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Hi Nancy. It's great to see faith added to this core group of life blogs (politics, sports, my husband (Lex), etc.)

I'm not sure why people are so caught up in this end times/Revelations thing (other than the publishers of the "Left Behind" series, because millions of copies sold explains why they are mesmerized with it.)

Why would anyone want to anticipate war, famine, death, hellfire, etc. instead of just trusting in God's grace and getting on with God's business?

What would it change if anyone believed we were in the end times? If we wanted to rewrite our obituaries (Nov. 7), what would we do?

If we are in the End Times, I'm glad God held off another day because we're having a pizza dinner at 5:30 today with Tom Tewell, a Presby pastor from NYC, to talk about X-treme Christianity. It's free, come one, come all! It's in our Life Center, the brick building on Greene near Fisher.

PS: For a lighter look at Revelations, try the novel "Good Omens: Being the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch." It's a farce by a couple of Brits, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, with this thesis: What if the antiChrist, through a mistake, got placed with a perfectly average British family and experienced a perfectly average childhood in the British countryside?

"End of times" and "Revelations" are Christian concepts and beliefs. They are certainly valid beliefs, but they are Christian. Will your blog focus on Christian beliefs? (There is room for that type of religion-specific blogging; this is merely a question and not an accusation.)

I have two reasons for being reluctant to label any era as being the end times, no matter what catastrophes and global events are occurring. First, for Christians, the end times also signal the return of Christ (there's argument about pre-, post-, etc.) but the Bible claims no one knows the day or hour of his return. Second, for thousands of years, Christians have labeled various catastrophic events as signs of the last days, and, for thousands of years, they've been wrong. I don't like being wrong.

@Ann "Knox": I think you're missing the point. For Christians, the anticipation isn't for the disasters but for the return of the Messiah, which, for better or worse, is linked to those catastophes. It's also not just about what anyone "wants" to do. Christians may not like the idea of looking at a future filled with potential horrors, but they've been instructed by the Bible to watch for the return of Christ. It's a mandate, not a want.

Ann,

"Good Omens" was a classic. Very funny. I have enjoyed all of Terry Pratchett's stuff(and Neil Gaiman's too). I especially enjoyed the "other" four horsemen of the Apocalypse. :)

On a related note, my brother and I once went to church on a Sunday that was being billed as the day of the "rapture". We sat in the balcony so we could watch all the good people disappear. False alarm, I think.

How does anyone know life hasn't already ended? I hope one wouldn't base the answer to that question on his experience, since that is what science is based on and the faithful no longer trust science. Yup, Revelations was right. We don't exist, and neither does this blog. Life ended with really bad worldwide catastrophes in the past (you choose which) and we are merely dust in the wind.

Nancy,

I hope you don't umbrage at this but to quote, Orson Card, your competion up the street ( Rhino Times )" Rain falls on the wicked and the righteous " . What separates them is how they respond to disasters... with love and kindness or looting and vengance.

The Hindu beliefs include an "end-of-the-world" too. This is called Kali Yuga. We believe that time is split into 4 Yugas (or ages) and that Kali Yuga is the last of these. The end of the Kali Yuga is marked by the end of the world as we know it and the cycles start all over again. Intriguingly Kalki, the 10th Avatar of Vishnu is depicted as a horseman riding a white horse and wielding a sword. Here is the Wikipedia link
Kali Yuga

Does it matter if the "end" is now or when? That is not the message of Christianity. The message is the Good News of God's redemptive work. That is what christians are to be sharing, God's love for ALL humanity. Why worry about the things that are happening. Yes, there should be concern. Yet, undue distress over this things causes one to lose focus of what and who God really is. Therefore, focus on the message of God's love for humanity and sharing that and the others things will seem nothing in comparison!

The book of Revelation is always being fulfilled. It is a book of what is to come. To say it is the end of times, only GOD knows when that day will be. All I know is that each day we live we are a little closer to Jesus's appearing. If you are not ready, you need to be. The BIBLE tells us that Jesus WILL come back! It may be today or it may be a 100 year from now.

Jason said it best. NO ONE knows except God himself. Kelly, you have it right as well; Jesus is returning! We don't know when, but every day that passes, we are closer.

Hello, wonderful and informative web site.
Thank you!