"Repent! ... The Time is Near!" ....... "He Is Coming Soon!" ...... "The Time of the Lord is Upon Us!" ..
Tired of hearing this stuff? ..... Sick of some 'nut-case' telling you your entire world is about to change? ...
... The Bible tells us that this will be the attitude of most in the end times. ... 2 Peter 3:3-4 says, "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4) They will say, 'Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation' "
Are you one of these 'scoffers'? .... If you are, you are not alone. ... After all, every generation has been preaching this from the beginning of time ... so why should now be any different? ... For the next few minutes, I want to share with you absolute proof that this is, in fact, the last generation before the glorious and triumphant return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. ...Yes! .."The Time of the Lord is upon us!"
First of all, the Bible clearly states that we cannot know the time of the Lord's return (Matthew 25:13), but the Scriptures do say that we can know the season. ... 1 Thessalonians 5:2-6 says, "You yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night ... But you brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and son of day. We are not of night or darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober."
This passage asserts that Jesus is coming like "a thief in the night." But then it becomes clear that this will be true only for the pagan world and not for believers. His return should be NO SURPRISE to those who know Him and His Word, for we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to give us understanding of the nature of the times.
Furthermore, the Scriptures give us signs to watch for - signs that will signal that Jesus is ready to return. The writer of Hebrews referred to these signs when he proclaimed that believers should encourage one another when they see the day of judgement drawing near (Hebrews 10:25-27). Jesus Himself referred to the end-time signs, which are documented in three of the Gospels ... Matthew 24, Mark 13 & Luke 21. ....
Speaking directly of these signs which He had given to His disciples, He said, "When you see all these things, recognize that He (the Son of Man - that is, Jesus) is near, right at the door" (Matthew 24:33)
Let me now share with you just some of the obvious signs that are currently taking place which verify beyond a shadow of a doubt the imminence of His return. ... When reviewing this evidence, a 'scoffer' could try and punch holes in one, or maybe even a couple, but when you put them all together, it's way beyond coincidence.
*Pestilence - The Signs of Nature
This category of signs has always been the least respected, even among believers. The mere mention of it usually evokes a sneer accompanied by words like ... "Come on, what else is new? There have always been earthquakes and tornadoes and volcanoes, famine and pandemics ... " .... While this is true, what the doubters forget is that Jesus said these signs would be like "Birth Pains" (Matthew 24:8). ... That means they will increase in frequency and intensity the closer we get to the Lord's return. ... In other words, there will more frequent natural disasters and more intense ones. ...... and this is exactly what is now taking place all across the planet. .. There have been more records fall in almost every category than has ever happened since they began keeping stats ... and there doesn't seem to be any let-up .... and according to Scripture, there won't be! ...Romans 1:18 says, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness ... "
*Wars and Rumors of Wars - World Politics
"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars ... for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom ..." (Matthew 24:6-7). ..... Again, there have always been wars, but the Bible prophesies a very specific end-time configuration of world politics .... Israel being re-established (more on this later) and surrounded by her enemies (Zechariah 12:2-3) .... Daniel prophesiedthat the Roman Empire would be revived (Daniel 2:36-41), and that began after World War Two with the formation of the European Common Market that has since morphed into the modern-day European Union. ... Next, the Bible foresaw a great power located in theland of Magog in the "remote parts of the north." This nation (Russia) will menace Israel in the end times and will ultimately lead an invasion of Israel, accompanied by Persia (Iran) and several other modern-day Muslim states .... and how about Revelation 9:16 that illustrates an army of 200 million from the East. This was never a remote possibility until these times! We now know that China, by herself, could field an army of this size!
And what about modern-day weapons such as nuclear bombs and chemicals ... Zechariah 14:12 says, ....
"Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in heir sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths." ... How about Ezekiel 38:22 which says, "... I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur ..." and 39:6 ... "I will send fire on Magog, and on those who live in safety in the coastlands ..." (Also see 2 Peter 3:7, Luke 21:26) .... Only modern-day weapons could fulfill these kinds of events ......
