A preview of this week's Kevin's Korner in The Messenger:
If you’re a Facebooker you’ve seen the post, or even posted yourself:
Sept 11th (NY) Jan 11th (Haiti) and March 11th (Japan)....Luke 21:10-11--Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven." Jesus says, For behold I come quickly, [so... ask yourself are you ready?] (Sad to say, many won't repost this message.)
The Mayan’s were a people of Central America who lived in the 5th century before Christ. Their elaborate calendar system says the world will end on December 12, 2011 (or maybe December 21, 2012).
Are these the End Days? Are we living in the days when the revelation to John of Patmos, what we know as the Book of Revelation, becomes the reality of the world around us? Is the return of the Messiah going to happen ‘before this generation passes away?’
As your pastor, and as a person who takes study of the Scripture and the culture around us very seriously, I can tell you—I don’t know. Whenever I ponder the End of Times, my basic reflection comes from Matthew 24:36-51 when Jesus answers his disciples that no one knows the day or hour, not even the Son, only the Father. What I find particularly instructive about that passage is how Jesus describes those last days. Instead of people gathered on a mountain top or in a sanctuary, he describes people going about their daily business—two men in the field and one taken — two women grinding and one taken.
Are we closer to the End of Days today than we were yesterday? Yes. Will it come in the next few days, weeks, or years?? I feel comfortable quoting Jesus, “No one knows—not even the angels in heaven, or even the Son, but only the Father.”
And brothers and sisters, in that I hear Good News. In the lessons of the Shakers, “We must live our lives so we are ready if the rapture is tomorrow but do our work to last for a century.” And finally, remember that those of us who put our trust in Jesus know how the final battle will eventually end. God WILL be victorious. Thanks be to God that we can trust and believe in God’s goodness and graciousness, no matter the situations in which we find ourselves.
God’s blessings on your journey, and if you’d like to continue this conversation I’d LOVE to hear from you!
