Do you know what lies ahead in the future of your world? How
can anyone know the future for sure? Who really understands the larger picture?
We are nearing the end of civilization. Our time truly fulfills the words that
Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke at the beginning of the Great Depression: “This
generation has a rendezvous with destiny.” Far more than the 1930s generation,
which was then fast approaching the most destructive war in the world’s
history, a crisis is inevitably building and will in the near future split open
the appearance of normalcy that still pervades Western civilization at this
time.
The news media is reporting tragic events by explaining
their significance in a way that the average person can understand. You need to
know that the progression of troubling news stories is not random and
inconsequential. They foreshadow specific events that will change everything
you are familiar with in the next few decades. There is one Source who really knows
what will happen. Do you realize that about one-fourth of the entire Bible is prophecy, and that about 90
percent of all prophecy is for “the end time,” the time just ahead of us?
Some people are not interested in biblical
prophecy. They should be since it will affect their own lives, their families,
their jobs, and their futures. There is a real God, and the Bible speaks for Him. God inspired the
words of these prophecies, and they are sure. We had better believe they will
happen. Our heavenly Father is working out a marvelous purpose for Christians
nationally and individually. We need to study God’s inspired prophecies if we
wish to understand His purpose.
The Second Coming of Christ will be the most
important event of this generation. Jesus’ return will not happen secretly off
in some cave with no one knowing about it. The Second Coming of Christ is
predicted in each of the four gospels, in the book of Acts and the epistles of
Paul, James, Peter, and John. Jesus’ return is the focal point of the entire
book of Revelation. If you believe the Bible
is the inspired word of God, then you must believe in the Second Coming of
Christ.
We need to have faith in God’s power. The
Eternal God is the true God who rules over all, and He does intervene in this
world’s misguided society in order to accomplish His purpose. Do you know what
events will signal the biggest event of all time, Second Coming of Christ to Earth?
Wars, Violence, and Increasing
Chaos-Watch
for all kinds of wars, escalating violence, and increasing chaos. This will
increasingly affect all English-speaking nations. A common perspective is that
the world will somehow get better. Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush,
talked often about a “new world order” as though there was going to be peace.
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor to former
U.S. President George W. Bush, described her vision of U.S. foreign policy as to
“help developing countries move from war to peace, poverty to prosperity, poor
governance to democracy and the rule of law.” German citizens consider the U.S.
the greatest threat to world peace with 48 percent naming the U.S. as the main
instigator of war around the globe.
In the age of
humanitarian intervention, the human catastrophes of failed states and civil
wars will continue to come before the Security Council. The new world order is
only producing a faltering, fading peace. Events will grow worse not better. Why
is our civilization bankrupt of workable solutions to global, peaceful
cooperation among nations and ethnic groups? At no time has our culture been so
estranged from spiritual values. Our problems lie beyond the reach of politics
alone.
Matthew
24:6-7
(ERV) says: “You will hear about wars that are being
fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. But don’t be
afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. Nations will fight against
other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times
when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in
different places. “While humanity has lived with warfare over the millennia,
our time in history is unprecedented because of the massive potential of modern
weapons and potential conflict.
Drought and Famine-Drought and famine
(a lack of rain food) will follow the Earth on a massive scale never seen
before. These things will become much worse. When there is drought you also
have range and forest fires. After the wildfires have burned off the brush,
there is always the danger of floods when it resumes raining because there is
no vegetation in the burned area’s watershed to retain the rainfall. These
catastrophes of drought, famine, fire and flood naturally tend to go together. Worldwide famines will engender vicious
competition and strife among nations over food. This will mean increased
political and military danger, especially for the United States and the
British-descended peoples, whose lands have typically been seen as the
breadbasket of the world.
Those of us living in
the advanced, developed world have thought these things would only occur in
places like India, Bangladesh or Africa. How could famine happen to us? It is
practically unthinkable to suggest that one dark day the supermarkets and
restaurants would have to close due to lack of food. But famine, and the pain
of empty stomachs, will occur in the United States of America, Canada, Britain,
New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere among the English-speaking peoples of the
world.
Most people do not
understand that it is God Almighty who controls the weather and that He
sometimes uses this power to discipline nations that anger Him. Yet God is
merciful and patient with individuals and nations that have a change of heart.
If our nations would return to God with heartfelt repentance, and begin to keep
His laws and live His way, then these plagues need not come. Regrettably, our
nations have some very hard lessons to learn about thumbing their noses at God.
