“Every generation since Jesus died on the cross has been sure of Christ’s return during their lifetime.” It may very well be true that each generation anticipated Jesus’ return, and well so. However, anticipation and hope alone aren’t what will facilitate Jesus’ soon return to earth. According to the prophetic scriptures, Jesus would only return after certain events unfolded.
In centuries past, those who diligently studied Scriptures should have understood that the signs (the events) which were to precede Christ’s return weren’t in place yet. It would have been a mistake to anticipate Jesus’ return during any other generation than this, our current generation.
Past generations of Christians may have believed their own generation to be the one in which Jesus was to return, but by so doing they had to twist Scripture. The signs that the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of and the signs Jesus Christ spoke of, as well as many of the writers of the New Testament, pointed to His Second Advent as being fulfilled at a much later date than when they wrote those prophecies.
“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:” Daniel 12:4. Basically the book was sealed until the time of the end. This generation is seeing those signs come to pass. The knowledge to understand the prophecies has been delivered to the faithful by way of God’s Holy Spirit.
Until 1948 most Bible teachers were searching for alternative interpretations of the scriptures that contained the signs of the last days. Why? Because many saw no possibility of Israel ever being a nation re-established and living in the land God promised them. During WWII when so many Jews were slaughtered during the Holocaust, besides being a horrible tragedy and a very significant blight on the humanity of mankind, it must have been terribly disappointing for prophecy buffs of the time. Six million Jews had just been horribly eliminated from the face of this earth so how could God’s chosen people ever be expected to become a nation once again?
Today we can look at Scriptures which foretold of Israel being back in their God–given land and see that prophecy was fulfilled exactly as God said. Israel is a well established nation powerful, self-governed, with an entrenched foothold in the land God gave them. But for those Christian denominations who hold to the erroneous doctrine of replacement theology, this absolutely proven prophecy is looked upon as a non-event. That’s just blindness.
“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.” Ezekiel 36:24.
“Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land,” Ezekiel 37:21. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.” Isaiah 11:11. This verse tells us there will be a re-gathering and return of the Jews back to the covenant land God established specifically for the Jewish people. Clearly God’s end time plans were predicated on Israel returning to their promised land.
Those individuals in past generations who diligently studied their Bibles knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that until Israel was an established nation once again and dwelling in the land God promised them there could be no Second Advent. The Bible is clear as to the signs we are to look for and yet many refuse to seek a clear understanding. Jesus is our sign giver. The Old Testament prophets, through the inspiration of God wrote down earth’s future history and God preserved those words for all the future generations.
Along with Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah, we have all the Minor Prophets who, even though they are referred to as minor, contributed major prophetic insight into the last day’s events. “And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.” Amos 9:14-15. This is just one of the numerous end time prophecies that are recorded in the books of the so called Minor Prophets. Actually minor only means shorter in length, not subordinate at all in regards to importance.
Prophecy has been placed in the Bible by God to bring us to a deeper understanding of just what the future history of the world holds. Not only do we discern that God’s word is true, but from prophecy, both fulfilled and not yet fulfilled, we recognize the End Times are yet to come. Yes, we are living in the End Times and have been since Jesus died on that cross, but our current generation is the generation that is living in the very last days of the End Times.
Even though we can’t help being concerned about Israel and the fact that they are surrounded by their enemies – enemies bent on their total destruction – God has promised Israel that they will never again be pulled out of their land. God’s mighty hand is covering Israel and that’s a fact we witness every day. Their enemies will never be successful in their attempts to wipe Israel off the map.
It should come as no surprise that even though the Hamas terrorists lob rocket after rocket into Israel, year in and year out, the destruction of property and the taking of innocent Israelis lives is quite minimal. The taking of an innocent life is tragic under any circumstance, but the very fact that Hamas has launched literally thousands of rockets into the land where God’s people dwell with hardly any effect should give all people pause. We must come to the conclusion that God’s people are divinely protected and established where God wants them.
The Old Testament contains many prophecies which foretold of Jesus’ first advent. They were recorded many, many years before His birth. These prophecies were missed by the Scribes and Pharisees. For instance in the Book of Genesis we were given the first words concerning the Coming of Christ. Speaking to the serpent, God said, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15. Note that the Coming One was to be of the woman’s seed, which described the miraculous virgin birth of our Lord. This was written down thousands of years before He was born.
