Half Full or Half Empty

It has been said that an optimist believes that a glass is half full and the pessimist says it is half empty. Personalities do seem to shade off in one direction or the other. Some people can be too negative (“No, you can’t go”) and others are inclined to be more optimistic (“It’s all right. You can go. Have a good time.”). This is an over- simplification. All of us have a tendency to look on the dark side of things from time to time. But to be called a theological pessimist invites a discussion. Those of us who are dispensational premillennialists have been tagged by some as being “pessimillennialists.” This usually comes from postmillennialists and others generally opposed to dispensational theology. Some definitions are in order at this point. A dispensational premillennialist believes that a time of great tribulation will precede the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of his thousand year kingdom on earth. Included in this understanding of the end times is the belief that there will be widespread apostasy (a turning away from known truth and embracing error) in the professing church. Postmillennialists, to the contrary, think that Jesus Christ will return after the Millennium and, therefore, adopt a more optimistic view of this present age. They see the world as becoming better and better as the gospel of Christ is spread all over the world.

How does this impact one’s understanding of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and the mandate to make disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:19, 20)? The dispensational premillennialist is accused of being gloomy in his outlook on the future and allows social problems to go unaddressed. One well known evangelical has been recently quoted as saying (in reaction to Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind novels), “There is not evidence that we should be anything but optimists.” In order to support his plea for more optimism about the future he argues that, among other things, there is more democracy in the Middle East than there was three years ago. Not only is this contradicted by deeply rooted anti-Jewish terrorism in the Middle East, such a view fails to contend with the Bible’s teaching regarding the state of the world before Israel’s Messiah comes again.

Where does the Bible lead us in this matter of the nature of the last days (that time from the ascension of Christ into heaven and His coming again)? Jesus gave the signs of the end of the age in what is known as the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24 & 25). It is not a cheery picture. The Day of the Lord, beginning after the rapture of the church (1 Thess. 4:13-5:11) and including Christ’s advent and His kingdom, will be a dark day indeed. Wars and rumors of wars, false prophets, famines, and earthquakes are just a few of the final groanings of a world under God’s wrath (Rev. 6:17). Jesus, at the conclusion of a parable on the value of persistence in prayer, asks the question, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Lk. 18:8). His point is that believers will be an ever-increasing minority as this age moves closer to its consummation. This is not an optimistic picture of spiritual conditions in the world before Christ returns. The Apostle Paul warns of a coming apostasy and a widespread revolt against God which prepares the way for the appearance of the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2:3). In his two letters to Timothy Paul forecasts the later times as being filled with doctrines inspired by demonic powers and growing moral corruption (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-9). And all of these dire warnings do not take into account what the Book of Revelation tells us about the seals, trumpets, and bowls of divine wrath.

How does the New Testament’s sobering picture of the end times bear upon the commission of the church to make disciples and plant churches (Lk. 24:47, 48; Acts 1:8)? Biblical realism attaches itself to a grand optimism. Christ is coming back. The chord of hope plays sweetly in the song of the world’s redemption (Rom. 8:18, 19, 23). This world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the Christian’s hope is in Christ (Col. 1:15; 1 Pet. 3:15). The fact that, according to premillennialists, world peace and improving moral and spiritual conditions are not on the last days radar screen should not turn Christians into passive pessimists. The apostles of Jesus Christ carried the banner of the cross up to the gates of hell. They were not deterred by an idol-loving world. We, like they, are to be ambassadors of Christ calling the world to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20).

We come back full circle to the question. Are we to be theological optimists or pessimists? The church of Jesus Christ is to be realistically optimistic. We know what is in store for this world, but that is not to be an excuse for moving into gated Christian communities. The bugle call is not one of retreat, but for advance into the nations of the world doing works of mercy, loving our neighbor, and giving the invitation to worship the Son of God. The King is coming. Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church