This is going to be a short post as I ran in to some technical difficulties last night when I lost a couple of hours worth of blogging in one fell swoop. Instead of the material I was intending to post I am going to write a short reaction piece on a connection between two events that i saw yesterday. I have to thank my friend Neil for a few things he shared on facebook which guided thoughts that were forming in a certain direction.
So when I say two events I actually mean one event and one no-event. The non-event I speak of is, of course, the end of the world predicted by Mayans that was supposed to occur at 11:11 am yesterday. As a million facebook jokes were circulating yesterday, understandably, and people I met were particularly British about it; stoic, disparaging, sarcastic, it struck me that we often talk about what we would do if we found out the world was going to end in 24 hours. Based on my observations so far we are going to need some pretty serious convincing, if we are to do anything at all. I think of the nature of Nuclear attack, a threat that seems to be returning in the mind of the western public as both Iran and North Korea pursue their atomic dreams., and it seems to me that in the event of that kind of attack (and Armageddon doesn't seem to be an over-statement in relation to that) it will come swiftly. It will be a normal day and we will be doing normal things and then, at best we will receive hours warning or, in an unannounced attack, minutes.
Our response to the Mayan prophecy was completely understandable, the nature of the ending was unspecified and seemed unfounded. We have lived through a number of such predictions in my life time, most recently the supposed date of the rapture earlier this year. Its no wonder we are cynical.
When 11:11am came yesterday I was with a colleague. At the moment the minute changed there was a beam of sunlight came through the window, and my colleague joked "Oooo could be a fireball from the sun". I wasn't worried. He turned to deal with a customer and in the distance I heard a large noise, a soft rumble, like a thunder and just for a split second, I wondered.
It made me think what will we be like in the real event, if it should come in our lifetime, if it should come in that way.
I have touched on this in previous blogs but Christmas, the first one, was a big event for the Jews. A long predicted much anticipated event, the event I mentioned earlier. It came quietly, at least on a national level it did (I am sure it was not quiet for Mary or Joseph, nor for the Shepherds or wise men). But when Jesus was at his prime they largely missed it, dismissed it, were disparaging and stoic and sarcastic "He saved others but he cannot save himself". How easy it is for me to be judgemental but, the truth be known, I in all likely-hood would have missed it too. Even his own disciples needed a little, shall we say, clarity cast on it.
My Friend Neil, put this as his post and I would paraphrase but I don't think I can say it any better than he does.
In the storey Cry Wolf, the villages ignored the boys screaming that a wolf was actually coming because of all his previous lies, it ended badly,
The Mayan Prophecy was yet another Cry Wolf that we've heard down the centuries,and ignored or laughed at
but as the World had a definite beginning, it will have a definite end, no one knows when, but a good sign will be when people are so cynical and un...believing about God, but specifically Jesus, that crazy as it sounds, the belittled and ignored creator calls it a day on our absurd rebellion.
the Bible says it'll be a day like any other, people will be feasting and drinking, maybe Christmas would be the perfect time?
The Bible is not a village boy crying wolf to be ignored or laughed at, The Bible is Gods words of love and truth, what loving parent wouldn't warn their children of danger?
If you mock something for long enough, it becomes meaningless, a myth, but look around you, you are living in a world that looks exactly like the Bible describes it will look like near the end, but a wolf is not coming, a lion is, the biblical symbol of a King, the same King who was born in Bethlehem, then a servant King, now a Judging King, and I don't want brown pants on that day.~ Neil Toomey
The bible says there will be another advent, that there will be a judgement when the living and the dead are summoned. It's not scare tactics its just letting us know there will be consequences to face. This coming will be glorious, the baby, the son, the lamb, will come, "as a lion" as a King, as the King Of Kings.
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