What did Jesus say about the End of the World?

It’s 3:27pm on Sunday, May 22, 2011 and I’m still here.  All of my Christian and non-Christian friends are still here too!  Hmm… guess all this “End-of-the-World” talk was a bunch of nonsense, huh?  

God Created the Heavens and the EarthWell, not exactly!  But it is important to know who to listen to, and who not to listen to.  And for my money, well, I’m going to listen to the words straight from Jesus himself!  Here’s what He had to say when his disciples asked about the timing of this earth’s end ~ a question man has asked from the earliest of times ~ obviously all the way until today ~ well… yesterday! 

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.  “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”  Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name claiming, ‘I am the Christ’ and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains.” (Matthew 24:3-8)

Jesus goes on in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 24 and 25 (…great reading for the curious!) to describe in great detail, many of the things that will happen in the “end-times”.  He talks about the persecution of His Children, and the appearance of “false Christs and false prophets” (Matthew 24:24).  He also clearly describes what it will be like when He comes back to the earth ~ His “second coming”. (see Hebrews 9:28) 

Jesus said:

“For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man… They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”  (Matthew 24:27-31)

But Jesus made it very clear that we won’t know when all this will take place.  He said:

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36) 

And He warns us:

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come… So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him…  Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 24: 42, 44 and 25:13)

So, what does all that mean to us? 

It means we can stop worrying about when the world will end, and begin thinking about choosing life now!  Real life!  Life that will continue long after this world is dust, or re-created, or whatever God chooses to do with it!  None of those details matter.  What matters is that we choose Him ~ that we “get ready” by choosing His way instead of our own.  If we do that ~ if we choose to love Jesus “because He first loved us” (1John 4:19) , then whether we’re long-gone before He decides to end life on this spinning orb, or we’re lucky enough to see Him “coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory”(Matthew 24:30)  ~ either way, the end is the same.  When our lives here in this place are done, we will be in a far better place!  No more pain.  No more tears.  No more emptiness.  No more fear.  Only Joy!  Let’s choose THAT ~ on Purpose!