End of the World

I waited. I watched. I wondered. And I realized it wasn't going to happen. The world wasn't going to end today, December 21, 2012. This is the day when the famed Mayan calendar told the world that time and being was going to come to an end.

It did cause me to think. It caused me to wonder what it would really be like to have the world come to an end. I am talking about the day when Jesus will come again. We talk about it many times. We confess it in the Apostles' Creed (...sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead. "). Jesus' return is inevitable, something that is going to happen.

And I thought about it, I wondered. People will be going about their daily lives; They will be going to work, buying and selling, preparing and eating meals, coughing and sneezing, in the hospital and at home, sitting at the window watching the window blow the leaves across the parking lot, sleeping in the bedroom, showering, shaving, changing clothes, and doing a whole host of other mundane things that are done over and over again each day. It will be just like it was in the days of Noah. People didn't know what was taking place when the first drops of rain began to fall and as the water burst out of the springs in the ground. Daily events were taking place.

I walked through the church building and thought, "Is it time? If it is, what will it really be like?" That is a good question, what will it really be like? Loud? Trumpets? Angels? Clouds with light? Bright light? Will I see Him when I sit inside a building? Will the buildings collapse? Will they disappear? What will it be like to suddenly see Jesus?

That last question is really hard to imagine. What will it be like to see Jesus? Hearts leaping with joy! Knees bending in honor of the King of kings. Believers rejoicing. Unbelievers moaning in terror. It will be an amazing event.

Jesus coming on the clouds. What would it really be like? I read Matthew's gospel, Paul's letter to the Thessalonians and the Revelation of St. John. All of them tell us that Jesus will come again. But obviously it wasn't meant to be today.

I still sit and wonder...what will it really be like?