"It's the end of the world as we know it..."

It's been a little over 20 years since REM first released that well-known song back in 1987.

There's been a lot of talk lately about the world coming to an end. A lot of people seem to believe something major will happen in December 2012 bring the world to a close. Honestly, I don't believe that. As a Christian, I believe in the Bible which clearly states in Matthew 24:36 that no one will know the date and time when Jesus will return (thus the beginning of the end of the world) - he will be like a "thief in the night."

Are we living in the End Times though?

A lot of people seem to think so. Granted, a lot of people thought that as well back in the 60s, and I remember people talking about it back when I was in grade school (remember how popular the Left Behind book series was in the late 90s?), but consider just how much hate there is in the world nowadays, how things that were wrong and immoral years and years ago are now considered to be perfectly fine and okay and if you still feel the "old way" you get ridiculed.

Here's an interesting passage I came across regarding the end of the world:

2 Peter 3-10

3First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

So I know, a bit of random idea for a Blog post - you're probably wondering what brought this up.

Well, for those that don't know, my father-in-law does missions work, and while his specialty is helping people understand cults and the like, the last few years he's been teaching on prophecy and signs of the end times, since it seems to be such a hot topic with believers and non-believers these days.

Now the other night, on Facebook, he posted this:

We are the first generation since the time of Christ that has ALL the signs of the soon return of Jesus most importantly: Israel as a nation; Jerusalem as Capital of Israel; Weapons of mass destruction; and nations allied against Israel! "Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door" Jesus, Matthew 24:33

And another person, in response to his post, posted this:

Luke 21:9-11
⁹When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away." ¹⁰Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

What are your thoughts?

Personally, I think that's an AWFUL LOT of signs that were predicted nearly 2000 years ago, not to mention there's been numerous prophecies that seem to be becoming more and more realistic the last few years as well. Just within the last 2 months there's been 2 MAJOR earthquakes in the world - Haiti and now Chile, not to mention it seems like there's at least 1 every 2 years in Northern Illinois, smack dab in the middle of the US of all places!

To be completely honest, and I almost feel guilty and ashamed for feeling this way, but thinking about the end times almost depresses me.

I know, I know, as Christians we should be excited - Jesus is coming, we'll be done with this world and all that's wrong with it, and be celebrating in Heaven.

But at the same time, I always wanted to have a fulfilling life.

As selfish as it sounds, ever since I was little, I dreamed of growing up, getting married and having a family of my own someday. I've always wanted to be a mommy - I've always been good with little kids and look forward to someday having a few of my own. I look forward to someday going shopping with my daughter to pick out the perfect dress for the school dance, or cheering on my son in whatever sport he chooses to play. I don't want to just have kids, but I'd like to be able to raise them and have some of the experiences with them that my parents had with me. I think there's part of every woman that yearns to be a mother - whether or not they realize it (and even those who claim they don't, well in most cases, they do have a pet of some sort to take care of); we're built with a maternal instinct to mother and nurture. With all this talk about the end being near, all the signs of the times and prophecies coming true, etc... it just depresses me cuz the more I hear it, the more I wonder if I'm ever going to have the opportunity to have kids and raise them or if Jesus will return before I get to experience those things.

I know, we have our plan that we set out for in our lives, however that might not be God's plan for our lives - he might have something completely different in store for us, having seen the big picture that we can't see. And I know, once I'm in Heaven, the things I didn't get to experience in this lifetime will be far, far from my mind - non-exisistent. But until that happens, I can't help but feel how I am, right?

I mean, I don't blame our parent's generation and their parent's generation for being excited - most of them have had children and raised them to be adults, times are tough now and some aren't even sure if they'll ever be able to retire the way our economy is going... they've lived a pretty full life and are more than ready for Christ's return. My generation on the other hand... it just seems like there's so much still that we'd like to do, experience and accomplish in our lifetime. We look at the lives our parents have lived and long to have some of those same experiences, yet with all this talk about the end coming, it almost makes it sound like we won't ever get to experience those things.

Does anyone else kinda feel how I'm feeling here or am I the only one?