I grew up in Church and remember people talking about when the end of time would come but JESUS said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away…But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Mat 24:35-36 KJV). I’m not sure why they were trying to guess the time, but they could have been trying to scare people into getting “right with GOD. Sadly, fear doesn’t work for very long for “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance” (Rom 2:4 KJV).
I remember when the movie “Left Behind” (2000) came out and it got a lot of people’s attention. Christian movies were known to be low-quality, but if a secular studio produced them, the quality would improve but the story wouldn’t be Biblically accurate. That movie was much better and made me want to make sure I was ready so I wouldn’t be left behind.
Still, there are people who would rather argue about whether Christians will be caught away during a pre, mid, or post tribulation rapture. Then another group has a problem with the word rapture! Are these details more important than the 150,000 souls a day going into eternity when “wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Mat 7:13-14 KJV)? Searching the scriptures and knowing the truth is Biblical, but not at the expense of “love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mat 22:39 KJV). Do you want to go to hell while “Christians” prove their theological points? Neither does your neighbor.
Yes, it looks like the world is plunging towards the end of time and I say, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20 KJV) because we are losing more than are being saved. For so many their “end of time” begins right now! They won’t be here whenever the LORD returns. They will be past the reaches of time, so it won’t matter who was right. If they are in Heaven, they will be beyond all tribulation and if they are in Hell, they are beyond all help!
What about your “end of time” and your loved ones? We have seen that no one is safe anywhere in this world. You can die where you are right now! People die at home, the Church isn’t a sanctuary anymore, and the roadways and airways have always taken too many lives. Criminals are plain to see, but law enforcement is restrained by politicians that serve the thief who “cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10 KJV).
What’s the answer? JESUS! “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17 KJV). But we already have that, and it isn’t enough! It is enough, but you must “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (and) “love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mat 22:37 and 39 KJV). For whosoever accepts GOD’s gift of salvation, “the end of time” will be the beginning of eternal life!
Wayne Lance (2023) – That’s Good News to Share!