GN Commentary: January 12, 2009 - End of the World?

Don't be shaken by alarmists who claim they know the exact time of Christ's return and the "end of the world" but do watch the warning signs that Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 24.

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Video Transcript

The end of the world is coming before midnight tonight!  This was the alarming prediction of a would-be prophet in the late 1950's.  After playing a basketball game away from our high school, the talk among us players was sober, not only for losing the game, but because we all wondered if that prediction might be true.  When we left the bus and headed home many of us said to each other, if that prophet is right, it's been nice knowing you.  I tossed and turned in bed that evening wondering if that prophet could be right.

When morning came, and I was alive to see it, I knew another wild prediction had not come to pass.  There have been many individuals who have claimed that they knew when the return of Christ would be and the end of this world.  One very famous prediction was of an Adventist preacher named William Miller who calculated the return of Jesus Christ to be October 22, 1844.  After giving away or selling property and lands, he and thousands of his followers gathered together to await this awesome, anticipated event.  After midnight came and no return of Christ, there was a great disappointment when the calculations proved to be false.  William Miller, to his credit, had the courage to admit he was wrong and died in obscurity five years later.

You may hear of individuals in our day who claim they "know" when Christ is going to return and the world is going to end.  While Jesus gave His disciples certain signs to watch for that indicated His return, he stated in no uncertain terms that no one knows the exact date except His Father. 

In Mark 13:32 we read, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

Matthew's account puts it this way, "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (Matthew 25:13)

Don't be shaken by alarmists who claim they know the exact time of Christ's return and the "end of the world" but do watch the warning signs that Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 24.  When you see those signs being fulfilled, know that the return of Christ is near.

By the way, now, fifty years later from my high school days, we know we are nearer to Christ's return than we were in 1950!  So, watch!

For GN Magazine, I'm Gary Antion.