#58. People who predict the end of the world

This post was originally featured in my friend Heather's blog, here. But since the it's an appropriate time, I'm sharing it here with you!
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My wife and I were on a road trip a couple of weeks ago when we saw a Billboard that said: “May 21, 2011 – Judgment Day!” I thought it was really nice that at least we would have Valentine’s Day. I always love the prices on candy the day after.

But seriously, has anyone else seen those signs? There’s always some self-proclaimed expert and “prophet” who predicts the end of the world. Those “prophets” have always been around. For example, some guy (Seventh-day Adventist founder) predicted that the world would end on October 22, 1844. Obviously, the world only ended for him. Life kept on going. And there’s many other people who came up with different days, using different calculations. They were all wrong.

If you happen to be one of those people that know exactly when the end of all things is, then I have couple of questions for you. Please read on. If you’re so certain of your set date, then just humor me while we have some time.

Question 1:

When Jesus said this, in reference to His return, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father,” what do you think that means? (Mark 13:32, NKJV) Seriously, when he says “no one,” do you think that means, “no one, except for Timothy Kratz in the year 2011, who’s a really clever guy. He’s so cool. He only buys Apple products?”

Question 2:

When Jesus says that only the Father knows, do you think he was kidding? Do you think that maybe He just wanted to throw in a joke to mix things up?

Question 3

Are you crazy? I’m not trying to offend you here. They say that crazy people don’t know they’re crazy. So maybe that’s something you may want to look into. Just talk to someone about it before your make an order on the billboards.

All I’m saying is that God’s word is pretty clear in this matter. As believers, we shouldn’t just follow anyone who claims to know something special that is not revealed in scripture. Let us trust God’s word and measure what anyone says against it. Have you seen any of these billboard ads? And how do you think people come up with all these dates?