The Time of the End
(This devotional was written 09.28.1999 as the year 2000 approached. I thought it would be interesting to look back at some of the things we were thinking at that time with the knowledge of 23 more years of history.)
But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. Daniel 12:4 NKJV.
Many of the theological interpretations, predictions, theories, guesstulations about the return of Christ have for a century been centered around the year 2000. This does seem to be a pivotal point in human history. We are reaching a point in technology where we can do what only God could do before. Super computers have not yet reached the ability of the human mind in the power to reason but our ability to hold memory and sort data has been surpassed.
Today I learned that it is projected that within the next five to ten years it appears probable that human organs will be grown in the laboratory. A liver for a rat has been grown and functioned as it should. The building blocks for heart muscle have been grown and can contract or beat as the heart does. Although an entire human brain cannot be grown individual brain cells can be. These cells can be used for replacing portions of the brain which become damaged by disease or injury. When these discoveries come into widespread use it is hard to even imagine how our lives will be revolutionized. Will the result of disease be eliminated, and death occur only as a result of accident or violence?
People have been running to and fro across the earth for some time now and the running seems to be more frequent and faster as time passes. Human knowledge continues to increase beyond even our ability to comprehend. When we view the future as being so radically different from anything mankind has known before it would seem that the “time of the end” must be near. However, we must temper this anticipation with the Words of our Lord in Matthew 24:36: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”
“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matthew 24:44).”