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What does the
Bible say about "the end"?
"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye
be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the
end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and
pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are
the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24: 6-8)
These signs of the times are nothing new to our generation. In
fact, they have been occurring with such rapidity and intensity
for so many years that many people are becoming numb to them.
Yet others are growing so disheartened by these ongoing
tragedies that their faith in a loving God is waning.
If there is a God, is it His fault?
Mankind is quick to accept credit for his own achievements but
is generally not willing to accept responsibility for his
wrongdoings. In our courts of law every accused person is
allowed to give a defence of himself. If we want to accuse God
of allowing evil things to happen to mankind, we must also allow
God to speak in defense of Himself. God’s defence is written in
the Bible.
God has given every person a free will to choose how he will
lead his life. It is by these choices that man causes evil to
come upon man.
Genesis 6:5, "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually."
Mark 7:21-23, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed
evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from
within, and defile the man."
These scriptures apply to both the aggressor and victim alike.
It is by man's choice that he descends upon another with evil
intent, and it is also by man's choice to live in sin that he
forfeits the protection of God.
"Sin" is a state of being, first invited into the lives of man
by the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Under the Old Testament
contract people were required to strictly follow a set of laws
(not just the ten commandments) in order to remain in
right standing with God. Under the New Covenant, God offers a
specific, tangible way to be cleansed of this state of "walking
in the flesh" and to be reunited with him. Yet, since the days
of Jesus, most have rejected God's instructions and substituted
their own self-righteousness; their own self-made doctrines.
Romans 10:2-3, "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of
God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of
God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the
righteousness of God."
Matthew 15:8-9, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their
mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far
from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men."
Ephesians 4:14, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by
the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive;"
Hebrews 13:9, "Be not carried about with divers and strange
doctrines..."
2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap
to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables."
2 Timothy 3:1-5, "This know also, that in the last days perilous
times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are
good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than
lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof: from such turn away."
These people continue to live in sin, yet they refuse to
recognize it. This does not just refer to the "alternative"
religions of today. It shamedly also applies to all the
self-proclaimed Christians who openly proclaim the name of Jesus
Christ yet have not done His Father's will.
Matthew 7:21-23, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the
will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in
thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew
you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Matthew 24:4-5, "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take
heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall
deceive many."
The countries of the world worship false idols and false
prophets. In the United States there is a Christ-professing
church on virtually every street corner, yet most are leading
their congregations astray. Supposedly God-fearing nations are
encouraging free worship in the name of multiculturalism. No one
can blame God for what future may befall mankind.
Our current world is fragile
We live in a very different time in the history of the world. It
has only been in the last century that technology has
dramatically changed man's life, to the point where he now has
the power to completely destroy life on the entire planet.
Scientists have proven that in the event of a major nuclear
exchange, the atmosphere would be so filled with dust and smoke
that it would block out the sun for months causing the
temperature of the planet to drop drastically. This would cause
a chain reaction of other devastating and deadly events.
Many argue that a full scale nuclear war would never happen
because rational thinking would cause the people in control of
these arsenals to never use them. The one thing that we must
understand though, is that in many cases we are not dealing with
rational thinkers. We are dealing with emotionally driven human
beings.
There are many who believe that the western way of life must be
destroyed from the face of the earth. Diplomacy or military
might on behalf of the United States will not change this
thinking, though it may keep it subdued for a time. Even small
countries can wholeheartedly believe that they have the might to
make a stand against a large power like the United States. As
Joel 3:10 says, "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your
pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong."
There IS worse to come
Whether or not we choose to accept the idea that mankind might
one day engage for a third time in a world war does not change
the fact that things occur that are out of our control. Not many
people were ever expecting to see the World Trade Center toppled
in such a horrendous way on September 11, 2001, but it still
happened. If you had somehow foreseen the entire situation and
found yourself running around trying to warn others of the
impending doom, you may have found very few who would believe
you. So experienced Noah with the flood, a foreshadowing of a
time to come:
Matthew 24:35-42, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my
words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no
man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as
the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage," (living
together as if married) "until the day that Noe entered into the
ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away;
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be
in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two
women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and
the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your
Lord doth come."
The Bible contains a multitude of prophesies that have come true
on every account. It also clearly tells us of a time in the
future that will be more tragic than has ever come upon the
earth before. However, the majority of people will not accept
this as truth because they have not seen it beforehand. They
also do not WANT to believe it could be true simply because it is
too frightening a concept to imagine.
Some speculate that the disaster to soon befall mankind will not
involve a nuclear war but, rather, a natural cause such as a
mega asteroid impact or even a mega volcanic eruption. This is
possible; the catastrophic results of all three would be very
similar. Yet, one would be wise not to waste time on debating
the cause but, rather, preparing for the event that will
immediately follow the great tribulation...Christ's return.
