In the late 1830s, a man named William Miller, in Upstate New York, led himself to belief that he was in fact living in the “end times.” In fact, he determined, through pseudo-academic means, that the specific date of Christ’s return would be October 22, 1844.
He convinced tens of thousands of people they were living in the “end times” and he convinced many of them to quit their jobs, sell their homes, and give all of their money to him so that they could spread the word to more and more people. After all, they wouldn’t need those homes or jobs soon anyway. Miller was convinced that the cultural situations of his day (there was much cultural conflict in Upstate at this time) were all signs of the things written in the Bible’s Apocalyptic Writings, written thousands of years ago (i.e. Daniel, Revelation).
The truth is, in almost every generation since Christ’s ascension, people have been convinced they are the ones living in the “end times.” I don’t need to remind most of you that the since-resolved Cold War was interpreted by many through the lens of the book of Revelation. As was the American Civil War. Even the Great Depression. And further back, the turn of the millennium (as in 999AD to 1000AD). The list goes on, all the way back to that first generation after Christ.
Even so, I keep reading in your comments here on TC, many of you are very quick to point to current events and say “this just shows we’re in the end times.” Not only do I think this answer is inadequate when conversing with non-believers (who likely interpret it as a cop-out), but I also think it doesn’t hold up within the Christian context.
Perhaps the earth really is just around the corner, so to speak, from Christ’s return. But perhaps not, too. Consider the possibility that Jesus may still be 5,206 years in coming.
There’s an old saying that I find helpful: One day, a man came to his front yard to tell his son (who was busy planting a tree) that the Savior had come. “Finish planting the tree,” the father instructs, “and then come and meet him.”
I believe that we cannot simply end conversations with an assumption that the matters being discussed are just more signs that Christ’s return is going to happen quite soon, to us. Humans, by their nature, are selfish, and so it is natural that each generation would think that the history of the world might conclude in their own lifetime. But I believe we cannot slow our work as followers of Christ (that is, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, etc) simply because we believe Jesus is right around the corner.
Let us humble ourselves, and continue planting trees until our time on earth has passed.