Earthquakes and Other Natural
Catastrophes-God
prophesies that earthquakes and other natural catastrophes will increase all
around the world as we approach the Second Coming of Christ. Mark 13:8 (ERV)
says: “Nations will fight against other nations.
Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is
no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places.
These things are only the beginning of troubles, like the first pains of a woman
giving birth.”
In the last few
years, most of you realize that there have been frequent earthquakes, sometimes
in unusual places. This trend will continue because the Bible indicates that it will. Jesus Christ prophesied it. Watch (as
the number and magnitude of earthquakes grow) because they will become
extremely devastating. These earth-jarring occurrences arise from natural
shifts and changes in the earth’s mantle especially along worldwide earthquake
belts or fault lines. A million people died in earthquakes during the 20th
century, and scientists acknowledge that the 21st century might see 10 times as
many deaths, with a million lost in a single blow. There will be more
earthquakes even in places where they are not normally expected.
In recent years,
scientists have come to a better understanding of the immensity and magnitude
of the tremendous fault systems that trace themselves underneath the whole
earth. Not all the earthquakes of the near future will be natural disasters, the
usual groans and strains of planet earth’s crust. Some will be directly induced
by God as a sign of His power, and will be designed to help people wake up. God
will take a direct hand in the affairs of men.
Disease Epidemics-A plague of disease
epidemics is beginning to worry public health officials all around the world. Many
old scourges of humanity (malaria and tuberculosis to name just two) are
reemerging as super, drug-resistant diseases that ignore penicillin and other
drugs that were formerly used to combat them. Degenerative diseases such as
cancer and heart disease continue to affect greater numbers of people, as our
food and water supplies become increasingly tainted with the pollutants of our
technological age.
Some of the worst
plagues of humanity have been animal borne, like bubonic plague. Bubonic plague
is a naturally endemic problem among wild animals in certain regions. It is
only due to society’s diligence in maintaining sanitary standards that such
problems stay at the fringes of civilization. People are aware that whenever
society is disrupted due to war or natural calamities, there is always the
threat of disease. These disease problems are just a small sample of the deadly
contagious pandemics that are prophesied to sweep the earth.
We must show
ourselves as being fully faithful and engaged in our commitments to God. We
must do, or at least make serious efforts to do, all that God requires of us in
our family, business dealings, and every other area of life. Can you grasp the
massive effect these events will have on your life, and on everything you have
ever known? Listen! God is trying to get your attention! These soon-coming
events are real. They will happen. Believe what is written in the Bible.
The Rise of an Aggressive,
Fundamentalist Islamic Power- In the time of the end, the Bible predicts that there will arise, in North Africa or the Middle
East, a charismatic personality who will be able to unify, harness, and lead a
powerful block of nations in which Egypt will have a key role. Daniel 11:40-43 (TLV) says: “Now
at the time of the end the king of the south will attack him, and the king of
the north will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen and many ships. He
will invade lands and pass through them like an overflowing river. He will
extend his hand against other countries; the land of Egypt will not escape. He
will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, as well as all
of the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and the Cushites will also be under his
feet.”
This is a good
example of why you need to watch the daily news. You will begin to realize what
the significance of the massive arms purchases by Middle Eastern countries from
weapon-producing countries like North Korea, China, Russia, and the U.S. The
whole Islamic world in the Middle East and North Africa is being enveloped by a
wave of resurgent Islamic fundamentalism. Islamic fundamentalist insurgencies,
funded by rogue states and terrorist organizations, are trying to destabilize
the moderate, Western-leaning, secular regimes currently in power, and are
seeking to replace them with a unified, resuscitated Islamic empire.
The prophesied “king
of the South” over these reinvigorated Muslim nations will be a tremendously
powerful religious-political false Messiah who will draw his power from a
confederation of those nations. Do you think that fanatical Muslims will not
use nuclear or biological weapons if they have the opportunity? You had better
believe they will. And Bible prophecy shows how it will all turn out. This
great charismatic Messiah will gather together the forces of Islam in a final
jihad (holy war) against the morally corrupt nations of the West, whose
religion, lifestyle and values represent a deadly challenge to the Islamic
dream.
He will feel
emboldened to provoke or attack the European Union (Daniel
11:40).
