Perhaps, some self-disclosure is in order: in multiple views of modern western society, I am among the ringleaders of what is, by the definition created by sociologist John Lofland in 1966, a Doomsday Cult (“a group that believes in apocalypticism and millenarianism”). By that definition, I’m clearly within those parameters. Are you?

Apocalypticism is a religious belief that the end of the world is imminent, potentially within one’s own lifetime. Millenarianism anticipates that the apocalypse will be followed by a 1000-year age of blessedness under the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, following His Second Coming. Historically, people who embraced that kind of thinking were referred to as “Bible-believing Christians…”

Those matters are generally filed under the doctrine of Eschatology (the study of future things; or, in biblical jargon: prophecy). That subject doesn’t get much attention in modern church teaching, but “the future” is a subject about which we all have a significant personal stake. Who hasn’t pondered the question, “What happens when you die?” Where can you go when tomorrow is on today’s mind?

Ken Jennings earned his chops as the smartest guy in Jeopardyland. His prize money from that gameshow topped $4.5 million. The son of an international attorney, Jennings was raised in Asia and Seattle, schooled at BYU in Salt Lake City, and missioned by the LDS Church to Spain before his exploits on the gameshow circuit. He has authored multiple books; the latest is 100 Places to See After You Die.

Why did this subject attract his attention? “I was just fascinated by the idea of life after death… What does happen to me?… It was also just so tantalizing because, presumably billions of people who had gone before now either know the answer or don’t. And yet word has not gotten back to us…”

Quite apart from Jenning’s pop research approach to the subject, Arnold Schwarzenegger recently offered his Austrian/American opinion in response to questions from Howard Stern: “We don’t know what happens with the soul and all this spiritual stuff that I’m not an expert in, but I know that the body as we see each other now, we will never see each other again like that…When people talk about, ‘I will see them again in heaven,’ it sounds so good, but the reality is that we won’t see each other again after we’re gone. That’s the sad part. I know people feel comfortable with death, but I don’t.”

If Jesus was on Jeopardy – and questions about Heaven came up in the bonus round – He would probably respond as He did with Nicodemus, the eminent Jewish scholar: “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?  No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man” (John 3:12-13).

Amidst the celebrity speculation about what’s to come, Simon Peter – one of the original Apostles who soaked up wisdom from the Son of God, directly – says it this way: “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation…’ The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly… That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3).

I’m in good company: based on his writings, Peter was also a member of the Doomsday Cult who are anticipating the endings that God has prescribed, and the returning that Jesus promised.

Today, 7,974 people in America – and, 332,648 worldwide – will end this life and land into their inevitable tomorrows. They’ll become experts; for most, too late to impact their own future.

Are you ready to challenge Jennings and Schwartzenegger – and the rest of our sadly uninformed peers – with God’s truth about tomorrow?