Assassinations, Coups, and the End of the World: Seeing the Present Time Through a Missions Lens

The idea that society has completed its evolution has fallen on hard times.

In his 1992 book The End of History and the Last Man, political scientist Francis Fukuyama famously argued that with the ascendance of Western liberal democracy worldwide following the Cold War, humanity had reached the final stage of its social evolution.

Yet the past few weeks of US and world news betray anything but that human history has reached its zenith. Donald Trump’s near-assassination, President Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, continued escalations in the Israel-Hamas war, and Iran’s steady progression toward nuclear weapons—all result in the clear realization that Fukuyama’s thesis has fallen on hard times.

Yet for too long, Christians enjoying what Aaron Renn calls “positive world” were lulled into embracing a comfortable, suburban version of Fukuyama’s framework. For a while, our side appeared to be winning. Yuppie optimism abounded. Evangelicals felt rather at home in the West. And amongst missiologists, ambitious movements like AD 2000 contended that we were much closer to completing the task of world evangelization than, in hindsight, we were.

Now, a different kind of fervor has taken root. I listened to a podcast this week where the hosts speculated that artificial intelligence is the Antichrist. Earlier this year, Alex Garland’s dystopian “Civil War” hit the top box office spot. Believers I know frequently speculate as to whether we are truly approaching the final period leading to Christ’s return. Pessimism is understandably in vogue.

We stand at a crossroads. Which “end of history” is upon us, if any? Are we mere moments away from the apotheosis of the liberal order, if we would but purge ourselves of backwards traditionalists, as secular progressives contend? Or, are we perhaps in the final moments before the curtain is drawn on the world stage and the Lord directly intervenes?

Our Work Until the End of the Age

Jesus said many things concerning the unfolding of history, yet two statements in particular commend themselves to us here. The first is appended to his Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . . And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19a, 20; emphasis mine). The end of the age, whenever it comes, is ushered in neither by progressive utopianism nor Christian fretfulness. Rather, it comes when the church’s nation-discipling mission is finished—and is preceded, throughout the intervening time, by Christ’s heavenly reign and presence with his people.

The end of the age, whenever it comes, is ushered in neither by progressive utopianism nor Christian fretfulness. Rather, it comes when the church’s nation-discipling mission is finished—and is preceded, throughout the intervening time, by Christ’s heavenly reign and presence with his people.

The second statement comes when Jesus’ disciples question him concerning the restoration of Israel: “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will . . . be my witnesses . . . to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7b-8). Far from indulging his apostles’ curiosity, Jesus simply reinforces their marching orders.

The lesson is clear. To plot out the course of history is God’s; to preach Christ to the end of the earth is ours. The secret things belong to the Lord, while his commands belong to us to obey (Deuteronomy 29:29).

The World Has Ended Before

Biblically speaking, the world has ended at least twice—once at the flood (2 Peter 3:6), and again when Christ began to make it new by his death and resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:17). Apocalypses are nothing new.

Even today, missions movements like ABWE have persisted through multiple, seemingly world-ending crises in the last century. Faithful gospel preachers were interned by the Japanese during their invasion of the Philippines in the Second World War. In South Asia, mission workers persevered through a mysterious viral outbreak that providentially produced a much-needed Bible translation. And in Latin America, ABWE teammates persisted in ministry amid political upheaval and Marxist uprisings.

The question is not which direction history is going, but what kind of characters we will be in it—faithful workers, or faithless watchers.

Yet this week alone, 29 new missionaries enlisted with the mission. Last year, 40 new sending churches joined the ABWE family. Despite global uncertainty, God’s purposes for the world reveal their indomitable tenacity. Winter is breaking; the King is on the move.

Confident in the success of our mission, today’s believers have every reason to march in triumphal procession, proclaiming and applying the news of Christ’s lordship over all of human existence, from the halls of Congress to the pews at church. To do so is far from blind optimism; it is the holy obligation of all God’s people. In Christ’s authority, we can take dominion on the mission field, in the pulpit, at the school board meeting, and in the ballot box. The question is not which direction history is going, but what kind of characters we will be in it—faithful workers, or faithless watchers.