YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THEIR FACES
I announced to the church yesterday
that I believe 2012 will be the end of the world. I did not set a
date. I was not referring to the return of Christ or the
Conflagration or the end of the cosmos. The news media confirms my
statement every day and the Bible is the basis for my viewpoint.
NEGATIVE REACTION
I
have been thinking about the people who set dates for the end of the
world and the return of Christ; I have also been thinking about the
extreme negativity that those false prophets raise in society.
Society not only rejects the false prophets and their
prognostications, they also reject legitimate Biblical prophecies
concerning the end times. They say the world will not end, Christ
will not return, Judgment Day is not coming. I react to their over
reaction by saying, “The world is going to end in 2012.”
FOR SOMEBODY
Those
of you who know me (and trust me), know that I am not an end times
date setter. Still, I really do believe 2012 will be the end of the
world... for some people... at least 56 million people... or as I
stated on Facebook, the end of the world for 1 out of every 113
people, which is the present day mortality rate. This rate will rise
dramatically if war, famine, pestilence and disease takes place in
global proportions.
A FACT OF LIFE
The media reports death daily and the
obituaries are dedicated to death. The Bible says, it is appointed
unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment (He. 9:27). For
those who die, the world ends. In fact, for the people who are close
to the deceased, the world as they know it also ends. Death is a
killer. Death is a destroyer. Death is a terminator. Death is so
final, at least until something better or worse comes along. Death is
our enemy, our last enemy (1 Co. 15:26).
IT IS PERSONAL
This is a sobering concept. How many
friends do you have on Facebook? How many of your FB friends died
last year. How many of your non FB friends died last year? The annual
mortality rate, worldwide, has been averaging one out of every 113
people. Death took at least 2 of my 140 FB friends last year, and I
also had non FB friends die. Make no mistake: Death is not our
friend; Death does not respect age, station, gender, race, education;
Death is our enemy. The Good News is: Jesus saves us from our final
enemy, Death.
So, before you scoff at the idea that the world is going to end in 2012, remember, it is going to end for someone, maybe a friend, maybe a loved one, maybe yourself. It would be prudent to be prepared for the eventuality of death, because it could be today. As Christian, we should be throwing out the lifeline to those who are lost in sin.
VARIOUS VIEWPOINTS
There are several ways people
respond to this issue. Here are a few of those responses.They
don't believe in life after death, so they ignore the subject or
hopelessly cringe at the idea.
They believe that God does not
punish anyone for their sins, so they don't worry about death and
judgment.
They believe that they are good enough, and will get to
heaven on personal merit.
They believe in a false religion, savior
or salvation and find comfort in a false hope.
They believe they
are going to die, the world is going to end and they are going to
answer for their sins, but are not prepared.
They believe they are
ready for death and eternity with God, because they have a living and
active faith in Jesus Christ (1 Co. 15:54-55).
If anyone has any questions, or needs to talk about these things, let me know. I will try to help you.
Upward and Onward in Jesus,
Pastor David L. Gould
No comments:
Post a Comment