Thoughts on this end-of-the-world talk

A LITTLE MORE than 100 years ago, one of England's top biblical scholars by the name of John Daniel Jones mentioned in a sermon on the sovereignty of God the following:

"The great need today is not the discovery of a new truth, but the vitalization of old ones. The man of the hour would be he who could breathe new life into certain simple, elementary truths that have been in the church's possession throughout her history. We have quite enough articles in our creed. What we want is sincerely to believe in them, for every truth that we honestly believe in becomes an energy in our life. Every genuine, belief is a force."

I can't think of a better quote concerning the phenomenon surrounding this day as it relates to the Second Coming of Christ. Unless you have been living on the moon, there is a prediction going around by a popular internationally known Bible teacher, Harold Camping. He happens to be the president of the Family Radio Stations. Family Radio has more than 150 radio stations in the United States and communicates its message of the Bible in more than 40 languages. This prediction states that at approximately 6 p.m. today there will be major natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and tornados that will begin destroying this world.

Just before the beginning of this destruction, it is predicted that graves will open and all Christians living will be taken up to heaven to be with Jesus.

From the beginning of time, man has been attracted by the unknown. Adam and Eve just had to know what it was like to partake of the tree that God said was forbidden. Man has always had the desire to go where no man has ever gone before, which has resulted in space exploration and numerous beneficial discoveries. Curiosity about the unknown can be a good thing, but not this time.

Matthew 24:36 states "But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of Heaven, but my Father only."

The phrase "that day" refers to the second coming of Christ. It doesn't take a master's degree in theological studies to see that it was not God's intention for man to know when Jesus was returning for the church. This teaching, concerning Jesus returning for the church, is foundational to Christian faith.

What concerns me are those outside the Christian community who are convinced that the primary source of these predictions is the Bible, thus making the Bible appear to be a book viewed as something to be decoded instead of something to be lived out, which is the furthest from the truth.

It is amazing that amid so much division, racism, poverty, broken relationships, crime and other symptoms of mankind's depravity that Christians, who have access to so many people, can only come up with a prediction that goes against a major foundational Christian truth, causing more confusion, skepticism and doubt.

As John Daniel Jones said, wouldn't it be nice if Christians would stick with the truths that we do know and seek to give clearer insights into them? One of those truths that could revolutionize our society, if Christians sought to clear it up in speech and actions, is in Luke 10:27.

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself."

As Christians, we are to represent heaven on earth. With man's natural attraction for the unknown, it is interesting that so many outside the Christian community have no desire to see more of heaven.

Let's be the man or woman of the hour that John Daniel Jones spoke of and breathe new life into old truths. My prediction is that by doing so, when the time comes for Jesus to return for his church, whenever it is, there will be more human air traffic in the sky. Go figure. That shouldn't be so difficult!