The Gentle Art of Holy Surrender

Are we in the end times? The Bible gives many examples of signs that warn us of the coming end of the age. Six such signs are given by Jesus Christ, two characteristics are given by Paul, and eleven other occurrences are given by the prophets to occur prior to or soon after the end of the age. We are also told we will not know the time of the end. I, like many of you, have read the Left Behind series of books written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Both men are well recognized evangelical Christians. I found myself intrigued by the concept of the end time because of the books. Each one built the anticipation of the next in the series and I must say I eagerly anticipated the next book. Most of the material in the book is based on concepts of the Bible and I found that, overall, the series was mildly critical of the Catholic Church. In fact, it was critical at times of all organized religion which can be a good thing if it is driven by Godly thinking. As with any fictitious account, LaHaye and Jenkins are filling in the gaps with their thoughts and ideas. It is clearly not meant to be a factual account. What it pushed me to do was to read the Bible more closely. I was not looking for end times signs but was intrigued by many of the ideas mentioned in the book referencing the Bible. The Catechism of the Catholic Church in section 675 tells us that “before Christ's second coming, the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.” God is in control. He will not forsake us and He knows the proper time for everything. Why worry about the end time? If we are walking our journey with the Lord, we are ready. We should not worry about it nor be anxious. It is not in our "to do" box. What we are charged with is far more important than predicting a date or being concerned with the end time (unless you have not accepted the Lord as your Savior). The general judgment is something that is in our lists of tasks. All the texts in Bible which talks about the Second Coming seem to imply clearly enough that the general judgment will take place on the earth. The Catechism tells us it is probable that no words will be spoken in the judgment, but that in one instant, through a Divine illumination, each creature will thoroughly understand his own moral condition and that of every fellow creature (Romans 2:15). We should then be focused on bringing everyone to the Word. We must be vigilant like Paul, Timothy, Apollos, Peter, and the other disciples and never rest. You know how you felt when you discovered the love and comfort of our Lord and Savior. Let's make sure everyone has the opportunity to experience that all consuming love, that the general judgment will allow us a final repentance, and the end time will come when God is ready for it.