The Shift

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.  Above all, keep loving one another earnestly...

1 Peter 4:7-8

I’ve never been much of a “last days” fan.  Ever since Hal Lindsay’s 1970 book, The Late Great Planet Earth, I’ve been skeptical of too-certain predictions about the End Times and the return of Jesus. 

There’s a rabbinic saying that it is not wise to look too closely either at the beginning (origins) or the end.  Anytime anyone has said, “These are the last days!  Just look at the headlines!” I’ve suggested to them that these have been the “last days” since the first Pentecost, right after Jesus, when the disciple Peter explained in the book of Acts about the gospel miraculously being preached in the languages of visitors from all over the Roman world. 

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Acts 2:14-21

I’ve redirected people to the upshot of it all – present day living – and Peter’s admonition following his apocalyptic predictions of a fiery end to things. 

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God…

~ 2 Peter 3:11-13

Over the last fifteen years or so I have slowly and reluctantly grown to be convinced about anthropogenic global warming.  It is the most politically incorrect thing I’ve ever done in my church denomination, and I [correctly] expect it to contribute to my early retirement from gospel ministry. 

I’m less interested in convincing anyone of my views than in equipping everyone to live courageously in the time remaining.  It comes down to present day living: how shall we live today?  Savor each day, love each other deeply, and use your gifts.  So whether I’m right or wrong about global warming – and I hope to God I’m wrong – the upshot’s the same. 

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.  Above all, keep loving one another earnestly...

1 Peter 4:7-8