March 3, 2009
End of the World
The world is abuzz. It's the end of the
world as we know it. Doom and gloom. Death and despair!
The Mayan calendar shows the end of the
world as December 31, 2012. Oh dear!
Prophecy "experts" are narrowing down
the date until Jesus comes back and are nailing down the exact moment. One has
named the date as November 11, 2011. Another says 2014. Still another says 2019.
Some say it's even closer.
People are saying, "We MUST be in the
last days because of the situation in Israel".
Cult members in Russia are hiding in
caves because the end is coming soon.
It seems virtually everyone has a pet
theory about why the world will end (or for Christians ... why Jesus will
return) on a certain date. It's nothing new. In fact it's been happening for a
couple of thousand years at least.
At the turn of the first millennium AD
(and again in 1033) thousands, perhaps of tens of thousands of Christians gave
up on ordinary lives and waited for the return of Christ. They were convinced
that the date marked the end of the 1,000 years before Christ's return. Of
course we know that it didn't happen.
The day of the second coming is an area
that it's pointless to try to predict other than perhaps as an intellectual
exercise.
We live in end times and have done so
ever since Christ ascended back into heaven. We know that He is coming back.
John 14:1-4
NIV
"Do not
let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's
house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there
to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the
way to the place where I am going."
Jesus also told us that we wouldn't know
when that return would be.
Mark
13:32-34 NIV
"No one
knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will
come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in
charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep
watch.
That means that anyone who claims to
"knows" the exact date is, to be blunt about it, a false prophet. If Jesus
Himself did not know, I guarantee you that no man is going to be given the
inside track on picking the date.
Many places in the Bible tell us that
Jesus Christ is coming back "soon".
Revelation
22:12-13 NIV
"Behold, I
am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to
what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the
Beginning and the End.
Christ shared a few signs that the end
times were close.
Matthew
24:3-14 NIV
As Jesus
was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell
us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming
and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ, ' and will deceive
many. You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not
alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and
earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. "Then
you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated
by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith
and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and
deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most
will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel
of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations, and then the end will come.
We needn't waste time predicting the day
of His return. He said He was coming and that in the interim things would be
hard. We simply need to be faithful to what He's called us to do in the "waiting
room" and trust.
Will Messiah return today? Tomorrow?
Next week? Next year? Ten years from now? A hundred years from now? Longer
still? I don't know and neither does anyone else. It really doesn't matter how
long if we invest our waiting time being faithful instead of worrying. When the
time is right, He'll be back. Until then all the speculating in the world won't
hurry things along.
Until next time, may you live each day
in a way that will cause our Lord to say "Well done, good and faithful servant"
when Jesus does return or when you do go to be with Him.
Under His Wing!
Darrel Mason