This will anger the fierce “king of the North” and the forces of the king of
the South will be completely crushed by this European power. The king of the
North will then come down “like a whirlwind” (Daniel 11: 40) and take over the
Middle East, including the Holy Land (Daniel 11: 41–42). The king of the
North’s armies will seize control of the region’s vast oil reserves (Daniel 11:
43). This dramatic military response against the king of the South will set off
a chain of other events. We need to realize where all these things are leading,
and how they will affect your life, your family, your children, your job and
your future.
An Ascendant European Union (EU) Seeks
Global Primacy-Watch
Europe, Revelation 13 describes the revival of a great military power. The
symbolic language that the Apostle John used—about a fantastic beast rising up
out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns—depicts a recurring, evil
political system which has greatly oppressed and heavily influenced the peoples
in Western civilization, and through them, the entire world. The seven heads
represent seven distinct revivals of this evil empire over a long period of
time.
The ten horns represent the ten leaders
(kings) of the constituent nations that will make up this ungodly federation
that will, first of all, fight against God’s saints. Revelation 13:7 (ERV)
says: “It was given power to make war against
God’s holy people and to defeat them. It was given power over every tribe, race
of people, language, and nation. “These ten leaders
will also fight against Christ Himself at His return. The Bible is discussing a wholly evil empire that is yet to arise—not
some political power way back in history somewhere. Life in the future will not
be kinder and gentler. This final system is just ahead of us, and the people in
this oppressive government will literally fight Jesus Christ at His coming. A
strong, united and coherent Europe represents an economic threat to the U.S.
economy. So we can expect old national boundaries to shift, or some current EU
members to quit.
Since EU law requires
all 27 nations to ratify certain important policy documents that would shift
greater control away from individual nations and toward EU headquarters in
Brussels, Belgium, the resistance of several key states has so far posed a
problem for the most vigorous advocates of European unity. France, Great
Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands have all at one time or another failed to
ratify key EU unification proposals. This has led some EU advocates to call for
a “two speed” Europe, with Germany and other key nations forming an “inner
core” of EU members, with closer economic, military and political cooperation
than other EU nations that retain misgivings.
A Powerful False, Spiritual Figure
Leads a Religious Revival-One
of the definite signs of the Second Coming of Christ, which will announce the
close of this present evil age, is the arrival on the scene of a great false
religious leader, called the false prophet. This religious leader will possess
great charisma, and will exercise a very powerful influence over a political
power, the soon-coming “Beast” (Revelation 13, 17, 19). He will be the
long-prophesied, influential head of a great, militant church in Europe.
Together, this
combination of personal charisma and awesome power to influence others will
have an enormous effect on the future of the nations of the Western world. This
man will have supernatural power to deceive. He will have the ability to
perform great miracles such as causing fire to come down out of the sky (Revelation
13:13–14).
Will you follow such a man?
This great false
religious leader will have tremendous impact on the Western world. Make no
mistake about it. You need to watch for these things so that you will not be
misled or deceived by him (the soon-coming great “false prophet”) or by any man.
He will deceive hundreds of millions into thinking he is a great servant of
God.
The Gospel of the Kingdom Preached
to All Nations-The
great “Olivet prophecy” of Jesus Christ is pivotal in understanding future
events. In Matthew 24:3 (ERV), Jesus was asked by the disciples, “Tell us when
these things will happen. And what will happen to prepare us for your coming
and the end of time?” As we have seen, Jesus first warned them about false
prophets, wars and rumors of wars leading to world war, famines, disease
epidemics and earthquakes. The coming Great Tribulation will affect the Church
as well as national Israel. God’s true church and work will be known by all nations.
They will hate the true work of God because they will hate its message.
“But the one who
remains faithful to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24: 13, ERV) This applies
to the end of our physical lives individually, but also to those alive at the
end of this age. By this statement, Jesus intended to signify the end of 6,000
years of human experience and sin under the influence of Satan, which is
announced by the Second Coming of Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords.
This gospel is good
news, but it contains a warning. Every nation on earth, not just a few, will
hear about this as a “witness,” not to convert them, but as a testimony of
God’s future intentions. This is not the time when God is trying to convert
everyone, as many ministers, who are trying to “save” the world now, would have
you believe. Jesus said, “The Father is
the one who sent me, and he is the one who brings people to me. I will raise
them up on the last day. Anyone the Father does not bring to me cannot come to
me.” (John 6:44, ERV). This is the only way one can come to God. God’s Church
is proclaiming the gospel, and witnessing to humanity so that those who are
willing can seek Him. Whoever has their mind opened by God can understand.
