Ever Ending?

A while back we were at a hot dog roasting event with some friends. It was quite enjoyable, even if I am about as outdoorsy as a house cat. One of the subjects that we got on was future generations' view of our times. One of the other gentlemen around the fire stated that he firmly believed that this was the final generation. I asked him why, but didn't get much of an answer other than the fact that the world is 'bad'.

Could the world end in our time? Sure, it could. Is that a guarantee? No. People point to different passages of Scripture trying to tell us to run for the hills because the end is near. Usually these are people with little understanding of history. Why do I say that? Because of all the signs we see today, there have been other generations who saw them too, and they also thought they were in the end times. Here is a short list of times that people really thought the world was going to end. Now, they had good reasons and I will try to list them here as well.

ca 70 AD
Jerusalem falls after betraying its Roman government. Fear spreads, and Christians see the former headquarter city of their faith destroyed. The world does not end, however.


ca 410 AD
The fall of the city of Rome was considered the beginning of the Dark Ages. Wild men destroyed libraries and knowledge centers for no reason, and fear spread as the destruction of government became almost total in the European area. Knowledge and civilization begin to go backwards, with each generation becoming less knowledgable and civilized then the previous. People saw it as the end of time. Still the world continues to turn.

ca 1346 AD
The Black Death (or Black Plague) hits Europe. 30-60% of the population of Europe dies from this one disease. It took them 150 years to recover from the effects of this terrible outbreak. Preachers preach the end, saying that one third of the population would (and did) die. The world recovers and moves on.

ca 1929-1940
The Dirty Thirties and the Great Depression hit America. The land is covered in blackness so thick that people cannot see anything by sunlight or lamplight. People die choking on the dust in the air. This lasts for years, with an economy that has collapsed with people left with no money and no way to earn a living. Death becomes common and people believe the end has come. The dust bowl ends and the economy recovers. The world does not end.

ca 1939-1945
World War II breaks out with Japan, Germany, and Italy taking on almost all civilized nations of the world. Death became common. Virtually all men were absent from there homes fighting in the largest war in man's history. Bombings and gassings were feared by everyone, and preachers preached the end of the world. By the time WWII ended 60,000,000 to 80,000,000 people had died. As tragic as these deaths are, the world continues as it always has.

ca 1947-1991
The Cold War between the USSR and the USA begins. After the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII, everyone fears that the two superpowers will destroy the whole planet with their nuclear weapons. Each side has enough power to do so, and tries to place their weapons of death close to the other countries borders. The Cuban Missile crises is one of the highest points of the Cold War, with Russia having a missile base within 100 miles of Florida, which was close enough to attack with low odds of the USA being able to defend itself. Schools hold bombing drills, people build their own nuclear shelters, and cities construct massive underground bunkers. In 1991 the USSR collapse brings an end to the terror. The world continues to turn as it has for all time.


Did these people have good reasons to fear the end of the world? Yes, they did. Did the people of Thessalonica have a good reason to believe the end was upon them? (II Thes. 2:1 ff) Yes, they did. Do we? Indeed, we have good reasons to believe that. But does that make it sure? Does that make it a guarantee that the world will end in our time? No. It does not.

In the end, we don't know that the whole world will end in our time. The disciples expected it in their time, it didn't happen. All the times I have listed here had people who truly believed the world would end in their era, yet it didn't.

Could it end tomorrow? Maybe. Could it end in twenty years? Maybe. Could it end in the next hundred years? Again, maybe. We do not know the time, yet always there will be among us those who are 'sure' the end is right at the door. What can we do about this?

We can quit worrying about it. The end will come, but we cannot determine when that will be. The book of Revelation has some uncomfortable things to say about adding to or subtracting from the prophecies written in it, and as such, we should not try too hard to make them fit for our times. They may, yet they may not. Parts of Revelation could be applied to almost any part of history, but yet the world did not end in those times.

So will the world end in your lifetime? I don't know. Nor does any preacher on the planet. But one thing I do know. You will die. Your own world will end. And that will happen in the next hundred years; unless you live ridiculously long. Even then, you will die. We all do. Are you ready for your end?