Every generation has its prophets of doom who claim that the end of the world is right around the corner. Could Jesus return at any time, or must certain events take place prior to His return?
by Beyond Today host Gary Petty
In the nearly 2,000 years since the apostle John was given the visions of Jesus Christ's return in the book of Revelation, generations have come and gone and humanity still survives. Jesus has not returned to set up His Father's Kingdom.
The popularity of the Left Behind series of novels and movies, based on two authors' views of the events leading to Christ's return, is testimony to the present fascination with the time of the end.
Theologians, scholars, evangelicals, fundamentalists and science-fiction buffs debate the exact interpretation of biblical prophecy—especially the imagery in the book of Revelation.
Newsweek reports that while 36 percent of Americans believe the book of Revelation contains actual prophecies concerning the future, 47 percent believe that it is not to be taken as a portrayal of actual events to come. Even fewer in Europe know of the existence of the book of Revelation!
Meanwhile, skeptics like to suggest that the signs of the end foretold in the Bible are simply common conditions that have existed at all times.
They point out that we have always seen wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and disease epidemics—events foretold by Jesus in His most detailed prophecy (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21).
The wars and bubonic plague of the Middle Ages, the Great Depression, the Holocaust and the massive devastation of World War II were all cataclysmic times that some heralded as the end of the world. In the 1800s, the Adventist movement in the United States formed around the belief that Jesus was returning in the year 1844. Yet here we are. Time goes on.
continued...