Signs of the times...

Since Jesus was swept up into heaven, leaving us with the promise of returning for his followers some day, people have been predicting the day and time of his return. It is easy to see the world as we wish to, and the most innocent of happenings can portend cataclysm, if that is what we are looking for. In Revelations 11:19 (NIV) we read, "Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm."

In the past ten months, we have seen all this and more here in the Midwest. We started the year with record snow and cold, we moved into a wet, flood and hail filled spring, followed by a tornado season that is the worst I've seen in my 51 years of life. Since that stopped, we have been in a drought, and now we are experiencing earthquakes. If one is looking for signs of the end times, we will certainly find them in our world today.

But what does it mean for us, when we interpret current events to be a "sign" that the Rapture is near? Do we give up our jobs and our homes to prepare ourselves? Should we drive around the country proclaiming the message that the Apocalypse is upon us, to warn those who do not share our faith that they are doomed? Can we really know what God will do with us when we can't even predict the weather tomorrow with any degree of accuracy?

I believe that God gave us these warnings to keep us on our toes, to disallow us from becoming too comfortable in the ways of the world. By foretelling the end of the world with events that have happened on earth for all time, he reminded us that we are not in control of the future, and we should be prepared at all times. There is an earthquake somewhere on the planet every minute of the day. Someone is having severe storms, wherever there are people there will be conflict and war, there is drought, there is famine, there is sunshine and there is snow. The mountains will shake and the seas will rise up against those who try to tame them.

The message for us, and for all time, is to be prepared. We do not know the year, the day, or the hour of his coming. Like the virgins with their lamps waiting for the bridegroom, let us be prepared whenever the time comes. With faith as our timepiece, we will be ready.