What does the Bible say evangelism will be like in the end times?
To answer that question, Dr. David Reagan and I on our television program Christ in Prophecy invited Allan Walker of Allan Walker Ministries from Nowata, Oklahoma. Allan has been traveling throughout America for over 20 years teaching what he calls “Bible Prophecy 101” or “The Fundamentals of Bible Prophecy.”
Evangelism in the End Times
Allan Walker: We mentioned the satellite broadcasts and how the Gospel is going out to the nations. More Jews and more Muslims have come to Christ in the last 20 to 30 years than any other time in history. And at the same time, God is sovereignly moving over all the world to bring many to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. There’s a sinking apostasy coming into the organized Church and a radical departure from the fundamental doctrines of the Word of God, but the Gospel continues to march on.
Dr. Reagan: Apostasy is one of the signs of the end times. It’s clearly prophesied that in the end times the Church will just simply be consumed by apostasy. People who are denying the Virgin Birth and denying the Resurrection are claiming to be evangelicals.
Allan Walker: Fifty-seven percent of today’s evangelicals say there are other ways to Heaven than through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dr. Reagan: That shows a famine of the Word.
Nathan Jones: Getting back to what you said about evangelism, because I’m the Web Minister I appreciate that we have a communication piece today like none other — the Internet. It’s unlike any evangelism tool in history. With it you and I can reach people we never could have physically and share the Gospel with them. That to me is a huge sign of the end times, because God has given us every tool possible to reach every person as possible before He comes back.
Dr. Reagan: I’m old enough to remember when we didn’t have any of these things. I can remember when there was no television. I remember a time when I had a trustee in the early 90’s just bugging me to death about the Internet. I thought, “Internet? What in the world is an Internet? Is it a net you catch flies with?” Finally in 1995 he said, “Dave, the time has come. You’ve got to find out about it.” So, one of our staff members and I went to a conference held at a Holiday Inn and spent the day there and that’s where I found out about the Internet. I wondered, “You mean I can sit down and type something and somebody gets that message on the other side of the world? I don’t have to pay for a telephone call?” After that I could hardly wait to get on the Internet. So you see, we forget that the Internet is that new.
Nathan Jones: We are now approaching three billion people, that’s almost half of the world population, accessible by the Internet. Obviously the outreach potential is a huge sign of the times. We live in a time like no other where we can share the Gospel. God wants us to share the Gospel as much as possible because He’s coming back very soon. You can tell I get excited about the possibilities. Allan, you’re involved with the Internet every day in your position with Voice of the Martyrs, right?
Allan Walker: Yes, I am. Prophecy went on fast-forward in the 1990’s. It’s changing so fast it’s difficult for the average person to keep up with the changes as fast as they are happening.
The Most Important End Times Signs
Dr. Reagan: Allan, in your study and teaching about the signs of the times over the years, what would you personally consider to be the most important sign that shows that we are living in the season of the Lord’s return?
Allan Walker: Dave, I think the Church and Israel are two of the greatest signs. We’ve already spoken about Israel being restored as a nation while being surrounded by hostile Islamic enemies who are intent on wiping them off the map.
Then we talked about how the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is being used today to reach multitudes around the world. Tim LaHaye writes about the merciful God of prophecy. We’ve got almost seven billion people on Planet Earth in a day and time when masses are so spiritually lost. It seems as if the Spirit of God is moving to bring many to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We also know from prophecy that there will be a great multitude which no man can number coming out of every nation and tongue accepting Jesus as Savior.
Proper Interpretation
Dr. Reagan: When the Scofield Bible came out in 1909, a lot of people attacked Scofield. One of the attacks was his interpretation of Ezekiel 38 and 39 where Ezekiel talks about Gog and Magog. Scofield said, “In the end times Russia together with certain allies are going to attack Israel.” People laughed at that and said, “That’s ridiculous!” It did seem ridiculous in 1909 because Israel didn’t exist and Russia was a Christian Orthodox nation. Undaunted, Scofield said, “Hey! I don’t understand it. I can’t explain it, but the Word says it and therefore I believe it.” And guess what? Today nobody challenges that. Now instead, when you list the nations of Gog and Magog, detractors will say, “Oh, you’re just reading the Bible into current events.” No, the Bible said Russia is coming down against Israel in the end times with certain specified allies, and so Scofield was right.
Nathan Jones: Reading Bible prophecy is like watching the news.
Allan Walker: That illustrates that the Bible has to be taken literally and not just spiritualized. We can take a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other and compare them. The average person can see that, too. You don’t have to be a theologian or a geopolitical analyst to see that current events are moving in the exact direction that the Word of God said it would.
Dr. Reagan: You have to believe that the Bible really came from God. It’s not just man’s search for God, but it came from God and it’s a revelation of God. His prophecies really mean what they say. If all the First Coming prophecies meant exactly what they said, then why shouldn’t the Second Coming prophecies mean what they say?
The problem we have in the Church today is hospitalization. People spiritualize these prophecies to mean anything they want them to mean. When you do that you play God, because you can make the Scriptures mean anything you like. I want to underscore your statement and say, “Take the prophecies to mean what they say for their plain sense meaning.”
Allan Walker: We don’t read the Word of God, the Word of God reads us.
Dr. Reagan: I like that! My favorite expression is, “If the plain sense makes sense, don’t look for any other sense, or you’ll end up with nonsense.” As Henry Morris said in his great commentary on the book of Revelation, “People tell me the book of Revelation is hard to understand. That’s not true. It’s difficult to believe. If you will believe it, you will understand it.” But, people play games with biblical interpretation.
I urge every believer in Christ to just rely on the Holy Spirit that’s within them to guide them in understanding the Bible. If they’ve been born again and pray that the Holy Spirit will help them to understand God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will help them understand it. Of course, there are still things about the book of Revelation that I don’t understand, but a lot I do, mainly because the Holy Spirit has helped me to understand. So, I keep praying, “Help me to understand more.”
Allan Walker: If we get the great central themes of the Word of God fixed in our mind, then all the rest will fall in place.
I was taken aback by the figures of others who think you can get to heaven different ways beside Christ