For those of us with the Christian faith, we need to recognise that right now, we are in a time of both triumph and turmoil.
The turmoil is obvious. Wars and rumours of wars. Christian
persecution of the polite kind in the West, and severe persecution, with martyrdom,
throughout the Middle East.
Some of my Christian friends in America seem to think that
their current President is some kind of modern-day Elijah, a prophetic figure
indicated in the Book of Revelation. Others seem to think that he may be some
kind of reflection of the Beast, also recorded in Revelation. Some Christians
declare him a modern-day Cyrus, releasing a geographic Israel to build again. Others
see him as a modern-day Nebuchadnezzar, a king who has overstretched and will
undoubtedly fall.
If I had to choose, I would choose the latter.
The worldwide turmoil caused through war and the incredibly
strange ramblings of a President on social media is hard to fathom. But maybe,
as a Christian, I don't need to understand the details, except to acknowledge
that in the end times, as Christians, we will see the final preparation of the Bride
of Christ, the Church, whilst at the same time having to deal with ongoing
persecution.
I don't buy into the comparatively modern theology of
dispensationalism, the concept that somehow as Christians we will be whisked
away in a rapture that is not recorded in scripture. But I do buy into the
theology of revival and persecution hand in hand in these end times.
There is no better example than in Iran itself. Here the
persecution is real on two fronts. The literal bombings from the United States
and Israel, alongside the killings from their own government of anyone who
would dare to publicly challenge Islam. Despite this very real persecution, the
signs are that the church in Iran, of necessity largely an underground church, is
growing rapidly. There is revival.
In our own nation, we're also seeing signs of genuine
revival, particularly amongst Gen Z. The original ‘Quiet Revival’ report may
have been flawed, but the direction of travel is nevertheless clear. We
continue to see many of that generation come to a faith in Christ at Chroma
Church Leicester (22 were baptised on Easter Sunday, with baptisms now required
as a monthly event). According to Lectio365 (reading for 22/4/26), there has
been an 87% increase in Bible sales in the UK over the last eight years, driven
by the younger generation, alongside a phenomenon in France which has been described
by publishing executives as ‘Le boom Biblique ‘!
Triumph and turmoil, revival and persecution. It was always
thus.
Picture: Gaza today.