Events of the "Last Days"

   I have been reading a book by Joel Rosenberg, The Ezekiel Option, a fiction story set in the last days. Rosenberg is a good writer with knowledge in several areas. He blends geopolitical situations with current history to produce a scenario that could correspond to the events foretold in the 38th and 39th chapters of the book of Ezekiel. His main characters are caught up in events in the United States, Russia, Israel and the Arab countries of the middle east. The book is part of a whole genre of literature concerning the last days, and plays to a fascination, especially in the Christian community, about what will happen in those times.

   Over the years, authors, pastors, historians and others have delved into the pages of the Bible, especially books like Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation, to give us a picture of what is going to happen in the future. Our natural inclination is to want to know what will happen, especially if we think that we may be actually living in these "last days".

   Contrast this with what Chambers has to say in the reading for today:

   Watch with Me. Jesus was saying, in effect, "Watch with no private point of view at all, but watch solely and entirely with Me."

   Jesus was in the Garden on the night of his betrayal, and asked Peter, James and John to keep watch while he went a little farther to pray. They did not understand what was going on, so they slept. All Jesus wanted them to do was to be with Him as He went through the agony of this time, but they slept.

   Jesus wants us to stay with Him, and Him only, as future events swirl around our world, and in our own lives. Not that being knowledgeable and concerned about the future cannot be important, but that our focus should be on Him.

   After all, He is the One who holds all the keys....