The End (2nd Timothy 3:1)

You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come.

~ 2nd Timothy 3:1 ~

When it comes to end times discussions, I shy away from them. So it is with reluctance that I even begin to write about this aspect of Christian faith. In theological terms, the end of the world as we know it is called eschatology. It is the study and explanation of "last things". The Merriman-Webster definition defines eschatology as

1: a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind

2: a belief concerning death, the end of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humankind, specifically : any of various Christian doctrines concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment

So let me start by saying that every person in the history of the Christian faith who has attempted to predict when the end will come has been wrong. The most recent was made by Ronald Weinland who predicted the world would end on  9 Jun 2019. Weinland previously predicted the world would end in 2011, 2012, and then 2013, and 2018! Prior to the date occurring he began to express some doubts regarding his own prediction. 

Pangea

There were predictions of the end in 2012 when the Mayan calendar ended. John Cusack cashed in on the idea with a big budget tragedy film called "2012". The world as we know it was being reformed. Continents were shifting and what was once Pangea, a single land mass that split into the continents as we know them today, was reformed as one. It's an actual scientific theory, albeit on the fringe of 
accepted science, called the "cataclysmic pole shift hypothesis" which suggests there have been in the planet's history geologically rapid shifts in the relative positions of the modern-day geographic locations of the poles and the axis of rotation of the Earth, creating calamities such as floods (Think Noah!) and tectonic events (Massive earthquakes creating mountain ranges!). 

In the late 90's there was the Y2K scare and several end of the world movies like Bruce Willis in "Armageddon" (1998), Morgan Freeman as the POTUS in "Deep Impact" (1998) and Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Last Days" (1999). Don't waste your time on the last one. The year 2000 came and went without incident.

But today in our post 9/11 society, the level of societal unrest seems at an all time high for many of us. Hopelessness and fear results in record breaking levels of anxiety and depression. Suicide is the second highest cause of death in young adults under 35 years old. 

I have a friend who believes we are at a tipping pint in America. The cost of the federal government is not sustainable. It has proven to be ineffective in meeting the country's most pressing issues like gun violence, poverty and homelessness, child abuse, drug running, gangs, and human trafficking. Our inability to maintain civil discourse in our public sphere is fueled by bad behavior rewarded with air time in scandal and tragedy driven news. Our social networks either cause us to hide behind masks of popularity and coolness, or we bemoan, rant and bait others into arguments. Could the predictions of the apostle sound more on target than what we read in 2nd Timothy chapter three?

For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable (you can't please them), slanderers, profligates (lawless), brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God... (2Ti 3:2-4)

Even Jesus had some things to say about the end, but was he talking about the ultimate end of all existence as we know it, or was He talking about the end using hyperbole, the exaggeration of things so often used by prophets? It was an ending to come to Jerusalem and the people of Israel under the tyranny of Rome.

“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven." (Luke 21:9-11)

He goes on to speak of the persecution of Christians. "You will be hated by all because of my name." (Luke 21:17) The suffering will be worse than ever before and will not be surpassed. (Mark 13:19) "People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world..." (Luke 21:26)  

What's most important to hear in the various versions of what is known as the "Olivet Discourse" is that first, nobody but God the Father, the creator of heaven and earth, knows when the end will come (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32, Acts 1:7), and second, our job is to be awake, carrying on with our mission as disciples of Jesus, which is to witness to the good news of God's love. (Matthew 24:42-46, Mark 13:35-37, Luke 21:34-36)

We need an interpretive framework to understand these sayings. I choose hope, not fear, as the main meaning. These sayings are meant to give courage to a persecuted church that is experiencing hardship and suffering. Eschatology is also meant to be fulfillment of ancient Jewish hopes. The God of Israel, the only God, will bring His great Day of Judgement upon all flesh. Finally the people of God will be restored to a divine theocracy that will provide lasting peace and plenty for all whom God chooses. A fear-driven question is, "will God count me worthy?" A hope-driven worldview understands that God has already made His decision to include you by sacrificing His Son for you. All you need to do is respond in faith, cooperating with God's grace at work in you, which is empowering you to love more and more like Jesus Christ.

I can remember as a child hearing that the barcode prevalent upon our packaged goods was the mark of the beast in the Book of Revelation. I was asked recently if our smartphones or talk of embedded chips for identification and e-commerce were also fulfillment of this passage in Revelation.

Also it (the second beast which rose from the earth (Rev 13:11)) causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six. (Rev 13:16-18)

Rock and roll metal band Iron Maiden played off cultural ideas about the Antichrist, or son of the devil made famous in "The Omen" trilogy of films, with a variety of provocative album covers. The number 666 is a code for the name of the beast mentioned in Revelation 13. Some believe that all who worship the beast, and therefore be able to buy and sell goods, will be marked with some symbol of the beast. Some literally think 666 is the mark, but nothing in the text would confirm this belief. Others think it is some mark which the beast controls, like a scannable UPC barcode or computer chip. Every era has its guess. 

For those who have a historical understanding, the number of the beast is a code for the name Neron Caesar, the formal name of Caesar Nero who ruled the Rome Empire from 54 to 68 AD. He was known for his persecution of Christians, throwing them to the lions in the arena to entertain the bloodthirsty citizenry of Rome. He impaled Christians and lit their bodies on fire as torches for garden parties in his palace grounds. He was indeed a beast. To further add validity to the decoding of the number 666 as pointing to this infamous Roman leader, other manuscripts of the book of Revelation use the number 646, instead of 666, which is the number of the informal name, Nero Caesar.

The mark of the beast is coinage and insignia which bears the image or name of Nero. One would not be able to buy and sell without using currency of the time, in this case coinage celebrating Nero. Caesar worship included honoring the emperor as divine. The first Roman to become a god, as part of aiming at monarchy, was Julius Caesar (reign 46-44 BC). Jews and Christians alike found difficulty under Roman rule for they refused to worship idols. Rome was a pagan culture which worshiped a number of gods, but refusal to honor Caesar as divine was seen as seditious. Many were imprisoned, tortured, and executed for standing firm in their choice to worship only the God of Israel. 

When all is said and done, the biblical talk of the end times should be understood as hopeful and encouraging, not frightening and discouraging. Some would argue that frightening unrepentant sinners is exactly what these passages are meant to do. I disagree. While passages of scripture can be frightful at first, these are meant to display hope in the sovereign authority of the creator. No force on earth can stand against God's purpose. And God's purpose is redemptive. God's actions to bring about a new order, described as a new heaven and earth, and metaphorically portrayed in a New Jerusalem, are motivated by God's love. God is delivering us from the fall of humanity into sinful slavery and the corruption of God's good creation. God is creating a new future where wickedness and want, disease, disorder and death are no more. 

The next time you begin to hear predictions of the end and feel frightened, remember these following words of Jesus and embrace hope.  

"Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:28)