A Very Long Author's Note
This is not Johnny Part 3
During my teenage years I had the fortune to be blessed with some very talented and devoted youth ministers and pastors. More than one of these men and women have left lasting impressions in my life, and their inspiration and love have gotten me through some very rough times. But nothing has stayed with me more than what my first youth pastor did one night when I was thirteen years old. It happened much like the story. In the middle of worship, when everyone was getting "in the spirit" to use a charismatic term, and without any warning, he went up front, grabbed a microphone, and told the worship team to stop playing. "Tribulation is here," he said. "The persecution has started." And that was all he said.
After that, we all began to play it out much the way the characters in the story did. At first, we broke up into small groups of five or six and had what I guess amounted to underground house churches. The youth leaders played the part of the police and they came by and took away our Bibles, broke up our groups, and told us that if we didn't stop, we would be arrested. So, we went to the front of the youth room (this being sort of a mega church there were over one hundred youth and the room, which doubled as the fellowship hall, was larger than most other churches I have been in) and began to publicly proclaim the name of Jesus and announce that we wouldn't be shut down. I got right up on the stage and began to declare that nothing that the "government" could do would shut us up. "They may arrest us, beat us, kill our bodies..." that's as far as I got. I was interrupted by the youth pastor. I had the honor of being the first to be martyred in this little scenario and had to spend most of the evening in the hallway adjacent to the youth room.
The hallway was very long and led to an exit, which led someone to quip, "We're dead, we're in a long tunnel, there's a bright light at the end, and it says 'exit!'" Someone later said that they were disappointed that nobody went and laid hands on the door to that hallway to resurrect the martyrs (I was the first, but hardly the last), but nobody did.
We did peak out and watch what was happening though. Eventually the rebellious band of Christian rebels that we had become joined together. A circle was formed and the ones who hadn't been sent into the martyrs' hallway stood hand in hand unmoving. They had come together in unity and that was when the "authorities" became completely powerless. They couldn't stop the Christians and if it was possible to win at that little game, we did. I say we because even though I was "dead" for most of this game, I was still a part of that force.
I can't help but think about what it will be like some day in the future when we as Christians will be faced with a situation much like this. The American Church takes our religious freedom for granted, but for nearly two thousand years all over this planet Christians have been persecuted, arrested, mistreated, and killed for their beliefs. The majority opinion seems to be that we will all be raptured into Heaven before such atrocities reach the western world. Personally, I do not believe in a pretribulation rapture, at least in the way that it is usually presented. I tend to think that many of the warnings in scripture about the last days, the antichrist, the persecution of believers, and the plagues described in Revelation are intended for us, not for some group of post rapture believers who suddenly realize that Christianity was right all along when the Christians disappear.
I don't want to start a debate, and you are free to disagree. We can argue all night long about when the rapture will happen, have completely opposite opinions, and still both go to Heaven. It's not that I don't want to be raptured, nor will I, if it does happen as is popularly believed, argue with God and ask Him to send me back, but I have searched the Scriptures and have come to this belief based on that search. Maybe I'll write about that in another post, but not today. Right now, before anyone calls me a heretic for believing in a mid-to-late-tribulation rapture (as some actually have) let me remind everyone out there in cyberspace of an old saying: Unity in what is essential, liberty in nonessentials, and in all things charity. If we as Christians lived by that simple rule, there would be a lot less conflict within the Church and we might even have a better reputation in the world.
I may have gone off on a tangent there, but my little "please don't start arguing" disclaimer actually fits right into my point here. I learned at the age of thirteen in that youth room in Rochester, New York, that when the body of Christ comes together and works together, we will be undefeatable! If someday in the future it is illegal, even in America, to worship God, do you think that it will matter to anyone if you are a Baptist, a Methodist, a Catholic, or a Messianic Jew? (For more on this, go into my archives and read "The Enforcers." This story is kind of a prequel anyway) Do you think it will matter if you believed in predestination or used grape juice instead of wine? Do you think it will make a difference when we are being arrested for calling on the name of Jesus if we believe he was hung on a cross or a tree? If it will, if our little disagreements that have distracted the Church for centuries from the message of the Cross of Jesus Christ (or the Tree) will continue to divide us when we are being hunted down and chased from hideout to hideout, then I think the Church has lost all hope of being what Jesus intends it to be. How many theological debates do you think were going on among the prisoners waiting to be killed in the Coliseum?
