Isn’t that an ominous phrase – “the End of Days?”

I’ve read a lot here lately on social media about the Second Coming, the Rapture, Armageddon, etc. (And if you aren’t a Christian, this may come across as inside baseball because those might not be terms you are familiar with. Keep reading anyway.)

The End of Days is an apocalyptic term which denotes the end of, well, everything.

I won’t get into the theology of this. I’m not smart enough, and you don’t have the time. But there’s plenty out there for you Googlers.

I’ve kept a journal for years. My journals are full of random stuff. It might be things that God is teaching me. You’ll find some prayers written out. There is some commentary on the state of the world. Personal reflections abound. There are some recipes, too.

Most of it would be of little note or interest to others.

I’d encourage you to keep a journal. Again, there are tons of tools out there to help you. Jim Rohn did significant work in that area. You’ll see why in a minute. You don’t want to miss any of what’s happening now.

So what is this about the End of Days?

In the past few weeks – okay, in pretty much all of 2020 to date, and today we’re halfway through the year – it’s reasonable to ask “what in the FAT is going on here?”

It isn’t random. It isn’t circumstantial. Something is afoot.

God is working earnestly in our society, our country, our world. On it’s face, you might think, “Man alive. God is sure confusing me.”

I believe He is more active than ever. His hand is in COVID-19, in wars and rumors of wars, in the mightiest halls of government, in the sea change happening because of George Floyd’s gruesome murder.

I have believed for some time that we’ve been under God’s remedial judgement in the United States. I can’t speak to other countries, but subjectively these days just “feel” different.

God is ministering peace to the remnant.

He is reminding us not just daily but hourly that we who are believers are strangers, foreigners, aliens and sojourners in this world.

Much of what we’re experiencing isn’t new. The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865. Some days, though, it seems that the last 155 years was just halftime. My first 14 years straddled the end of the 50’s and the decade of the 60’s, and Lord knows that was one forevermore upheaval in society. (And as much as it pains me to say this, a lot of the rhetoric today sounds disturbingly like what you might’ve heard back then.)

After these past few months, I still can’t get my head wrapped around the pandemic. Imagine a whole world facing a common foe. This is a universally shared experience. You’d think this would be a call for us to unite against something that threatens all of us. I’m gonna leave that thought right there.

Maybe you’ve suffered in recent days, for whatever reason. So much of what we consider suffering was the normal state for those first-century Christians. I wouldn’t presume to put your suffering somewhere on a continuum; if you think you’re suffering, you are.

We are naive, if not delusional, if we believe that we won’t have struggles and heartbreak aplenty in this life. Just because you’re hurting doesn’t mean this is the End of Days. Unless, perhaps, it is a universal suffering. That gets my attention.

Those early Christians understood what it was like to have the world facing off toward them. Make no mistake, there are lots of people from every tribe and tongue who are in silent agony. So to deny pain and suffering in yourself or anyone else is denying the whole counsel of scripture.

This is not popular teaching.

Well, pilgrim, you have plenty of reasons to not despair in these extraordinarily dark days. You have much reason to be comforted.

The God of all creation does not slumber or sleep. He is orchestrating events all around us in real-time.

In ways my puny mind can’t begin to fathom, His plans are becoming reality.

Where others see despair, I see His sovereignty. He is, in a way that is causing scales to fall from my eyes today, visiting His judgement not only on the United States of America but the entire world, and I’m not just talking COVID-19.

Which means … we are closer than ever to the climax of history, to the End of Days, when all the nations of the world will be rolled up like a rotten papyrus scroll and time will be no more.

I believe this.

I know that generations past have believed that they were the last, but I stand to testify that these days are different, somehow.

So, believer, don’t despair. We are privileged to see Him at work to bring about His redemptive purposes.

You just watch.

I believe that He has in store for us one last outpouring of His Spirit, when Christians in Name Only will be confronted with the truth of the Gospel and their own sinfulness.

Ultimately, judgement will come. And He is the God of white-hot rage. Perhaps judgement is already on us.

There is always a remnant. If I’m still breathing and He hasn’t returned yet, it will be interesting to read my journal and see what He’s done.

It will be something to behold, for good or bad. I can promise you that.

Oh, please, y’all – our hope is eternal, and it is not a hope grounded in the decisions and actions of man. We, of all people, have hope. Hope.

Be joyful. He’s got this. Live like you believe it.

Question: What is the number one thing in these days that gives you hope? Share your answer with others below. And I’d be grateful if you’d share this with others on social media, too.