Don't Head for the Hills

Furthermore, we know from the Bible that the presence of even 10 righteous people in Sodom would have stayed God's hand. How many in New York and other cities are now clothed in Christ's blood and are thus righteous in God's sight? We can argue from Scripture that God's justice should mandate destruction, but we can also argue that Christ died for us and thus mandated mercy. Better yet, we can agree that it's not fitting for us to judge God or assume He's going to act one way or another in line with our feeble calculations.

But what about those who receive special insight from the Holy Spirit? Some people I respect say this happens, others do not, and I know that God does not fit nicely into the box into which we sometimes place Him. So, I accept such proclamations with the thought that they may be true—and if so, so what? Christians are to be like the brave policemen and firemen who eight years ago ran toward toppling towers rather than fleeing from them.

In general, we Christians should spend more time discerning our callings for today than speculating about tomorrow. Jesus told His disciples, "We must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work." Jesus said "we," not "I." If we claim to be His disciples, we must also keep working. It doesn't matter whether we embrace pre-, post-, a-, or pan-millennialism: Jesus tells us to get to work. For most, Labor Day is a day off from work. For Christians, six days of the week are labor days.

God spends four chapters of the book of Job telling him that God's deeds in the past are beyond our comprehension, so I suspect those in the future are as well. Thousands of forecasters have set end-of-world dates believed in by some. The dates have come. The dates have gone. Christ's instructions remain. I'm not heading for the hills, because New York is where I live and work. Could these be last words? Maybe. Maybe not.