four things

I ran across this ABC news story this morning about the end of the world coming in 2012.

“You have to understand, there will be nothing, nothing left,” Geryl told ABC News from his home in Antwerp, Belgium. “We will have to start an entire civilization from scratch.”

That’s because Geryl believes the world as we know it will end in 2012. He points to the ancient Maya cyclical calendars, the longest of which last renewed itself approximately 5,125 years ago and is set to end again, supposedly with catastrophic consequences, in 2012. He speaks of the ancient Egyptians, who, he claims, saw 2012 as a year of great change too. And he points to science: NASA predicts a sharp increase in the number of sunspots and sun flares for 2012, he said, sure to cause electrical failures and satellite disruptions.

It is good to know such things…..Good to have a date. Better for planning and all that.

I decided several years ago that there are four things we know for sure about eschatology (the study of the end times). The rest is debatable.

From scripture we know without any doubt that:
1. Jesus is coming back
2. He could come back at any moment
3. When He comes, the Judgment happens
4. Right now is the only time that we for sure have to get ready to face that judgment.

I certainly have my opinions on pre-trib, mid-trib or post-trib rapture. I have my opinions on dispensations, premillenialism, postmillenialism and amillenialism. I have opinions on preterism and partial preterism. but I have found that these are all secondary things that we can debate with a more or less loose hand. The four things above are nonnegotiable. Those four things will change your life.

Don’t get caught up in prophecy in the news. So many people waste so much time and money on something that ultimately has no value.

Do work as though the night is soon coming when no one can work any longer. Do be faithful, so that if the return of the King is today, you will not be ashamed.