Blog

by Aaron Felty

For the last decade, I have heard more people talking about the end of the world than at any other time in my life. With the recent weather (Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose, Maria, etc. and some 70+ wild fires on the west coast this year so far), wars and threats of war, hostilities between people of different skin colors, epidemics like Ebola, and political differences, there are people proclaiming it is the end. Some people silently wonder if it is the end. Then there are those who speak out against anyone who might say these activities are God’s judgment for the sinfulness that is rampant in our world, and who are doing harm to the unsaved world by declaring that this is the end.

What are we to do as Christians who live in this time of history? How are we to interpret all of this? I am not the final authority, and I am not going to tell you what to think or do. My desire here is to present a Biblical response and reminder pertaining to these issues.

I know these discussions are cyclical and there is truly nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). When Israel became a nation in 1948, there were many people claiming that the end was put into motion. Some people believe that we are now in the final stretch and everything is coming to its necessary conclusion. You can find a myriad of articles written about the prophetic significance of these particular historical events online. I find them fascinating and in some ways positively alarming.

Some are urging people to trim their lamps for the bridegroom is near (Matthew 25:1-13). I would fall in that camp. I will not go so far as to say the end is coming on April 17, 2018 or any other particular date. Here is a list of past and future predictions about when some speculated that the end of the world would occur. Note how many happened!

So what are we to do? How should we interpret these things? The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:11b, “He (God) has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” I believe it is in the hearts of people to question their mortality, to look at the circumstances and events of their particular era and make conclusions based on their interpretations of those circumstances. There is also something of an instinctive awareness that one day everything will end. The issue is that we have to be Biblical in our interpretations and understand that nobody knows the day or the hour in which Christ will return, not even the Son (Matthew 24:36).

Are the terribly bad weather events and tensions God’s judgment, or does God have nothing to do with it? At a very superficial and safe level, the answer is of course God has something to do with it, but God is not angrily throwing lightning bolts in judgment, waving His hands to cause tsunamis, or blowing the dust to create diseases. These are certainly the effects of sin in the world. We cannot be blind and unaware of God’s involvement all throughout history. If we read the Old Testament and listen to the prophets, we might come to a different conclusion about these “fear of the end” invoking events. Perhaps God is indeed attempting to awaken us from our stupor. Perhaps God is allowing these things to drive us to our knees in prayer and repentance.

Didn’t God use a flood to wipe the earth clean from people who were only inclined to do evil all the time? (Genesis 6:5) Didn’t God open up the earth during the time of Korah’s rebellion? (Numbers 26:10) What about Genesis 19:24 where the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah? In Job 38, God declares that He alone is the one who commands the clouds, the sea, the sun, snow, and hail. Deuteronomy 28:15-68 gives a long list of curses for disobedience of God.

We should be very careful to so quickly say that what we are experiencing is NOT the judgment of God, but we should also be very careful to not say definitively that this IS the judgment of God or that the end is coming on this or that day.

These things we need to remember and do:

1. God is sovereign. He is in control. There is nothing that has happened, is happening, or will happen that has not first passed through the hand of God (Lamentations 3:37 and Job 2:3-6). The hurricanes, wild fires, diseases, wars, political strife, tensions amongst people groups, and all other things are no surprise to God and must happen to get us to where we need to be in His plan. Place your trust in Him and His plan.
2. God is good. Psalm 84:11 says, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” The problem of predicting the end is that God’s goodness extends past our understanding. He is not slow in keeping His promises, He is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish but all to come to repentance. So whether we have seconds, months, or years before the end, we should be encouraging people to repent from sin. That is the ONLY reason God’s final judgment has not yet occurred. (Paraphrase of 2 Peter 3:1-9). Hold on to hope in trials.
3. God is trustworthy. He has promised to bring this present world to an end by fire according to 2 Peter 3:10, but the good news is He will then create a New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21:1). In Romans 10:13, Paul tells us that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The end is definitely coming, so whether it comes this year, next year, or in 50 years, we need to call on His name and persuade others to do likewise.

I heard an old Christian joke years ago: When asked what he believed about the end times, a man said, “I am a PANtheist. I believe it will all PAN out in the end.” I concur with that sentiment with a disclaimer: Since we do not know the exact facts and can only "read" the signs, we should be prepared by drawing as near to the Lord as possible and persuade as many people as we can to do likewise. These groanings should motivate us to be evangelists and passionate lovers of Jesus.

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