"What part of, 'about that day or hour no one knows', are you not getting?" - God

Speculation is endless, and perhaps inevitable, that the End Times are upon us.  This is nothing new, the history of the Church is full of "signs" and "portends" that were sure signs that the end was nigh.  Yet here we are, the world goes on and so does the Church.  American Evangelicals, in particular, seem to be infected with the notion that things happening in our world today, and in our country in particular, are signs of the decline that they are sure must happen if their interpretation of prophecy is about to be fulfilled (A Pre-Tribulation, Pre-Millenial, Rapture is typically viewed as happening AFTER a steep and momentous decline of the Church and society).  This pessimism is an easily self-fulfilling prophecy, as there will always be more bad news than good news in the news.
Many of those who are convinced that they see the signs are the same people obsessed with taking the Bible "literally", which of course nobody does because it is full of metaphors and hyperboles, along with figurative language like poetry and proverbs.  Not to be side-tracked by the issue of Biblical interpretation, but why won't they take God "literally" when Jesus said that ONLY the Father knows when the End will come.  Jesus doesn't know, the angels in heaven don't know, so why do you think that you've somehow cracked the code and now you see that the latest earthquake or terrorist attack was a "sign" from God?
A related issue is the American overvaluation of him/herself in the will of God.  When something bad happens here, in our society or our Church, it seems bigger, more important, than what is happening in Christ's Church in Africa, South America, or Asia.  If the American Church shriveled to nothing (not something I see happening, but let's look at the worst case), but the Third World Church doubled, would Christ's Church be growing or shrinking?  Would that be a sign that the End is near, or that the Spirit of God was moving in power among his people?  Western, affluent, white, souls aren't worth any more to God than Eastern, poor, dark skinned ones.  Many American Christians would never say that they think that, they probably don't even consciously think it, but it is reflected in their insistence that a setback in the Church here is so important that it must be a sign.
Are you aware that violent crime in America is now at its lowest rate since the 1970's?  This is a decades long trend, and is matched by an ever lower trending abortion rate.  The Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriage was a right.  Which of those three facts are being touted by the pessimist that insists that America is over, Facism is around the corner, and the Anti-Christ is waiting in the wings?  The search for signs is a waste of time, and shows a lack of trust in the will of God, but even if it wasn't, why are the negative signs important but the positive ones ignored?
It has been suggested that American Christians will soon be faced with a dilemma much like that of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Nazi Germany in the late 1930's.  Unfortunately for those hoping for hysteria, the historical parallels between America in the 2010's and Germany in the 1930's are non-existent.  They had a state sponsored/run Church, our Church is independent.  They had a police/military that was willing to follow a Facist path and attack its own people, we do not.  They had an infant Republic that was easily replaced by a dictator who voted in his own "emergency" powers, we have a 200+ old Republic that has survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, and WWII.  There are Christians in many countries in the world today facing persecution on a level that Bonhoeffer would have recognized, Americans are not among them; for that we must continue to be thankful to our Father, when he's ready, he'll send his Son back, and like he said, it'll be a surprise.

Sermon Video: Beware of Divisive People - Titus 3:8-15

There are ample opportunities that we have in life to join in an argument or debate and social media has only enhanced their frequency.  In Paul's letter to Titus, Paul warns Titus about the dangers of becoming involved in "foolish controversies", which for Titus meant arguments about genealogies and the Law of Moses.  What are the equivalent for today's pastors to avoid?  It may not be a popular opinion with some, but in my mind, politics are a minefield that can yield little good, but great harm for a pastor or church.  Far better to focus on endorsing Christ than placing our trust in a politician, after all, the problem of humanity is a spiritual one, and therefore its solution must be spiritual, not merely political.  Along those same lines, the endless discussion about when Christ will return is equally fruitless for a pastor to become involved in.  It is our job to make sure our flock is ready, not worry about looking for signs of the End, that knowledge is safely in the hands of the Father.
After warning Titus about his own conduct, Paul goes on to recommend serious discipline for anyone who would be divisive within the church.  The Greek word used by Paul is actually the NT's only usage of "heretic", a word which originally was primarily concerned with disruptive conduct, later it became synonymous with unacceptable theology.  Disruptive people within the church cannot be tolerated, to turn people against each other for your own ends is a clear sign of a heart blackened by sin, as such, Paul tells Titus to warn such a person twice and after that have nothing to do with him.  Unity in the Church, both locally and universally, is a big deal, it was Jesus' last prayer for his followers before his Passion, in order to foster it, pastor need to avoid stirring up trouble themselves, and they need to be ready to use that shepherd's staff should the wolves come looking to prey on the sheep.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: "while we wait for the blessed hope" - Titus 2:13-14

