The end is near!!!

December 30, 2021 (Thursday)

 

Humans mark the passing of time with calendars and clocks. We do this so we can orient our day, set and keep appointments, and track progress. As we head into the last day of 2021 (tomorrow), we know what to expect.

 

One thing that, historically, has been on the mind of every believer has been the end times. The problem is, there isn’t exactly a calendar to tell us when the end will happen. Remember the kerfuffle over the Mayan calendar? Dr. Michael Coe, in 1966, proposed the end of the calendar (December 21, 2012) predicted the end of the world. Scholars (and native Mayan’s) feel, the Mayan calendar only indicates the end of a cycle and a new calendar beginning the next day. (BTW, the calendar is round.)

 

Jesus makes a stunning statement about the end, “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows.” [Mark 13:32 CEB] While our year is coming to an end and we look forward to scrubbing the past and starting over (diet and exercise anyone?), there is something much bigger coming that nobody except the Father knows the “when.”

 

Some might think that if Jesus is God, then He should know the day or hour. However, Philippians 2:7 states, “But emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” [ESV] The KJV states, “made himself of no reputation.” The NIV states, “made himself nothing.” From the Greek, the ESV is closer to the literal meaning (deprived, stripped).

 

Jesus voluntarily left the form, privileges, and glories of being God. He retained His divine nature and personality, yet experienced the full force of living as a human (yet did not sin) dependent on the Holy Spirit. Think of it this way: entering the world as a baby, Jesus (Almighty God, the Creator and sustainer of all things) needed His diapers changed. This voluntary limiting Himself meant there were some things He had access and control over and somethings He did not. Knowing the day or hour was one of the things relegated to the Father. Shedding His blood for us was Jesus’ privilege.

 

Likening His followers to the doorkeeper (or manager) in a house, Jesus advised, “Don’t let him show up when you weren’t expecting and find you sleeping.” [Mark 13:36 CEB] Two things jump out in this verse. We should ALWAYS be expecting THIS day or hour to be THE day or hour. Losing sight of (or faith in) the imminent return of Christ is a dangerous thing. Thinking something has to happen first, loses sight of the imminent return of Christ, exposing us to catastrophic error. By implication, this means the excruciating possibility of punishment or exulting reward. (See Luke 12:43, 46)

 

The second point is that of “sleeping.” I think it is a metaphor; most likely for being careless, unprepared, or not paying attention. Another idea is negligent in service. This might be the gist Peter was thinking, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be? You must live holy and godly lives, waiting for and hastening the coming day of God.” [2 Peter 3:11 – 12a CEB]

 

There it is: we are to be holy, hopeful, and hastening the coming of the day of God.