The End of the World

This post was written by elder Steve Hutchins.

Whew! …that was awkward. Or maybe it wasn’t. Did you cringe in the days leading up to May 21st as your coworkers and others made jokes about the scheduled end of the world? As a Christian, you know the Bible teaches that such a day of reckoning is coming. You also know that it clearly teaches that such a day is completely unknown (Mt. 24:36, 2 Pet. 3:10). All the publicity surrounding these false predictions (by people claiming to be Christian) feeds this collective embarrassment, as we perceive such episodes as thwarting our attempts to share the gospel with others in our lives.

We needn’t be so defensive, bracing ourselves as we wait for this or that predicted date to sufficiently pass so we can begin our damage control and resume our mission. Rather, let’s turn such events to an advantage. Mr. Camping isn’t the first person in history to make such predictions (Remember the book “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Happen in 1988”?) and he surely won’t be the last. Indeed, I hear he’s already revised his date to October 21st (which should make my dad’s birthday extra special this year).

The days leading up to May 21st, to me, were a godsend. When have so many people been so uniformly focused on a spiritual truth (other than at Christmas)? The issue wasn’t and isn’t “when” but “if” the judgment will occur. All the media accounts and the jokes focused on the former, not the latter. My advice: use all the attention on the former as permission to engage people on the subject of the latter. Satan wants folks to feel good about their lost spiritual condition. Such false predictions can serve his evil ends. They can also serve the Spirit-led messenger of the gospel as well.

So when the next date is set for the end of the world and the ridicule commences, pray that God will use the occasion to lead you into thoughtful discussions with those around you who so need deliverance from the very judgment about which they jest.