End of Days

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

- T.S. Elliot

Today is the day that some in the Christian community have pointed to as the date for the Rapture. According to the theory, a secret set of numbers contained in the Scriptures offer insight to the End of Days, which marks the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Of course, I would point out that all the references to the Rapture indicate we won't know when it will happen. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 says, "Now, brothers and sisters, 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." So it seems unlikely that anyone could correctly pin down the day and hour.

Yet people around the world have become obsessed with this prediction. In reading the stories on the group, following the leading of Harold Camping and his Christian family radio network, many sold their houses and all their possessions for pennies on the dollar, quit jobs, and began preparing for the end of the world today. What will happen for those people tomorrow? How do they begin the process of moving on?

Even here there has been some confusion and apprehension about today. Some have wondered if they'll be left behind, if they're ready, if the world is really going to end. A friend today noted that might not be a bad thing if people really start taking their faith seriously. And that's a valid point. Jesus offered some words of wisdom about the preparation for the end.

Luke 12:35-40 says, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

And even when this prediction for the end of the world comes and goes, the hysteria over the end of the age won't end. Many believe the end of the Mayan calendar — December 21, 2012 — will mark the end of the world. So we'll inevitably see another round of End Times hysteria.

The question is why? I think it comes down to our attempt to contextualize our lives. Whether you are a Christian or not, you probably spend time trying to understand the world and your place in the world. That is why stories and theories of the end of the age have been, are, and will continue to be a big part of our culture.

If you want to look at the End Times more closely and consider what the Bible says and what our world says, I invite you to join us for a special series on the End Times this summer. Pastor Israel and I will be leading a six-week exploration of the topic on Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. beginning on July 5.