So it will be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
– Luke 17:30 (English Standard Version)
Add -pocalypse or -mageddon to any event and create your own disaster.
The Long Range Weather Forecast published by The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2017 accurately predicted a bitter winter last year, which dumped so much snow on the country it inspired the Snowpocalypse festival in Milwaukee, Snowpocalypse survivor badges in Boise, and its own Twitter hashtag #snowmageddon. In keeping with our national compulsion to turn every personal victory or trial into a meme, we can now add -mageddon or -pocalypse to a catastrophe for an over-the-top event to post on our favorite social media outlet.
Maybe we do it to thumb our noses at tribulation that comes into our lives.
Maybe we just like drama.
When you hear the word “apocalypse,” do you think of nuclear war, zombies, or superheroes? Perhaps you envision meteors falling from the sky or the moon turning to blood.
Do you cringe at the thought of the end of the world? Are you fearful of what that could mean? Or is all that kind of talk just foolishness to you?
Meriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines apocalypse as “a great disaster,” which is the common usage of the word today.
We get our English word “apocalypse,” however, from the Greek word apokalupsis, meaning “to reveal.” An apocalypse is a revelation, the uncovering of something hidden. It is used in several places in the New Testament, but most notably in the title of the last book of the Bible. It is often called Revelation, but the true title is The Revelation of Jesus Christ, or The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ.
Although the final book of the Bible may be considered one of the most difficult to understand, it is the only book of the Bible promising a blessing to those who read it and take its message to heart. Much of the book describes the judgments poured out upon an unrepentant world, but God inspired it as both a warning and a promise. The warning is for those who reject Christ. The promise is for those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and await His coming.
For now, Christ is hidden from the eyes of man. Those who believe in Him see Him with eyes of faith. Very soon, Christ will be revealed in all His glory to both believer and unbeliever. He will return to earth to claim her back and restore her. He will set up a millennial reign in which righteousness lives, and afterward an eternity of joy for those who love him.
The revelation of Christ is only a fearful thing for those who have lived without Him.
The tribulation of those days is clearly described as a time of God’s wrath (Revelation 11:18; 16:1), and believers are promised we have been delivered from the day of His wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).
The end of this world is coming. But if that’s all you think apocalypse means, you have an awakening in store for you. The end will only be the beginning, revelation ushering in a genesis. The door is still open to a life without end, where every tear is dried and we will dwell with God and His people forever.
Jesus is coming. Things are about to become…
Apocalyptic.
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