Q: How does Harold Camping sleep at night?A: On huge piles of money that were donated to him by people who bought into his sensationalism.
OK, its not the best joke ever, but it is probably pretty accurate.
The question that is being raised is why does any of this matter? Why are we talking about the end of the world? Why do Christians devote so much energy to thinking about it, hoping for it, fearing it, and creating giant billboards and buses declaring its imminence?
The simple answer is because the Bible makes a lot of the end of the world. From the beginning of the created world its destruction and rebuilding has been an important point in regards to redemptive history.
God created the universe. In sin man separated himself from God and corrupted all the created world. Since then the created order is no longer as God made it but is a shadow of its perfection. In God's timing that sin that corrupted and tainted the world will be destroyed and His creation will be redeemed and made perfect again. This has been the hope of ever Yahwehist (religious persons who follow the teachings of God-Yahweh-as He has revealed Himself in Scripture-Jews and Christians) through redemptive history.
A lot is made (and rightfully so) of the prophesies of the book of Revelation, in which the Apostle John tells of visions he received that give images of the end of sin-and by extension this world. People have spent the last 1900+ years analyzing this book to understand not only what is going to happen but how. People have dedicated their lives to understanding a book that is shrouded in imagery and metaphor. Not wanting to miss it when the end comes people have attempted to construct time lines and signs to point out when it's coming and/or if its already here. Some of these beliefs are completely insane and dangerous. Others are well supported by Scripture and agreed upon by reliable and learned individuals. But the point of Revelation has never been to give us an exact understanding of how its all going to go down. Revelation is the bookend of Scripture. As Genesis tells us that all things were Created by and for God so Revelation gives us the indisputable fact that in the end God wins (meaning He restores creation to perfection and does away with the sin that tainted it. It does not mean there is a cosmic scoreboard tallying points). Whether Christians are raptured or not, who this Beast is, when its all going to happen, if the 1000 year reign of Christ is literal, where Israel as a nation fits in are all important things in there place (some more than others) but giving us those answers isn't the ultimate point. Revelation is a comfort to believers because it tells us that in the end sin is done away with, the deceiver is cast into Hell, and those who confess Christ as Lord and Savior will be with Him in paradise.
But that's not how some people handle the book of Revelation. Much to the shame of Christians everywhere, people have been using the teachings of Scripture on the end of sin as a tool for fear-mongering, sensationalism, and as a way to line their own pockets. And people buy into it because they want to be clued in, they want to be in the know on a subject that is discussed a bit too abstractly in Scripture for their tastes.
There is a second reason why the Bible talks so much about the end of the world, and why Christians should actually care and think about it often. Knowledge of the fact that one day sin will be judged, Christ will return for His Church and establish an eternal kingdom without the corrupting influence of sin, is to motivate us towards holy living. The writers of Scripture have no problem admitting that the fact that The End hasn't come yet is problematic. And the longer we wait for it the more unlikely it seems. Its been nearly 2000 years since Christ ascended to Heaven and predictions of His return were first made. Since then the sun has risen and set, people have been born and died, and somehow people keep paying to see Michael Bay movies. Things continue as they always have. Why should we think they will change. The Apostle Peter (in 2 Peter 3) tells us that this will happen; as the day draws near people will scoff that The End hasn't come.
Christians are called to remember daily that the end is coming and not to lose heart. Yes the world has continued like it always has up to this point, but that won't always be the case. Our time will end, either through death or Christ's return. To continue on like there is no end is the gravest form of denial and ignorance. But the end of the corrupting influence of sin is not meant to stir fear in the heart of the believer. It is meant to inspire him on towards Godly living.
Two of my favorite passages in Scripture deal with this very topic, 2 Corinthians 5 and 2 Peter 3. The former is Paul discussing how as Christians we grown longing to be free of sin and in the presence of God because we know that to be in the presence of God is far better than anything this world has to offer. But this does not lead us to depression, suicide, or even sadness. Rather this hope of eternity with Christ leads us to live lives pleasing to God (2 Corinthians 5:9), because whether we are here on earth or in eternal glory our motivation for existing is the same, to be well pleasing to Him. In heaven we will be able to do this in a way we can't here, because sin will be done away with in Heaven, but all the same our lives are to be lived towards the same end, the glory of God.
2 Peter 3 tells us its going to happen, the end will come. Until that time people are going to mock Christians because all our hope is placed on a day that has not come for 2000 years. But we are to trust that God delaying His coming is for the betterment of mankind, in His mercy He is giving time for people to repent of their sins and confess Christ as their Lord and Savior. We are to be grateful that the Lord has not returned, not discouraged by it. As we Christians wait we are to "be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And we are to count the patience of our Lord as salvation..." (1 Peter 3: 14-15).
Scripture never intended to (and it definitely DOES NOT) give us an exact date when the end will come so we could make billboards and line old men's pockets. Nor did it mean to give us an exact play by play so we could predict what will happen immediately before it happens (on a side note, can we please stop predicting that every presidential candidate could be or is the anti-Christ? Its getting really tired and more and more unimaginative). The Bible speaks of the end to assure believers that it is in fact going to happen and in light of that fact we are to live holy lives, not be caught up in the cares of the world. So lets stop spending our time trying to do Bible math and invest ourselves in Kingdom living, otherwise we've completely missed the point.
