“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.

Atheist Offers Post-Rapture Care for Pets

This article was in yesterday’s Columbus Dispatch.  My comments are below the article text (the full text is here, but here is the original story).

Bart Centre does not believe in heaven, but he’s pretty sure that if there is a heaven, your pet is not going there.

After all, he points out, All Dogs Go to Heaven is the name of an animated movie, not a line from the Bible.

Not that Centre believes in the Bible. Or God. He is an atheist, and proudly so. But he knows that plenty of people do believe in God and do believe in heaven. And some of them believe in the Rapture, the day when true Christians will be called up to Jesus Christ. Some people – including a group that put ads on the backs of buses – think the Rapture is coming May 21.

The Rapture could leave a lot of dogs and cats looking longingly at their food bowls after their owners have floated off to heaven. That’s where Centre comes in.

In 2009, he launched Eternal Earth-Bound Pets USA. Centre guarantees that if or when the Rapture comes, he or one of his 44 contractors in 26 states will drive to your home within 24 hours, collect your dog, cat, bird, rabbit or small caged mammal, and adopt it. (Rapture rescue services for horses, camels, llamas and donkeys are limited to New Hampshire, Vermont, Idaho and Montana.)

The cost is $135, plus $20 per additional animal. Payable upfront, of course, and good for 10 years.

Monday Morning Rewind- The Return of Jesus

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

Yesterday’s sermon was the continuation of the series I’m preaching through 1 Thessalonians.  This sermon dealt with the return of Jesus in the context of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  The main point was not just for us to understand that Jesus will return, but to know why it is so important for our daily living. You can listen to this sermon here and find the accompanying PowerPoint slides (in PDF form).

Paul obviously was dealing with this topic because the Thessalonians were struggling with grieving like those who have no hope.  Hope has been a major theme in these letters, and as Thessalonian people were passing away, the people were grieving like they forgot the hope they have in Christ.

So Paul taught them what is going to happen when Jesus returns.  Even though this is a future event, it is important for our lives today because it is full of hope!  Paul taught about the resurrection of bodies.  When Jesus returns, He will raise the bodies of those true believers who died into the glorified bodies for the rest of eternity.  Scripture teaches that at death, the body sleeps but the soul of the person goes on to be with the Lord (only for those who received Him as Savior during their life) (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:20-24).

Some of the Thessalonians might have thought that if someone was already dead before Christ returned, that person had no hope of heaven.  This is not correct thinking–in fact, Jesus will first raise those bodies.  Then those who are alive will be raptured (or “caught up”) in the clouds with Jesus.  All bodies will be changed at that time and those people will spend eternity with Jesus.

In a world where many questions are asked about life after death, Paul reminds us in verse 15– “For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord…”  God has given us a revelation by His Word!!  There’s no need for human speculation when we have a divine revelation.

So what will happen when Jesus returns? Verses 16-17 say it in this order:

1. The Lord will descend from heaven
2. There will be a loud command from the Lord (like with Lazarus)
3. The voice of an archangel will sound
4. The trumpet of God will sound
5. The dead in Christ will rise
6. Those left who are in Christ will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord
7. With glorified bodies, the dead and alive in Christ will live eternally with Him.

Why is this important for living today?

1- Don’t grieve as those who have no hope for those in your life who were saved by Jesus and have passed away.  They are with the Lord, and one day we will be reunited with them!

2- Live with urgency now.  1 Cor. 15:52 tells us that this will happen in the “twinkling of an eye.”  We’re not guaranteed anything beyond right now.  There are people who will spend an eternity in hell because they’ve never given their lives to Jesus.  Knowing that Jesus could return now, are we taking advantage of every opportunity we have to share the gospel with others?

3- All of the things we deal with in this life are small compared to the eternity we’ll spend with Jesus!  We have hope in Jesus, so why worry about all the things of this life?

I really like this song by Jeff Johnson called Glorious Day.  This video has the song playing with the lyrics (although they are not all correct), and its very applicable to this topic.  Enjoy!