Gotta Love Americans!
And by 'love' I mean 'laugh at'.
Love too, of course, but definitely laugh. It's the only thing that keeps me from bashing my head against the wall in frustration. Today's bout of nervous laughter came from the website Now the End Begins *cue scary music*.
People, we ARE LIVING IN THE END TIMES! Fo' sho'!
How do we know? Well, OBVIOUSLY because of what's happening in American politics!
*snort*
Don't you just love these folks' humble attitudes? America has lost her moral standing, so therefore it must be the end of the world*!
Umm, excuse me for a moment while I take a reality break...erm...check. Do you realize we're not the first to believe this about our country?
For centuries, humanity has been convinced that it was living in the end times. Of course, now we can look back from the smugly comfortable passage of years and realize that humanity was wrong. We can grin at the people who, with varying degrees of certainty, predicted the end during the 16th century, WWI, and the 70's (to name just a few) and say 'oh, you silly people! Look at us! We're still here, and the world didn't end after all!'
That's obviously 'cause the world's going to end during our lifetime! Right? Right?
Or will there be, in the next thousand years, people who grin smugly back at us?
Each major civilization, in some stage of its development, has a tendency to see itself as the center of the world. I think America has a double dose of this tendency. We really are frightfully arrogant. And powerful. We've got our fingers in almost every other nation's pie (or bank account, or government), so whatever we do is going to have a huge effect on the rest of the world, but does that mean that the events in our nation are definitely signalling the end of the world? Weeell, I think that might just be a wee bit egotistical.
I believe that America may very well be doomed. We're a far cry from the nation our forefathers intended to build, and we seem only to be straying farther. Whether America attempts to forge a New World Order (as claimed by Now the End Begins), or simply disintegrates (which I regard to be the more likely option), I believe that our days as 'one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all' are, quite possibly, over and gone. But please, don't let me discourage you, because I have not lost hope...far from it! I believe that, with God, there is always hope. Nations rise, nations fall, nations conquer other nations - no empire lasts forever. God is the only unchangeable force in the shifting tide of this world, and my hope is in God, not in America. I believe that America's demise, though it may well signal the end of the world as we know it,** will not necessarily signal the end of the world, and that to confidently state otherwise smacks of a very disagreeable pride.
Most of us can probably admit to some level of fascination with the end times...I certainly can! I've done a fair amount of study, drawn a few conclusions...but the main conclusion I've drawn is this: END TIMES PROPHECY IS CONFUSING. I don't think that should keep us from studying it. Jesus did, after all, tell us to 'keep watch', but He also informed us that 'no-one knows the day or the hour'. I believe those instructions should keep us in an attitude of constant, prayerful, humble watchfulness and dependence on God.
The world has, since the beginning, undergone many dramatic changes, and each time, there have almost certainly been people who thought those changes were the end of everything. One of these days, those people may be right, but I have a sneaking suspicion that, when the end does come, it will be in a way that none of us fully expects. All of this end times alarmism seems a bit short on humility. I think we could all learn to hold our opinions a little more lightly, in recognition of the fact that we are, after all, only human. Jesus Himself did not know the precise timing of the end, and you don't hear Him spending half the New Testament speculating about it. Perhaps we could all spend a little less time formulating elaborate theories, extravagant claims, and 'intelligent' debates, and a little more time just trying to be like Jesus.
*Meaning the end of the world as it has been since sin entered it.
**And yes, that's a link to another of my blog posts on a similar topic.
_____________________________________
So, now you've heard my opinion...what's yours?
Love too, of course, but definitely laugh. It's the only thing that keeps me from bashing my head against the wall in frustration. Today's bout of nervous laughter came from the website Now the End Begins *cue scary music*.
People, we ARE LIVING IN THE END TIMES! Fo' sho'!
How do we know? Well, OBVIOUSLY because of what's happening in American politics!
*snort*
Don't you just love these folks' humble attitudes? America has lost her moral standing, so therefore it must be the end of the world*!
Umm, excuse me for a moment while I take a reality break...erm...check. Do you realize we're not the first to believe this about our country?
For centuries, humanity has been convinced that it was living in the end times. Of course, now we can look back from the smugly comfortable passage of years and realize that humanity was wrong. We can grin at the people who, with varying degrees of certainty, predicted the end during the 16th century, WWI, and the 70's (to name just a few) and say 'oh, you silly people! Look at us! We're still here, and the world didn't end after all!'
That's obviously 'cause the world's going to end during our lifetime! Right? Right?
Or will there be, in the next thousand years, people who grin smugly back at us?
Each major civilization, in some stage of its development, has a tendency to see itself as the center of the world. I think America has a double dose of this tendency. We really are frightfully arrogant. And powerful. We've got our fingers in almost every other nation's pie (or bank account, or government), so whatever we do is going to have a huge effect on the rest of the world, but does that mean that the events in our nation are definitely signalling the end of the world? Weeell, I think that might just be a wee bit egotistical.
I believe that America may very well be doomed. We're a far cry from the nation our forefathers intended to build, and we seem only to be straying farther. Whether America attempts to forge a New World Order (as claimed by Now the End Begins), or simply disintegrates (which I regard to be the more likely option), I believe that our days as 'one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all' are, quite possibly, over and gone. But please, don't let me discourage you, because I have not lost hope...far from it! I believe that, with God, there is always hope. Nations rise, nations fall, nations conquer other nations - no empire lasts forever. God is the only unchangeable force in the shifting tide of this world, and my hope is in God, not in America. I believe that America's demise, though it may well signal the end of the world as we know it,** will not necessarily signal the end of the world, and that to confidently state otherwise smacks of a very disagreeable pride.
Most of us can probably admit to some level of fascination with the end times...I certainly can! I've done a fair amount of study, drawn a few conclusions...but the main conclusion I've drawn is this: END TIMES PROPHECY IS CONFUSING. I don't think that should keep us from studying it. Jesus did, after all, tell us to 'keep watch', but He also informed us that 'no-one knows the day or the hour'. I believe those instructions should keep us in an attitude of constant, prayerful, humble watchfulness and dependence on God.
The world has, since the beginning, undergone many dramatic changes, and each time, there have almost certainly been people who thought those changes were the end of everything. One of these days, those people may be right, but I have a sneaking suspicion that, when the end does come, it will be in a way that none of us fully expects. All of this end times alarmism seems a bit short on humility. I think we could all learn to hold our opinions a little more lightly, in recognition of the fact that we are, after all, only human. Jesus Himself did not know the precise timing of the end, and you don't hear Him spending half the New Testament speculating about it. Perhaps we could all spend a little less time formulating elaborate theories, extravagant claims, and 'intelligent' debates, and a little more time just trying to be like Jesus.
*Meaning the end of the world as it has been since sin entered it.
**And yes, that's a link to another of my blog posts on a similar topic.
_____________________________________
So, now you've heard my opinion...what's yours?
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