What impact does the knowledge that a Christian has of how the story ends have upon his or her life?  In Titus 2:13-14, Paul continues with the previous two verses' idea of how grace teaches us to act morally by expanding the perspective of our need to be a people who are "eager to do what is good" to include God's overall plan and purpose for ourselves, Christians in general, and the world.  While we learn from grace, we also await the "blessed hope" of the return of Christ in glory.  That knowledge ought to give Christians optimism, encouragement, hope, and instill in us boldness as we know that we are already on the winning side of the future when we are on the side of the king of kings.  We have hope for our own lives, that heaven awaits us beyond the grave, but we also have hope for the world, for Christ will return, not to strive once more in the world, but to reign.  In the meantime, God's plan is to create a people brought together by faith in Christ, a people purchased by his blood and transformed by the Holy Spirit, who will be his instruments for the kingdom of God in this world.  How will we accomplish the plan of God, by being a people who are eager to do what is good.  Our calling is a high one, but we have been equipped for it by the Holy Spirit, and we know that our side cannot lose, more than that, that it is guaranteed to be victorious in the end, for Christ will come again in glory.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Looking to the future: The Terminator movies and Christians

With another installment of the Terminator movies about to be released, I am once again reminded of the harmful attitude of fatalism that permeates much of Evangelical thought about the future.  In the Terminator movies, both a hero and a villain are sent back from the future to try to change what is coming.  The villain wants to prevent the good guys from winning after a horrific holocaust, and the good guy is hoping to not only preserve that victory, but somehow make the entire dystopic future null and void.  Each of the Terminator movies ebbs and flows back and forth with the future fate of humanity hanging in the balance.  What has this to do with the attitude of Christians regarding the future?  Quite a lot actually.  Christians ought to know what the future holds, God has given us a broad outline of what will one day happen along with a variety of difficult to understand pieces of the puzzle.  What we do know, for certain, is how the story ends; it ends in the complete and total victory of Jesus Christ over all opposition: sin, death, and Satan.
So why are so many Christians walking around with an attitude that the future is doom and gloom?  The answer is simple enough, they believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, and thus believe that the future of humanity is a downhill slope that cannot be altered.  Those who believe in a post-Tribulation Rapture, or a Post-Millennial Rapture are far less pessimistic because in the first case, Christians won't be taken away before the trouble starts, in other words, we're going to have to deal with it, and in the latter, the next thing to come on God's cosmic plan is the 1,000 year reign of Christ, a time of glory not tribulation.  Because many Evangelicals firmly believe in a Pre-Tribulation, Pre-Millennial Rapture, they almost welcome bad news in the world. looking at it as a sign that Christ's return is closer.  Why try to alter the world we're living in if it is inevitable that it will decline, and why try to slow the decline if it must reach its nadir before Christ can come back?
In the Terminator movies, when the heroes know that the future is bleak, they are willing to risk anything and everything to try to stop it.  For some Christians, they believe that they're interpretation of Biblical prophecy is the correct one, and therefore there is no point in trying to stop it.
I don't know which interpretation of the Scriptures is right, those willing to have a pinch of humility will agree, so why would I live like a pessimist?  It is our job to do what we can, with what we have, where we have been placed.  We do know how the story ends, but keep in mind, we have no idea how long it will be until the final chapter begins.  Christians need to ditch the pessimism, embrace the final victory of Christ, and roll up their sleeves and get to work trying to claim our world for the kingdom of God.

The Dangers of Assumptions about the Future.

One of the things that most people don’t realize is just how much the underlying assumptions in their thought processes affect the way that they look at the world around them.  From this point I could illustrate what I mean using any number of fields, from politics, to philosophy, from current events to pop culture.  The area that I’m going to focus upon is the affect that a pre-millennial and pre-tribulation interpretation of the portions of Scripture that refer to the End Times can have upon Christians who subscribe to them.  A term that encapsulates these beliefs and others related to the relationship between Israel and the Church, Dispensationalism, likewise carries with it implications for how those who hold to it look at the world around them and how they interpret Scripture.

