I had to drive over to Asheville, N.C., yesterday for a routine medical visit. From where I live in Spruce Pine, N.C., the drive takes a little over an hour both ways. But it isn’t a leisurely drive. The two-way trip involves going down one mountain, going up and down a second mountain, and then reversing the whole process on the return trip. In between are bypasses and interstates where NO ONE is running under the speed limit, including me. In my defense, I was just trying to keep from getting rear ended.

By the time I got home I felt like I was Burt Reynolds collapsing after a Smokey and the Bandit or Cannonball Run film. (Yes, those two references clearly slot me as a 52-year-old man.) Seriously, it can’t be just my imagination that there are more cars on the roads these days and everybody is driving faster. As you read that, keep in mind that I don’t live in a big city that has rush-hour traffic. I live in a small town in the rural mountains of western North Carolina. I actually grew up in a house that was located on a gravel road!

Daniel 12:4 says that in the time of “the end” (the Bible’s term) “many shall run to and fro” (N.K.J.V.). Well, if we aren’t running to and fro these days — with our cars, trains, airplanes, buses, and motorcycles — I don’t know what such a time will look like. The flying cars of the Jetsons? (Again, I’m showing my age with that reference.) Actually, commentators tell us that the Hebrew verb form that is used for “run to and fro” refers to the rapid movements of people as they seek something. “Seeking what?” you ask. That’s a good question. Ideally, they are seeking God and His truth, but obviously that isn’t the case with a great many individuals.

That same verse in Daniel also says that in “the end” “knowledge shall increase” (N.K.J.V.). It has often been pointed out that up until the start of the 20th century life on earth looked pretty much like it had looked for centuries. Horses were the primary mode of transportation. Candles were the primary source of light at night. Books were the primary means of imparting information. But then came electrical power lines, airplanes, automobiles, radios, televisions, and eventually computers. I myself was born in 1966, and my two sons would barely recognize that world.

So, does all this mean that we really are living in Daniel’s prophesied time of “the end”? I certainly wouldn’t bet against it. No one will ever be able to accurately predict when Jesus will return to walk this earth again, but what we know for sure is that there is a whole lot of Bible prophecy that simply hasn’t come to pass yet. And unfortunately for this world and its spiritually lost inhabitants, those unfulfilled events are devastatingly, catastrophically bad. As a matter of fact, Jesus said that if those days weren’t shortened no one would be left alive on planet Earth (Matthew 24:22). Think about that statement.

I guess the takeaway from this post is that you shouldn’t sink your roots down too deep into this world. Remember, Jesus isn’t trying to save this planet or its satanically energized world system. To the contrary, He’s saving people OUT OF it all and guaranteeing them a residence in heaven with Him. Yes, it’s true that one day He will return to this earth and usher in His glorious 1,000 year reign upon it. Until then, though, we’re just going to get more and more of what we’re getting now. Of course, if the traffic keeps increasing we’ll eventually have to make every road an eight-lane super highway, either that or take to the skies in George Jetson cars.