Apocalypse

The End is Near?

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Daniel

Do you remember last year when Harold Camping sponsored a million dollar billboard campaign to spread his message across America? He thought that the apocalypse would begin on May 21st, 2011 and tried to warn the world. We all had a good laugh about that one didn’t we? I remember people staging pranks with “raptured” peoples clothes laying haphazardly in malls and such. I laughed too because I knew it was sure not to happen on that day because he predicted it, for Jesus has said that no one knows the day or the hour.

An Apology:

As I thought more about this, I also imagine that this episode disillusioned some who bought into his prediction. I want to apologize to you on his behalf for his foolish actions that may have caused a strain on your faith.

I also feel sorry for all the rest of you who mocked him and his prediction. His actions gave you cause to be inoculated to the very vibrant hope of Christ’s coming.

DECEMBER 21st, 2012

Disclaimer: I in no way think that the turn of the Mayan cyclical calendar in any way indicates the end of the world. That is ridiculous and superstitious. I do however think that God has given us plenty of signs that indicate “the end is near” which we all ought to pay attention to.

THE BOOK OF REVELATION

I just finished a sermon series by Adrian Rogers on the book of Revelation. I have a new healthy respect regarding what is coming soon upon the whole world. I am concerned for people who haven’t read the word of God or do not have a respect for God’s word. People are either skeptical or they just don’t believe he is coming anytime soon, yet Jesus says emphatically:

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” (Rev 22:12 NIV)

Do we believe him? Even when it isn’t popular or “cool” to do so?

Skepticism, disbelief, and mockery are the attitudes that the Bible predicts people will have regarding the second coming of Christ and the “end of this world as we know it”.

But, I ask you, isn’t the second coming of Jesus closer now than it ever has been? Shouldn’t we be more expectant and more ready for his return as we see the day approaching?

Yet expectancy seems to be the last thing that I observe among many “believers” I know. Some don’t seem to think he is coming. Many “believers” just don’t believe anymore. Even Jesus is old news. We’ve moved on. Jesus return has become irrelevant and sadly, the person of Jesus himself is no longer relevant in the lives of many who call themselves Christians. (At least this is the impression I get.)

The apostle Peter:

“Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation…” 2 Peter 3:3-15 NIV

ARE YOU RAPTURE READY?

Yes, I am serious. I can just imagine some reading this who mock the idea of a rapture. It’s all a big joke to those who don’t believe. But Jesus is indeed coming soon! A rapture for faithful believers is also part of the story and it could happen at any moment! The thought crossed my mind that I could be raptured before I was able to finish writing this blog and so I even scheduled this to be published automatically if I wasn’t here to press the publish button.

Remember this song by DC Talk?

Who is the rapture for?

“Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6

I seriously had questioned whether I would have been raptured considering the careless way I had lived and failed to love and submit my heart to Jesus. Every time I lose my wife in a grocery store I think the rapture has happened and I am left. I don’t fear this so much anymore because I’ve come to trust Jesus and he is faithful to his promises.

Is it silly of me to actually believe in the rapture and biblical prophecies? Wouldn’t it rather be silly to not believe? Wouldn’t it be silly and foolish to be among the mockers and scoffers? I tremble at God’s word. I respect it and hold it in high esteem because Jesus did and I trust him.

The Bible has a hundred percent accuracy rating for all the prophecies that have been fulfilled thus far and there is absolutely no reason to doubt that the future prophecies will happen as well. We would be fools to mock and disregard for one more day the certainty of that which will come soon to test the whole world. Instead the only right response is to fall to our knees, humble our hearts, and beg God for mercy. He will give us mercy as we truly repent. You can be sure of that.

We don’t often think what a gift it is to be able to repent. Repentance puts our hearts right with God and we get to part ways with our sin and most of it’s consequences. We won’t always have this opportunity. I wrote more on this here: Repentance.

Jesus tells a story about 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. Five were wise and had oil in their lamps. Five were foolish and had none. The bridegroom came and the five wise were welcomed into the wedding feast while the five foolish lost their opportunity and found themselves shut out from the wedding feast.

