The End Is Here!
Family of believers,
"The end is near!" With every passing day, the volume with which people shout this phrase seems to grow louder. They might not say those exact words but, make not mistake, that is what they're communicating. Think about all the catastrophic "ends" we're supposedly nearing in our society. We're nearing an environmental end and a political end and a financial end and a housing end and a religious end and a food shortage end. We've been on the brink of WWIII for decades and apparently COVID is thinking about making a comeback.
"The end is near!" is a great motivator because it's almost always based on fear. And yet, none of those "ends" I listed above are actually a sure thing. They're all potentially coming unless you and I and the rest of the country or even the majority of the world make some significant changes (or pay more taxes). That's where the fear sets in and what makes the threat of the end so powerful.
"The end is near!" A lot of people accuse Christians of communicating that same message. The threat of the end of the world can be heard just as commonly from the lips of a popular Christian "influencer" as from those of a politician. For these supposed Christians, the "ends" might be different but they will usher in the same destructive conclusion. There is a sexual end and a moral end and a breakdown-of-the-family end and a lack-of-people-attending-church end. And just like the politician, Christians often communicate their message in the form of a threat: "If you don't shape up and turn your life around, God is going to destroy the world!"
There is no disputing that the Bible clearly speaks of the end of the world, often referred to as "the day of the Lord." Saint Peter writes: "The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare" (2 Pet. 3:10). The Apostle Paul says something very similar: "Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape" (1 These. 5:1–3).
While the end times messages of the politician and social media preacher might sound very similar to what we find in Scripture, they shouldn't because they aren't. When God speaks of the Last Day, it isn't a threat that might come if the people of the world don't collectively start living right, as if our morality could somehow stave off God's promise.
For the Christian, God's promise of the end is not a threat to coerce change but a loving warning to inspire preparedness. Like when I ride a big roller coaster with my kids and just before we crest the hill I say, "Here it comes!" I don't want them to be taken by surprise. I want them to know what's coming so they're ready for it. I want them to take comfort in the fact that, though it will be scary, I am with them on the roller coaster and daddy will keep them safe.
For the Christian, the end of the world is not a punishment for a life of failures. It is the end of our failures. It is not a painful destruction because we didn't make enough positive changes. It marks the moment when we will forever be changed and the destruction will be the end of all pain and death. For the Christian, the end of this world is God's gracious deliverance into the next world, a new creation where we will dwell in the presence of our Triune God.
All of these promises God makes to you concerning the end are so real and completely yours in Christ that we could even change the saying from, "The end is near!" to "The end is here!" There is no doubt about it. This is not God's threat but His promise, His promise to you. You're like His trust-fund baby. All of the riches of heaven are yours. You are an heir of eternal life. You just haven't received the full amount of it yet. But it doesn't change the fact that it's yours. The end arrived when He made you the promise. In the meantime, God gives you little pieces of it here, periodic allowances if you will. All the while telling you, "The rest is coming."
"The end is here" means that no threat or fear can rob you of what God has already declared yours in Christ. "The end is here" means you can live today and everyday in the joy and confidence of knowing that everything rests in the nail-scarred hands of your Savior. "The end is here" means your daily vocations have eternal purpose and significance. "The end is here" inspires our preparedness for tomorrow while comforting us with the peace of today.
On this side of heaven, we live in the paradox of the "now and not yet." Everything God promises to you on account of Jesus is now. It's yours. There's nothing left to pay, earn, sign, or finalize. "Now is the day of salvation," as St. Paul writes (2 Cor. 6:2). At the same time, we haven't yet experienced it. We look forward to it and long for its completion. So, we rightly say, "The end is near." It is soon coming. We say that not to create fear or coercion but to comfort and inspire. But, in Christ, we can also confidently say, "The end is here." Jesus says "It is finished." He has ushered in His kingdom and is right now reigning and ruling all things for your good and the benefit of His Church.
So fear not, friends. I don't know how or when this world will end. But Jesus does. And nothing, nothing will derail His plans for you until that day comes. Live in that freedom. The freedom of knowing that no matter how hot the earth gets or who is elected president or how far the stock market crashes or how irreligious people become, "The end is here." Jesus lives and loves you to the end. May He securely wrap you and your family in that confidence today and forever.
May God richly bless your weekend and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
In Christ,
Pastor Bater