One Foot in the Grave, and the Other on a Banana Peel

There is a lot of talk these days about "apocalypse" (as in "zombie apocalypse" just to name one), and "the end of the world". It is at least on the mind of many, through the vehicle of popular fiction, that this world that we are living in may not go on forever. It seems as well that many are fantasizing that we may be near such a time.

Webster defines the term apocalypse: "a writing prophesying a cataclysm in which evil forces are destroyed." And this is the meaning that we have traditionally attached to it. The biblical meaning however, is simply a revelation  (hence the name of the biblical book) or an unveiling.   The bottom line is that the world has on its mind that there are factors at work which could be the undoing of humanity. In many cases they seem to feel that it is the destruction or perhaps the self-destruction of human society that is incumbent on us.

The Bible also has a different take than does the world at large on the term; end of the world. Jesus on several occasions used the phrase   "the end of the age". As I encountered this term recently while reading the Gospel of Matthew, it occurred to me that there is good reason for the world to use a different term here than that which is used by the redeemed sector of humanity.

Indeed, for the world at large; for those who do not know Jesus Christ, the coming of our Lord is indeed going to be the end of the world. "Game Over!" and indeed their future from that point on is described as quite bleak. For those of us who know our Lord, however, it is not only the end of the age but the beginning of a new age. Jesus said:

.Behold, I am making all things new." (Revelation 21:5 ESV)

And without getting too involved with the chronology of final events, I just want to point out that the end of the age is the beginning of a new age; a better age, and a glorious one at that. Indeed, we have much more to look forward to than does the world.

I have pointed out previously, my belief that the difficult times that we are facing at the present are unrelated, or at least only indirectly related to the prophesied biblical Last Days. Dr. Robert Jeffress pointed out in his book Twilight's Last Gleaming that even though the end of the world may not be imminent for humanity, it will eventually end at some point for each individual. My Mom and her sister, my aunt Irene used to say of someone who was gravely ill that they had "one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel" . Indeed,  so it is with humanity. The end of their world is imminent for all who are not in Christ, and they have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.

In either case, the end of the age is the end of the world for those who do not have their hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, but for those who do, as the apostle Paul said:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.

More from Hosea

Our problem in our nation today is not just a failure of our own righteousness, it is also a failure of our leadership! Often in recent days I have despaired of where I fear we are headed as a nation, but I cannot escape the fact that our national leaders are out in front, leading the way to our demise! As much as this is true of our political leaders, it seems also to be true of an alarming number of our religious leaders as well.

Yet another passage from Hosea seems to indicate that Israel was also facing a similar crisis in leadership.

" . . . for with you is my contention, O priest. You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night . . . My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being  a priest to me, and since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children" Hosea 4:4-6 (ESV)

Israel had her king, and during this era some of them were bad enough, but Israel was a supposed theocracy, to be ruled by Yahweh  Himself, by the instrumentality of His priests and prophets. Today we have an eerily similar leadership failure, both in our secular leadership and our religious leadership. I am avoiding the use of the term "spiritual leadership" at this point because the fact that these religious leaders are not particularly spiritual is precisely the problem. 

We have in this country a dichotomy of religious/secular. Ancient Israel had no such dichotomy. This passage from Hosea addressed the whole of Israel's leadership failure. I wish also to point out in these following remarks the whole of our leadership failure.

This morning I read Psalm 14. This is the passage which is well-known for saying "The fool has said in his heart, "there is no God . . ."

As God would have it, a while later as I read my e-mail, there was one from gotquestions?.org which commented on this very same passage:

"the Hebrew word translated “fool.” In this text, the Hebrew word is nabal, which often refers to an impious person who has no perception of ethical or religious truth. The meaning of the text is not “unintelligent people do not believe in God.” Rather, the meaning of the text is “sinful people do not believe in God.” In other words, it is a wicked thing to deny God, and a denial of God is often accompanied by a wicked lifestyle. The verse goes on to list some other characteristics of the irreligious: “They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; / there is no one who does good.” Psalm 14 is a study on the universal depravity of mankind.

Many people do not object to the idea of a Creator, as long as that Creator minds His own business and leaves them alone. What people reject is the idea of a Creator who demands morality from His creation. Rather than struggle against a guilty conscience, some people reject the idea of God altogether. Psalm 14:1 calls this type of person a “fool.” Psalm 14:1 says that denying God’s existence is commonly based on a desire to lead a wicked life. Several prominent atheists have admitted the truth of this." (© 2005-2016, Got Questions Ministries)

By this definition and commentary, our nation is the proverbial "Ship of Fools" led by a captain and crew of fools. We too are either telling God to mind His own business, or just doing what seems right in our own eyes, and expecting God to bless it, or in many cases we are just plain biblically ignorant of what God expects of us. This last item is, of course, the classic example and result of the failure of our religious leadership.  " . . . because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you . . ."

While I do not intend to disparage the efforts of many godly leaders who are trying to lead us in accordance with His will (Hosea himself was such a leader), the daily news does not indicate that there is any real hope on the horizon to see any change in the course of the voyage that our ship is on.

I have begun to pray earnestly that God will raise up leaders for us who will get this ship going in the right direction; His direction. I hope that you will join me in this prayer effort.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.