Theological Thoughts - On the End Times (Coming Soon?)

What follows is from the email newsletter I send out to our young people of the diocese.  People can start to hyperventilate a little when this kind of thing comes up.

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come." (NIV, Mark 13:32-33) You may have heard that the world is coming to an end soon.  In fact one (very small) group of Christians claim that the Rapture (when the believers will be lifted out of this world into Heaven prior to the end) will happen on Saturday.  THIS Saturday, May 21.  I thought I'd share a few thoughts about that this week: Not everyone agrees on the Rapture.  That's right, not all Christians can even agree if there will such a thing as the Rapture.  It's based on some very, very scanty Scripture and it's never referred to directly. The quote at the top is Jesus talking.  And he says that even HE doesn't know when he's coming back.  So how does this guy think he's figured it out?  That always smacks of some incredible ego issues to say you know something that even Jesus didn't know about God's plan.  I can't go there. It's based on a belief that the Bible is a code and only certain people can crack the code and find out the truth.  I can't find any basis to believe this and pretty much all denominations reject the idea.  God isn't hiding the truth. This same guy has already predicted this once before a couple years back.  You may have noticed that it didn't happen.  He claims that he didn't have all the facts last time but does this time.  Make up your own mind.     Think:  The reality is that we DON'T know when Jesus is coming back.  And he was specific in saying he WAS coming back.  So if he arrived at dinner tonight (it could happen) are you ready?  Are you leading the kind of life that you could show to Jesus? Pray:  Ask God to help you be the person you can be, the best possible you.  That's the person that Jesus is looking forward to seeing.  Whether in the Rapture or otherwise. Do:  Remember to live your life so that no matter when Jesus comes, next weekend, next month or in the next century, you'll have lived the life you are meant to live.

 *******************************************************************************

I believe this is the 6th "End of the World" prediction of my adult lifetime (at least the ones of which I've heard).  So far none have been right.  Trying to predict this event has been going on for at least a couple hundred years.  All of them have been wrong.  Yet the urge to show how smart we are rises up again and again.  We've figured out what God's plan is.  I'm astounded that the arrogance of that kind of thinking never dawns on these folks.  But delusion can be blinding.  The additional claims that the number of catastrophes in the world is rising makes me shake my head as well.  Two hundred years ago if a giant storm swept through large portions of the world we simply would never know.  At best the news might reach us months or even years later.  Today we can see every part of the globe simultaneously and the news reaches us instantly.  The news of war and plague and famine seem to be overwhelming.  But even a quick study of history shows that we've been living through times like these for most of recorded history.  We're just more aware of it today. The best "preparation" for the end times is simply to be better people, live better lives, work to make the world a better place.  Then when and if the Rapture comes or the End of Times arrives you'll have made yourself as fully prepared as possible. Beyond that I can only rely on the gift of Grace. Peace