*Worldwide Deception - Spiritual Signs
"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. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." .... 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Some of the specific spiritual signs that are prophesied include false christs, cultic groups, heresies, apostasy, skepticism, deception, occultism, and persecution. ... The one Jesus mentioned most frequently was false christs and their cultic groups (Matthew 24:5, 11, 24). ... Do we see this today? ... If you don't, you'd have to be totally spiritually blind! ...
Tragically, multitudes today are conforming to this world rather than to the true teachings of Jesus Christ.
Many of today's churches look more and more like the secular world, proclaiming nothing more than messages of self-help and becoming 'world-wealthy'. .. It's hard to tell the difference between the world and the church. ... What a tragedy to be going the wrong way in such times as these! (also see Ezekiel 33:30-33, Amos 8:11-12, 1 Timothy 4:1, Luke 21:8)
*Moral Breakdown - Signs of Society
"Realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God ... " 2 Timothy 3:1-4 .....
Sounds like it's right out of today's headlines .... and the three things it says people will love the most? ... self, money & pleasure! .... Need I say our world is wallowing in despair today? ... We live in a society plagued by abortion, homosexuality, domestic & civil violence, child molestation, blasphemy, pornography, drug abuse .... and on & on .... Isaiah 5:20 says this, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."
(also see Matthew 24:12, 37)
*Knowledge Explosion - Signs of Technology
" .... But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will run to and fro to increase knowledge." ........ Simply, there are many end-time prophecies that simply cannot be understood apart from modern technological developments. .. Consider the prophecy of Revelation 11 about the two witnesses who will call the world to repentance duringthe 1st half of the Tribulation. .. When they are killed by the Antichrist, we are told that their bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days, and the whole world will look upon them (verse 9). How could anyone understand such a prophecy before the development of satellite television?
Likewise, how could the Antichrist control all buying and selling worldwide (Revelation 13) without the aid of computer technology? ... How could the false prophet create the illusion of giving life to a statue (Revelation 13) without the technology of holograms, virtual reality, and robotics? ... How could an army of 200 million come out of the far east (Revelation 9) before thepopulation explosion? ... How could the Gospel be proclaimed to all the world (Matthew 24) before the invention of motion pictures, radio, television, and the internet? ... The proof goes on & on ............
*Rebirth of Israel
This is perhaps the most obvious sign of them all! ... Never in the history of mankind have we seen a nation cease to exist, an then 'come back to life'. .... This of course happened on May 14th, 1948 when the Nation of Israel was recognized by the rest of the world (most of it anyway) .... This event was prophesied in many places in the Bible .... Ezekiel 28, 36 & 37, Isaiah 11:10-12 .... In addition, Israel was referenced in several other ways as to the time of the end .... Zechariah 12:2-3 says that she would be surrounded by her enemies in that day .... Well?.... She certainly is, not to mention that she had to come back into existence in order to be surrounded! .... Jesus also said in Matthew 24:32 ... "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near." .... For clarity, Israel was referred to as a 'fig tree' in the Old Testament. ... This simply says that she is back in existence in these last days.
I know this commentary is somewhat lengthy, but it's difficult to tell the whole story without some elaboration. ... Trust me when I say I could have added much more, but for the sake of time ... with everyone running to & fro .... I kept it as short as possible .....
Isn't it amazing though when you put all these things together. .... any thought of coincidence is totally destroyed! .... I pray for you who 'scoff' to see these things in a different light when it's presented this way.
The bottom line is this .... we are living on borrowed time, and the crucial question for every human being is ... "are you ready?" ... Are you ready for the return of Jesus Christ? ... Will He come as your Blessed Hope or your Holy Terror? ..... It WILL be one or the other, for God is determined to deal with sin, and He does so with either grace or wrath (John 3:36).
Know that I love each and every one of you and am constantly praying for you .... God knows who you are ... Hallelujah!!
Until next time,
Red