A Vision from the Mountain Top

.... Imagine that you’ve been praying about the end times because you've studied them but they’ve seemed so confusing, and you’ve told the Lord that you just want to see His heart in it all. In response, the room about you begins to glow and an angel appears to you. "I have come in response to your cry." says he, "Arise, and come with me."

.... The angel stretches forth his hand and takes you by a lock of the hair, and you are silently raised from the ground; then suddenly you find yourself descending through the ages, down through a corridor of time, to a period about six months before the return of Jesus to the earth. "I dare not bring you closer," says the angel, "for I myself do not know the day nor the hour. But look at what you are being shown, and be attentive; listen and learn."

.... For three months he escorts you to every segment of the kingdom, from the grandest megachurch to the humblest home gatherings in different corners of the world, and you are given a chance to see them all. It isn’t long before the basic picture emerges:

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.... Half of the church has be- come very self-centered, though having a form of godliness (2 Tim 3:1-5). But the other half has become very Christ-centered, more so than you had ever thought possible (Eph 4:13). There is a sense of His fullness, the result is compelling, and their sense of community is beautiful (vs 15-16). To observe them is to see Jesus revealed through their lives:

.... "clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart."

(2 Cor 3:3)

.... These Christians are facing troubles from the outside, from an unfriendly world that has descended into spiritual darkness around them. But in response, the true light is already shining and the testimony of Jesus goes forth (1 John 2:8). Purest gold, set in the fire, glows even brighter. They are facing challenges from the adversary as well, yet they remain undaunted. The gospel is being preached in all the world, as a witness to every nation, and they are possessing the gates of their enemy as a result (Matthew 24:14; 16:18). For all of the opposition they are facing, it is the church’s finest hour.

.... You are naturally intrigued by their teachings because you realize the important role they've played in forming this panorama. Through them, you can see the Holy Spirit’s movement in the church most tangibly, in the urgency of each message He is bringing forth. You can also see the enemy's counterfeit in sharp contrast. More than any other single element, these teachings are telling the tale of the transformation, and indeed they are mirror images:

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.... On the one hand, half of the Christians have become lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God, though having a form of godliness (2 Timothy 3:1-5); but the other half have earnestly sought and found the knowledge of the Son of God, and they have grown, together, into His image, as a result (Ephesians 4:13-15).

.... In the heart of true believers, the Spirit begins to say "Come!" and true hearted Christians across the world are beginning to respond, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:17). But from the other side of the end-time church, some have actually begun to mock them in return:

.... "Well, where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."

(2 Pet 3:4)

.... "We must go now." says the angel abruptly, "For the time is shorter that I knew." and suddenly you have returned – and behold, it was a dream.

.... No one has actually receiving such a vision (that we know of,) but we do have something even better: the prophetic word that is more sure (2 Peter 1:19). In the Bible, God describes the end time church at length and His word will not return to Him void. In other words, those Scriptures are more to us than just prophecy: they also describe our destiny, and they even offer an instruction manual for building the very same church:

.... "See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

(Hebrews 8:5)

.... Therefore, through a careful and prayerful study of the believers of the last days, we may use those prophecies to 'wage the good warfare' and learn about the fullness of Christ in the church, while at the same time learning enough about the ‘foolish’ side of the end-time church to avoid their errors (1 Timothy 1:18).

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.... The true church of the end times will succeed because of their Christ-centered focus, but their specific teachings remain to be penned. Inevitably, this must begin with basic discipleship lessons, as discussed in our previous posting. So here is our proposal to you:

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.... In the weeks and months ahead, we will post short articles on the ‘basics’ in the same order that Paul would have given them, each with an emphasis on the person of Jesus. As this presentation unfolds, we invite you to a lively discussion. That way a teaching resource will grow online and become available to others in the future; and as we find other writers with teachings skills, they can contribute articles for this blog as well.

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.... If we succeed, we may be taking one of the most im- portant initial steps in building the end time church itself. Our ‘vision from the mountain top’ could turn out to be a picture of ourselves, many years from now. Even if we fail, we could still play the important role of a forerunner. In that event the true church of the last days, as the end draws near, may look back to our records to see what it was we had learned. They could capitalize on our successes and learn, if necessary, from our tragic mistakes. But we hope better things than that.

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.... Update: the actual discipleship lessons in this course began in April 2005, and the first and second rounds of discussions are now complete. You may view them by clicking on the Table of Contents near the top of the left-hand column, or by clicking here. We will soon begin the third round of revision, and again your participation is again invited.

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To view the final article in this series, simply scroll below or click here.