How Close Are We To The End Of The World?
How close are we to the end of the world?
“I am not afraid of death, I just don’t want to be here when it comes.”
(Woody Allen)
Oftentimes people are so concerned about the timing of the end of the world that they forget to live in the present world. I have been in meetings where people spent hours trying to figure out what the beasts in Revelation chapter 4 represented. The conversation grew somewhat heated as different people presented different positions. I have seen some who study prophecy and can expound all the signs to make you think the end is tonight before you go to sleep.
I wonder why the fascination with end times questions? In our day we have seen prophecy books outsell books on how to live a holy life by the millions. Why? What draws us to the study of the end of the world?
Certainly Jesus gave us some indications of when the world would end. Matthew, Mark and Luke contain whole chapters given to this specific topic. When you read these passages you get the distinct impression that the reason for the signs were given was so that we would believe His Word to be trustworthy on all the other points as well. The signs were given for us to be ready for the end, but more than that they were given so we would trust in His Word completely. For further study, read Matt 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. If the signs he predicted begin to take place exactly as He predicted, then we will have strong evidence that this Word that we read and study regularly can be trusted.
I once told a group of students that the end of the world for them would be in less than 80 years. They happened to be a very intelligent group of students and they all asked me how I could say something so firmly and dogmatically. I asked them how old they were. They said they were 18-20 years old. I then asked how many of them expected to live to be 100, and no one raised a hand. Their world would most likely end in 80 years or less. The ultimate question you must ask is not, “When will the world end?” but rather, “How can I prepare for my approaching death and coming judgment?”
In view of this statement, the concern now becomes to not look at dates and times and seasons, since our Lord said no one would ever know that, but to examine our present life to see if we are rightly related to Christ so that when the day of our death comes we will be prepared to meet God. Look carefully at the following
"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:32-36 (NIV)
The reality for everyone reading this book is that before you turn this page your heart may beat its last and your brain cease to function. If God so decided, your breath that you are breathing at this moment could be taken from you and you would wake up in the next instant standing before a holy God. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.” How you live right now may be the last moment you have to live. With this in view Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
Because the prophecies of old about Jesus’ first entrance in human history are true, and now we see an approaching fulfillment of the prediction of His second entrance into human history, we are left without excuse if we do not live in such a way as to be prepared.
Small Group Discussion Questions:
1. If you knew you were going to die before the end of this week, what changes in your life would you make?
2. When you think of standing before the Son of Man in judgment, how prepared are you?
3. Do you think being mindful of your approaching death would make any real difference in your life? Why or why not?
4. Look at Luke 13:1-5. If you are going to survive your coming death, what does Jesus say you need to do? Are you doing it?
5. How does knowing the uncertainty of death affect your witness to others?
6. Pray for those you are still attempting to reach for Jesus that they may see how close they are to entering the final judgment.