In order to deny the undeniable prophecies recorded in scripture, we must allegorize at least one third of the Bible. On the other hand, if we take the Bible seriously and allow the word of God to speak to us we can come to an informed and correct conclusion of what will transpire as we move ever closer to Christ’s return and before that, the snatching away of His Church.
We Christians have, for the most part, no problem believing in the virgin birth or the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which was all foretold of in the Old Testament. However, when it comes down to understanding prophecy that is directly pointing to the end of days here on earth and Jesus’ Second Advent that’s just too weak, too hard to grasp, it’s all allegories, those scriptures have nothing to do with our future. Here’s a news flash for those who think that way, God authenticates His word by giving us history lessons in advance. Fulfilled prophecy is obvious and yet dismissed by many Christian as inconsequential.
The Bible is replete with prophecies both fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled, all establishing the undeniable fact that there will be a Rapture of Christ’s Church and that the saints (believers) will return with our Lord in His glory at the end of the Tribulation. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6.
Why is it so difficult for some to gain an understanding of the end times through prophecy? Because many Christians today refuse to study their Bibles at all let alone Bible prophecy. They are completely reliant on their pastors, many of whom don’t believe in biblical prophecy. Therefore they parrot what they hear and neglect Bible prophecy altogether.
Paul the Apostle spoke of future events. Paul didn’t know when the events he taught about would occur anymore than we do today. But over the past two-thousand years we can see many prophetic signs that have been fulfilled, and this generation is witnessing the speedy culmination of prophetic signs exploding on the scene.
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass,” Revelation 1:1. This may very well be the verse that has tripped up generations of believers in the past. Just reading the English version of the above verse gives us the impression these things referred to here by Jesus would shortly, or soon, come to pass. By carefully analyzing the original language, we can more clearly understand this verse and what it actually is saying. It’s the English word “shortly” that’s the culprit. Translated from the Greek word “tachos”, its intent isn’t to infer something happening very soon, but is to show quickness or speed. Our English word tachometer is derived from this Greek word. Jesus is going to open the eyes of His servants who study His word to understand the signs of the end times, and when these signs begin to come about they will happen rapidly and speedily. Precisely what we see happening today.
Jesus Christ will return soon for His Church and that’s something the enemy doesn’t want people to believe, let alone dwell on. Satan knows the Rapture will happen and if he can keep the focus of the Church on the worldly things which entrap God’s people and re-direct their thoughts and efforts, then Christians will spend much less time, if any at all, thinking about or promoting our Heavenly destination. Our enemy would like to see the Church become just another secular social club totally devoid of God’s truth, especially prophecy.
There are many alternative views floating around for Christians to choose from. Many of which disparage Bible prophecy. Amillennialism, Preterism, Kingdom now, or Dominionism, it really is confusing and some of these views are difficult to understand. When we just allow others to influence us with their interpretations instead of searching the scriptures for ourselves we may find ourselves following a view that is basically unscriptural.
Many believers put little, if any, reliance in the Rapture view even though Paul taught that Christ’s Church would be raptured before the Wrath of God was to come on this Christ-rejecting world.
Side Note:
Christians have been listening to false teachers who’ve exchanged God’s word for a lie for years. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:13. This manipulation of the saints by deceitful workers has moved Christians into a pattern of resorting back to worldly ideas and concepts. About 90% of all Christians no longer hold a Christian world view. They look, sound, and act just like the earth dwellers (non-believers) of this planet, opposed to true, born again believers, who are just sojourners here. That leaves only a remnant of Christians with a genuine Christian world view.
Prophecy is being fulfilled right in front of our eyes; signs are coming to pass. The end of all time is upon us. Secular scientists also speculate the end of planet earth will come, but not for another billion years or so. God says that event will be much sooner, in fact Bible prophecy tells us it’s at the door.
Still, one question remains. When we take God’s word seriously and truthfully where does that leave the unbeliever? The unbeliever is already condemned. So they will only be affected by the Rapture in an adverse way. When the “caught up” happens they will be left on planet earth scratching their heads in bewilderment at the instantaneous disappearance of millions. Will any of your family or friends be stuck in that mode of bewilderment?
