Is Jesus Christ the Lord of History?
Studying the Book of Revelation presents us with some challenging images of suffering – war, famine, pestilence, death. So, some may ask: If Christ is Lord, why do evil things happen? Why are persecutions permitted against His Church and Saints?
It is a false sense of optimism to say that God is in control and everything’s going to be all right. Such optimism can have us question God’s will and power – and His very existence – when things go terribly wrong and He doesn’t come to “rescue” us.
False optimism is a symptom of a society which has lost any sense of sin and the meaning of hardship and suffering. We should be very cautious about groups telling us to unite with them and work for progress and the betterment of the human condition – where no one goes hungry and everyone has an abundance of necessities and comforts.
More often than not, those who wish to change the course of history and usher in a new world utopia, want us to throw out our old morality and shake off our trust in a misconceived deity. Along the way, these architects of a new age ask believers to agree to things running counter to the Bible and the Church? They ask us to affirm their science and “facts,” and to reject our religion, and reality itself. For example, they may ask us to agree that men can get pregnant, that equity means treating people unequally, and that diversity and inclusion means excluding those who make timeless truth claims.
The penalty for not agreeing: dismissal, cancellation, and one day, the inability to buy and sell without a self-compromising mark of approval (based on Revelation 13:17). *
In this emerging era, it’s possible we may again see much hatred coming towards Christians – with accusations of racism, bigotry, privilege, divisiveness, and supremacy. Why? Because the world doesn’t like the narrow gate of working hard, exercising self-control, serving others, being celibate or monogamous, and going to Church.
In such times, as exemplified by the Christians and Saints before us, we do well to love those who hate us. We do well to love and pray for our neighbours and our leaders. We do well to help the downtrodden, free the captives, feed the poor, take in orphans, and minister to the sick. In short, we are not to curse God and hate others when we suffer. We are to continue to do good works until we are unable to.
As we read of the events in Revelation, we see that our real enemy is not other people, but the Devil himself and his minions.
As St. Paul writes in Ephesians (6:12), “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
We also believe that every person has a pathway to salvation. The power of Christ is ever able to save them if they would just open the door to Him when He knocks (Revelation 3:20).
Reconciliation with ungodly political movements is not possible for faithful Christians. The prophet Jeremiah writes (6:14): “With contempt they healed the calamity of My people incompletely, saying ‘Peace, Peace.’ But where is the peace?”
Christ encourages us about what to expect:
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in Heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.” – St. Matthew 5:11-12
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” – St. Matthew 24:9
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – St. John 16:33
All this persecution and suffering in the world cannot eclipse the reality that God sees all, and can preserve us. He is ultimately in control, on His throne, governing the universe. In the meantime, nothing happens without God’s permission, but not everything is God’s will.
Though He does not control or restrain all the evil in our lives, He will never abandon us. In Hebrews (13:5-6), the Apostle Paul writes: “For He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So, we can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”
So, what do we do? The Nativity fast has just started (November 15). With that in mind, let us acknowledge our sins and stop justifying ourselves. For our true healing, let us begin afresh to obey God and follow the Church teachings and disciplines of our faith. Let us do better in fasting and praying and receiving the Holy Sacraments. Let us live a life of sacrifice and repentance and compassion.
Christ came and suffered and died on the cross. By His stripes we are healed. We too can bear our sufferings, of sickness and strife, and of persecution. When chastisements come upon us (whether COVID afflictions and restrictions, or political persecutions), may we all the more take refuge in Christ.
We cannot be healed, unless we also share in Christ’s wounds. We cannot be resurrected, unless we also die with Him too. Let us die to ourselves and our self-will. Let us pray for those who persecute us.
We recently read in Revelation (11:15): “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven, saying,
The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.”
WE BELIEVE AND AFFIRM THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE LORD OF HISTORY, AND THAT THE GATES OF HADES WILL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST HIS CHURCH (St. Matthew 16:18).
* The theme of economic control is further explored in our companion text, Live Not By Lies, by Orthodox Christian Rod Dreher.