Friday, May 20, 2011

The End is Coming ...Again

In 1987, I received an unsolicited book in the mail entitled "88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988" by an unknown preacher named Edgar Whisenart. A year later, I received a second book from Whisenart telling me Jesus would appear in 1989. Between 1989 and the present, we've all endured the Hale-Bopp comet, the Branch Davidians, and a host of other crackpots. Even venerable Jack Van Impe has gotten into the act with the suggestion that the world may end on December 21, 2012 (according to Baptist Bulletin magazine). Maybe he's read one too many Mayan calendars. The latest fool to trot out a date is an until-now unknown named Harold Camping who says the world ends tomorrow. So if you're a little late reading this, you may or may not be in trouble.
The very real problem I have with all these charlatans is that they make the serious message of the Bible trivial and the butt of every joke. You hear them everywhere: "I'm not paying my bills until Sunday." Charles Krauthhammer said "There's an upside to everything. You can eat red meat."
The truth is that the world is going to end some time sooner than later. Christians know it. God certainly know it. The world should know it, but they won't.

Someone has made a joke of it.