Faith Again Becomes a Matter of
Life or Death-Watch
for persecution of Christians and the Church of God that keeps the Commandments
of God (Revelation 12:17; 14:12). Matthew
24:9 (ERV)
says: “Then you will be arrested and handed over to be
punished and killed. People all over the world will hate you because you
believe in me. “Here He is speaking to His people, His genuine
disciples. The Apostle John gave the Church (and anyone who reads the Bible) a test that can be used to
determine who is a bona fide Christian and who only masquerades as one. “If we obey what God has told us to do,
then we are sure that we know him. 4 If we say we know God but do not obey his commands, we are
lying. The truth is not in us.” (1
John 2:3–4, ERV)
It is these
commandment-keeping Christians who will be persecuted. Jesus clearly foresaw
that the world would be full of religious confusion during the end-time. There
will be widespread chaos and chaos. God says much of it can be traced back to
false teachings and religious confusion from a many religions and
denominations. God’s people will be persecuted just as the early Christians
faced vicious attacks. This present society around us will become increasingly
hostile to God’s people and the moral standards they live by. The political,
business, media, cultural and religious elites will feel condemned by the true
Church of God, which will not compromise regarding God’s word.
God’s Church will be
politically incorrect. If scripture reveals to you some truth that may be
inconvenient, embarrassing, or personally or financially costly, what would
your reaction be? Will you become angry at God because He is interfering? God
says He has a right to tell you what is right or wrong in the most sensitive
areas of your life.
A Crisis Strikes Jerusalem-The modern nation of
Israel populated by the descendants of the biblical tribe of Judah (plus
significant remnants of Levi and Benjamin) will suffer serious military losses
with part of its territory occupied by enemies just before the Second Coming of
Christ. Many students of Bible prophecy declare that 1948 saw the great
regathering of Israel in the Holy Land and the final establishment of the
nation of Israel. That is absolutely wrong. This was just a precursor, a small
forerunner of the gigantic regathering of the remnants of all twelve tribes of
Israel that is yet to occur. The hard-pressed Jewish people in Israel will be
attacked and defeated once again.
“Yes, at that time I will bring back the
people of Judah and Jerusalem from captivity. I will also gather all the
nations together. I will bring all these nations down into Jehoshaphat Valley.
There I will judge them. Those nations scattered my people, Israel. They forced
them to live in other nations, so I will punish those nations. They divided up
my land. They
threw lots for my people. They sold boys to buy a prostitute, and they sold
girls to buy wine to drink.” (Joel
3:1–3,
ERV)
“You will see armies all around Jerusalem.
Then you will know that the time for its destruction has come. “(Luke
21:20,
ERV). Jerusalem has been partially surrounded by armies in recent years, but we
will see Jerusalem completely surrounded by armies. So in the future,
Jerusalem, the political and emotional capital of Israel, will be overrun by
her enemies, until Christ returns and fights the aggressor nations (Zechariah
14:3).
Once again the city of prophets, kings, and the Messiah will be brought down
and punished horribly.
The Things That Cause Destruction-When the city of
Jerusalem is attacked and conquered, the foreign occupying power will begin.
Matthew 24:15-21 (ERV) says: “Daniel the prophet spoke about ‘the terrible thing
that causes destruction.’ You will see this terrible thing standing in the holy
place.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) “The people
in Judea at that time should run away to the mountains. They should run away without wasting
time to stop for anything. If they are on the roof of their house, they must
not go down to get anything out of the house. If
they are in the field, they must not go back to get a coat. “During that
time it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have small babies. Pray
that it will not be winter or a Sabbath day when these things happen and you
have to run away, because it will be a time of great
trouble. There will be more trouble than has ever happened since the beginning
of the world. And nothing as bad as that will ever happen again.”
Prophecy foretells
that Jerusalem is again to be surrounded by armies (Zechariah
12:2),
and an idol will be set up in a holy place. Jesus warns those who are faithful
to escape quickly when this desecration takes place. In other words, you are to
get out immediately when you see this happening because if you wait, it will be
too late to escape safely. There is a historical parallel to this end-time
overthrow of Jerusalem and the erection of an idolatrous object on the Temple
Mount in Jerusalem.
In the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, some 160
years before the First Coming of Christ, the pagan Seleucid Greeks sacrificed
pigs as offerings upon the altar of God. A statue of Zeus, the chief Greek god,
was set up. Something similar will occur once again. We are living during a
time that is like the calm before a menacing, destructive storm. An important
implication of Matthew 24:15 are that there will once again be animal
sacrifices on an altar at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount dedicated to the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Israel.
