Snapshots
Biblical Truth
OF
Wasted Time
BIBLE REFERENCES:
Matthew 24:6-14 (NIV) “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains….. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.’”
Matthew 24:36 (NIV) “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV) “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, ……., having a form of godliness but denying its power.”
2 Peter 3:10 (NIV) “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”
APPLICATION:
One subject that does not come up much today is the “end-of-the-age” prophecies found in the Bible. Several weeks ago, however, everyone was jolted into thinking about “the end times”. A retired civil engineer convinced himself (and a host of other people) that the world was going to end on May 21, 2011. What convinced him? Well, it was his calculations based on Biblical accounts and events recorded in the Bible.
The predicted day has now come and gone with no “end time” events occurring anywhere on the planet. Did this slow down the prophetic flow? Absolutely not! This self proclaimed prophet claimed he was slightly off on his calculations and the new predicted date was actually five months later (October 21, 2011). Anything happen? Nope!
From my perspective, as a fellow engineer, I think it really is time for this gentleman to hand in his calculator. The Bible clearly tells us that no one (not even God’s very own Son!) knows the exact time and date for the “end-of-the-age” (see Matthew 24:36). All of our predictions are nothing more than foolish speculations and a waste of time.
Actually, though, some good did come out of all this. A lot of people started thinking about the “end-times”. I think there was a collective sigh of relief with the “no-event” outcome. Call it a premonition, an omen or simply faith in what the Bible says, a lot of people (not just believers) believe down deep that the current course our world is on is not sustainable and that some catastrophic event is in store for the future.
The Bible clearly tells us that there will be a real “end-time” event some day for our planet (read 2 Peter 3:10). For the true believer, the “end-of-the-world” will actually be the beginning of an exciting new era (new heaven and a new earth – 2 Peter 3:13). For the unbeliever, not so much! One event that will come with certainty in our life time is that our personal time here on the planet will come to a sudden end (our personal "end-time" event). Time on earth is limited, why waste it?
A PRAYER:
"God, open my eyes to the truth. Help me to understand and be obedient to your Word so that I will be prepared for whatever is in store for my future. I know that each one of us has a limited time on this planet. Help me not to waste mine."
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