A surprise or a secret

I have just reread "The Pearl Harbor Blunders," an article in the December 14, 1965, Look magazine, adapted from Forrest C. Pogue's book, George C, Marshall; the War Years. This suspenseful story, ending in the tragic loss of thousands of lives and a sizable portion of the U.S. Pacific fleet, throws light on seemingly unimportant details, which when combined spelled disaster at Pearl Harbor.

Perhaps the greatest mistake, according to Pogue, was an outright lack of understanding by Government leaders of the importance of certain information they held in their hands. Over an eighteen-month period prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, a series of warnings went out to armed forces stationed in Pacific areas, including Hawaii. Military leader ship realized that war between Japan and the United States was almost inevitable. Their concern centered on the timing and the place where the first attack would come.

As December 7, 1941, drew near, it seemed that delays in decoding enemy messages and transmitting warnings were compounded. Officers in Hawaii apparently concluded that the top brass was overstressing the situation. Hours before the attack, on the evening of December 6, the Army Chief of Staff was at his quarters at Fort Myer, Virginia, undisturbed by messages. The same night, in Hawaii, a top admiral dined with a classmate; an Army general, with his chief of intelligence and their wives, at tended an Army benefit dinner. As this party group prepared to leave, the assistant chief intelligence officer arrived with the transcript of an intercepted telephone call from Tokyo to a local Japanese dentist. The general quickly read the message, which indicated unusual interest in the arrival and departure of ships in the fleet, but took no further interest when his assistant couldn't ex plain its significance.

Back in Washington, on the same evening, the chief of naval operations and his wife were attending a play when extremely important messages from the Japanese Government arrived. President Roosevelt read them and remarked, "This means war!" He attempted to contact the Naval chief, but learned he was attending the theater and decided against paging him for fear of creating alarm.

Whether Pogue states the facts accurately or not, his story illustrates the danger of leaders' becoming busy with routine items, pleasure, and relaxation while the curtain of the greatest war drama in American history was about to rise.

What lessons can we as ministers learn from this experience? In terms of the end of the age and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we can focus on a significant similarity between the Pearl Harbor illustration and the second coming of Jesus—the unpreparedness factor.

There are various reasons for this state of unpreparedness for our Lord's return. For instance, New Testament writers give, as one of the signs of the end, the rampant sinful character traits dissipation, drunkenness, anxiety, greed, lack of self-control, treachery, brutality, boastfulness, lawlessness, and abusiveness (see Luke 21:23; 2 Tim. 3:1-5, N.I.V.).* Such things are the inescapable lot of those who knowingly or unknowingly turn their backs on God. Thus, those who remain so will certainly be in for the shock of their lives when Christ returns. Much of our efforts as ministers should be directed toward reaching this large class of unbelievers and/or backsliders.

But just as military leaders were unprepared for Pearl Harbor because they misread the situation and misinterpreted important dispatches, so certain Christians, even spiritual leaders, may be unprepared for the Lord's return because of an incorrect handling of the Word of truth Scriptures dealing with Christ's second coming may not be "decoded" correctly (see 2 Tim. 2:15). Popular theories are set forth, seemingly based on Scripture, and multitudes follow, unaware that what they believe is really fiction, not fact. Some accept a particular doctrine as true because it is popular and promoted by well-known religious leaders. But truth can never be decided on the basis of a popularity contest!

MINISTRY editors, realizing that Satan is very much alive and working overtime to promote every possible erroneous and deceptive theory, feel a duty to investigate with our readers certain Biblical interpretations. We seek to have a greater understanding of truth as revealed in Scripture. We make no claim of possessing superior knowledge; our aim is simply to present what it seems to us the Scriptures teach. We sincerely request others to share alternate views with us. The aim of every minister should be to search the Scriptures constantly, not to prove some cherished be lief or pet theory, but with an open mind to know and understand God's will.

Let us turn to the Word and note certain Scriptures regarding Christ's coming.

Matthew 24 gives an interesting inter mingling of prophetic utterances, applying to two great crises the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the age, marked by Christ's second advent. Jesus left it to His followers to determine which passages relate to each event. In verses 21-27, our Lord gives a sweep of future history that exegetes have interpreted in various ways. Most expositors I have consulted agree that verses 15-20 apply to the awful destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, when, according to Josephus, more than 1 million people perished, and 97,000 were taken captive. This terrible destruction was a miniature example of the worldwide conflagration that will occur when our Lord returns, and thus He intermingled His prediction of these two events.

But what is the meaning of verse 21, " 'For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the be ginning of the world until now, no, and never will be' " (R.S.V.)? Here the prophetic picture moves into the future beyond the agonies of Jerusalem's destruction, to a time of great tribulation, unequaled in ferocity and scope. This great tribulation is referred to again in verse 29. Note carefully that regardless of where one places this great tribulation in the stream of time, God's chosen people surely go through it. The Lord declares in verse 22, " 'And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened'" (R.S.V.). The antecedent of "'those days' " is the time of great tribulation. The passage indicates that the time of this destructive tribulation was shortened to prevent the annihilation of all humanity, including "'the elect.'"