We need to come together in these last days, not drift further apart. Yes, there are a lot of false doctrines out there, lies that come from Satan intended to derail the Salvation of many. But there are also many disputable things that have divided us for too long. If you believe in the Biblical Jesus Christ, if you believe that He was God in the flesh, if you believe that He lived without sin, was crucified, died, and resurrected on the third day, and if you believe that it is ONLY by His shed blood that we are saved, then I agree with you, and I don't care if you speak in tongues, believe in predestination, go to church on Saturday, or have electric guitars or organs in your worship service. Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. We as the Western Church are divided. If the day comes, and I fully believe it will, when we must choose between our faith and our lives and the powers that be try to destroy the Body of Christ on Earth, if we are still bickering over the nonessentials, we will be easy pickings.
One more example: America is currently at war. What if instead of fighting the terrorists, the Marines suddenly decided to attack the Army, who was too busy shooting down Air Force and Navy jets because they didn't like their uniforms? If the different branches of the United States military were destroying each other, what would be left for our nations enemies to do but sit back and watch? Why should Satan attack our churches when we're already doing the job for him?
Anyway, like I said, of all that I have learned in churches and Christian schools over the past twenty-five some odd years, nothing has stayed with me like that night. Maybe it's because of the lessons I learned. Maybe it's because that was my first youth group and my first youth pastor. Maybe it's because that was the first time I ever really thought about the end times. I can't describe the feeling I had when the youth pastor told us that the persecution had begun. I can only imagine that if I live to see the antichrist come to power, the feeling would be the same. Or maybe it's because Christian recording artist Michael Peace was playing drums in the praise band. He was the only famous man I had ever met. (I know, most of you are probably saying "who?" but he was a rap artist who had a Christian recording contract long before the likes of Pigeon John and KJ52, both of whom I have also met, but I doubt either of them remembers me). But I was thinking about that night recently and decided that if I fictionalized it and changed it up a bit, it would make an interesting story. I hope you all enjoyed it!
Sorry that this little author's note turned out to be so long. I just felt that some of the above things needed to be said. And part three of "Johnny" is coming very soon. Keep checking back!
God Bless, and Merry Christmas (are we still allowed to say that? Don't get me started, it's getting late and my hands are getting tired)
ABR
During my teenage years I had the fortune to be blessed with some very talented and devoted youth ministers and pastors. More than one of these men and women have left lasting impressions in my life, and their inspiration and love have gotten me through some very rough times. But nothing has stayed with me more than what my first youth pastor did one night when I was thirteen years old. It happened much like the story. In the middle of worship, when everyone was getting "in the spirit" to use a charismatic term, and without any warning, he went up front, grabbed a microphone, and told the worship team to stop playing. "Tribulation is here," he said. "The persecution has started." And that was all he said.
After that, we all began to play it out much the way the characters in the story did. At first, we broke up into small groups of five or six and had what I guess amounted to underground house churches. The youth leaders played the part of the police and they came by and took away our Bibles, broke up our groups, and told us that if we didn't stop, we would be arrested. So, we went to the front of the youth room (this being sort of a mega church there were over one hundred youth and the room, which doubled as the fellowship hall, was larger than most other churches I have been in) and began to publicly proclaim the name of Jesus and announce that we wouldn't be shut down. I got right up on the stage and began to declare that nothing that the "government" could do would shut us up. "They may arrest us, beat us, kill our bodies..." that's as far as I got. I was interrupted by the youth pastor. I had the honor of being the first to be martyred in this little scenario and had to spend most of the evening in the hallway adjacent to the youth room.
The hallway was very long and led to an exit, which led someone to quip, "We're dead, we're in a long tunnel, there's a bright light at the end, and it says 'exit!'" Someone later said that they were disappointed that nobody went and laid hands on the door to that hallway to resurrect the martyrs (I was the first, but hardly the last), but nobody did.
We did peak out and watch what was happening though. Eventually the rebellious band of Christian rebels that we had become joined together. A circle was formed and the ones who hadn't been sent into the martyrs' hallway stood hand in hand unmoving. They had come together in unity and that was when the "authorities" became completely powerless. They couldn't stop the Christians and if it was possible to win at that little game, we did. I say we because even though I was "dead" for most of this game, I was still a part of that force.
