The End Is Near!! (or is it?)

Well, since I am writing this blog post, and you are reading this blog post, it has become obvious that the world did not come to an end like was predicted to happen yesterday. Some nutty pastor got a lot of press claiming that Sat. May 21st at 6:00 would begin the end of the world. It got a lot of media attention, and became the "water cooler topic" for a few days.

None, but the most ardent followers gave the prediction any credibility, but the ones who did believe it, seemed to believe it enough that they committed all of their resources into spreading the warning. It is reported that all of their money was spent on advertising judgement day, and the end of the world. If nothing else, you have to give them credit for their commitment to their belief, however misguided it is.

 Part of what struck me the most in this story is the fact that these people believed their message was the truth so totally, that they were willing to sacrifice everything they owned in order to warn others! The other part that struck me in this story; and the motivation for my writing this post; is that I found it rather odd, that the verses I heard quoted and often misquoted as arguments against what this pastor preached about the end of the world, were just as misinterpreted, and misguided as the pastor's were! And that of all of the Christians that came out against this pastor and his prediction, none of them are as committed to what they believe to be true! Oh sure they would quickly state what they believe to be true, is indeed the truth, but none that I know are so commited to the fact that they are right, that they would risk everything in order to share it with others.

You have heard the saying "Put your money where your mouth is" as a way of telling people that their belief must cost them something if they are wrong, as proof of their own commitment to their belief. No one can fault these people for not being committed to their belief.

What I did hear and read were a lot of quotes and misquotes from the bible to try to show how wrong these people were; and indeed they were wrong; but why? And what is right? The church system for the most part teaches a literal interpretation of prophecy, and eschatology, (which is a study of end times). But is the church system any better at providing answers to such things? Not from my observations it is not!

Consider the Y2K scare. Of course you can buy the volume of books written about that subject for less money than the cost of the paper it was written on! And believe it or not there was a Y1K scare too. I guess some will have to wait a little more than a year from now before they realize there is not much truth to the end of the world scenario predicted by the Myan calendar either, and then come New Years day 2013 a new future end of the world date will be predicted and believed by a new group of people.

Others will be smarter than that and will quote once again, that the end will come when you least expect it, and since they expect it, then they are mistaken! Really? Or the most popular reason was "no man knows the day nor the hour". So, they are obviously not decieved, but then they will explain their version which usually has some agreement with the authors of the "Left Behind" series where there is an escape plan for the Christians with a Rapture, and an anti-Christ, and one world governments, and one world leader, and seven years of tribulation, and judgment and a firey torture for eternity for everyone who was not smart enough to believe before it was too late! (excuse me while I puke!)

I am so disgusted by Christians will tell you on one hand that God loves you, but are so willing to believe that this same God is as fickle as they are with His love, that He would think nothing of sending you to an eternal torture with out thought.... and then they go about their business as if it is no big deal to them!

I am reminded of a pastor I have met and come to know, named John Gavazzoni. He tells of a conference he was to speak at one day, and as he had his message all prepared to tell the people about the hell they would face if they did not believe; he said that God spoke to him and said "Do you really believe that about Me?" From that point on, he studied to find out that what he had been taught all along, and what he had taught as well about hell, was completely wrong!

But suppose you do believe what the church system teaches about the end of the world is true. My question is, how much are you willing to stake for your belief? How interested are you in the lost souls that will spend an eternity in a firey torment? Are you willing to sacrifice anything for someone else to be spared such a hideous future? I don't mean giving a dollar to a beggar on the street, or leaving a tract in a bus station. But consider these people who predicted the end of the world would take place on May 21st 2011, which was yesterday as I write this, and who spend all of their savings to share their belief. What is your commitment?

Don't forget, that the end of life on this earth comes to each one of us at some point. We do not have to wait until the whole world ends, to know that individually, it ends for each one of us at some moment, and many times without warning! Do you care? Are you committed? Or is it possible, that just maybe, the TRUE nature and character of God is not really as much of a monster as you have been taught?

Perhaps, just maybe, God IS love, without condition, without end, and that His Mercy IS everlasting! Not just for a select few, but for every last one of His creation. "The earth is the Lords, and the foulness thereof, the world and ALL they that dwell therein." How many does ALL exclude?

Perhaps it is true that "the love of God leads men to repentance." Perhaps it is true that the end is near for some, but not the end as we might think, but rather the end of an old life, and the beginning of a New Creation. Perhaps, The End Is Near!! (or is it?)