I Can't Wait for the End of the World

I recently read Afterlife by Marcus Sakey: http://amzn.to/2vd3ki7

After reading the novel, I had 2 observations:

1. I can't forget that the world desperately needs Jesus.
2. I can't wait for the end of the world.

Without spoiling too much, the author has built a fictional "afterlife." The majority of the book takes place in the first layer of the dead, called the "echo." This purgatory-like place is where you wake up immediately after death. Even in the echo, good and evil are locked in conflict. This cyclical, never ending battle is the major theme of the novel. Love gets a temporary win at the end, but evil still exists. Mr. Sakey has created a hopeless and dark world -- a true reflection of the humanistic religion of our day. 

Let's get into my 2 observations.

I can't forget that the world desperately needs Jesus. 

When I think about the billions of souls stuck in works-based religion, it is overwhelming. The crushing weight of having to secure goodwill with either god, gods, or the universe is impossible to bear. It breaks my heart, because it is so unnecessary.  If you are a believer reading this, let that sink into you. Let that ring in your heart next time you are with your unbelieving friend or family member. They are being crushed by the sheer weight of not being good enough. And then, there are those so corrupted by sin, that they are prideful poison to all around them. They are so good that they must motivate everyone else. What is the solution to both of these problems? Jesus.

Scripture teaches that we are saved by grace, through faith. No one is saved by their works, so no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is giving up, and trusting completely in Jesus. When someone realizes that for the first time, they often break down in thankfulness. Years and years of trying and failing disappear in light of the cross and empty tomb. This is the Gospel! That is why it is such good news! We must share this message, because the lie of the innate goodness of mankind is everywhere. That lie is a weight tied around the neck of a drowning world. When the Holy Spirit reveals to a person who they are, they finally start to see the beauty of Christ. May we be the ones who hold up the mirror. 

I can't wait for the end of the world.

I hate sin. Sin ruins families, wrecks nations, and warps joy. As Christians, we can look forward to a final deliverance from sin. Not just a deliverance from the sins of our brothers and sisters, but a deliverance from our own wickedness. In Afterlife,no one ever really dies, they just start over. I hate that concept. It is the worst of all religious ideas. That means that war, sexual assault, and murder will go onforever . . . or until humanity does not exist. In Jesus, we have a greater promise.

From Revelation 21:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

We all want justice. Only Jesus is in a position to judge the world perfectly. He is God, perfectly in communion with the Father and Spirit for all eternity; but He is also fully man, triedunjustlyin a mock court for crimes He never committed and thenexecutedas a criminal. Jesus is the only one we want on the throne! I can't wait for the end of the world. 

I realized in the middle of this novel, that WE are in the echo. THIS existence is the veiled one, where everything we enjoy trickles down from the real world. The conclusion of our world is the beginning of the perfect one -- God making His dwelling place physically with His people for all eternity. We are not stuck in an endless cycle. We are in a story. Unlike Afterlife, this one has a conclusion, for which I am eternally grateful.