I can't help but think about what it will be like some day in the future when we as Christians will be faced with a situation much like this. The American Church takes our religious freedom for granted, but for nearly two thousand years all over this planet Christians have been persecuted, arrested, mistreated, and killed for their beliefs. The majority opinion seems to be that we will all be raptured into Heaven before such atrocities reach the western world. Personally, I do not believe in a pretribulation rapture, at least in the way that it is usually presented. I tend to think that many of the warnings in scripture about the last days, the antichrist, the persecution of believers, and the plagues described in Revelation are intended for us, not for some group of post rapture believers who suddenly realize that Christianity was right all along when the Christians disappear.
I don't want to start a debate, and you are free to disagree. We can argue all night long about when the rapture will happen, have completely opposite opinions, and still both go to Heaven. It's not that I don't want to be raptured, nor will I, if it does happen as is popularly believed, argue with God and ask Him to send me back, but I have searched the Scriptures and have come to this belief based on that search. Maybe I'll write about that in another post, but not today. Right now, before anyone calls me a heretic for believing in a mid-to-late-tribulation rapture (as some actually have) let me remind everyone out there in cyberspace of an old saying: Unity in what is essential, liberty in nonessentials, and in all things charity. If we as Christians lived by that simple rule, there would be a lot less conflict within the Church and we might even have a better reputation in the world.
I may have gone off on a tangent there, but my little "please don't start arguing" disclaimer actually fits right into my point here. I learned at the age of thirteen in that youth room in Rochester, New York, that when the body of Christ comes together and works together, we will be undefeatable! If someday in the future it is illegal, even in America, to worship God, do you think that it will matter to anyone if you are a Baptist, a Methodist, a Catholic, or a Messianic Jew? (For more on this, go into my archives and read "The Enforcers." This story is kind of a prequel anyway) Do you think it will matter if you believed in predestination or used grape juice instead of wine? Do you think it will make a difference when we are being arrested for calling on the name of Jesus if we believe he was hung on a cross or a tree? If it will, if our little disagreements that have distracted the Church for centuries from the message of the Cross of Jesus Christ (or the Tree) will continue to divide us when we are being hunted down and chased from hideout to hideout, then I think the Church has lost all hope of being what Jesus intends it to be. How many theological debates do you think were going on among the prisoners waiting to be killed in the Coliseum?
We need to come together in these last days, not drift further apart. Yes, there are a lot of false doctrines out there, lies that come from Satan intended to derail the Salvation of many. But there are also many disputable things that have divided us for too long. If you believe in the Biblical Jesus Christ, if you believe that He was God in the flesh, if you believe that He lived without sin, was crucified, died, and resurrected on the third day, and if you believe that it is ONLY by His shed blood that we are saved, then I agree with you, and I don't care if you speak in tongues, believe in predestination, go to church on Saturday, or have electric guitars or organs in your worship service. Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. We as the Western Church are divided. If the day comes, and I fully believe it will, when we must choose between our faith and our lives and the powers that be try to destroy the Body of Christ on Earth, if we are still bickering over the nonessentials, we will be easy pickings.
One more example: America is currently at war. What if instead of fighting the terrorists, the Marines suddenly decided to attack the Army, who was too busy shooting down Air Force and Navy jets because they didn't like their uniforms? If the different branches of the United States military were destroying each other, what would be left for our nations enemies to do but sit back and watch? Why should Satan attack our churches when we're already doing the job for him?
Anyway, like I said, of all that I have learned in churches and Christian schools over the past twenty-five some odd years, nothing has stayed with me like that night. Maybe it's because of the lessons I learned. Maybe it's because that was my first youth group and my first youth pastor. Maybe it's because that was the first time I ever really thought about the end times. I can't describe the feeling I had when the youth pastor told us that the persecution had begun. I can only imagine that if I live to see the antichrist come to power, the feeling would be the same. Or maybe it's because Christian recording artist Michael Peace was playing drums in the praise band. He was the only famous man I had ever met. (I know, most of you are probably saying "who?" but he was a rap artist who had a Christian recording contract long before the likes of Pigeon John and KJ52, both of whom I have also met, but I doubt either of them remembers me). But I was thinking about that night recently and decided that if I fictionalized it and changed it up a bit, it would make an interesting story. I hope you all enjoyed it!
Sorry that this little author's note turned out to be so long. I just felt that some of the above things needed to be said. And part three of "Johnny" is coming very soon. Keep checking back!
God Bless, and Merry Christmas (are we still allowed to say that? Don't get me started, it's getting late and my hands are getting tired)
ABR
posted by Arthur Brokop II at 7:21 PM
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