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What Must I Do To Be Saved?

  

FROM: 7/21/02 Radio Program

Question:

I am 70 years old and I have heard all my life that the end was near, but it has not come. Why do things keep on going and the end has not come?

Answer:

The idea that "The end is near" is a common false doctrine of men. "Date-setters" have been with us setting the date of the end of the world, almost since the beginning. Yet, these men have all been wrong. Such people have told men that "the end is near" as if they could for a fact, pinpoint the exact day on which the world will end. Such ideas and teachings are false.

We are not told when the end of this world will be. In fact, Jesus put it this way: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." (Matt. 24:36). The subject of the end of the world is in the same category as when one will die. We don't know when it might be, so we need to be prepared for it! God has not "guaranteed" how long we'll live, nor how long this world will remain. Therefore, our responsibility is to be prepared for eternity by being saved from our sins (Jn. 8:24; Lk. 13:3; Matt. 10:32; Mk. 16:16). We have been promised in no uncertain terms that this world will end (II Pet. 3:10-11). Yet, remember this day will come "as a thief"! Does a thief usually announce his arrival? Does he leave "hints" or "clues" relative to when he might visit your house? No! Yet, millions of dollars are spent by people annually to prepare for a thief who might attempt to steal from them. If we understand this concept in the earthly realm, why can we not then prepare our souls for eternity, for the end of the world will come "as a thief in the night"?

While I can appreciate your frustration with those say "the end is near," please remember that such frustration is not new. In fact, Peter's words in II Peter 3:9-11 are motivated by what the people had said in II Peter 3:3-4: "that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." Does this sound familiar?

The Bible stresses preparing for eternity, and this is what we need to do (Jn. 8:24; Lk. 13:3; Rom. 10:10; I Pet. 3:21). That way, if the end of the world comes today, or in 1000 years from now, our souls will be ready! (II Cor. 6:2)

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