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
End-of-the-Age Atrocity
Why is everyone so upset a baby was killed at an abortion clinic? What do you think happens in an abortion clinic?
Babies are slaughtered! This horrific evil is proof we are at the end of the age. The Apostle Paul’s “perilous times” prophesied characteristics –“fierce” and “without natural affection” (1 Timothy 3)—are front and center every day. Proof is the most recent such atrocity about a baby being thrown in a garbage can immediately after birth because the abortionist did not quite make it in time to do the deed.
The funny thing is, the baby-killing doctor had his medical license revoked by the state of Florida for "malpractice." Even more ironic are those in the pro-death movement who are denouncing the death of this baby as a horrible tragedy. Give me a break! The pro-death movement, led by our new President Barack Hussein Obama, supports 4,000 horrible tragedies in this
nation every 24 hours!!!!
Back in 2006, a teenager who was 23 weeks pregnant went to a Miami-area abortion clinic.She was given drugs to dilate her cervix, and waited hours for the abortion doctor to arrive. During that time, she actually gave birth to her baby. With the doctor still not around, a clinic worker cut the umbilical cord, put the baby (a living human being) in a bag, and threw it
in the garbage. I challenge you the next time you take out your garbage to remember that in this nation we put no more value on a human life than we do on a sack of trash!!!
I am grateful this story has come to the light of day. It shows clearly what happens in these abortion mills. Babies are murdered in these places. What happened that day in Miami is no different than want happens 4,000 times a day across this nation. This pathetic excuse for a doctor should not have had his license to practice medicine revoked, he should be
in prison for murder, along with every other "doctor" who kills babies.
The reality is, in the United States, the life of a dog is worth more than the life of a human being. In the United States in the year 2009, it is illegal to kill a dog, but legal to kill a baby. Let me say that one more time, since I want this fact to really sink in: In the United States in the year 2009, it is illegal to kill a dog, but legal to kill a baby. Wow! Does that fact show just how spiritually bankrupt we are as a nation? Want more? The ex- quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Vick, went to prison for killing dogs, yet every single day all over this nation, "doctors" are slaughtering 4,000 babies and going home to their families at the end of the day.
Why Abortion IS a Big Deal
I am getting sick and tired of people telling me to stop talking about abortion. I am getting even more sick and tired of
people like Rick Warren and others on the "religious left" who say talking about abortion is too divisive and that we need to stick to issues most people agree on, like poverty and AIDS in Africa. I fully understand why people don't want to talk about abortion. Infanticide is not a pleasant subject. But we can't just be silent and act like it doesn't exist, especially when every 24 hours another 4,000 innocent babies are being slaughtered in this nation.
I would love to stop talking about abortion. Let's get the U.S. government out of the baby-killing business and let each state decide whether it wants to kill babies in its state. This will not end abortion, but it will at least prevent men and women from treating it like nothing more than a trip to the dentist to have a cavity filled. It will also cause the adoption industry to be
reformed so adopting a child doesn't require five lawyers, six years, and enough money to buy a small home. It will also cause the church to start taking responsibility for putting together programs to help deal with babies who need to be cared for and placed in homes with loving mothers and fathers.
However, until we get to that place, I refuse to be silent; it is a subject that must be discussed. Every time some sort of natural disaster causes people to die, the news media jumps all over the story. Any death is sad, but I always wonder why so much is made of 5, 10, or 50 people tragically losing their lives while nobody even thinks about the fact that every 24 hours we murder approximately 4,000 innocent babies in this nation. I am virtually certain that only a handful of people out of the several million who will read these words today will even stop for a second to reflect that in the last day, we killed 4,000 babies in this
country. We have become so desensitized, we have come to accept abortion to the point that we don't even think about it any longer.
Here is why abortion IS a big deal: Did you ever wonder if there is a correlation between the fact we started to legally kill babies in this nation in 1973, about the same time we began to see a massive spiritual decline in America? Coincidence? I think not. Just like in our individual lives, our nation's blessings are tied to our obedience to God. Legally killing babies is a big deal, because how can we ever expect God to bless a land that is flooded with the blood of innocent babies?
