Is the End Near?

Two things made me stop and think . . . 

1) This editorial cartoon by Jeff Stahler of The Columbus Dispatch seems to perfectly catch the current national mood. I cannot remember a time when I have encountered as much genuine anxiety in so many places among so many people. Truly we live in unsettling times.

2) Writing in Mere Comments, Lars Walker wonders if corruption inside the church is a sign of the approach Apocalypse. He notes that on matters of specific eschatology, he is more or less agnostic on the details, leaning to an amillennial approach. After quoting a few verses from 2 Timothy 4, he comes to this conclusion:

But (as far as I’m aware) there has never been a time in history when we’ve seen great segments of the institutional church openly turning their backs on the Scripture, the creeds, the teachings of the Fathers—the faith once delivered to the saints.

This is a new thing.

Is it a sign of the approaching apocalypse?

I would never insist on it.

But I (personally) suspect it. 

The article is brief so if you read it, read the comments as well. From where I sit, it seems to me that the lines of history are rapidly converging toward the climactic events described in the Bible for the Last Days. If this is true, then we shouldn’t panic or give away to despair. But let us keep our lamps lit (see Matthew 25:1-13) so that, like the wise virgins, we will not be caught by surprise but will be ready to meet the Lord when he returns.

And maybe you should dust off your Bible and read Daniel and Revelation again.