Jordan Peterson is very popular these days. He has a lot of wise things to say. I particularity like his opinions on helping people get their lives in order, and on politics. I don’t much like his take on the bible and Christianity. Peterson is heavily influenced by Carl Jung, and he uses those Jungian ideas when interpreting scripture.
I call Peterson a pre-Christian prophet. Pre-Christian because I believe he is on his way to becoming a genuine believer (which he is not yet), and prophet because he does speak truth to the masses and warns of a future which we are headed toward if we ignore that truth.
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot (if any) Christian men who are recognized and listened to like Peterson. Christian leaders are often preoccupied with their own fame and egos. Christian leaders are caught up in childish fantasy doom and gloom visions of the future in which the Church falls under the power of some comic book villain. Christian leaders offer no real solutions for the future’s problems, other than waiting to escape this world. Why would anybody listen to men like that?
There are no Christian prophets left, only pre-Christian ones.
Is the world in its last days? Probably not, but the western world might very well be, and that’s okay. Before anything can be reborn into something better and more glorious, it has to die first.
I watched the following video and was inspired to write this article.
Many western Christians are convinced we are in the last days before Christ returns. They mostly believe this because of what they see going on in the world today. They believe that current events are fulfilling biblical prophecy before our very eyes. This is called newspaper eisegesis, and it works very well if you want it to, at any point in Christian history too. If you go outside on a cloudy day, and are predetermined to see the likeness of human faces in the clouds, it’s not if you’ll see those faces, rather how quickly you’ll see them (about 30 seconds). This is newspaper eisegesis: If I have a predetermined eschatological narrative, I can take the events of any point in Christian history and plug them into that narrative easily.
I couldn’t resist making my own Smith/Rock meme
Need an antichrist figure? Need a war? Need a pestilence? An economic crisis? Just read a history book. You’ll find an abundance of everything you need. Do you think those living in Constantinople thought they were in the last days as the Muslim armies grew closer? Or perhaps those living in Europe as Hitler expanded his power? Who is the expected antichrist now? Is it still the leader of the EU? No, that doesn’t work anymore. Bush or Obama? Nope. The leader of ISIS? Oh, they’re gone now. Carl Schwab? Almost ten years ago I wrote an article revealing who the antichrist was, and I still agree with what I wrote, and I’m still correct.
Western Christians are probably right to be worried about the end coming though. There are rough times ahead. But let’s not get all doom and gloom about it. Jesus intends on building His kingdom.
The best eschatological passage to be found in the bible is 1 Corinthians 15:20-28…
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He [Jesus] delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He [the Father] puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He [Jesus] must reign till He [the Father] has put all enemies under His [Jesus’] feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He [the Father] has put all things under His [Jesus’] feet.” But when He [the Father] says “all things are put under Him [Jesus],” it is evident that He [the Father] who put all things under Him [Jesus] is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him [Jesus], then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him [the Father] who put all things under Him [Jesus], that God may be all in all.
NKJV
The “he’s” and “hims” can get confusing, so I put what I think are the correct names behind each one.
Notice, Jesus must reign until all His enemies are put under His feet, with the last enemy being death. The resurrection occurs just before the end, when Jesus hands the kingdom over to His Father. So, we know that Jesus will not reign after the resurrection (sorry premillennials), only before. This means Jesus is reigning now. He will continue to reign until all His enemies are put under His feet. Who are His enemies? All those who oppose Him.
The number one sign that we are near the end is when we see that Jesus’s enemies are nearly all put under His feet. Are we seeing this now? I don’t think so. As Christianity is stalling in the west, it is growing in the east and the south. There are far more people living in these areas than in the west. God desires to save all mankind. Why would He stop now?
Recommended books: Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom by Tom Holland; Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright
God created Adam and Eve initially to have a limited knowledge. They were like children. Over time humanity would have grown and matured to a state in which they had a full revelation of God, and of truth, of goodness, and beauty. Clearly this process is God’s good plan for humanity. God did not create us to be in this final state right from the beginning. Why is the process necessary? We don’t know yet.
God probably created the angels the same way. The angels probably have their own process which God is maturing them through to a final and perfect state. We don’t know that, but it makes sense.
This process, both for man and angels, does not require evil. Any theodicy which claims that evil is necessary for God to accomplish His goals is a lie. Evil did happen, and God allowed it, but it was never a necessary component to creation.
Another parable [Jesus] put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘” (Matthew 13: 24-20 NKJV)
The good seed does not require the tares. In the end, the good seed grows into what it was meant to be regardless of the tares. God is unwilling to destroy His creation even though evil has infected it. He is also unwilling to stop the maturation process for humanity because of evil. The process of growth continues despite evil, and all will be sorted out in time. Why did God allow evil in the first place? Probably because to prevent the evil in the first place would have meant aborting the process. So, while the process does not require evil, the process would have been aborted in order to prevent evil.
The goals which God had in mind for His creation at the beginning never change. If evil was not in God’s mind at the beginning, it certainly is not in His mind for the end. The perfect consummation for creation God planned for from the beginning will happen, without compromise, without loss.
“Free will is the ability to choose.” No, it’s not. The ability to choose only shows you have a will. Your will might be free, or it might not be.
Looking at the diagram above, suppose you choose option A. There is a reason you chose A, and that reason was determined by one of the preceding desires. You don’t choose your desires, at least not in the moment of choice. You can shape your desires over time through ongoing actions, but in the immediate moment of choice your strongest desire will determine which option you chose.
Your desires may be evil, and if they are, you will choose to do evil things. You may have good desires and evil desires. If so, the strongest of those desires will determine your choices.
If a man’s desires are only evil, all he can do is chose to act on one of those evil desires: the one which appeals to him most in the moment. This man is not able to chose good. He is a slave to evil.
If a man has good and evil desires, the potential to do good and evil is present, but he will still act out his strongest desire in the moment.
If a man has only good desires, all his choices will be good. This man is free.
Only through Christ can you become one who desires only the good. It is a process of a series of deaths and resurrections. It is not easy and is sometimes painful, but it is necessary.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” ~Roman 12:2
Pursuit of Percipience 