I know that it is not politically correct to talk about abortion any longer. Sadly, very few nationally known pastors ever talk about this issue. It is bad for their business. Those who now make up this growing group known as the religious left who fill their churches with the seeker/purpose-driven/emerging church/watered-down message don't like this issue since it
hurts their marketing efforts for warm bodies. Except for a handful of brave Catholic bishops and priests, we hear virtually nobody in the marketplace taking a stand against this blatant act of murder.
I have been saying for years that this one issue alone is enough to bring down God's wrath and judgment on this nation. Sadly, President Bush squandered our last real opportunity we may ever have to deal with this issue politically. President Obama is a staunch defender of the practice of infanticide. He is a hero to those in the pro-death movement. The business of killing babies around the world will flourish under Obama.
Those who defend him state that it is the law, and that he is only upholding the law. The fact is, he has voted 100 percent of the time during his political career to uphold the legalized killing of babies. If he truly believed in life, he could have voted to make abortion illegal and work towards that end. I contend that any politician who votes to uphold abortion has the blood of
innocent babies on his or her hands, and is truly an evil person.
As a side note: For those in the pro-death movement who want to make believe this is about women's health rights, that is a bunch of garbage. This is about the live of human beings. I agree a woman has the right to do whatever she wants with her body, but not with the body of someone else. That baby may be inside her, but it is still a separate human life created by
God.
I refuse to be bullied into silence on what is by far the most critical spiritual issue there is. You simply can't close your eyes and act like this brutal act of murder doesn't exist. I see the Hollywood crowd and people who normally spit in the face of God
get so upset about the atrocities in Darfur and other places on the globe. Why aren't these same people as upset with the fact that every 24 hours we slaughter 4,000 innocent babies? Where is their outrage about that?
On the Liveprayer.com homepage, we have a special 55-second video clip of an actual abortion being performed. If you have not watched it, you must. This is what happens to over 4,000 innocent babies every day in this nation. Since God led me to get this footage and put it on the website nearly two years ago, we have received more than 3,000 emails from women who were contemplating having an abortion, but who watched the video and changed their minds. (Watch the incredible testimony of baby Delilah on that same link.)
Despite the several death threats and scathing emails I get every month for having that video on my website, I want the world to see what really happens to millions of babies here in the United States and around the world every year. Abortion is a big deal since it not only kills 1.5 million babies in this nation alone. And it is already bringing down the wrath and judgment of God on this nation for practicing infanticide, unless you are as spiritually blind as our leaders in Washington who think they can fix the problem. The only way to fix the problem is to stop killing babies and turn back to God and His truth!
Babies are slaughtered! This horrific evil is proof we are at the end of the age. The Apostle Paul’s “perilous times” prophesied characteristics –“fierce” and “without natural affection” (1 Timothy 3)—are front and center every day. Proof is the most recent such atrocity about a baby being thrown in a garbage can immediately after birth because the abortionist did not quite make it in time to do the deed.
The funny thing is, the baby-killing doctor had his medical license revoked by the state of Florida for "malpractice." Even more ironic are those in the pro-death movement who are denouncing the death of this baby as a horrible tragedy. Give me a break! The pro-death movement, led by our new President Barack Hussein Obama, supports 4,000 horrible tragedies in this
nation every 24 hours!!!!
Back in 2006, a teenager who was 23 weeks pregnant went to a Miami-area abortion clinic.She was given drugs to dilate her cervix, and waited hours for the abortion doctor to arrive. During that time, she actually gave birth to her baby. With the doctor still not around, a clinic worker cut the umbilical cord, put the baby (a living human being) in a bag, and threw it
in the garbage. I challenge you the next time you take out your garbage to remember that in this nation we put no more value on a human life than we do on a sack of trash!!!
I am grateful this story has come to the light of day. It shows clearly what happens in these abortion mills. Babies are murdered in these places. What happened that day in Miami is no different than want happens 4,000 times a day across this nation. This pathetic excuse for a doctor should not have had his license to practice medicine revoked, he should be
in prison for murder, along with every other "doctor" who kills babies.
