davidbowerkingwood

Today is January 1, 2023 and a New Year stretches out before us!

We have now arrived in the future, 2023 is the distant future when spaceships will travel between distant planets and all sorts of technological wonders will be commonplace; at least that was the theme when I was a boy and enjoyed reading science fiction.

I discovered Science Fiction when I was a young boy during World War ll, collecting waste paper for the war effort. Our scout troop would collect waste paper door-to-door and occasionally I would come across a discarded Science Fiction pulp magazine whose lurid covers of spaceships and monsters triggered my imagination so I started collecting them. (My wife reminds me that when we got married all of my worldly possessions consisted of a paper bag of clothes and a stack of Science Fiction pulp magazines.)

They were all about the strange world we would experience in the distant future, say 2023 for example; remember this was in the 1942 era and 2023 was an unbelievably long time away; there was no telling what might happen by that time. Think, for example, about the world in 2100; what kind of world will there be in that distant future time? The fact is some of the people you know, should the Lord tarry, may still be living in 2100 and that is kind of sobering, don’t you agree?

Promotional Poster for 1984, 20th Century Fox

1984

That is the situation we faced in 1949, when I was 16; on June 8th, George Orwell published a Science Fiction book, named, “Nineteen Eighty-Four” which was later made into a movie. In this book, the author describes a future dystopian world where no one is free of intense supervision and control. The book created quite a stir when it came out and was the focus of much discussion by Science Fiction fans.

Fortunately, 1984 came and passed into history without the terrible things described in the book becoming the norm for most people. The book is frequently referenced as contemporary events mirror, to some degree, the events described in the book.

The word, “Orwellian” has passed into the English language as a word to describe totalitarianism; a typical dictionary definition might be as follows:

Or·well·i·an (ôr-wĕlē-ən)

adj.Of, relating to, or evocative of the works of George Orwell, especially the satirical novel 1984, which depicts a futuristic totalitarian state.

ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Orwellian

By God’s grace, we have not experienced the Orwellian world of 1984 but many observers believe we are slowly moving in that direction. I suspect the world of the Antichrist will have many of the characteristics of that world. The technology is already in place to accomplish all that has been predicted in the Bible!

The Age of Grace is Extended Once Again

We have lived our entire lives in the Church Age, the Age of Grace, during which the free gift of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ is available to all who will simply receive Christ as Savior and experience the new birth; this age began on Pentecost, May 25, AD 33.

Only God knows when this age will end, but end it will in an extraordinarily dramatic way, the Rapture of the Church. Whether it will end in 2023 or many years later is in the hands of Almighty God.

As Christians we are blessed with the opportunity to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to help those who have been born again to grow in their faith and knowledge of the Lord. There is only one message that is truly suitable and appropriate for this age of grace and that is:

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!

There is only one sin that will keep the unbeliever out of heaven and that is rejection of Christ as Savior; I have written more on that in “Is There One Unforgivable Sin?” 

I encourage you to avail yourselves of the opportunity we have been given to rejoice in the Lord and serve as a witness to his glory, majesty, and honor. The doorway to the Church is still wide open but it will suddenly close forever at a time known only to God; just as God shut the door to the ark, God will shut the door to the Church.

May your New Year be filled with joy in the Lord and the peace which passes understanding!

First published in December 18, 2018, revised and updated.