            This is not intended as a critique of Dispensationalism, although the notion often associated with it that the Church (or even America) has replaced Israel in God’s Covenant deserves to be critiqued, rather I am simply pointing out the affect that such a viewpoint can have upon one’s outlook even without the person who thinks these things being aware of where those notions originate.  Nor is this a refutation of pre-millennial or pre-tribulation interpretations of the End Times, I myself hold to both of them, though certainly not with dogmatic fervor due to the very strong warnings in Scripture that the End Times will come like a “thief”.  I have always maintained that anyone who claims to know anything about when the Second Coming of Jesus is going to happen is either trying to sell something or woefully misinformed about Scripture.

            So, what is this viewpoint altering phenomenon that happens to those who hold to pre-millennial, pre-tribulation, and/or Dispensational beliefs?  Pessimism, pure and simple.  Anyone who believes that human history MUST greatly decline BEFORE the return of Jesus Christ while not be surprised by news of tragedy in our world, will not have much hope for the future, and may even welcome news of woe as a sign that the end is nigh.  I have witnessed this twisted welcoming of tragedy, be it wars, pestilence, natural disasters, or the Church supposedly slipping toward Apostasy, on the part of people whose belief that the future can only be a downward curve precisely because they are convinced that Scripture predicts just such a trajectory to history.

            Forget for a moment that history moves in vast swings, from good to bad, from prosperity to want, and from liberalism to conservatism, such that storms could be on the horizon now, and yet sunshine could be just around the corner.  I say that because Christians continue to convince themselves that Jesus Christ will return in their own lifetimes, despite the warnings from Scripture, because we can’t help but think of our own generation as the pivotal one in history.  Even if the next hundred years are a mitigated disaster, as anyone looking at 1914-1945 would have to conclude, who is to say that the decades to follow wouldn’t be one of peace and progress?

            The point that I’m hoping you will see is that those who look to the future and see only woe before Christ will return can’t help themselves when they read the news, they see signs of decline, skip signs of good things, and confirm their own assumption that the future must be bleak.  Of course this attitude has vast implications as those who don’t believe that the future holds any hope won’t be very keen to invest themselves in project or efforts designed to alleviate things such as world hunger or disease and are likely to care little about the environment, just to name a few. 

            In regards to the Church itself, a similar pattern of pessimism unfolds.  Those who believe that the Church MUST be in a state of Apostasy BEFORE Christ can return are forever looking for signs that the Church is failing in its mission.  How can this not have a negative effect upon missions, church unity, and ecumenism?  There are far too many Christians who believe that they can write off all of the Orthodox, Catholic, mainline Protestant, and plenty of other people who call themselves Christians, who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, and who seek to be his disciples, simply because a worldwide Church that is succeeding and triumphing doesn’t fit their own viewpoint.  In essence, they look at 95% of all of the people who have called upon the name of the Lord, as Paul says in Romans 10:13, and conclude that the grace of God is incapable of saving them because only a tiny minority of the universal Church is not in a state of Apostasy.  Needless to say, I cannot understand how the Church of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, can be thought of as being so impotent. 

            If pre-millennialism and pre-tribulation beliefs, along with Dispensationalism, tend to lead to these fatalistic and pessimistic viewpoints, what can we do about it?  Do we have to adopt a post-millennial belief in order to be optimistic and therefore anticipate the triumph of the Church BEFORE Jesus can return?  We don’t have to do that, unbridled optimism has similar pitfalls (such as not thinking anything needs to be done because the future of necessity must get better), although without the doom and gloom mood.  Being aware that such attitudes are a danger is the beginning of keeping yourself from falling prey to them.  I have no idea if the next 100 years are going to be a golden age or a wasteland for America, the Church, or the world; but neither do the pre-millennial OR the post-millennial advocates.  What we think the future holds, affects how we view today; since only the Father truly knows the future, why don’t we stop acting like we have inside information.

Are the End Times near?

This past Sunday morning as I was eating my breakfast I did something I don’t normally do, I turned the channel to catch a few minutes of a well known TV preacher.  If SportsCenter hadn’t been talking about auto racing this never would have happened, but they were, and it did.  It turns out that the whole series that this message comes from is about the End Times and how it somehow, in his opinion, relates to the recent financial crisis that began in the US several years ago.  It only took a few minutes of watching for this preacher to proclaim that he sees the signs described by Jesus in the Gospels happening in our world today.  This “insight” culminated in his prediction that he feels confident that he will be alive long enough to see Christ return.  If there is one cardinal sin of interpretation of apocalyptic literature it is erroneously concluding that the events described are being fulfilled in one’s own lifetime.  This same error has been committed again and again throughout Church history, notably at the arrival of the first millennium, and again as the year 1,500 approached.