Don't live in selective ignorance; rest in hope
The message of the Bible cannot be invalidated merely because
most people today have decided not to accept its warnings. And
the warnings are a multitude:
Malachi 4:1,"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an
oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be
stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the
LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
branch."
Zephaniah 1:15-17, "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble
and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of
darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A
day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and
against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men,
that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned
against the LORD..."
Isaiah 13:10, "For the stars of heaven and the constellations
thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in
his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to
shine."
Zechariah 14:12, "And this shall be the plague wherewith the
LORD will smite all the people that have fought against
Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon
their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,
and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth."
Joel 2:30-31, "And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the
earth, blood, and fire, and pillars" (palm trees) "of smoke. The
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come."
2 Peter 3:10, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth
also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."
1 Thessalonians 5:3, "For when they shall say, Peace and safety;
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a
woman with child; and they shall not escape."
Revelation 9:18, "By these three was the third part of men
killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone,"
(fumes) "which issued out of their mouths."
Revelation 16:18, "And there were voices, and thunders, and
lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not
since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so
great."
Other scriptures describe in detail the devastating after
affects. There will be no place to hide!:
Joel 1:16-20 & 2:1-2, "Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD
is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it
come. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and
gladness from the house of our God? The seed is rotten under
their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken
down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the
herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture;
yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O LORD, to thee will
I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the
wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the
field. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the
rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the
pastures of the wilderness. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and
sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of
the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh
at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds
and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the
mountains..."
Jeremiah 25:31-33, "A noise shall come even to the ends of the
earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will
plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the
sword, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold,
evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind
shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain
of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even
unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented,
neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the
ground."
Job 38:22-23, "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?
or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, Which I have
reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle
and war?"
Revelation 16:20-21, "And every island fled away, and the
mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail
out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men
blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague
thereof was exceeding great."
The gospels are also full of warnings:
Luke 21:11, "And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,
and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs
shall there be from heaven."
Matthew 24:21-22, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor
ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there
should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days
shall be shortened."
Mark 13:8 & 24-26, "For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in
divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these
are the beginnings of sorrows…But in those days, after that
tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the
powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they
see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and
glory."
This last verse provides assurance to those of a humble heart
toward the Word of God. As does...
Matthew 24:30-31, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of
man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn,
and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
1 Corinthians 15:51-52, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall
not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed."
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, "For this we say unto you by the word
of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming
of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead
in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the
Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
1 Kings 9:5, "Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom
upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying,
There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel."
Luke 1:32, "He" (Jesus) "shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the
throne of his father David:"
We can plainly see that the Bible is telling mankind that there
is a time of trouble coming that has not previously been seen
upon the face of the earth. However, we are also told that Jesus
Christ will return again to the earth, immediately following
this time, to rule and reign with righteousness. The royal
throne and lineage of King David is still in place today through
Queen Elizabeth II, though a few thousand years have passed
since God’s promise of its everlasting establishment. Somehow Jesus will
take up this throne upon his return.
"Save yourselves from this untoward generation" (Acts 2:40)
Many people today are put off by the term “salvation”, but God
has offered us an opportunity to escape the certain destruction
that man will bring upon himself. Jesus said, "Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I
said unto thee, Ye must be born again," (John 3:5-7).
We are born once, naturally, of our mother and must be born
again, spiritually, of God through water baptism (full
immersion) and the Holy Spirit anointing. The disciples first
experienced this anointing on the Day of Pentecost, the
beginning of the New Covenant, over 2000 years ago:
Acts 2:1-4, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they
were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all
the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them
cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
What do I have to do?
The steps are very simple. As we read in the Bible in the book
of Acts, after the disciples had received the Holy Spirit,
certain bystanders also asked this same question.
Peter the Apostle stood up and spoke to the people saying,
"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call," (Acts 2:38-39).
Be willing to follow God’s Word. Be baptised by full immersion
in water for the remission of your sins and pray to receive the
power of the Holy Spirit. God does not leave us wondering if we
have received His promised Spirit. He gives us an evident sign:
The ability to speak in a brand new, audible language. Speaking
in tongues is one of the many precious gifts that are part of
the Holy Spirit anointing. It is the language of the Holy Spirit
speaking to God in a pure and undefiled way, and it never leaves
you once you have received it. You will then feel the power of
God inside of you and experience the constant comfort that the
Holy Spirit offers through all of life’s difficulties, now and
in the future.
Life is a fragile and temporary thing. This is your chance to
become a son or daughter of the living God. Don’t pass this
opportunity by because of past misconceptions about the Bible or
because of a bad "religious" experience.
In the face of all the facts both in the news and in the
Bible, don’t leave your future to chance.
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