The End is Near!

While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman who is pregnant, and they will never escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3

Every Christian, including the early church, has wondered if the end is near. Will Christ return while you’re alive? There has never been a shortage of people claiming to know when Christ will return.

A Baptist preacher by the name of William Miller predicted the second coming of Jesus Christ would      occur before March 21, 1844. When this date passed, a new date was predicted, April 18, 1844. Again, the date passed and another of Miller’s followers, Samuel S. Snow, derived the date of October 22, 1844. The non-fulfillment of these predictions has been named the Millerite Great Disappointment.

The founder of the Calvary Chapel system, Chuck Smith, published the book End Times in 1979. He predicted that the Lord would return by 1981. He wrote,

“If I understand Scripture correctly, Jesus taught us that the generation which sees the ‘budding  of the fig tree’, the birth of the nation Israel, will be the generation that sees the Lord’s return; I believe that the generation of 1948 is the last generation. Since a generation of judgment is forty years and the tribulation lasts seven years,     I believe the Lord could come back for his church anytime before the tribulation starts, which would mean anytime before 1981. (1948 + 40 − 7 = 1981) However, it is possible that Jesus is dating the beginning of the generation from 1967, when Jerusalem was again under Israeli control for the first time since 587 BC. We don’t know for sure which year actually marks the beginning of the last generation”

Hal Lindsey held the same belief and wrote about it in his book, The Late Great Planet Earth.

There is one sure way to know when Christ is not going to return. If someone predicts the date, you can be sure that it won’t happen on that date. Speaking of His return, Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” So, there is no way to know for sure we are living in the last days.   However, you are living in your last days. One of two things will happen, either you will die, or the Lord will meet you in the clouds ( 1 Thess.4:17). The end is near for each of us.    How will you live this life as you wait upon His return or    your homecoming?

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark