In an interview yesterday with a “christian” podcaster, the Vice President of the United States said, “I’m trying to focus on doing as much of God’s work as possible right now. And if that leads to the end times, okay.” Vance has talked a lot about his faith, and I don’t doubt that he is a practicing Catholic. In fact, he is so Catholic that he has lectured the Pope about staying in his Popish lane and staying out of political (moral) discussions. Like so many people, Vance doesn’t want us clergy talking politics – unless we agree with him. But I digress. I will repeat – the sitting Vice President of the United States, and wanna-be presidential candidate, said that he is doing God’s work, and is okay with the destruction of the world that was written about 2000 years ago in the Apocalypse of John, otherwise known as The Book of Revelation. If you’ve never read it, you should sit down for a couple of hours and do so – it will rock your world. It also isn’t really about now – it was about Rome and the Kingdom of God.
I have been accosted by people pining for the end times quite often over the years, and I usually dismiss them as being in need of some kind of psych meds. More and more, however, they are coming from all walks of life; the stigma against joyful expectation that the world will end has been lifted. It used to be that believing this meant you were part of a cult of some kind, living on a compound in Idaho. Now, the closest spiritual advisers to the president are in charge of churches filled with people who believe wholeheartedly that Jesus will be coming down from heaven on a cloud to take His followers to be with God, and much of the earth, including vast parts of the population and most of the animals, will be murdered in the process. Of course, there is some limited Scriptural basis for this, and it is my firm belief that the first century church was wholly committed to this idea. Until they weren’t. Because Jesus never showed up.
I don’t know if any of this will happen. I don’t know if there will be, or is now, a Beast or Anti-Christ waiting to start the process of our demise. I have no idea if Jesus will return with angels and archangels, or if this was a delusion of a guy living alone on the island of Patmos in the middle of poppy fields. And I am not supposed to know. Neither is Vice President Vance or any other person claiming to have inside information about the end of the world. What I do know is that the Gospel of John clearly states that “God so loved the world”; not just followers of Jesus, but the world. In fact, God loved the world so much that God decided to destroy all humans and land animals in Genesis 6. Your first clue that someone doesn’t really read the Bible is their assurance that the end is coming in our lifetime. Jesus loved His life on earth, and so do I. And I am not okay with our irresponsible behavior leading to the end times. Anyone who does needs help. Because this is above all of our paygrades.
Prayer – Holy God, help all of us to live lives of justice and peacemaking, so that Your will might be done. Amen.