            There are several things wrong with anyone who claims to know when Christ is going to return, most obviously that Jesus himself declared that “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).  If Jesus doesn’t know when the Father will bring the Church Age to an end and begin the End Times, how can anyone living here on Earth think that he/she has somehow cracked the code and recognized the signs?

            This predictive folly is dangerous on several fronts: it discourages Christians from investing in the future and allows them to take a guilty pleasure in the misfortunes of our world as they seem like signs that Christ is coming soon.  For that reason alone, such pronouncements need to be countered by preachers everywhere who takes Jesus’ warning that it will indeed be a surprise seriously.  {I don’t have time to get into the Dispensational assumptions that this preacher is using as he interprets the Bible, these too are coloring the conclusion and have him looking for evidence of decline and ignoring evidence of revival.}

            On another level, this sort of thing bothers me personally because of the assumptions that underpin it.  Two primary assumptions that I believe are both false are part of this assessment  that the End Times are near: #1 The United States is in the midst of a moral decline.  #2 The Church in the US is the primary focus of God’s work in our world.  Is there evidence that the U.S. is in some unprecedented moral decline that will end in the ruination of the Church in America?  No, but there are plenty of negative statistics and anecdotes for those looking for such evidence.  This entire line of thinking about America isn’t based on factual analysis anyway, but rather upon a mistaken identification of the US as the new Israel in God’s plans (relates to #2).  People who takes this view are always talking about how good things used to be in some past near-utopia before the current group that is bothering them the most supposedly ruined the country.  That such a prior time of super-virtue never existed is hard to point out when memory is rose colored.  As a student of history, I know that nations as well as institutions like the Church have life cycles; that like a pendulum they swing back and forth from highs to lows.  Are we in a period of decline?  Maybe, maybe not, but I don’t see it; everywhere I turn I see Churches fighting in the trenches, working together as never before, with capable leadership and committed lay people.  Even if decline happens, why can’t God send a revival?  God blessed America with the First AND Second Great Awakenings, why can’t God do something like that in this generation?  The pessimism of those who insist that our days are numbered is certainly not helping the kingdom of God.  I have fought against those who are intent upon a pessimistic view of our nation’s future, but it seems like I’m talking to a wall; instead, I’ll simply keep working for that future by the grace of God.

            The second assumption has pride and racism mixed in with it.  If, and in my mind that’s a big if, America is in decline, doesn’t the rest of the world count in God’s evaluation of humanity too?  Even if America becomes a godless land (which it won’t, but follow me on this), does that necessarily mean the End must be near?  What if God’s work in the Church in South America, Africa, and Asia vastly overshadows the decline in the West?  Here’s some real truth that those hoping for the End Times won’t want to hear: it already does.  The growth of the Church in the Third World, among poor non-white peoples, has greatly overcome the losses in Europe and America that the Church as a whole has experienced in the past few decades.  The balance of “power” for the Church is shifting, much as the global political and economic balance of power has shifted somewhat away from the West toward the rest of the world.  According to God Word, God doesn’t value a white American believer more than a poor African.  How much of the pessimism of those who bemoan the future of the Church is really just misplaced American pride and a bit of latent racism?

            I shouldn’t have starting watching a TV preacher, I know better, 9/10 it just makes me angry; but maybe my insight here will help some of you realize that the future of America is not set, the work we here today do for the kingdom of God will help determine what the next generation of Christians have to work with.  If we screw it up, and leave them a Church that is weaker than the one left to us, it still doesn’t preclude God’s ability to send revival and restore his Church.  Likewise, the growth of the Church in the rest of the world is a cause of celebration in Heaven, as new souls come to accept the saving power of Jesus Christ, this is after all what the missionaries who set out from England and America had hoped and dreamed to see realized.  Is the End near?  I have absolutely no idea, and anyone who says otherwise is full of it.

I'm building a bridge while they're digging a moat.

