when he returns. We can see why he proposes the question.

Self-Examination

The Lord Jesus posed a question, and he meant for it to be rhetorical. In other words, we’re supposed to dwell on the question. We’re not supposed to give a verbal yes/no answer to it. We’re supposed to reflect upon it.

Jesus’ question is a tool for personal examination. It doesn’t require your response. So, why did Jesus ask ‘…when the Son of Man comes, will he find the Faith on the Earth?’ You have to understand what he’s asking to know why he’s asking the question.

Once you understand that the Faith is sound doctrine, and you realize that many in the Church will turn from sound doctrine in the Last Times, you’ll understand exactly what Jesus is doing with his query. Jesus wants us to ponder whether we are holding firmly to sound doctrine or not. Are we part of the tendency towards apostasy, or are we fighting against apostasy?

A Picture of the Last Times

Since the Church is destined to pass through an unprecedented Apostasy, and the deception of the Antichrist will be like no other deception the Church has ever faced in its 2000-year history, it’s unlikely that many pastors will be preaching sound doctrine when Jesus comes back. On the contrary, at that time, the people in churches will have no tolerance for sound doctrine. They won’t be able to stomach it.

…the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3).

Since this is the reality we must face--a reality many of us are facing even today--Jesus invites us to strengthen ourselves in sound doctrine now. Will you affirm your commitment to the Faith right now? If you do, when the Apostasy comes, you’ll be prepared to escape its grip, to be free from the deception, and to live in the love Jesus commanded.

… and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold (Matthew 24:11-12).