AND THEN THE END WILL COME!
Got your attention, didn’t I?
You have to admit that it is really a brilliant idea.
You know, saying something about the “End Times.”
It always gets a huge buzz going.
And it attracts tons of attention and sells millions of books, right?
I think so.
And maybe that is the genius of titling this book And Then The End Will Come!
Everyone wants to know the when’s and what’s of how this thing is gonna go down.
Some maybe more than others, but it doesn't take much to attract a curious crowd.
It is like that old trick where a couple of people begin looking into the air pretending that they see something interesting. They stand there captivated looking into the air, curiously stroking their chins, but utterly looking at nothing.
And before you know it one person stops, and then another, and then another until there is a large group of people congregating and looking up into the air at the spectacular sight of... absolutely nothing.
And that is the fascinating thing about human beings – our curiosity is a strange attractor.
Have you ever been in a traffic jam on the interstate?
And then, after five hours of creeping at two miles per hour in the southbound lane, you find out that the accident that caused the traffic jam is, in fact, not even going southbound!
The accident was in the northbound lane!
So the southbound travelers in front of me, well, they were rubbernecking.
And rubbernecking, in my book, is curiosity.
Incidents such as these reveal an all-important reality – we have a deep desire to be in on the thing.
Whatever that thing happens to be.
And it hardly ever matters what that thing is.
We want access to insider information.
Especially if it is mysterious or out of the ordinary!
So when it comes to matters of the “End Times,” we search for someone or something that will tell us definitively how it will all shake out.
Our curiosity demands it.
We seek after those who seem to have an insider’s take on what to expect, how to prepare, and what to buy.
We are especially drawn to those who seem to have special insight into deciphering the symbols and language of esoteric and ancient texts.
And we consume books and movies that bring all of it to life.
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How do I know?
I won’t mention any names, but you know those bestselling books and movies that talk about how if we don’t believe that heaven is for real then we might be left behind on this late, great planet earth.
I say that tongue in cheek, of course.
But seriously… I only say it that way to illustrate just how mainstream our curiosity is when it comes to the supernatural, to life-after-death, and especially the “End Times.”
Millions of dollars are spent each year buying books and watching movies explaining another “unique perspective” as to how it will all end or what we can expect on the “other side.”
More and more television shows are documenting the lives of people preparing for “Doomsday” and then showing the viewers how to prepare for the “End Times” themselves.
No joke.
And tons of people are tuning-in.
Did I mention that we are a curious and inquisitive people?
If there’s a box, we want to know what’s in it.
If there’s a corner, we want to know what’s around it.
If there’s another dimension, we want to experience it.
Our inquiring minds want to know.
Our inquiring minds need to know.
Our inquiring minds HAVE TO KNOW!
And truth be told… I am not much different myself.
At 38-years-old I still can't wait to open my Christmas gifts.
I am either trying to sneak-a-peek weeks before they are wrapped – or – am guilty of not waiting my turn on Christmas morning.
Of course I am only halfway kidding, but you have to admit that you have, at least once, discretely ripped a bit of wrapping paper to take a sneak peek – or – flipped to the last page of a novel and read it before you had even read the middle two-thirds of the book.
So let’s not act so self-righteous.
We are all guilty.
Are we not?
Of course I don't recommend skipping to the end of this book quite yet, because I haven’t even had a chance to make my first point.
The underlying reality is that we all want to know about those things that are just out of our reach.
It's as if wanting to know the end, or that which is veiled, or that which is hidden from view is somehow wrapped up in our DNA.
Maybe it’s just how we are made.
We want to know how the story ends.
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And it makes perfect sense.
We are story-people who are drawn to the story.
Protagonists.
Antagonists.
Conflict.
Resolution.
Stories pull us in because we identify so closely with them.
Whether we would admit it or not, or whether we are even aware of it or not, we are story-people because we are in our own story.
And our lives, like the stories we read, have protagonists and antagonists (and we have a choice as to who we would like to be).
Our lives, like the stories we read, are full of conflict on a daily basis and all throughout our lives that we either create or suffer through.
And in our lives, like the stories we read, we have a longing and a movement (surprise, surprise) toward an ending, toward a resolution.
So again, it makes sense – we are hard-wired with a longing to know how it ends.
We want to know how this conflict is fully resolved.
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Which surprisingly doesn't make us much different than a handful of Jesus' curious disciples who wanted to know when they ought to expect his second coming at the End of the Age.
They too were interested in the when and the what.
Much like we are.
When are these things going to happen?
What will be the sign of Jesus’ return?
Sound familiar?
I think we, too often, forget that the disciples where human beings just like us.
They had feelings.
They had ingrown toenails.
They had heartburn after eating at Miguel’s.
They even got a little gassy from the frijoles.
Just like us.
And you can bet if we are inquisitive and curious, they were too.
But let’s slow down and get some context first.
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