Waiting to Welcome the Bridegroom

66-70 A.D. 993-995. 1000. 1346-1351. 1533. 1736. 1925. 2000. 2011. 2012 (this was a big year, three different dates). 2013.

What do all of those dates have in common? Any guesses?

Those are the years that the world was supposed to end.

There are a lot more than I included. These were the ones that stood out to me. I remember the 2011 and 2012 end-of-the-world predictions. Harold Camping. The Mayan Calendar. My parents remember the 2000 doomsday prediction: Y2K. 1346-1351: the black plague. One of the most interesting ones: the birth of the Anti-Christ around 993-995 when Good Friday happened on the same day as the Annunciation (Gabriel’s appearance to the Virgin Mary). 66-70: the Jewish revolt against the Romans, seen by many to be the final battle.

I’ll ask an easier question. Is there anything else these dates have in common?

That’s right. I’m writing this. Russia still exists. The world is still standing.

There are more similarities. Some of the predictions were mathematical calculations based on the Bible. Some of them were the coinciding of religious holy days (692-695 Annunciation/Good Friday). Some of them were messages from angels (the 1925 prediction came from Gabriel himself). And none of them came true.

I’ve been getting a lot of emails about the end of the world lately. Apparently someone finally nailed the date (an angel revealed it to him) and it’s September of 2015. Start stocking up on food and bottled water because the end is here. To quote The Dark Knight Rises: “There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne.”

This one has all of the signs. ISIS. The legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. The faltering of world economies (Greece, China, etc). Ebola. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Oh, and did I mention that the last of the blood moons is coming in September (a tetrad of lunar eclipses – 4 in two years, each of which has lined up with Passover and Sukkot – an agricultural holiday that also celebrates Israel’s 40 year wait in the desert). To quote Revelation 6, verse 12: “The sun turned black as dark sackcloth and the whole moon became like blood.” It all makes sense.

Except… it doesn’t.

Tetrads of blood moons aren’t unheard of. They’re not often but they aren’t impossible either (4 in the last ~60 years). The matching up of religious holidays also isn’t unheard of. The Annunciation/Good Friday happened again in 2005 and will happen again next year. The growth and conquering power of ISIS? Remember the Crusades? They were intended to fight the Islamic conquest of the Middle East. If we want to talk about laws endorsing sin, remember slavery? Remember abortion? The epidemic of the end, aka Ebola (which has faded)? Remember the black plague? Economic crises? There was something that began in 1929… the Great Depression. Ring a bell? What about the economic troubles of the 1980s? What about 2008? One of the predictions in 2012 was that all governments and economies were going to crash on June 30th. Notice anything? Yes, we’re still standing. 2015 is not the first time this has all happened.

I saw an email yesterday and I’m just going to quote it. Here it is:

(From the New International Version)
“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.”

New Living Translation
“A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”

Matthew 25 (verses 1-13)
The Parable of the Ten Virgins.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Therefore, stay awake,[e] for you know neither the day nor the hour.”  

We’re not supposed to know when the world is going to end. We’re just supposed to be ready for it. And that doesn’t mean stocking up on nonperishables and propane tanks. If a disease wipes out the human race, neither of those are going to do any good. Bottled water isn’t going to save you if there’s a nuclear war. Food, water, propane tanks, none of them are going to save the people who rely on medicine to live. Diabetes? Cancer treatment? How do they prepare for the apocalypse? And it’s not like there’s going to be one set thing that wipes out the entire world. According to Revelation, people will die by war, epidemics, starvation, and wild animals. I read another email, this one advising people to use credit cards or take out home equity or 401k loans to stock up on food. Again, what is food going to do if you die by epidemic? Or by a nuclear attack? Or by a bear who somehow wandered into your neighborhood or wherever you’re hiding? There is no way to prepare for all of that. You can’t be physically ready for the end of the world. It’s the end times. Sooner or later, everyone dies. 

You can base your doomsday predictions off of the Bible, but try getting around Matthew 24, verse 36: “But of the day and hour, no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

We are not supposed to know. We are supposed to be ready. Not physically, but spiritually. We’re not supposed to stock up on oil because it’s going to keep us alive, but because the bridegroom is coming and we’re waiting to welcome him.

There’s no other option. We can’t physically prepare for the apocalypse, just like you can’t physically prepare to survive for 40 years in the desert. God had a plan for the Israelites and He has a plan for us too. In the end, we are all going to die. Whether it’s tomorrow or two months from now or when the world actually ends, it doesn’t matter. We just have to be ready. And death should be welcome. We are not made for this world and we need to remember that. When we die, it is simply our Father calling us home. And the apocalypse? That’s the wedding feast.