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Health & Fitness

The End is Near! Or Is It?

This is my first, and may be my last blog. That is if the prediction that the end of the world is to take place (or start) May 21st, is true.

Recently, I was talking with a woman who told me that her son-in-law, while driving in Brooklyn, had seen a large sign claiming the world was to end May 21. He asked her, since she was a "religious" person, what she thought. He is not alone.

Seems that the prediction given by Harold Camping has generated a good deal of interest among many people. It has received both TV and press coverage, and those road signs appear in many places.

But the question people are asking is, "Is it true?" Mr. Camping's loyal followers certainly think so. Yet, this is not the first time he made such a prediction. Back in 1994 he said the world was going to end, and it didn't. It was a false prediction. That should have been reason enough to put Mr. Camping on a shelf, remove him from his teaching position with Family Radio, and seek to correct him. But since he holds a majority share of Family Radio, the station couldn't, and it has suffered for it.

While predictions of the end of the world fascinate people, they are all speculative at best. While the Bible does speak of the end of the world, it also teaches that no one, not even Mr. Camping, knows or can calculate the exact date. The Gospel of Matthew, Ch. 24:35-36, reads, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. No one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

At Christ's ascension, recorded in Acts 1, the disciples asked Jesus, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?" Jesus responded, "It is not for you to know the times or the dates the father has set by His own authority." So I do not believe Mr. Camping's calculations, nor did I believe the world was going to end on May 21. (Interestingly, I heard that someone challenged Mr. Camping to transfer his stake in Family Radio starting May 22 but he refused. Sounds like he's not so confident, either).

However, before ending this blog, there is something to be said about being prepared, if not for the end of the world, then the end of one's own personal world. The Bible teaches that, all our days are numbered and "who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"(Matthew Ch. 5:27).

Like those who died on 9/11, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. The Gospel message is to trust in Christ today! John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have eternal life." Come what may, even the end of the world, it's comforting to have such security.

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