The reality is, in the United States, the life of a dog is worth more than the life of a human being. In the United States in the year 2009, it is illegal to kill a dog, but legal to kill a baby. Let me say that one more time, since I want this fact to really sink in: In the United States in the year 2009, it is illegal to kill a dog, but legal to kill a baby. Wow! Does that fact show just how spiritually bankrupt we are as a nation? Want more? The ex- quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Vick, went to prison for killing dogs, yet every single day all over this nation, "doctors" are slaughtering 4,000 babies and going home to their families at the end of the day.
Why Abortion IS a Big Deal
I am getting sick and tired of people telling me to stop talking about abortion. I am getting even more sick and tired of
people like Rick Warren and others on the "religious left" who say talking about abortion is too divisive and that we need to stick to issues most people agree on, like poverty and AIDS in Africa. I fully understand why people don't want to talk about abortion. Infanticide is not a pleasant subject. But we can't just be silent and act like it doesn't exist, especially when every 24 hours another 4,000 innocent babies are being slaughtered in this nation.
I would love to stop talking about abortion. Let's get the U.S. government out of the baby-killing business and let each state decide whether it wants to kill babies in its state. This will not end abortion, but it will at least prevent men and women from treating it like nothing more than a trip to the dentist to have a cavity filled. It will also cause the adoption industry to be
reformed so adopting a child doesn't require five lawyers, six years, and enough money to buy a small home. It will also cause the church to start taking responsibility for putting together programs to help deal with babies who need to be cared for and placed in homes with loving mothers and fathers.
However, until we get to that place, I refuse to be silent; it is a subject that must be discussed. Every time some sort of natural disaster causes people to die, the news media jumps all over the story. Any death is sad, but I always wonder why so much is made of 5, 10, or 50 people tragically losing their lives while nobody even thinks about the fact that every 24 hours we murder approximately 4,000 innocent babies in this nation. I am virtually certain that only a handful of people out of the several million who will read these words today will even stop for a second to reflect that in the last day, we killed 4,000 babies in this
country. We have become so desensitized, we have come to accept abortion to the point that we don't even think about it any longer.
Here is why abortion IS a big deal: Did you ever wonder if there is a correlation between the fact we started to legally kill babies in this nation in 1973, about the same time we began to see a massive spiritual decline in America? Coincidence? I think not. Just like in our individual lives, our nation's blessings are tied to our obedience to God. Legally killing babies is a big deal, because how can we ever expect God to bless a land that is flooded with the blood of innocent babies?
I know that it is not politically correct to talk about abortion any longer. Sadly, very few nationally known pastors ever talk about this issue. It is bad for their business. Those who now make up this growing group known as the religious left who fill their churches with the seeker/purpose-driven/emerging church/watered-down message don't like this issue since it
hurts their marketing efforts for warm bodies. Except for a handful of brave Catholic bishops and priests, we hear virtually nobody in the marketplace taking a stand against this blatant act of murder.
I have been saying for years that this one issue alone is enough to bring down God's wrath and judgment on this nation. Sadly, President Bush squandered our last real opportunity we may ever have to deal with this issue politically. President Obama is a staunch defender of the practice of infanticide. He is a hero to those in the pro-death movement. The business of killing babies around the world will flourish under Obama.
Those who defend him state that it is the law, and that he is only upholding the law. The fact is, he has voted 100 percent of the time during his political career to uphold the legalized killing of babies. If he truly believed in life, he could have voted to make abortion illegal and work towards that end. I contend that any politician who votes to uphold abortion has the blood of
innocent babies on his or her hands, and is truly an evil person.
As a side note: For those in the pro-death movement who want to make believe this is about women's health rights, that is a bunch of garbage. This is about the live of human beings. I agree a woman has the right to do whatever she wants with her body, but not with the body of someone else. That baby may be inside her, but it is still a separate human life created by
God.
I refuse to be bullied into silence on what is by far the most critical spiritual issue there is. You simply can't close your eyes and act like this brutal act of murder doesn't exist. I see the Hollywood crowd and people who normally spit in the face of God
get so upset about the atrocities in Darfur and other places on the globe. Why aren't these same people as upset with the fact that every 24 hours we slaughter 4,000 innocent babies? Where is their outrage about that?
