End Times

Luke 21:5-19
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13


After the horrible storm in the Philippines, and all the devastating storms in the last two years people tell us we are living in the end times. We see the terrible wars, the torture, human trafficking, enslavement and we stare in horror and say we must be living in the end times.


The thing is that it is not just our times right now, this has been a fear for all times. We hear today in Luke how Jesus is warning about how times will be hard for those who live in his way, but not to give up he is with us. We hear about the destruction of the temple (both his body and the building). We hear about the false profits and the war and if we are a careful study of scripture we see those paths as well.


In 2 Thessalonians we hear Paul warning people against laziness. The people living in these communities thought the end times was coming – like NOW! Why would they work so hard to do anything. It was time for those who believed to go home. Why bother, it was all over.


Think about this for a moment.


Why bother? Does it really matter? No one cares?


We hear this all the time. I hear, why should I try? No one cares? Why does it matter? We grow complacent. We hear horrible things and we harden our hearts. We see horrific images and we become as stiff necked as those in the Bible. We hear false profits, and we jump on board because it sounds better than what we are doing.


People expect there to be one catastrophic event that ruins the world. They expect things to end dramatically in an Armageddon manner. Yet God does not exist in linear time. God is out side of time viewing all at once. What if we are all living in the “end times now”. All of us are going to have an end time. Jesus tells us this. It is not the end time we have to fear, but wasting our time. Paul tells those in Thesolonica that.


We don't have to worry about dying, about the world ending, about it all being over if we truly believe that Christ came, lived and died for us and our salvation. That through Christ we have a new and everlasting life and can experience the presence of God now in the in-breaking kingdom. If we are truly living out this message than we need to be truly living!


So here is the hard bit – are you living or are you wasting time? Are you gossiping and doing nothing? Are you earning your keep for we all have an end time. We all have a short journey on this earth. What are you going to do with it? You can experience the peace and joy of Christ. You can live out his word and experience joy unmeasured. You can choose to help others, to live outside your comfort zone and make a difference, or you can coast and be a loafer. What is it going to be?



We live in the end times, so will our children, and grand children and great children, just as we follow those before us. What are you going to do with your end time?