Be Ready
Christians have argued for centuries about when and how Christ is going to return to the earth and usher in the end of time—a scenario a number of books in the Bible have predicted.
“This generation is going to see the climax of history as predicted by the prophets,” said a man named Hal Lindsey, the most famous end-times author of the twentieth century.
Lindsey’s 1970 book, The Late Great Planet Earth, has sold 30 million copies and helped put the fear of God into many readers who wondered if they were ready for Christ’s return.
Over the years, end-times authors have developed an amazing number of schemes for trying to figure out what complex passages in the Old Testament Book of Daniel and the New Testament Book of Revelation mean.
For Lindsey, the Armageddon clock began ticking in 1948 with the creation of the state of Israel. He originally predicted that the second coming of Christ would occur no later than 1988.
Lindsey wasn’t the first person to pick a specific date for the Second Coming.
Over the years, detailed predictions have come from the Shakers, Alexander Campbell and the Disciples of Christ, William Miller and the Seventh-day Adventists, Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith, television evangelist Jack Van Impe, and author Edgar C. Whisenant, who wrote a book entitled 88 Reasons the Rapture Will Be in 88.
And many Christians thought the Y2K computer glitch would usher in the end of the world.
USA Today reported that “as many as 100” end-times books and novels would be published in the year leading up to January 1, 2000.
Somehow we’re still here, and all the end-times authors are busily revising their dates.
But if anything, interest in the end times has only grown. The bestselling Left Behind novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins have done more than their share to inspire a whole new wave of apocalyptic speculation.
The novels show the chaos and confusion that could result after Christians have been “raptured” (or taken from the earth) and sinners try to survive in a world now dominated by the Antichrist.
(Some Christian thinkers have criticized the books’ interpretation of theology, but that hasn’t slowed their massive popularity.
According to Tyndale House, which publishes the series, the Left Behind novels and related books have sold some 50 million copies.)
But many of the well-meaning Christians who have focused so much time and attention on the Second Coming seem to have missed one important point. Christ himself told us that we should concentrate not on the day and the hour of his return but on the state of our souls.
Keeping watch means living our lives in such a way that if Christ returned today, he would find us pleasing in his sight.
If I knew I would face Jesus before the sun went down, I think I might start by confessing my sins to God, my family, my co-workers, and my next-door neighbors, seeking their forgiveness for past wrongs.
I would make some phone calls to loved ones to express my concern for them and share the message of Christ’s love.
If time allows, I might even examine my checkbook to make sure I have fulfilled financial commitments made earlier to churches and charities.
It means doing everything we can with the time, energy, and resources we have to extend the kingdom of God—both through sharing the gospel of Christ with others and working to see our culture embrace godly values of justice and righteousness.
And it means being faithful to Christ on a moment-by-moment basis, regardless of whether Christ comes back the next minute or long after we have died.
Father, help me avoid end-times paranoia and instead develop full-time preparedness for your return.