No doubt these foolish ones (unprepared believers), that Jesus is referring to, went on to be refined by the tribulation and overcame the enemy “by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11) and were among the saved to come out of the tribulation. Will most in the church end up in this predicament? Jesus seems to indicate it will at least be half of us. If we don’t get our act together and start taking Jesus seriously, we too will be found shut out of the wedding feast and have to endure the tribulation and will likely have to die a martyrs death.

Matthew 24:36-44 (NIV)
The Day and Hour Unknown

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Well, I’d love to hear your opinion on this topic. What do you think? Let’s dialogue. Leave a comment!

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Knowing (a movie)

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Daniel

UnknownI just watched an end-of-the-world movie for the second time called “Knowing”. It really made me think. I mean, I grew up reading the bible a great deal and hearing every Sunday about God. So much so that I was numbed into complacency. I thought I knew God but in reality I only knew a thing or two about God. I had reduced God into a comfortable safe little box that I could somehow manage. How wrong I was!

Imagine being one of those Israelites seeing the actual blazing inferno of the Presence of God descend and engulf Mount Sinai. Or imagine being one of those saints who actually met an angel. Every instance of someone meeting an angel in Scripture leaves someone terribly frightened and sobered. I mean, the angel’s first words always have to be, “do not be afraid.” Just imagine meeting a terrible, fearsome, glorious, powerful being that frightens you so terribly you can’t help but fall to your face. Imagine actually seeing what Ezekiel saw as recorded in the beginning (and throughout) the book of Ezekiel! I kind of think that we really don’t believe it when we read it, ya know? We don’t “place ourselves there” when we read the Word. Some of us never even read the Word of God and have no idea what I’m talking about. Most of us no longer wonder at the mystery of it all. We have some sort of comfortable notion of who God is and have spent our lives reducing him to a warm fuzzy

Well, this movie “Knowing” (with Nicholas Cage) did a little something to snap me out of my comfortable and crazy ability to reduce the awesome otherness of God (df. of “Holy”) to little more than a children’s Sunday school story. The movie actually visually interpreted Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel chapter 1. It also portrayed these powerful and mysterious beings (angels) that could just as easily be confused for aliens. Isn’t that exactly what they are?

How it ended was amazing. The movie brought biblical eschatology (the study and theology of end time events) out of the hypothetical realm into the, “O my God, this is for real!” realm. It had me asking questions like, “Could the rapture be like this?” and reminded me of another sobering Scripture, “Many are called but few are chosen.”

Imagine one day having all your comfortable notions about God ripped away from you. You’re left standing naked before this awesome and even more terrifying than an angel God.

The Bible tells us that only those who know God will be saved. Only those who hear and answer his call. I am shaking in my boots realizing that up till now I have been pretty damn lazy in regards to knowing God. I have not pursued this with all my heart! I have been apathetic and lazy.

Here is an encouragement from Scripture:

2 Peter 1:3-11

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

10Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I am truly sobered by the Scriptures. My response is this: keep God’s Word in front of your face until it changes you. In that passage Peter talks about participating in the Divine nature. One thing that the movie doesn’t really get into is that God is a person, and that God is love. Unless we are participating in that nature of Love, we cannot and must not delude ourselves into thinking we “know God”.

So let’s make a practice of those thing Peter mentions and connect to God’s love.  Scripture tells us that we can never be seperated from God’s love in Romans 8:

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God… but are we connecting to his love in the first place?

I am going to end with a prayer:

God, I know I’ve been avoiding you at all costs, sabotaging myself to keep me away from you. I’ve been a great fool. I step back into the spotlight of your love and trust that your love has something to say in all of my confusion, pain, and sinfulness. Please forgive me and help me to respect the “otherness” and the mystery of you God, while at the same time help me to realize that you are a Person and you are love and nothing can keep me away from that. Help me to connect to your love, and to love you in return, and to love the ones you love.

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