If you are like me and my husband, you are a Christian who is discerning the current season that the world is experiencing, and you are tuned in to the warning signs that Jesus and the Bible give us about what the world will look like before His return. To be honest, it amazes me that there might be Christians who, out of fear or unwillingness, are unable to consider the Bible's prophecies about the "End Times". Many are concentrating on looking at the Victory that will be ours as this Age comes to an end. And believe me, my hope lies in that glorious event, too! But I also believe it is important to take the whole counsel of God if we are to live out our lives with a Biblical worldview and in our purpose. And the Bible tells us mankind will have to endure some hard times before the King of the Universe appears on the scene.
That brings me to the premise of this blog post. I do not want any follower of Jesus to live in fear about what may be coming upon us in the near future. Neither do I want them to live in ignorance and be unprepared for the days of darkness that the Bible prophecies. So before we broach the events that we might expect to experience, and why it's important to know what's coming, I would like to establish the importance of prophecy in the Bible.
The minor prophet, Amos, recorded this from the Lord ... "For the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets". Amos establishes that God uses hand-picked men to deliver His message of warnings of judgment, as well as the message of the hope of victory -- and He does nothing without instructing His prophets to share the news. The words they spoke were inspired by God, therefore we should listen. By warning of God's judgment upon sinful people and their ways, God's goal is that "all should come to repentance", be forgiven, and step into their purpose for His Kingdom on earth.
Prophecy also gives us the clear message that God always wins in the end. As we contemplate the results of the sin that engulfed the world "in the days of Noah", as well as the defeat of the nations of Israel and Judah, it might not look like those events scored in the win column. But with each prophecy of judgment that God inspired, He also included a message of hope; an encouraging word that pointed to His ultimate victory, according to His plan. And when the will of God changes the direction of a person or a nation [and even the world] from utter destruction, [and the people repent], it is an expression of His love. By paying attention to the Biblical prophecies, we can see the "big picture" of God's heart, and what might be a scary scenario can be seen in a perspective to help us endure and persevere. If God's Judgment results in repentance, [which is changing the way we think from our own selfish desires to God's perspective], we have the opportunity to see His love for us through the entire course of events.
So, now that we have a better understanding of why prophecy is important and its purpose, I want to return to the significance of the prophecies of the End Times in the Bible. Jesus, Himself, tells us in Matthew 24:37-39 that the people were living their lives as normal before God sent the Flood in judgment of their evil ways... "they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man". We know that God promised He would not judge the world with another Flood, but Jesus prophecies that another judgment will come when the world is in the same condition "as it was in the days of Noah", and this will happen at the time of His Return.
How will we know when the times we live in meet that criteria? According to Genesis 6:5, in the days of Noah, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually". The earth was covered with widespread violence, as Genesis 6:11 tells us: Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. Would you be interested to know that the word "violence" is translated in Hebrew as Hamas? Now, that might seem just a coincidence, but is it? Not only have we seen the violence in the streets of our cities for the past couple of years -- but it's gone from mob violence to personal brutality and savagery. And now that spirit of violence reveals itself to the whole world.
And it's not just the violence that matches what the prophets warned about. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, the Apostle Paul says, "But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power". Furthermore 1 Timothy 4:1 says, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons." The violence and the above-mentioned sins come from these deceitful spirits who sear the minds of people so that they no longer can receive the thoughts of God.
These are just some of the prophecies throughout the Bible that foretell the End Times season... there are many, many more! Here are just a few that should have our spirits sitting up and taking notice: 1) "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short" (Matthew 24:21-22). Because of the proliferation of nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and biological weapons, mankind is capable of wiping out everyone on the face of the earth ... no human being would survive. Those abilities make our generation a candidate for the End Times.
2) "But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase" (Daniel 12:4). Up until about 100 years ago or so, few people traveled beyond their own communities, but now with the advent of automobiles, trains, airplanes, and spacecraft, man can literally travel across the world and even into the universe. And the internet has made the exponential increase of knowledge beyond anything we could have imagined just 50 years ago.
3) "And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth" (Revelation 6:8). Who can deny that the last few years have seen unprecedented Death? War and conflict are evident not only in Ukraine and Russia, but threaten to spill over into another World War. Famine is being predicted across the globe as food shortages are our new reality. Pestilence and disease ... do I need to say more? ... with new strains being predicted for this winter. And the wild beasts of the earth are certainly characterized by the random and brutal acts of men who are clearly devoid of any human empathy. Their consciences are seared, making them no different than a beast of the earth.
Then there are the prophecies that are specifically about Israel: 4) "Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children" (Isaiah 66:8). Israel became a nation on May, 14, 1948, and Jews, who have been dispersed across the world for over 1500 years, have been regathering in their homeland.
5) "Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt on its mound, and the palace shall stand where it used to be" (Jeremiah 30:18). Since 1948, the ancient city of Jerusalem, and the holy dwelling place of YHWH, has been rebuilt on the old ruins, exactly as foretold.
6) "... nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts" (Revelation 9:21). Murders, sexual immorality, and theft are readily seen in the crime wave we are experiencing -- from the streets to the highest offices in the governments of the world; the transgender movement; and the loss of the value of our dollar through inflation. The word "sorceries" is English for the Greek word "pharmakeia ", and the deaths from the fentanyl crisis in this nation alone is astronomical.
7) "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons..." (1 Timothy 4:1). There's another aspect to this verse that I want to take a look at. It is quite apparent that witchcraft and the occult have taken a hold on the cultures of the world. Renewed worship of pagan gods has increased, and people reject the sound doctrine of God in search of ways that satisfy their own lusts.
By now, you should be able to see that it is not just wishful thinking that we are closing in on the triumphant return of Jesus. And that's how I choose to see the End Times, rather than stay focused on the destructive events that precede His Second Coming. But that doesn't mean I ignore them, or the prophetic word that warns us to be awake and vigilant. It is a tough path to walk... many Christians would prefer we don't talk about the "negative", and only focus on the "positive". But the Bible tells us that we have to go through the unsettling days before we get to the joyous days of God's glory. And I do not want anyone to fall away from their faith because these days come upon them unexpectedly!
I know that many, if not all, of these few prophecies I have cited have been happening for centuries. But, I think if you will consider them carefully, we are the only generation that has seen these events come together at the same time. And there are so many more prophecies throughout the Bible [from Genesis to Revelation] that seem to point to our generation. Please don't look upon them with fear, but rather with joy, hope, expectation and strength. We may be about to be reunited with our Heavenly Father, who ordained us for a time "such as this". If you haven't yet, repent of your sins, and place all your trust in the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ! God will never leave us, and we have an eternal home awaiting us.
Let the prophecies of the Bible enrich your prayer life and hear the voice of God as He warns you and encourages you! And last but not least, I pray that we Believers do not let one moment of this season of time pass away without walking in our purpose -- to take back territory from the kingdom of darkness and transfer it into the Kingdom of God and His Light! Snatch as many of the victories as you can from our Enemy and declare that we represent our King until He returns! God bless you all!
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
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