By: Pastor David Grousnick

Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks once did a comedy skit called the “2013 Year Old Man”. In the skit, Reiner interviews Brooks, who is the old gentleman. At one point, Reiner asks the old man, “Did you always believe in the Lord?”

Brooks replied: “No. We had a guy in our village named Phil, and for a time we worshiped him.”

Reiner: You worshiped a guy named Phil? Why?

Brooks: Because he was big, and mean, and he could break you in two with his bare hands!

Reiner: Did you have prayers?

Brooks: Yes, would you like to hear one? O Phil, please don’t be mean, and hurt us, or break us in two with your bare hands.

Reiner: So, when did you start worshiping the Lord?

Brooks: Well, one day a big thunderstorm came up, and a lightning bolt hit Phil. We gathered around and saw that he was dead. Then we said to one another, “There’s somthin’ bigger than Phil!”

Have you ever tried to make a prediction? Here are some predictions from the past. All from people who were trusted individuals:

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” — Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

“Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1.5 tons.” — Popular Mechanics, 1949

“While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility.” — Lee DeForest, inventor.

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” — Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

“The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C’, the idea must be feasible.” — A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

“Who the h*** wants to hear actors talk?” — H. M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.

“I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.” — Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in “Gone With the Wind.”

“Radio has no future. Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax.” — William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, British scientist, 1899.

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” — Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

“With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn’t likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market.” — Business Week, August 2, 1968.

“There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.” — Albert Einstein, 1932

“There will never be a bigger plane built.” — A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that holds ten people.

“Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction.” — Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872.

Over the years, many people have speculated about the end of the world and the end of time. Even Jesus’ first disciples wanted to know. “When will this be?” they asked, “What will be the sign?”

Throughout Mark 13, Jesus makes it clear that no one knows when the end will be. Even he did not know. As he said in Mark 13:32: “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

It is understandable that some Christians have grown impatient over the centuries and have tried to speed things up a bit. I love what someone once said about the return of the Lord.

“God did not put me on the Time & Place Committee; He put me on the Preparation Committee.”

Our job is not to speculate about times and seasons, but to make sure that we are living as God wants us to live – sisters and brothers to one another – here and now. Some folks are “so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.”

Have a great weekend!

David Grousnick, is the Pastor at the First Christian Church in Artesia.