It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)
Today is the second time this year that we reach the final day of life on our planet, at least according to Harold Camping. Throughout my entire life I have continued to encounter those claiming to know the day of Armageddon and it always strikes me that those who make this claim have adopted a radically different approach to both the Scripture and Christian Tradition than what has been held since the beginning of the Church.
My first question to those who claim to have a firm date on the end of the world is to ask them about this particular passage of Scripture:
But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. (Mark 13:32-33)
So how is it that if even Jesus Christ doesn’t know the day or hour, that so many false prophets like Harold Camping continue to have so many avid followers? I will make several observations, many of which I do not personally understand, but seem to be the case.
1. Too few Christians read the Bible and those that do often pick and choose what they read, gathering proof texts to support their own personal version of Christianity. The Bible is meant to be read in it’s entirety and through the lens of Christ.
2. We have a tendency today to blur the lines between fact and fiction, between entertainment and reality. Books like The Da Vinci Code and the Left Behind series get treated as historical fact, while the Bible and books on the history of Christianity are called into question.
3. We are a fearful people. We need look no further than the nightly news to see that our culture is fixated on fear. The basic premise of the Gospel is that we should cast out all fear.
4. Knowing when the end is coming allows us the comfort of having time to get things in order. The only problem with this is that the Gospel message calls us to always be prepared as if today is our last day on earth.
This last point is the one that we as Christians ought to pay most attention to. Christ tells us clearly that no ones knows the day or the hour and more importantly that for each of us, that day and hour may come with our own death much sooner than we expect. Rather than relying upon Harold Camping, or the ancient Mayan calendar, or anyone else claiming to know the day, I simply plan on doing the best I can to be ready when my life is over and rely on God’s mercy to save me.
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