The Apocalypse Post

As I write this, it is the afternoon of December 20, 2012. The day before the Mayan calendar ends, and according to some, the world ends in war. Or the aliens return and we enter a new era of enlightenment. Or the black hole at the center of the universe rips us apart. But I digress.

There are two absolute, undeniable facts regarding the planet we call Earth: it had a beginning, and it will have an end.

As a Christian, I state as a fact that the world will not end tomorrow. Scripture tells us in Matthew 24:36 that “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (NASB)  So if Scripture tells us that no one knows when it will end, the date that someone tells you it will end is a time you can be certain that it WON’T end.

Also, as a Christian, I state as a fact that the world will end. You might not still be alive, but the world will end. Revelation 21:1 says “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”

But back up a bit, and it doesn’t matter if you are alive when it ends or not. You will be at the same place, regardless of when you died. Revelation 20:11-15 tells us that John saw  “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Now I don’t know about YOU, but I want to know how to make sure that MY name is written in that Book of Life. There are a lot of religions out there. There is Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Shinto, Baha’i, animism, polytheism, Wicca and many more. But again, Scripture tells us the words of Jesus in John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Regardless of what anyone has ever told you, there are not “many roads to God”. There is one Way. Jesus. Not your church membership. Not your good deeds. Not your faith in Mohammed. Not that your father was a deacon, your uncle was a pastor or that your grandfather was a missionary.

So then, how does Jesus save us? He saves us by taking our penalty for our sins upon Himself. That’s why He came, the celebration we call Christmas, and why He died and rose again, the celebration we call Easter. In Romans 10:9-13, the Apostle Paul tells us “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Trust IN Him. ASK Him to save you. Confess Him before men, so that others can be saved also. Live the rest of your days honoring Him and learning to obey His commands as your way of thanking Him for saving you. And then both you and I will have our names found in the Book of Life.