Why is everybody so surprised? That's what I don't understand. The headlines in the newspapers say CRIME ON A RAMPAGE! or DRUG USE CLIMBS! or FAMOUS PREACHER FOUND GUILTY! The churches are torn asunder with reports of doctrinal division, moral compromise, and general apostasy. You don't need to guess what everybody's going to be talking about at the next social gathering. They'll be talking about how bad everything is. And it is bad. No argument there. The environment is stifling itself with pollution. Crime is on a non-stop rocket to infinity. Politicians are being exposed for their greed; sports stars are being exposed for their compromises; business leaders await trial for taking advantage of "inside" information. Women are legally killing unborn children. Divorce rates spiral. Homosexuality becomes an "acceptable lifestyle." And on and on it goes. Natural disasters abound. Tornados, earthquakes, hailstorms, and floods are becoming the order of the day. Record heat. Record cold. Record snow. It is as though both man and the elements are out of control. And where is the church amidst all this confusion? For the most part, it appears to be on the sidelines, wringing its hands, preaching sermons, and writing books about the problem. We're overwhelmed with the devastation about us. And we ought to be ashamed. Oh, it's all right to be disgusted by the sin. But we ought not to be so surprised at the circumstances. We, of all people, ought to have expected it. We've read the last chapter of the book. We've seen the end of the movie. Now, I'm one of those people who loves to read the first chapter of a novel, skim a couple of chapters so it'll look official, and then sneak over to the last chapter to see how it all came out. It seems like such a waste of time to spend all that time while the author prolongs our misery, so he can get in enough pages to justify charging $12.95 for the book. I want to know how it's all going to end. And I want to know now. God seemed to understand people like me. He seemed to expect some of us at least to want to flip to the last chapter and see how it will all turn out. So many educators and so many theologians are saying: "It'll all turn out okay. Things are getting better." And they point to the thawing of the cold war as an example. The thawing of the cold war is a sign that the end is at hand, but not that things are getting better. God knows it's not going to get better. And for those who "have ears to hear" He has clearly pronounced the outcome. No surprises. He simply told it like it will be. Why we are so surprised, then, is not clear. Either we don't want to believe it, or we've never read it. But make no mistake about it, this old world is not getting better, and it never will. The battle is nearing its conclusion, and the enemy, already pronounced the loser, is screaming and clawing with every ounce of evil energy he possesses. The devil can hear the thundering hoof beats of the King's army on the horizon. He can envision the sheer horror of hell. And he can imagine what it will be like to be chained to the tortures of despair while the Living God sets up His Kingdom at last. He knows, and we ought to know the end is at hand, and the answer isn't to be found in the goodness of man. The answer is to be found in the Scriptures. There, in vivid language, the Living God has painted a portrait of what life will be like just before the trumpet blast; just before the curtain comes down on the weary actors who stand on stage in the drama of life. And He, in no uncertain terms, has told us a) not to be surprised, and b) not to be afraid. The last chapter's already been written! And the Apostle Paul wanted to make sure that the Christians of his day and those of us who stand on the threshold of the end times understood as well. And he didn't focus strictly on how bad the world would become as the program of life ends and the credits pour across the screen.