 | The Reverend Amy Baumgartner is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, 525 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS. Amy was ordained at First Presbyterian Church of Wichita, Kansas in June 2008. She earned a Masters of Divinity from Denver Seminary. Before attending seminary, Amy graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Landscape Architecture and worked several years for an architectural firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. You may contact Rev. Baumgartner by email AssociatePastor@firstpresbywichita.org, or by phone at (316) 263-0248. |
Religion
2011-06-01 12:07:00
“End of times” predicted?
For centuries there have been those who have proclaimed the “end times” is at hand. Today it seems like this message is more prevalent than ever. I remember from Bible school as a child that no one is supposed to know when it will be, yet there is the Book of Revelations that supposedly predicts when it will be based upon certain things that happen. That seems contradictory to me. What is right?
Answer: When I hear discussions about the “end times,” I usually respond tongue-in-cheek, “Well, today, we are closer now to the end of the world than we ever have been before.” (To which I usually get a response of rolled eyes). You have remembered correctly from your childhood, days that no one knows the exact time of the end except for God alone (Matthew 24:36). Yet the Bible, including the words of Jesus, give us some signs of when the end may be near: many claiming to be Christ, wars and earthquakes, and people led into sin (see Matthew 24). The Book of Revelation also shares signs of the end. We need to remember that the apocalyptic genre in which the Book of Revelation was written is purposely complex, filled with imagery. Instead of having definite answers, it conveys through symbolism what will happen in the future.
While the Bible may give some “clues” as to the end, the focus on the Bible seems to be on certainty that the end will indeed come and on being ready. We are to have our houses in order and to be prepared, knowing that it will happen soon (even if we do not know exactly how long “soon” will take). 1 Thessalonians 5 puts it, “stay alert and sober” and encourages us to build each other up as we await the end. While talk about the end seems more prevalent today than ever, all we can know for sure is that it will happen in God’s perfect timing.
