What Will You Do when the End Comes? (Jeremiah 5:31)

What Will You Do when the End Comes? (Jeremiah 5:31)

“For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.” (Zephaniah 1:18 NAS95)

Jeremiah is a sad book written by “the crying prophet.” Hard times have come to Judah due to their disobedience, and the consequences will be widespread: “ An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?(Jer 5:30-31)

Is there an end coming? Strange characters used to stand on street corners with a sign that said, “The End is Near.” But that was a long time ago, and evidently, the end wasn’t as near as they thought. And since the end hasn’t come recently, our biases tell us that it is not then likely to come in the near future.

But yes, there is an end coming, though we know not when. Jesus says, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come (Matt. 24:13-14). That is, Jesus is telling us that His kingdom in this world will have a slow, difficult growth that requires endurance, but will indeed come about, “and then the end will come.” Paul says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” (1Cor. 15:22-26). These words tell us that Jesus is coming again, and that this coming will set up a contest for power in which all enemies will be defeated, cancelled, or abolished, even, finally, the enemy of death. Yes, the end is coming, though most prefer not to even consider it.

I’ve been hearing my whole life that “the big one” is coming for California, an earthquake that will wreak havoc. More recently, we have been warned about climate change that could end life in this world as we know it. Well, “the big one” has not yet come, and life as we know it is still going on. They may be right, or wrong, but it must be admitted that these are but the prognostications of men who are delving in matters much bigger than their own brains.

But when considering “The End,” we are not talking about the predictions of men, but rather the promises of God. He, unlike men, is never wrong, and He does not lie.” He says the end is coming. That means, the end is coming.

Maybe you read a book, a thick one, and you think, “this book will never end.” But, of course, this is only a figure of speech, because every book has a beginning and an ending. This world and its contents, including us, are part of a story, God’s story. We could call it “the drama of redemption.” And that story has a beginning, and it has an end. The critical question is, “What will you do when the end comes?”