Date: 5/13/2008
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: "Watch ye therefore...."
<br><br>Many believe that this is the beginning of the end....again.  Some will use as evidence the downward spiral of our economy because of the upward cost of goods, services, and fuel.  Others would direct your attention to the seemingly never ending occurrences of uprisings, violence, terrorism and war.  Still many would focus on the natural disasters that seem to be happening on a daily basis.  As most of you know, just in the last few days a 7.9 earthquake occurred in China flattening buildings and killing more than 12,000 people with the body count increasing by the minute.  This tragedy came on the heels of the devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar in which some say as many as 100,000 may have lost their lives.  Do all of these events point to the soon end of the world as we know it or is it all just happen-stance?  If but nothing else it certainly makes you wonder doesn’t it?<br><br><br>No biblical student would deny that some of the above instances could be part of God’s plan as he ushers in the end of time.  Who could question the words of Jesus Christ himself when in Matthew 24 he speaks of the signs of the “End of the Age”.  Among other things, he says, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains”. (vs. 6-8) Even though most of the things Christ talked about are now almost a daily occurrence, I think if we look back throughout both secular and biblical history, we would find that none of these are new to mankind.....wars, famines and earthquakes.....in fact, you can read about instances of all these in just the Bible alone.  You have to look no farther than the biography of God’s own people, the Israelites, to find occurrences of wars and famines.  And of course, Paul and Silas were enjoying a prison diet of bread and water when a violent earthquake struck, shaking the foundation of the prison and slinging open the cell doors.  These are just a very few of the many examples that could be cited.  These natural and man-made disasters are both frightening and unsettling.....but they are not new.<br><br><br>Could the end of the world be on the horizon?  I think the answer would have to be “yes, it could”.  Could that occur today?  Yes.  Could it occur tomorrow?  Yes.  Could it occur 1000 years from now?  Yes.  Are you catching my drift?  If you go on to read the later part of Matthew 24, you will find these words spoken by God’s Son.....“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  He goes on to say that, “you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (vs. 36, 44)  I must say that I fully believe in the inspiration of God’s Word, its content, and its writers.  I must also say that I especially believe in the words that are written in red because they were spoken by the one who cared so much for me that he died on my behalf.  In other words, if Jesus said it, then you can bank on it.  So, in my opinion, we should not waste our time worrying and wondering about when the world is going to end.....Christ said it will happen when you “least expect it” anyway.  This one thing we know for sure....our world will end one day one way or another.  Oh, and one other thing, the best early warning system you have for that day may be laying on your shelf with dust on it.  I don’t think I would wait for the ground to start moving before I got out the Pledge.                  <br><br>  Go the extra mile - Devin<br><br>