“[H]ow shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? Hebrews 2:3
If this post seems familiar to my long-time readers, a couple of years ago I wrote a piece entitled “Heed the Warnings,” having seen an end-of-the-world-type film with Tom Cruise.
It seems the public can’t get enough of these apocalyptic movies. Today in particular there seems to be much speculation about whether world events are pointing to the end.
The latest film, featuring an all-star cast, is entitled “Don’t Look Up.” In it, Kate Dibiasky, a university student played by Jennifer Lawrence, discovers a large comet in our solar system. The comet is named after her, and she is thrilled.
But soon her professor, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), does some calculations and realizes this huge comet is destined to hit Earth and destroy it in a little more than six months.
What follows is a desperate, humorous quest to get the word out and motivate the government to fund an emergency project with NASA, but no one seems to be taking the two seriously. (If you’ve ever been frustrated by the slowness of the government to help people, take that frustration and multiply it by a few billion.)
After managing to get on a national talk show as guests, Randall and Kate plan to spring the news on the American public, since the government clearly does not intend to. They find themselves competing for America’s attention with a ditzy starlet (Ariana Grande) and her estranged lover, who make up right on the show.
When Randall and Kate are finally introduced, they have a hard time getting the hosts’ focus away from the celebrity romance and onto the seriousness of their news. At last, unable to take any more “pleasantries,” Kate blurts out that Earth is doomed if they don’t do something, and NOW! Otherwise, “We are all going to die!” Crying hysterically, she runs off the set.
From that moment on, Kate is America’s laughingstock. Social media is full of jokes about her “losing it,” and pictures of her screaming face become popular logos on posters, skateboards, and other merchandise.
Meanwhile, D-day looms closer …
How many of us have tried unsuccessfully to pass on the wisdom of our own life lessons? (And all the parents said, “Amen!”) Like Dr. Mindy and Kate, we know that people ignore our warnings to their own peril. But screaming louder only convinces them that the messenger is crazy.
And how many of us have ignored other’s admonitions and ended up regretting it? Their shrill warnings have sounded crazy to us, so we write them off as madmen. (Indeed, there have been madmen making false predictions in the past, hence the dilemma.)
However, Jesus Christ transcends time and space. He has seen the future – He’s been there. Although His predictions are accurate, He, too, is ignored by multitudes of people. But we should heed His warnings, because He is not only all-knowing, He is all-loving. He has made the future known to us in His Word (the Bible). Some of His predictions are:
- Wars, famines, and earthquakes will increase in frequency and intensity. (Matthew 24: 7 & 8)
- The enemy of our souls will send false saviors, false miracles, and lies. We are to be on our guard against them and not be deceived; our only true Savior is Jesus Christ. (Matthew 24: 4-5, 11, 23-27)
- The gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world, to all nations. (Matthew 24:14)
- Persecution of Christians will increase (Matthew 24: 9-10, John 15: 18-25; 16: 2-3), but we must persevere, because
- Jesus is coming back for us, (John 14:18) to take the faithful away with Him to an everlasting reward (I Corinthians 15: 51-57). *
In “Don’t Look Up,” Dr. Mindy and Kate’s goal is to save the planet. But God’s warnings are infinitely more important. His promises are infinitely better, the consequences of ignoring them, infinitely worse.
Because Kate was right, “We’re all going to die!”
Will we die from a meteor? Probably not – but we might. Will we die today? Probably not – but sooner or later we will leave this life for another, and if we don’t get it right in regard to God’s truths, we will end up in the wrong place.
For ETERNITY.
Think about it: Get it right, spend eternity in a perfect place, in perfect bliss, with the perfect heavenly Father, being the Bride of His Son, the Prince of Peace.
OR…
Get it wrong, spend eternity away from His presence, in everlasting darkness, pain, misery, and regret.
News, blogs, and self-help articles suggest a lot of New Year’s resolutions. But the best we can do in this new year is heed God’s warnings, and live for Him, day by day, from now on.
For those who have never placed their faith in Him, the starting point is to acknowledge our sins, our powerlessness to help ourselves, and our need to change. And since Jesus is the only One who paid for our sins Himself by willingly dying on the cross, the next step is to surrender our flawed lives to Him, with a willingness to abandon our sinful ways and follow Him.
For all of us, the way to know His mind and heart is to read the Bible. The better we know God’s Word, the better prepared we will be for what’s to come.
Prayer: Lord God, who sees the end from the beginning, thank You for giving us a glimpse into the future through You Word. Forgive us for all the times we have ignored Your warnings. We thank You for holding back Your judgment, giving us time to heed Your Word and repent. We thank You for receiving us as Your beloved children the moment we place our faith in You. And thank You that we can follow You confidently into the future, knowing that You’ve already been there, for You transcend time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
* There are many, many scriptures describing the future for this world and for believers in Jesus Christ. Those cited here are just a few. To be best informed, read the Bible regularly.
SPEAKING OF WARNINGS, for those who are offended by certain words, there is a plethora of these words in “Don’t Look Up.” I heard them as the vocabulary of stressed-out people in a fallen world, but as one reader pointed out, I should have included this warning in my original post. My apologies.
Seeking Divine Perspective 
Amen. Great post. And yes, you sold this movie to me!
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Let me know how you like it, David. 🙂
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Good word, and I deeply appreciate the urgency of your warning.
However, we must keep in mind that the signs to which many so often point are not signs of the end: “All these are but the beginning of the birth pains,” Jesus said. His emphasis was on “See that no one leads you astray.”
Then He gave ONE sign of the end of this age: “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
We are closer than ever to every nation and every “tongue” having the full Scripture in its language.
