Look, nice essay, wonderful, beautiful, and still six minutes I'll never get back.

/sigh

I'm not sure when the rapture is suppose to occur...I've read far too many opinions over the years that I've just shelved it as one of those imponderable "things", but this much I can say...if Harold Camping or any of his followers say the rapture is going to occur on May 21st, 2011, then I know for sure what day the rapture IS NOT going to happen on...May 21st, 2011.

And now, word from our sponsor...

"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Can we move on...the idiocy...it burns...and we, the Church, don't need to prove how truly idiotic we can be to the world...believe me, they already know.

A wicked and adulterous generation wants a sign.

Is it too much to trust that the Lord can handle it (everything)?

Ah...yes. It's just too much for self-obsessed idolators.

It depends on what "signs" you are looking for. In Matthew 24 and elsewhere, Jesus goes into detail about the signs of His return. In verse 3 it says: "As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
And far from rebuking them, Jesus answered their question in detail. Jesus in fact, said that people should watch for the signs.

And in Luke 21, again it is told how Jesus answered their questions and with no tone of rebuke, because He wanted people to know the signs and to watch for them."7They questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?" 8And He said, "See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time is near 'Do not go after them. 9"When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately." And then He went on in greater detail about the increase in earthquakes, etc. Jesus in fact, said to watch for these signs, which are like birth pangs.

However, for those who want to see a personal miracle, in order to believe, such as "God, please turn the sky purple so that I might believe", or selfish requests like "Jesus give me a million dollars so I know you're really there", these kinds of questions are the kind that are wicked, because they are totally self-centered and they are testing God. They do not believe the written Word, which has been preserved accurately, and expect a personal miracle. Jesus turned many away even while He was alive, and He said that the law and the prophets spoke of Him, and yet they want more signs, as if His healing, the miracles that He did do, and the fulfillment of prophecies were not enough. The same would be true today if He came back and lived among us, many would still reject Him because they do not believe Scripture, yet they'll believe false prophets like Nostradamus or Edgar Cayse. At all periods of time Jesus is rejected by some of the people and is believed upon by others.

Watching for the sign of His return is doing what He told us to do.

Good points, Barbara.

I guess when you put it that way, the signs are all around us.

For the world and our sinful selves are not progressing, but rather 'coming to an end'.

Thanks be to God that in Christ Jesus we WILL have new and everlasting life!

Seems silly now doesn't it? The fact is that every generation since Christ believed they were the last, based in part on what Jesus said regarding John "being around until I return".

We need to live every day like it is our last, that is the real message in all this insanity!