The miners who worked Chile’s San Jose copper-gold mine felt the weight of the stone above them every day as they descended down the spiral entrance ramp into the darkness. More than one hundred years old, the mine often groaned and rained dust on them as they swung their picks and worked their machines. With a number of previous accidents, the facility had paid multiple fines for safety violations. But work is work, so every day men entered the mine, trusting that the rocks around them would hold in place for one more shift.

August 5, 2010, seemed like any other day for the thirty-three men working deep in the mine. Then with a sharp crack, about seven hundred thousand tons of rock shifted, cutting off the ramps and destroying the ventilation shaft. They were trapped 2,300 feet underground and about three miles from the mine’s entrance.

It didn’t take the miners long to realise that they had no way to escape — they could only hope for rescue from above.

Many felt that there was no way for the men to have survived, but the Chilean people refused to give up hope. Under much public pressure, the government took over the search and rescue operation and eight boreholes were quickly drilled toward the space it was thought the miners might be. Seventeen days after the accident, a drill-bit that had broken through to an empty chamber was pulled up carrying a note: “Estamos bien en el refugio, los 33” (“We are well in the shelter, the 33 of us”).

Overwhelmed with joy, the people of Chile demanded that a way be found to rescue the trapped workers.

Food, water, and medical supplies were sent down to the men in “palomas,” supply tubes, especially designed to fit down the narrow drill holes. Video and phone lines were also set up, so the men below could communicate with the rescuers and with their families.

Then the real rescue work began. The Chilean government organized the efforts of their own people as well as experts from more than a dozen mining corporations around the world. Three large international drilling rig teams went to work boring a hole large enough to fit a human. Finally, after sixty-nine dark days deep underground, all thirty-three men were rescued. It is estimated that more than one billion people watched the rescue live on television or over the Internet.

Part five — the rescue

In the Bible’s Creation story, we saw how quickly the beauty and peace of the earth turned bad. When humans joined the rebellion against God, they were all trapped in a world filled with sin — filled with anger, fear, danger, sickness, and death. Just like the Chilean miners, they were trapped with no way of saving themselves. Their only hope was rescue from above.

Jesus’ five-part rescue mission began with promises and prophecies. And part five begins with the same. When Jesus was on earth with His followers, He talked about the day when the rescue would happen — when He would put an end to the rebellion and save all those who followed Him.

He said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2, 3).

The Bible has many promises and prophecies about Jesus’ return. It’s also called “the end of the world” or “the end of time,” since that is when Jesus puts an end to everything that has gone wrong since Creation. When Jesus’ followers asked Him how they would know when the end was near, He gave them some signs to watch for. He said:

• Others would claim to be the one who would save them.
• Wars and famine will happen, and many earthquakes.
• Believers will be hated, arrested, and killed.
• False prophets will tell lies, and evil, hate, and sin would be everywhere.
• Good news about God’s kingdom will be shared with the whole world. And then the end will come.

Have we seen any of these things happen? The world has seen many spiritual leaders such as Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church who have claimed to be the one who would save their followers. Others, such as David Koresh of the Branch Davidians, have led their followers to their deaths.

War has been a part of human history from the beginning, but only in recent times have we had wars that include most of the nations on earth, such as World War II. Today, wars may be limited to smaller areas, but we have developed weapons that can kill millions and destroy vast areas of the planet.

Often made worse by war that keeps help from the people who need it most, famine continues to plague our world. Too many places face starvation when there could be enough food to feed every hungry child.

The great earthquake in Lisbon in 1755 was only the beginning. They seem to come more often and do more damage than ever before. The 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean may have been the most deadly in human history, killing more than 150,000 people. More recently, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan killed many thousands more and devastated a large area of that country.

In some places today, people who believe in Jesus are arrested and even beaten or killed. Many faithful people have to worship in secret and share their faith with great risk. But that isn’t the case in most of the world. Jesus seems to be saying that this will happen more and more as we get closer to the end.