I often get the feeling these days that as I labor in the trenches, working on a regular basis with governmental workers who are trying to help the poor and with un-churched people that know next to nothing about God that far too many of the people on our own side would rather dig a deeper moat around the Church than help me work on this bridge.  Why do they feel the need to be defensive all the time, fighting a rear-guard action instead of attacking the enemy on his own turf?  There are many reasons why a Christian living in America in the 21^st Century might become a pessimist, but in the end they all boil down to this: they think we’re losing. 

It hurts down deep, to the core of who I am as an American, when I hear the “woe is us” doom and gloom of my fellow Americans who believe that the best days of our nation are behind us.  This isn’t a rational conclusion based upon evidence, it is simply a gut feeling based upon far too many frightening anecdotal reports spread by politicians and preachers with an agenda who are profiting financially off of the fear of those who listen to them.

It hurts me even more when I hear Christian parroting this line of pessimism.  The Church founded by Jesus Christ has triumphed over, through, and in spite of circumstances far more challenging and desperate than anything faced by the Church in America today.  Why are we filled with such despair?  Men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer who faced down the Nazis and refused to compromise the integrity of the Church to serve political masters would be ashamed of our lack of resolve and courage.  The Word of God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  The victory of the Son of God has already been accomplished; his final victory of sin, death, Satan, and hell is likewise assured.  So why do those who profess faith in this all-conquering Son of God believe so little in the next generation of their own Church?  Are they so eager for the Second Coming of Christ that they’re willing to accept, even welcome, a downward slide of humanity to make it happen?  Forget for a moment that this is one particular interpretation of Scripture’s teachings on the End Times, and also that Jesus repeatedly said that the End will come as a thief, when nobody expects it.  If you’re wrong, if Jesus tarries for another two thousand years, or more, don’t we need to persevere; don’t we need to build the Church by engaging with our world both now and in the future?

I, for one, will keep working on the bridge.  I’m trying to get as many people as possible to see the Light of Christ, come over the bridge of faith in him, and enter in his kingdom.  I just wish more people in his Church were willing to stop working on the moat long enough to help.

The previous “rant” is not an indictment of the wonderful people I’ve come to know and love here in Franklin, especially those I shepherd at First Baptist, my fellow ministers in the Joint Ministerium, and my fellow workers with Mustard Seed Missions.  They understand the need to work together to reach the Lost; they haven’t given up on the future.  Who will join us?

Sermon Video - "our citizenship is in heaven" Philippians 3:15-21

Paul begins this last section of his conclusion by reminding the people of Philippi that all mature Christians will eventually agree with him that while perfection is unattainable, the process of striving after Christ-likeness must continue.  Paul boldly holds himself up as an example to emulate, but also reminds the people that God has placed good examples of Christian maturity within their own church; heroes are important, but we can find experience and advice close at hand to help us.
Having already proclaimed the need to strive toward Christ-likeness, Paul now concludes by contrasting the "enemies of the cross of Christ" whose focus is upon themselves as evidenced by their minds which "are on earthly things", with those whom God has redeemed whose "citizenship is in heaven".  To be citizens of heaven is a bold claim that alters our entire worldview, allowing us to let go of the past (before Christ) and embrace the future which God has in store for each of his own.  As citizens of heaven, we eagerly await the return of Christ (no matter how we understand the events of the End Times), when not only the earth will be brought under his dominion, but our own bodies will be restored to the perfection that God originally intended before the Fall.  Whatever the future holds, for ourselves, our church, or our nation, our faith rests upon the promises of God, he will one day transform the world, he will on day transform us because we are citizens of heaven.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video 

The End of the World as we know it?

I was reading an article lately that was discussing the decline at night church attendance. In previous generations, a variety of churches held service both Sunday morning and Sunday evening. It was typically the case that a core group of those who attended the morning service also attended the evening one. It was rare for people to attend only the evening service, and many of those who regularly attended the morning service rarely, if ever, would attend the night service as well. As time passed, some smaller churches began to lose the enthusiasm for this second service and eventually cancelled it. Other churches decided to change the evening service into something different, like a Bible study or a worship service.
In the article, one preacher was lamenting the loss of these traditional second Sunday services as a sign of Apostasy and perhaps a glimpse that the End Times are at hand. Needless to say, I was surprised to see such significance directed toward an issue that many would see as an inevitable conclusion in a society where people are constantly on the go and over-extended with commitments. It is indeed true that Sunday isn’t the “day of rest” that it may have been in the past, and it is true that going to church a second time each Sunday isn’t a priority for many Christians today, but is this truly a sign of the impending crumbling of the American Church? That alarm has been sounded in the past, only to be proven premature. The American Church, like the Church in many nations throughout history, has had its ups and down, has gone through periods of growth and contraction, and has changed in style and appearance while maintaining its overall Gospel mission.
A sign of the End Times? No. Don’t be ridiculous. Not only is that day and hour unknown (and unknowable), but making a change in HOW the Church conducts its Gospel mission equivalent with the Church failing in its calling is a mistake. The Church has changed in the past, it will change in the future. Our mission is to ensure that the Church remains true to its calling no matter when or where it meets.

