“The End of the World is Tomorrow?” One Thing To Keep in Mind

I had 2 calls from people in the church yesterday all confused because people they know told them the world was going to end tomorrow (Saturday, May 21, 2011).  They didn’t know why their friends were saying this, and their friends asked them about it because they assumed it was something all Christians were believing.

I’ve not written much about this because everybody else on the internet seems to be.  But apparently there are some in our church who are confused, so I thought I’d address it briefly here with one major thought to consider.

Here’s why people think the world will end tomorrow:  Harold Camping and his followers at Family Radio have predicted that judgment day will be May 21, 2011, a day they say is when God will destroy the world because of the sins of mankind.  They’ve been promoting this for a while, although I’m not sure exactly how long.  I first saw their campaign in January of 2010 through the artwork on a bus in Nashville, TN.

Some problems with what they’re saying:

• Their theory is erroneous and a far stretch of what the Bible says.  It’s a mathematical illusion that uses the flood in Genesis 6 and some random verses throughout the Bible.  If their goal was to get attention, then they are successful.  Please remember that Harold Camping was teaching that Jesus would return in 1994, but this obviously was wrong.  So 5/21/11 is no new thing really.  (Here’s a good article about 1994 and Camping’s methods.)
• Jesus said in Matt. 24:36:  “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”    I’m pretty sure that if Jesus wasn’t privileged to this information in his humanity, then no person is either.  But of course, Family Radio has a response to that too, and it’s not a proper understanding of the Bible either.

One thing to keep in mind:

Based on Matt. 24:36, the time that Christ will return is only known by God.  The danger in Family Radio’s campaign is that by claiming they know the day of judgment, they are claiming that they know only something that God knows.  This is what got Adam and Eve in trouble.  Remember in Genesis 3:4-5– But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  

I do not believe that God will honor people who claim to know his ways.  Is. 55:8– For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

We don’t have the knowledge of God, so let’s not be easily trapped into a person or group’s thinking when it is something only God would know.

Where to go with conversations you might have about this:

The Bible is clear that Jesus will return.  We just don’t know when.  So I’ve told people that the bottom line is that He will return, there will be judgment, and the truth is that that could be today.  So the Bible is clear, just like in the parable of the 10 virgins, that we must be ready.  That’s what we ought to be asking people:  are you ready for when Jesus comes?    Matthew 25:13– Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. 

Our church’s website has some great gospel resources to help you share the message of Jesus’ salvation with people.  You can find those here.

Faulty Crutches

Every winter from 6th grade through 10th grade, I always seemed to end up on crutches.  It was basketball season and my ankles would just never hold out!  The athletic trainer at my high school eventually told me that I should pick between basketball and football, because my ankles probably wouldn’t be able to handle both of them.  So my sophomore year of basketball was my last one…

Anyway, the idea of crutches came to my mind as I was reading through Zephaniah.  In yesterday’s sermon, I preached through Zeph. 1:7-18, pointing out that the people of Judah were trying to depend on something other the Lord to hold them up in the day of judgment.

Verses 7-11 describe what was the judgment of God on the people of Judah by the Babylonian invasion in 586 BC.  Zephaniah was warning them, but they apparently didn’t listen.  What’s interesting is Zephaniah’s use of the term The Day of the Lord.  Day of the Lord is a phrase that occurs often in the prophetic books of the Bible.  It is recorded more in Zephaniah than in any other OT book.  The Day of the Lord is an expression that signifies a time in which God actively intervenes in history, primarily for judgment.  It also refers to the future return of Christ and judgment of the world.

Zephaniah prophesied that judgment was coming.  It was coming for the people of judah, and it still is coming for all people who will one day stand before the Lord in judgment.

There is nothing but obedience and commitment to the Lord God that will hold us up on that day of judgment.

But in the text I preached on yesterday, Zephaniah pointed out 2 “faulty crutches” of the people of Judah, which I believe are still prevalent today.  I call them faulty crutches because when they go to lean on them in the time of judgment, they will fall.

1. Complacency (v.12). Different English Bible translation use different words to express this attitude, but it’s basically this apathetic attitude toward God, that He won’t do anything, whether good or bad.  This is seen a lot today, where people believe God doesn’t exist, and they are indifferent toward Him and His Word.
2. Wealth & Possessions (v.18). Neither their silver nor their gold would protect them from this judgment.  People today rely on wealth to give them value and worthiness in this world.  The problem is that while they’re building their kingdoms on earth, they’re forsaking their eternal life with Christ in Heaven.  Nobody’s earthly kingdom gets them into the kingdom of God.  Jesus’ parable of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 teaches us that wealth and possessions are not necessarily a bad thing, but that if they are favored over a relationship and commitment to Christ, then we’ll be walking away sad one day when that judgment comes.

There is nothing but obedience and commitment to the Lord God that will hold us up on that day of judgment. Hebrews 9:27 says: And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…

No reincarnation.

No purgatory.

Just one death and one judgment.  What are leaning on to hold you up when that day comes? I hope it’s a firm commitment and obedience to the Lord God.

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This post is part of the Monday Morning Rewinds.  What are Monday Morning Rewinds? Click here to see my original post explaining them.

Yesterday I finished my sermon series that coincides with the Truth Project material that our church’s community groups are working through.  The main text of this sermon was Genesis 1:26-31.  You can listen to the sermon on our church’s media page.

Idolatry and Inescapable Judgment

Yesterday, I began preaching the new series Revive Us Again: Studying Zephaniah.  This sermon focused on God’s judgment and idolatry in Zeph. 1:1-6, and had this main point: idolatry cannot coexist with righteousness.  Here are some other highlights:

• Not all people accept the warnings of God’s Word. From the verse of Zephaniah 1, we learn that Zephaniah is speaking God’s words to the people of Judah.  We also learn that he is the great-great grandson of Hezekiah, one of the good kings of Judah, and is prophesying in the time of King Josiah of Judah.  Not only is Zephaniah a relative of Josiah, but his royal lineage might have given him a position to be listened to by Josiah.  If there’s anything we should remember about Josiah, it’s that he was 8 years old when he became king and he eventually brought great reformation to Judah.  Zephaniah’s message from the Lord as prophet was working hand-in-hand with Josiah’s actions from the Lord as king.

Monday Morning Rewind: The Judgment of God at the End Time

What are Monday Morning Rewinds?  Click here to see my original post explaining them.

Yesterday’s sermon was part of the series I’m preaching through the letters to the Thessalonians.  Next week, I’ll continue in 2 Thessalonians.  In the context of 2 Thessalonians 1, this sermon dealt with answering 2 common questions in our world today- why do bad things happen to good people? and why would a loving God send people to hell? You can listen to this sermon here.

The 2 questions:

Why do bad things happen to good people? One reason we suffer is to prepare us for heaven. The Thessalonians were obviously still struggling with persecution.  And Paul writes that their suffering is the evidence of the righteous judgment of God.  Suffering doesn’t automatically make us worthy of heaven; but suffering demonstrates our worthiness.  We are given the free gift of God’s grace, and when we face affliction, it is refining us to reveal that grace working in us- therefore, God gets all the glory.