This prophecy of the great tribulation has been fulfilled in a marked manner, and will again be fulfilled in an equally marked manner. Every possible brutality and savage reproach has been heaped upon the followers of Christ throughout the ages. Religionists of every kind and secularists alike have persecuted the saints of God. The monstrous cry of the murderous crowd, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" has been repeated against Christ's true followers for two millenniums. The history of God's truth has ever been accompanied by fierce struggle. True, the attacks against loyal, obedient Christians have been more severe during certain periods of history, as predicted by specific prophecies in Daniel and Revelation. But the point we wish to stress is that this period of great tribulation specifically involves God's saints.

The Lord also spoke concerning the manner of His return in verse 27. This passage compares the striking visibility of the coming of the Lord to lightning, which " 'comes from the east and shines as far as the west'" (R.S.V.). Is there anything secret, veiled, or hidden about lightning?

To emphasize this point further, verse 30 speaks of " 'the sign of the Son of man in heaven' " when " 'all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory'" (R.S.V.). This certainly speaks of a visible return of our Lord characterized by vividness and brilliance.

Then our Lord gave certain illustrations and comparisons regarding His second coming, which need to be care fully considered. In verses 36 to 42, we find the illustration of the Flood introduced by the concept that since no one knows the day or the hour of our Lord's return, the time of the Lord's coming is definitely a secret. It is imperative that we differentiate between the time and the event. If we fail to keep these two elements separate and distinct, we may easily come to a wrong conclusion.

In the illustration of the Noachian flood, the main point is the secret nature of the timing of both the Flood and the return of Jesus. There was no secret about the event of the Flood. Every per son on earth in Noah's day knew when the thunder, lightning, and rain began that the Flood they had been warned about had arrived. But what they had not known was the exact day or hour when the Flood would come, and likewise, no one knows the exact time of our Lord's return. Thus, the timing of the Flood was an absolute secret, but not the event. In drawing a comparison between the Flood and His second coming, our Lord warned emphatically, " 'Watch there fore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming' " (verse 42, R.S.V.). I repeat that it is not the event that is secret, but the timing.

Our Lord reemphasizes this point with a robbery illustration in verses 43 and 44. Again, the event itself is not secret; the homeowners knew their house had been broken into. What they did not know was the time when the thief came. Jesus makes the application, " 'Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.' " Notice that the emphasis is on the secrecy of the hour when the Son of man returns.

The last illustration of our Lord's re turn in Matthew 24 again emphasizes the secrecy of the time but not the event. Jesus uses a parable of an evil servant who, because of his unbelief, declared, "My lord delayeth his coming" (verse 48). He oppresses his fellow servants and becomes totally careless, reveling in eating, drinking, and drunkenness. He knew full well that his lord would re turn. There was no secret about that fact. He also knew that when his lord returned, he and everyone else would know about it, but the time of his lord's return, according to this evil servant, was delayed. The climax of the Lord's illustration points out that the lord of that servant will "come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of." Again it is the time that is secret, not the event.

In Matthew 25, both the wise and the foolish virgins knew when the Bride groom came. His coming was no secret, but the time of His coming had been unknown. Our Lord summarizes this parable with the words, "Watch there fore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (verse 13). Again the stress is on the secrecy of the time of His coming. But the event of His coming will be clearly known by all, both good and bad.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 the apostle Paul gives a vivid description of the second coming of the Lord that needs much careful study. First, it is clear that the resurrection of the righteous takes place at the second coming of the Lord (see chap. 4:16). Second, those living when our Lord returns will not "precede those who have fallen asleep" (chap. 4:15, N.I.V.). There will be a joint meeting of the Lord by both the righteous living and the righteous dead. "We who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever" (verse 17, N.I.V.). Third, Paul uses language that makes it quite clear that the coming of the Lord is not a silent, quiet affair, but rather a most audible event "with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God" (verse 16, N.I.V.).

But in chapter 5, Paul illustrates the same point that Jesus did—the time of the Lord's coming will remain a secret. "Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (verses 1, 2, N.I.V.). It is not the Lord who comes silently and quietly, but rather the time; the day of the Lord steals upon most people as a thief.

As ministers, our hearts should be gripped with a tremendous burden to announce to a world absorbed in worldly pursuits, pleasure, moneymaking, and riotous living that the day of the Lord is at hand. The time is near for our Lord to return.

Throughout history it seems that most men and women have been unprepared to meet the really significant events that affect both their temporal and eternal destinies. As the Lord pointed out, few were prepared to meet the Flood in the days of Noah; few were ready for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Neither were many alert to the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.

Likewise today the majority of earth's masses are blind to eternal realities, and just as Noah was commissioned to warn the world of a coming flood, to startle men in their wickedness, and to call them to repentance, so our message today is to announce the soon coming of Christ, and do all we can to arouse men from their absorption in worldly things. We have both a precious privilege and a tremendous responsibility to share the good news of the gospel in such a way that true conversions will take place, and men and women will willingly and eagerly prepare to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in peace when He returns. —J.R.S.