And if Paul, Peter and John expected Jesus’ return was very soon, how much more so is it true today!?
Maranatha, my friend! Even so, Lord Jesus, come. c.a.
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I realize people have been expecting “the End” to come any day since Jesus left this earth. Truth be told, “the End” could come for any one of us at any moment, and woe to us if we aren’t ready! A young woman I knew was killed a couple of days ago in a freak car accident – not her fault. Her car was struck and caught fire. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t a believer. – Tragic. This is why I sense such urgency – also excitement, because the gospel’s being preached to every person is the final sign. The Jesus Film has been translated into over 1800 languages, and believe it or not, there are a few hundred more, but they are working on them. With the internet, and especially with the p@ndemic, more people are tuned in to the virtual world and are reachable. With the gospel’s being dramatized, people can hear it in their heart language, even if they’re illiterate. That last sign is within reach!
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“Virtual world?” 😅. I know, your computer “corrected” the word “spiritual.”
Yes, the Scripture clearly teaches that God alone knows our days and how many we get here in on earth.
And Wycliffe estimates there are only a handful of languages left for Bible translation, although we do not know how Father counts them.
“Any day now, and we’ll be going Home.” It Won’t Be Long by Andre Crouch 😇
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Thanks for pointing that out, C.A.. I have added this last prediction to my list. I don’t know how I could have left out that most important sign – and the only one that hasn’t been fulfilled yet. With the internet reaching every corner of the world, could it be in our lifetime?
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Could it NOT!? 😉
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I watched a little more than half of the movie, will watch the remaining soon. I could feel the frustration of the people not taking reality of what was happening seriously. I like how you tied it to people being ignorant of the need for Jesus.
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Thanks, Manu. Hope your year is off to a good start.
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We watched the movie and found it to be equal parts funny and frightening. It is a very sad commentary on our addiction to the fast, facile, and utterly superficial and our culture’s unwillingness to recognize the fragility of our existence. You draw a great parallel between the movie’s subject matter and the call to seek salvation in Christ. Although… you might also want to include a STRONG LANGUAGE WARNING with your review.
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Yikes! Good point, Russ. I’ll add that. There are people who use those words to shock me, but rather than give them the satisfaction, I just tune them out. But that doesn’t mean it’s OK.
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Thanks for the reminder to take promptings and signs seriously. Yes, one day we all will die. And one day we all will stand before the judgement seat of God. Something we should always keep in mind as we make our decisions and live out our daily lives.
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Nice breakdown of the movie! On Amazon Prime, there’s a movie called “The Days of Noah: The Flood” that appears to be produced by Seventh Day Aventists. I’m not an Adventist, but i definitely applaud their efforts to drive home the message that this world will be destroyed again. I saw it last year, it really amplified my urgency to teach others about the Gospels.
With “Don’t Look Up” I confess…I know Leonardo’s a huge environmentalist, so part of me figured he took on the role and backed this movie to drive home his personal agenda about how we as humans are destroying the earth ourselves for future generations. There’s a scene where he’s interrupting a child’s Sesame Street-like puppet show to accost the viewers with adult language about warning them. And I was like, “Yep…he wishes he could talk to the American general public like that to push his conservation views.”
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Yep, I could see this in light of global warming, the p@ndemic, and such. Every viewer could see his or her own pet message implied. But there’s only one that will affect every individual for eternity, and that’s the one I choose to shine a light on.
I’ll look up that Noah movie. Sounds interesting.
Blessings, Rock. – Annie
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I feel like we have tried and tried to warn them . Christian media is booming! But many just don’t care. I’m afraid the negative media that portrays Christianity as bigoted and anti-science has really hurt the message. And bad behavior of Christians definitely hurts the cause . Even the littlest presumed hateful comment gets noticed by unbelievers and called out. Today I commented on a Fb post about the soccer player who got kicked out of Australia and an atheist took the meaning wrong and checked my profile . She then basically called me a hypocrite. I tried to explain what my comment actually meant , but she didn’t reply. 🙁 But God is sovereign.
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Sounds like she didn’t WANT to understand, Paula. What can you do? All we can do is keep living out our faith, or rather letting God live it out through us, and pray He opens people’s eyes and hearts and minds to the Truth. There’s really no way we can do it, it’s got to be Jesus.
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I’m seeing that more clearly than ever . We are to be salt and light , not judge or savior .
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“Salt and light, not judge and savior” – Well said!
Only Jesus is those things. And He was misquoted and misunderstood, too.
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Indeed, warning signs are everywhere. Even so, Lord Jesus come.
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Amen, Alan. Have a blessed 2022.
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Thanks, Ann, especially for this: “Get it wrong, spend eternity away from His presence, in everlasting darkness, pain, misery, and regret. ” I’ve gotten discouraged by the increasing number of universalists, who think–and unfortunately write–that everyone will end up in heaven eventually. Such eternally dangerous thinking.
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I agree, I’ve heard a lot of that, too, even in some “churches.” A lot of people are in for a VERY rude awakening
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You’re an expert in finding the links between anything and the Lord. I’m always amazed at first but then they seem so obvious once I read it from you.
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Haha! I seek divine perspective. God willing, I find it, and pass it on.
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Great post! I wish I had a seen it when you first posted bc I remember talking about this movie with you on someone else’s blog.
Anyways I love how you explain the story and psychology here. And how you tie it to the message of not only Jesus but the people in our lives who give us advice we ignore. Very fresh🙌🏼
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A belated “thank you” for your kind words. I recently went to my spam folder and found a bunch of blog comments that should not have been there. 🤨 Glad I found this one.
Blessings,
Annie
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