While Jesus was still in body with the disciples and apostles, many expected the end of the world to come very soon. In Matthew 24, Jesus is said to mention the signs indicating the end times; things like nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, also famines, pestilences and earthquakes, not to mention increased hatred against those who love God, but also the spreading of the Gospel all over the world. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." How close the end of the world is, when these signs will appear, is described by Jesus in a parable: "Learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
Were the followers of Jesus deceived in their expectation of the immediate end of the world? What did Jesus really say? What is the end of times, and how will it end? In the New Testament one reads expressions like "the hour is coming and is already now" which refers to the idea that all time is going on all the time. In that sense, all of time is already over, and we stand at the end of time, looking back at it from a different place. We seem to relive it, but it is already over. In this idea we are faced with the necessity to let time be over in our minds. Time is already over and the world did end, but we have not recognized it yet. This is why we need to do the mind training of A Course In Miracles. When asked about the coming of the kingdom of God, Jesus says in Luke 17:20: "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." This shows again the temptation to look for something outside of oneself, including the end of time and its signs. One thing, however, is sure; time will end, and in that it already did.
"What seems eternal all will have an end. The stars will disappear, and night and day will be no more. All things that come and go, the tides, the seasons and the lives of men; all things that change with time and bloom and fade will not return. Where time has set an end is not where the eternal is. God's Son can never change by what men made of him. He will be as he was and as he is, for time appointed not his destiny, nor set the hour of his birth and death. Forgiveness will not change him. Yet time waits upon forgiveness that the things of time may disappear because they have no use." -A Course In Miracles, Chapter 29.VI
Peter in his first letter mentions the end of all things, and reminds us to stay in love and give as we have been given.
"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
So, once again, is the world going to end soon? Master Teacher expresses the possibility of it with an emphatic Yes:
"Is the end of this World near at hand? Is this World actually approaching the end of the entire continuum of space/time in which it exists?
Is this Entity that calls itself Life in a contained molecular aggregation of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen at last at a crossroads of space and time where a quantum leap into a whole new continuum is possible?
Can we escape this apparent entrapment in space? Can any and all of time at any moment actually be altered by the application of our inherent Power of Creative Energy that is the Force of this Universe?
We emphatically declare, “What could possibly prevent it!” The Power that is inherent and awakening in our Minds is unopposed. We are practitioners of A Course In Miracles undergoing miraculous experiences of whole new vistas of reality. The metamorphosis of this species is inevitable. The idea that the Destiny of Man remains in this infinitely small maze of dark energy form is absurd! This place is not our Home. We are citizens in a boundless Universal Reality of Eternal Life. Communication has been restored! The momentary disruption that was our sojourn in time has disappeared and will no longer delay the completion of our appointed task." -Master Teacher
Read next what answer A Course In Miracles gives to the question, "How Will the World End?"
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