The Collapse of the
English-Speaking Nations, the Great Tribulation-Before the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ to establish His Kingdom, watch for the decline and eventual conquest of
the English-speaking nations by their enemies! The biblical terminology for
this event is “The Great Tribulation.” The Bible
reveals that the most terrifying time in the entire history of this planet
is soon to occur. It will be such an awful time that the destruction and
genocide of World War II will seem like a picnic in comparison. Let us examine
the scriptures dealing with this dramatic alteration in the world’s power
structure like a powerful steel trap, will suddenly spring upon an unsuspecting
world.
Most of us will live
to see these cataclysmic times, whether we realize it or not. When you
understand this prophecy, you can see that Jesus was speaking nationally of not
only the Jews, but also of the other modern-day descendants of the ancient
nation of Israel among whom are the American and British-descended peoples. In
the past, it was not possible to exterminate all human life from this earth.
You might have had a devastating war in Europe, or in the Middle East, but you
would still have millions of people untouched elsewhere in the world in Africa,
Asia or Australia, or in North and South America. But Jesus prophesied of a
unique time in the history of humanity. No nation can feel secure from the utter
annihilation that is now possible by thermonuclear warfare.
The Americans and
British-descended Commonwealth peoples have been materially blessed above all
nations on the earth for the last 200 years. Beginning a little more than 200
years ago, the English-speaking peoples wielded power that thwarted the
belligerent, aggressive nations—the Central Powers in World War I and the Axis
Powers in World War II. Twice in the 20th century, the English-speaking peoples
have restored a warring world to a measure of peace and security. Yet in spite
of that, most Americans and Britons have turned away from the true God. At
most, they continue to praise the Lord hypocritically.
Heavenly Signs and the Day of the
Lord-After
the Great Tribulation, there are to be dramatic astronomical signs in the
heavens visible to everyone on earth. “Right after the trouble of those days, this will
happen: the sun will become dark, and the moon will not give light. The stars
will fall from the sky, and everything in the sky will be changed.” (Matthew
24:29,
ERV) God will intervene in human affairs and nature by showing this generation
that there is a real God. Even after the modern nations of Israel go into
captivity, God will not be through yet.
Though our nations
have professed being Christian, they are in fact filled with deceit, vanity, greed,
and violence. Here are incredible parts of a crescendo leading up to Christ’s
return. Almost like a vast fireworks display in the evening sky, we will
literally see the transition from the Great Tribulation to intensified
punishments directly from God on any who are still unrepentant in defiant
rebellion against their Creator. The six seals outlined here describe the same
events that Jesus had told His disciples would occur at the end. As the seals
are opened we first find false prophets, wars, famines, disease epidemics, a
Great Tribulation (including the martyrdom of the saints), and heavenly signs.
The Seven Last Plagues-What will happen
after the first six seals are opened? Revelation 7 then describes the
protection of the 144,000 and the great multitude, Revelation 8 describes the
opening of the seventh seal, God’s direct punishment on a rebellious
world. This consists of the seven trumpet plagues described in chapters 8 and 9 of
Revelation. In Revelation 11:15, the Seventh Trumpet (the famous “Last
Trumpet”) is sounded.
Christ returns in
power and glory. Even as He returns, the deceived nations of mankind will fight
and curse Him who is their very Creator. (Revelation
16:21;
17:14) But even here, God (who corrects every child He loves) is
doing this to bring all nations to their senses. Every mountain and island on
earth will be shaken, which will leave virtually nothing of the former world
for hard-headed, vile, rebellious people to hang on to. Everything around them
will be removed or destroyed. Humanity as a whole will be made humble and
teachable.
They will yield to
the living Christ and the resurrected saints who will join Him in ruling the
entire earth. This world government established by Christ will be known as the
Kingdom of God and it will be the active, hands-on, governing leadership of God
on this earth. God clearly forewarned us that there will be cynics who will
ridicule God’s warnings
“When Jesus first came, like a lamb, He was
led to the slaughter and He was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the
world. During the Second coming of Jesus Christ, the curse on the earth will be
lifted, Animals will live in peace again, and Believers are freed from every
sickness and disease.” (Shaila Touchton)[i]
[i] Adapted from: “Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ's Return” by Roderick C. Meredith
This post is dedicated
to Jan Bahr and Shirley Benton, friends and blog members.
No comments:
Post a Comment