Will 2012 Be The End?

According to the History Channel, the Mayan Indians claimed life was going to have a major change in 2012, Nostradamus said something about the end of the world about the same time Resulting, is a group of people called the “2012ers.” They believe there will be some major catastrophe or the end of the world in a couple of years. They're stocking up on food, buying places in the wilderness stocked with shotguns and high powered rifles. There is even a doomsday movie entitled 2012!

It reminds me a lot of what happened when the calendar turned from 1999 to 2000. Every computer was predicted to stop or malfunction. Life as we knew it was going to come to an end. Then the clock hit midnight and NOTHING happened! Millions of people were relieved and ate their canned food for the next two years.

With all of this hysteria about the end of the world, is there anywhere we can turn to tell us if we indeed are living in the last days of this planet? The answer to that is a resounding "yes!" The Bible, which has a far better record for telling the future than the Mayans or Nostradamus, has told us what the world is going to be like in the last days.

In the Old Testament book of Daniel in chapter 12, which was writen over 2500 years ago, concerning the time of the end says, “men would move back and forth on the earth and knowledge would increase.” There is estimated that close to a million people on airplanes are in the air even as you read this blog. That is a lot of people going back and forth on the earth, and to say that in the last one hundred years knowledge has increased would be an understatement.

Scripture also gives another marker that tells us we are living in the last days. That has to do with the nation of Israel. After being conquered by the Romans in 70 A.D., Israel was destroyed as a nation and did not exist for around 1950 years. Yet, the Bible speaks of the nation of Israel in the last days. In fact the Bible says in the last days, God would restore the land of Israel, the people to the land, and the military power to the people, eventually bringing the people of Israel back to Himself, meaning that they as a nation will except Jesus as their Messiah.

Most of this has taken place. The Jews have returned to Jerusalem just as the Bible said they would. The Bible also says in the last days a coalition of nations will come against Israel. Ezekiel tells us a list of the nation that make up this coalition. Russia is one of them. Libya is another and most interestingly, Persia which is modern day Iran.

In the past few days, Ahmadinejad has been in Pittsburgh at the G20 conference and in the news quite a bit. While he was here, it was confirmed that Iran had a hidden nuclear enrichment plant set to open in about a year and a half. He is also on record saying he wants to wipe Israel off the map. Once again, we see world events falling into place with what the Bible said would occur in the last days.

What does this mean to you and me? Do we buy canned food and fight the 2012ers for all the cabins? Not at all. Jesus told us that when we see all of these things start to take place look up, for our redemption draws near. We don’t know the date when the end will come. In fact, the Bible says no one knows, but it does give us direction as to what the world is going to look like at the time of the end and it is strikingly similar to the world we live in today. For this reason, let’s be about the work of The Kingdom. Stay close to Jesus. Walk a life worthy of His calling, for the time is short. If Jesus were to come back today or one hundred years from now, let’s be ready. For, one day the clock will hit midnight, and things will never be the same!

Blessings,

Pastor Robert