So what is Bible prophecy & why study it? .. Here’ a brief overview .. The gospel narratives picture the Sadducees & Pharisees, the official religious leaders of Jesus time, walking around in a spiritual fog .. They didn’t recognize that the Son of God was walking around in their midst! .. Why? .. Either they didn’t understand the prophesies .. or .. just ignored Him .. Basically, they were lukewarm & complacent, just like most of the world today ..
Now these same religious leaders asked Jesus to show them a sign from heaven (see Matt. 16:2) .. Jesus response cut to the heart of the spiritual insensitivity .. “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (Matt. 16:3) .. Prophecy was being fulfilled right before their very eyes & they didn’t, or couldn’t, see it! .. Think this true today?
Let’s for a moment take a quick glimpse at the prophetic signs in today’s world .. In the New Testament’s 260 chapters, the return of Jesus is mentioned NO LESS than 318 times! .. He IS returning .. and soon! ..
So how do we know this? .. Jesus Himself discussed & taught about these last days, and you can find these teachings in the gospels, specifically Matthew 24, Mark 13 & Luke 21 .. In fact, we find a key statement in Matt. 24:8 & Mark 13:8 at the conclusion of a list of things that will take place in these last days .. “All these are the beginning of birth pains” (NIV) .. ‘Birth pains’ begin when a child is about to be born .. Any woman who has given birth knows the labor pains come suddenly, build up gradually, then more often & more intense, & ultimately lead up to the arrival of her child .. This is how Jesus describes events of the last days .. We see a world in major contractions RIGHT NOW! .. Now I want to take a moment to explore the specific teachings of Jesus concerning the times we are living in ..
In Matt. 24:3, the Disciples specifically asked Jesus what would be the signs of His return & of the end of the world .. This is what He told them .. “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” (Matthew 24:4-8) .. In these verses, Jesus gives a number of last day signs that we should be looking for ..
So let’s take a glance ..
*Deception (Vs 5) .. No one can doubt that we’ve seen, and are seeing, an explosion of religious deception across this land, & the world .. We know that in the last days, there will be an emergence of false teachers & preachers, false prophets & gurus, and on & on, all claiming they are the messiah, or at least the answer to all our problems .. And of course, all this will culminate in the emergence of the ultimate deceiver, the anti-christ (Go to the ‘teaching’ tab on my website for more specific details) ..
Here’s just a few of all the current deceptive movements .. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Scientology, The Emergent Church (those that deny the existence of hell & any form of sin), some wings of the Pentecostal movement, not to mention the compromising, lukewarm, & mostly dead protestant denominations .. Even Roman Catholicism has been corrupted by the paganism of the Babylonian Empire .. There’s many more but you can get the idea from these few examples .. As we move forward, I will go into much more detail on this extremely important subject of our time ..
2 Timothy 4:3-4 says this .. “For a time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4) They will turn away from the truth and turn to myths.” .. Wow! .. Any questions?! .. The following are just a few examples …
*Wealth Teaching .. It is everywhere right now, especially here in America! .. But what is interesting? .. All through the New Testament teachings are specific scriptures that totally refute this false theology! .. In a brief glance, I found 22 verses alone that completely refute it .. Matthew 19 & 24 & James 5:1-3 are just two examples .. The Church of Laodicea in Rev. 3:14-22 is specific as to the consequences of earthly wealth .. we cannot serve two gods! (v 17) ..
Dominion Theology .. This is the now popular view that it is up to the Church to usher in the 2nd coming of Christ .. One of the popular leaders of this says, “We are talking about the transformation of the world. Only when the present world has been transformed by the Gospel of Salvation and transforming work of the Holy Spirit, as He works through God’s redeemed people, will the world at last be delivered completely from sin, at the final judgement. But first, the kingdoms of this world must be steadily transformed into the Kingdom of Christ.” .. So if this were to be true, what then happens to the other one-third of scripture?! .. Yes, we need to ‘claim’ as many souls as possible, but the Bible clearly says that it is going to get much worse before it gets better ..
*Political Activism/Nationalism .. Today, there are many Christians who are bent on changing society through government programs, lobbying activities, civil disobedience, & pressure groups .. I do not find any place in scripture that says this is the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ! .. The mission is witnessing to lost souls about the redemption provided by Him .. This mission is being replaced by those who believe the kingdom of God can be established here & now by our human activities .. Jesus warned that in the last days, before His return, there would be a Church which would brag about its growing strength & self importance .. Today there are many undiscerning Christians who are looking for the Kingdom of God on earth .. A kingdom where justice will reign & nations will exist in peaceful co-existence .. This arrogant Church covets political power, not the power of God!
We need to ask ourselves this question .. would the history of nearly 2000 years of the Church of Jesus Christ have been changed if the martyrs during the era of Roman Caesars had led a revolt & taken over these cruel rulers? .. What would have happened in Babylon if Daniel led a revolt & taken over the government of Nebuchadnezzar? .. Would John have received & written the Revelation of Jesus Christ in a fancy office in Laodicea? .. rather than the cold, desolate Island of Patmos? .. Are today’s Christians convinced that placard-carrying, slogan-bearing demonstrators can replace soul winners? .. Yes, there is a better world coming, bot NOT until those left on Earth experience a time of evil more fierce than this planet has ever seen (see Rev. 12) ..
Richard Halvorson, the former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, said .. “The more I listen to evangelicals talk, the less I hear about the hope of Christ’s coming again and the more I hear about making the USA a Christian nation, a prosperous nation .. Sometimes I think if Christ would come back, it would be a terrible interruption of their plans.” .. John 15:18-19 says this .. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19) If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the , but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” .. So much of the world is in the Church, and so many of the Church are in the world that there is no difference between the two ..
*Seeker Sensitive/Friendly .. Let’s again take a brief glance at the last Church on Earth, the Church in compromise .. This Church is mentioned in Rev. 3:14-22, which says it I lukewarm, compromising, wealthy, & in need of nothing .. This will be, & is, the Church in existence upon Christ’s return .. I personally believe, through experience, that the vast majority of churches here in America in these final days are lukewarm .. Why? .. Compromise (again read 2 Timothy 4:3-4) .. Simply, churches die spiritually because we Christians ALLOW doctrinal error to slip into the membership .. Fight it! .. If then there is no change, then flee it!
*Judgement Preaching .. Simply put, judgement preaching in today’s Church is not popular .. Telling people that they are sinners is not popular .. Telling people that the consequences of sin leads to death is not popular .. Telling people that if they don’t change their ways, they’re going to hell is not popular .. Good people cant go to hell .. Ever hear that? .. Judgement preaching is not a popular concept, yet didn’t Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Paul, and Jesus Himself preach it in their messages .. Should we do any less? .. Hell is mentioned 12 times in the New Testament, 11 of which by Jesus Christ Himself! .. Simply, when we talk about the judgement of God upon our sinful, unbelieving world, we may not be popular, but lives WILL BE SAVED FOR ETERNITY!
This is getting lengthy, so I’m stopping for now, but will finish this up in Part Two where we will touch on our Lord’s other prophecies of Wars & rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes & pestilences, etc. ..
Finally, I’m so glad to be ‘back in it!’ .. Most likely you will get weary of me, but that’s OK .. I just pray it gives clarification to some folks as to what is going on around them .. The final ‘birth pains’ of this Church Age are upon us, and to many, it seems hopeless .. But I promise you, it is not! .. If you seek, you shall receive! .. Finally, look again at Rev. 3:20 .. Our Lord means it when He says, ‘all you have to do is knock’ .. Hallelujah!
Until next time,
Red