Are there false prophets telling lies today? Everywhere we turn are people claiming to speak in God’s name, twisting the words of the Bible to agree with their hateful and angry messages. Television, radio, and the Internet have given them a way to publically condemn other people in God’s name. Nothing could be further from the “love your neighbor” message of Jesus.

The last sign of the end that Jesus gives is a happy one! The good news about His message and His plan to save humans will be shared with the whole world! Never before has it been possible to reach so much of the world with good news. Now that the Internet is available on every phone, people can read or hear about Jesus no matter where they live or what language they speak.

So, is this the time of the end? Can we expect to see Jesus return soon? Yes, we can. But not quite yet.

Three angels shouting

The Bible book of Revelation is filled with prophecies about the future. Many talk specifically about the end of time and the return of Jesus. Chapter 14 tells of three angels flying down from heaven with messages from God (see Revelation 14:6–11).

The first angel is there to share the good news about Jesus to everyone on earth (as Jesus said). He shouts, “Respect God and worship Him. The time has come to judge who has been faithful and who has not.” And then, as if there might be some confusion about who he was talking about, he says, “Worship the Creator God, the One who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” It sounds as if the question of creation and where humans come from is important enough to play a part in how the world ends, or at least a part in deciding who is faithful to follow God and who is not. The Creator is now the Judge.

The second angel shouts that “Babylon is fallen!” Babylon in early Bible history is a place where false religion is born. This seems to refer to the false prophets and religions that are twisting the words of the Bible into lies. As we get close to the end, many religions that claim to be speaking for God will really be leading people away from God.

Then the third angel shouts, “Anyone who worships ‘the beast and his image’ and gets his ‘mark’ will feel God’s wrath.” Other parts of Revelation talk about the beast and his image as powers who try to force everyone to join them in a perverted religion of hate. Those who do join receive the “mark” while those who are faithful to God receive His mark or “seal.”

How will we be able to tell which religion is false and which one is following God faithfully? How can we be judged worthy by the Creator? Knowing how God feels about freedom, we can be sure that the true religion of Jesus will never be about force or hate. It will be people who believe that following Jesus and living as He commanded is the happiest way to live, the best way to live. It will be people who remember the Creator God of Genesis. Could it be that one of the marks of those who are following God faithfully will be remembering the Creation week’s celebration of the seventh day?

Everyone will see Him

The time of the end is both the most exciting and the most frightening time to imagine. The day will come when almost all religions go bad — when more and more lies are told in God’s name — and true followers will have to fear for their lives. But when that happens, we will know that Jesus’ return is almost here.

How will we know when it happens? When Jesus returned to heaven after His time on earth, He rose up into the clouds, leaving His followers staring up after Him. Two angels appeared to them and said, “Why are you standing here staring? Jesus has gone to heaven, and some day, He will return the same way you saw Him go!” (see Acts 1:11).

So we’ll be able to see Him coming, in the sky. Other places in the Bible describe Jesus coming in the clouds. In Revelation, it says, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him” (Revelation 1:7). So it won’t be a secret—everyone will be able to see Him. In fact, Jesus said His return will be like lightning flashing from the east to the west! (See Matthew 24:27.) Jesus even warns us not to believe anyone who says His return has happened in secret.

One of the most thrilling descriptions of Jesus’ return is in the book of 1 Thessalonians. It says:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

(1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17)

All those faithful followers of God who died since the days of Adam and Eve will rise up from their graves just like Jesus did. Then they will finally be rid of all the pain and sickness they had in their lives. Now they will be with God forever, along with all the faithful who have lived to see the great rescue.

Conclusion

The rescue operation will be complete when Jesus has returned and put an end to sin and pain and death. When all those who have followed Him faithfully through all the ages of earth are with Him to live as He promised they would.

But the story isn’t over yet. We started this journey at the creation of the world. Now we must go there again — for re-creation.

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