The view that the earth will come to an end in 2012 seems to have it's roots in the ancient Mayan calendar system called the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar which ends it's count on the 21st of December 2012 signifying that the Mayan people had special knowledge and knew that was when the earth would "expire", but this is a heavily disputed theory and there are other plausible reasons as to why the calender ends on that date (feel free to look it up on wikipedia).
As Christians what view can or do we have when we hear of such things and see those things spoken about in the bible signifying the end of days start to take place? The bible is clear on the end of days, as to what, and how and why, but it is also very clear that there is no "when". Jesus, when asked by His disciples said,
Matt 24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (NASU)
We walk a dangerous line if we think that we on earth know and can decipher that which is locked safely in the Fathers heart only, that which He had not revealed, even in Heaven. The world will end, but not on our timing, so lets not play God. While the scriptures are silent on the time, it is loud and clear about the signs and the stages and what our focus as Christians must be on.
Matt 24:4-14 - "See to it that no one misleads you. 5 "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many. 6 "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. 9 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. 13 "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." (NASU)
Note the order and things that will happen:
- People coming in Jesus name, claiming to be the Christ (anointed one) - misleading many.(Matt 24:4) Spiritual deception, people chasing and following special "anointed ones" coming in Jesus name and leading them with a false gospel. This has been happening for years and in extreme cases people have been led to commit suicide by false "christs"- We have been warned and we will end up victims if we do not know the Word or have a personal relationship with God. Don't depend on others to reveal what Gods will is for you when He has made it clear and accessible by His Word. Know Him personally and know His Word thoroughly and you will not end up a casualty.
-Wars, Earthquakes and Famines - Matt 24:6-8
Already happening! Our stand as the scripture says - don't be fearful, God is in control and these things "must" take place". but note - this is not the end yet - it's just the beginning. How do we not get caught up with fear - know that God is in control of this earth and your lives and the reality is things will get worse before it gets better - Hope and trust in Him, know His Word for you and focus on what He has called you to do, know that He is in control. Develop an intimate relationship with God.
-Persecution - Matt 24:9
There will be a period where we will go through persecution. We will be hated for our faith. There is no escape from this and it could be physical or emotional but do note that Christianity has been a faith that was birth and has thrived in an environment of persecution. Persecution of Christianity over the ages was like people trying to put out a flame with kerosene, it has done nothing but cause it to spread further and get stronger. Countries where Christians are persecuted seem to have the fastest growing conversion rates as opposed to countries where people are allowed to practice their faith in freedom and comfort (The Economist reported that China is now the country with the largest number of Christians, some believe that there are approximately 130 million believers there - http://www.economist.com/node/12342509).
The scripture goes on to say that many will fall away, betray one another - nothing like persecution to separate the good-time christians from the true people of the faith. Ask ourselves this crucial question, what if persecution does comes to our shores? What will our stand be? How far will you and i go for our faith in Christ. It is a scary but legitimate question, because the reality is, our boats will get rocked.
- Most will go cold - Matt 24:11-13
"Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold" (NASU) - It says not "some" but "most" and goes on to say - those who endure to the end will be saved - The key word here being "endure" - do we have the Spiritual endurance, the faith endurance that is needed to finish this race, start developing it now! How? - thats another topic :-)
-Finally it ends - Matt 24:14
"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (NASU).
God is a just God, every people group will hear the Good News, and will have the opportunity to either accept or reject His grace and love. Only then will the end come. Believe it or not there are still a total of 16,500 plus people groups that are unreached (not heard the gospel). There are a total of 2.8 billion people in these people groups which is approximately 41% of the world population (check out this site to keep track: http://www.joshuaproject.net). The bible clearly states that the end will only come when the gospel of the Kingdom is preached to all nations (people groups), and this means that as long as there are unreached people groups, the end will have to wait as God in His love, grace and mercy has decided.
As Christians, this is not a time to panic or become fearful, this is the time to step up in faith, to walk the talk, to live the great commission. What a great opportunity this presents us with, to show and explain to people how the bible has spoken about these things aeons go and we are calm and know what will and must happen and how it will all unfold. For us, "To live is Christ, to die is gain", we have nothing to lose, thats why we do not fear.
So what if 2012 is the year it all ends? The questions to ask will be these - What happens to your family members, friends and neighbors who have not had the chance to hear the good news, shouldn't that drive us to intensify our desire to share in one way or the other the love of Christ with them? Where and on what should our efforts, time and resources be focused on? Do we spend the rest of our days living like we have no end and spend most of our hours chasing after, accumulating and investing in things that will all eventually perish and mean nothing?
Is it the end? probably not yet but lets live like it is. Lets make this life count, lets lay up treasure in heaven, lets seek first the Kingdom of God! This life that we have on earth is like a drop compared to the ocean of eternity that we have waiting for us with God and we are destined for eternity. Lets live our lives with an eternal perspective.
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