The last time the World was supposed to end...

I've been reading Tom Holland's The Forge of Christendom: The End of Day and the Epic Rise of the West which focuses on the End Times fascination and/or hysteria that occured throughout Christendom in and around the turning of the Millenium (1000 AD).  The book is excellent, and it reminds me that throughout Christian history there have been voices crying out that their particular generation had become so corrupt and morally bankrupt that surely the return of Christ was imminent.  And yet the world continues to turn and the day and hour that only the Father knows is not yet upon us. 
One of the interesting aspects of Holland's book is the numerous reminders that Churchmen KNEW that knowledge of the specific Day of the LORD was forbidden, that only the Father knows (and he isn't sharing that one).  And yet, those same priest and bishops went on to speculate to their flocks or interested kings that the End Times were upon us because of all of the "signs"
We certainly aren't immune to that same specualtion fever.  During my early years the Soviet Union was portrayed as the Evil Empire that woud rise up behind the Anti-Christ; when the Soviets crumbled a new home needed to be found...Fast forward to 9/11, another event that was portrayed as a sign of the beginning of the end...And yet, speculation of this nature continues to be dangerous or at least futile.  It conditions Christians to give up fighting for their communities, to assume that decay is inevitable and that we're doomed to failure. 
This generation is certainly corrupt, we've perfected the art of killing the unborn child and passing it off as convenience (like one-hour photo), we've embraced the destruction of marriage and enshrined the celebration of sexual immorality.  We've done all this and more, but we're not better or not worse than the generations that came before us.  When your grandparents were kids their parents were decrying the corruption of the youth and worrying about the future.  And yet God always sparks a revival through the faith of his people, God gives us a chance to swing the pendulum back toward righteousness and justice.  Our God is a God of restoration and hope; as his people, we must be ministers of hope and renewal.
When is Christ coming back, you'll never hear me speculating, I have no idea.  I'm here to do the work of the Lord today, I'll let God decide the future.

The End of the World as We Know it

It seems that mankind has a never ending thirst for rumors and speculation about the end of the world.  Since we are the only species on this planet that can contemplate our own existence and see that it has a possibility to not continue it should seem odd that we're perpetually dispelling such myths.  My wife and I enjoy a good disaster flick, Independence Day for example, but man has been fascinated about this topic since long before the motion pictures came along to give it special effects.
Why is it that we can't seem to put an end to such speculation?  The minute one deadline passes (like Y2K), another pops up (like 2012).  The minute one crisis is averted (Nuclear Winter) another comes to the fore (Global Warming).  What is it about humanity (in general) that ensures that such speculation always finds an audience?
The answer is relatively simple.  Because we are aware of our own personal existence, and because we have reasonable concerns about what will happen to us when we die, we seek out comfort and hope through religion (or philosophy) to assure us that it will be ok.  For Christians, we have our hope in Jesus Christ, a hope that is secure and a promise that we can count on.  Others may find some comfort in the Eight-Fold Path or the Five Pillars (Buddhism and Islam), but they won't find the Hope that can quite the anxiety of their hearts.
This quest for assurance, and fear of the future is simply writ large when it comes to humanity as a whole.  Millions of people throughout the world are hopelessly looking for some sort of answer to their own personal need and as such are willing to listen to those who predict an end to this struggle even if it means that they begin to believe that we are all doomed (at least that would solve their problem too).  Each time one of these false doomsayers is proven false, another pops up with a "new" scenario to find ever willing listeners.
By the way, it's a waste of time to argue the folly of such ideas, the improbability of them actually adds to the appeal (When logic and reasoning haven't led to answeres, people will embrace the illogical and the unreasoned)
What does the future hold?  How will this world end?  Take a look at Revelation if you want the visions that the Apostle John saw, just don't ask me to explain all of them.  There is at least one thing that I'm confident to say I understand about those future prediction though: "'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."