Should Christians expect the end of the world?
September 4, 2020
The short answer to this question is “no,” but a longer explanation is necessary due to nearly universal misunderstanding on the subject. The primary source of the confusion arises from casual reading of an incident recorded in Matthew 24 in which Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Naturally, the disciples of Jesus are alarmed and ask him for signs of what the King James translation mistakenly calls “the end of the world,” an expression which, to the modern mind, seems to imply the destruction of the entire planet. However, most subsequent translations render these words more accurately as “the end of the age;” that is, the end of a period of time rather than the end of a physical object. Even without this more correct translation, the context should make it clear that Jesus is speaking of a local catastrophe, not a universal apocalypse.
Jesus warned his disciples of the coming disaster so that, having been forewarned, they would have an opportunity to escape the general conflagration. He told them, “You shall hear of wars and rumors of wars,” but then added, “see that you be not troubled – all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Keep in mind that “the end” is “the end of the age” not “the end of the world,” and that the context of the discussion is limited to the coming destruction of Jerusalem.
Furthermore, when Jesus says, “you” he meant them, not us. And even here he is not telling them that social unrest is a sign of anything in particular. Here is how the Message translation captures the thought contained in this verse: “When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end.” As a matter of fact, in the entire history of mankind, there has never been a period free from conflict.
And just so there would be no mistake on the subject, Jesus placed a firm time stamp on the entire discussion by saying, “This generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled.” As Jesus correctly predicted, 40 years later, in 70 AD, Jerusalem and its temple were completely destroyed by the armies of Rome, thus fulfilling everything he predicted in Matthew 24.
Both the context and the plain language used by Jesus make it obvious that his instructions in Matthew 24 were limited to those disciples who were standing in his presence at that time, and that this passage has no possible application to us living 2000 years later. The issue is far more important than merely being a matter of correct doctrine. When Christians continually promote a false expectation of the end of the world, it not only discredits Christianity but infects the culture with a dangerously toxic idea that provides a pretext for violence on the part of unstable individuals. In fact, it is scarcely possible to find a madman or lunatic anywhere who has not relied upon the idea of the end of the world as inspiration for his mayhem. Charles Manson, David Koresh and Marshall Applewhite, to name but a few, all drew inspiration for their bloody actions from an expectation of the approaching end of the world.
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