What should Christians think about the end of the world?
What do you think about when you think about the end of the world?
I think about movies.
I think about First Reformed, a movie not about the end of the world but about a priest who descends into madness because he's so terrified that the end of the world is going to come and that the church isn't doing its part to prevent it.
I think of Children of Men, where poverty, war, and global infertility (yes, no children have been born for 20ish years as of the start of the movie) lead to chaotic living conditions and life under the control of an oppressive police state.
I think about Mad Max, where society returns to a state of lawlessness following a nuclear fallout.
It's a popular genre since about the year 2000 and countless examples could be listed. Rarely (I can't think of a single example off the top of my head) do we see a post-apocalyptic movie give us much in the way of hope for society (although Kim Stanley Robinson's books do this).
No- post-apocalyptic movies are about dread and fear. They're meant to force us to examine ourselves and, then, scare ourselves straight (if you can pardon the expression) so we can avoid such worst-case scenarios as you've just seen on the big screen (or on your television).
So, how do you feel when you think about the end of the world?
I'll bet it isn't good.
For this reason, I want to talk about the end of the world from a Christian perspective, specifically what we might learn from the only passage in the Bible that describes Christ's second coming.
16 This is because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with the signal of a shout by the head angel and a blast on God’s trumpet. First, those who are dead in Christ will rise. 17 Then, we who are living and still around will be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air. That way we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
~ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, CEB
A few verses later...
9 God didn’t intend for us to suffer his wrath but rather to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him.11 So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already. 12 Brothers and sisters, we ask you to respect those who are working with you, leading you, and instructing you. 13 Think of them highly with love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:9-13, CEB
As I said, this is really the only time where we're taught anything specific about the second coming of Christ, which signals the end of creation as we know it. Even then, we're not taught much. What we're taught is that Christ will one day return to earth and this will trigger the resurrecting of the dead. And then, the dead and living will float up to greet Christ.
The greeting part is significant. We are welcoming him home. He's not taking us off to some other place, we will all live together in the new heavens and the new earth. Basically, we take this to mean that Christ's return joins heaven and earth together- so that these are not two separate places- and he will continue to live with us in this new creation. To be really super clear, we're going to float up and greet him, and float back down together to carry on life in the new creation. This is the theory.
What does this teach us about the end of the world?
Well, certainly not as much as anyone would hope. But I think, from a Christian perspective anyway, the end of the world will be good news. Now, I have no idea what will happen before Christ's return. I have no idea how bad or uncomfortable or scary things will get. But, when the time is right, he's going to come back. We're going to greet him. We're going to live together, peaceably.
That's not something we're doing now. It's not even something we can conceive of. To the extent that, when I tell people I'm a pacifist, they look at me funny. You mean you don't even want to kill bad people?
Yes, correct. I don't even want to kill bad people. I see the sorting of people in terms of good or bad as God's job. And I take delight in the promise that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. I take this to mean that, one day, all will be given a chance to see God clearly for who he is and they will respond accordingly. And, therefore, we will all be living peaceably together.
It's this end that makes these verses resonate with me most deeply. I could care less if people float up to Christ or if Christ floats down to them, or if Christ stays on earth, or if Christ takes all of us elsewhere. That's just the stuff that's fun to talk about because, frankly, it's weird. But it doesn't actually matter that much, because it isn't the point. The point is that Christ's return brings peace, and peace at all levels. You will be at peace with yourself, your family, even your in-laws, your community, your society, your world.
There will be peace.
From a Christian perspective, the end of the world means the beginning of peace (or perhaps, the coming of peace in all its fullness).
That thought fills me with hope. Because if even the worst among us who has ever lived can be raised from the dead and redeemed and learn, through God, to live peaceably with others, then, well, can't we all?
All that to say...I certainly don't want the world to end. I don't want to see any more suffering, I don't want to see extra suffering. I don't want more death. I don't want more fractured relationships. But the end of the world from a Christian perspective isn't a worst case scenario. It won't involve desert wastelands, food shortages, infertility, war, or exploitation. None of those things.
In fact, it will be the best news of all. Christ will come home. And we will be at peace.
