The End Times

From the very beginning of the church age men and women have been preoccupied with the "end times."  For those of you who are in to such things, the technical term for the study of the end times is "eschatology" -- which comes from two Greek words: ἔσχατος, meaning last and λογία, meaning study.  (As an aside, do you ever wonder whether people make up such words just to make things seem more complicated than they really are?)

I have to admit that I have trouble getting too excited about teaching on, or even studying about, end times theology.  Postmillennialism, premillennialsim, amillennialism ... it all makes my head spin.  But more importantly, I become concerned that too much focus on the end times can distract us from the urgent work that God has for each of us now, as was apparently the case with the church in Thessalonica.

Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians in part to set them straight about the second coming of Jesus.  The church had obviously been taught about the second coming, but thought that the return of Jesus was imminent.  How did they respond to this belief?  Well, they began to ignore the ordinary responsibilities of life and instead just wait.  Given that 2000 years later Jesus still has not returned, we can see in retrospect that the strategy of just waiting was perhaps not the way to go! 

As I think about it, the experience of the Thessalonians reminds me of Harold Camping's prediction last year that the Rapture would take place on May 21, 2011.  As we all know, Camping proved to be wrong.  He then moved his prediction to October 2011, and of course proved to be wrong then as well.  Sadly, some of Campings followers sold their possessions and spent their money warning the world that the end was near.  The secular media, in turn, had a field day.  Christians as a whole were painted with a not very pretty broad brush.

Having said all this, I will also be the first to admit that we live in strange and troubling times.  The culture around us is changing with unprecedented speed -- and not in a good way.  The internet and television combine to facilitate rapid change in attitudes, many of which are decidedly anti-Christian.  Tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, and our own country's critical support of Israel seems to be waning.

Jesus gave us an idea of things to look for in the end times.  But, He also said in no uncertain terms that God alone knows the day and hour when Jesus will return.  See Matthew 24.  Because of that, I will continue to do my best to stay alert while at the same time not allowing all the end time talk distract me from what I believe God is calling me to do.

I don't want at all to suggest that I reject out of hand all the end times talk I keep hearing these days.  In fact, my wife has been urging folks to read a book called "The Harbinger" -- which she says is a must read.  I think I will take her recommendation and give it a read over the next couple of weeks (and, no, not just to preserve family harmony!).

How about you?  Have you been thinking of the return of Jesus lately?