On the Liveprayer.com homepage, we have a special 55-second video clip of an actual abortion being performed. If you have not watched it, you must. This is what happens to over 4,000 innocent babies every day in this nation. Since God led me to get this footage and put it on the website nearly two years ago, we have received more than 3,000 emails from women who were contemplating having an abortion, but who watched the video and changed their minds. (Watch the incredible testimony of baby Delilah on that same link.)
Despite the several death threats and scathing emails I get every month for having that video on my website, I want the world to see what really happens to millions of babies here in the United States and around the world every year. Abortion is a big deal since it not only kills 1.5 million babies in this nation alone. And it is already bringing down the wrath and judgment of God on this nation for practicing infanticide, unless you are as spiritually blind as our leaders in Washington who think they can fix the problem. The only way to fix the problem is to stop killing babies and turn back to God and His truth!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Religion of peace?
Man beheads his wife. Muzzammil Hassan, 44 of Buffalo, New York, began a TV network in 2004 to counter negative Muslim stereotypes. Hassan is now in jail, charged with second-degree murder in the death of his 37-year-old
wife, Aasiya Zubair Hassan, days after she filed for divorce and was granted
a restraining order against him. In the world of Islam, Hassan's
decapitating his wife is actually viewed as an honor killing. Here is what
I want you to hear today. This man is not some crazed terrorist. He was
never viewed as some radical with ties to terror organizations. The fact is,
he is simply a normal Muslim man who followed the teachings of his religion
of hate and death!
So you still think Islam is a "religion of peace?" Even before 9/11, I have
tried my best to warn people about the false religion of Islam. Islam is a
false religion dreamed up by a Mecca businessman named Muhammed 1400 years ago that has been spread from day one by hatred and death and has led the souls of those who followed its lies to the eternal flames of hell. It is
the fastest growing religion in the world with nearly 2 billion people on
the planet following the teachings of the Qu'ran, the book of fables
Muhammed inspired that makes up the theology of this false religion. While
Muslims like to claim they are a religion of love and peace, their teachings
and actions over 1400 years continually prove they are about hatred and
death.
Of course there will be Muslim apologists who say that these are only the
extremists, just like they try to distance themselves from their brothers in
this "peaceful religion" who flew the planes into the World Trade Center,
the Pentagon, and the one intended for the Capital building that was crashed
in a Pennsylvania field by some real American heroes. Do you remember a few years ago when there was a cartoon in a Dutch newspaper depicting Muhammed with a bomb in his headdress? There were riots and people were actually killed over a CARTOON! Remember a year or so ago when Pope Benedict simply shared the historical fact that Islam was spread by violence and death and the Catholic churches that were burned down and the nuns killed by Muslims protesting his statements?
Do you remember the Islamic activist group CAIR that has ties to terrorist
groups and operates in this country as an "advocacy group" for Muslims, and
their 4 year campaign to take the Liveprayer TV program off this air for
simply having the audacity to tell the truth about their false religion?
After 1,175 programs and 4 1/2 yrs on the air, the gutless executives at CBS
who owned the station we had broadcast on in Tampa since March of 2003
finally caved in to the intimidation and fear of this group. Over the years
they had been successful in silencing other media personalities from saying
anything negative about Islam, and I am certain, emboldened by their
intimidation of CBS, is now doing all they can to take radio talk show host
Michael Savage off the air.
These people are not about love or peace or unity. They are about one thing.
Converting the world to their false religion and those who get in their way
or who refuse to follow their lies will be silenced and killed. The word
"Islam" literally means "submission." Maybe you don't understand what it
means when their "holy book" says "death to all infidels." An "infidel" by
their definition is anyone who has not converted to their false beliefs.
This is their book. These are their teachings. THIS IS WHAT ALL MUSLIMS
BELIEVE!
That is why I was stunned the other day when I came across an article about
many high profile Christian leaders who are forming some sort of alliance
with top Muslim leaders. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, Leith
Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, Pastors
Rick Warren of Saddleback and Bill Hybles of Willow Creek, and Robert E.
Cooley, president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, are just
a few of the prominent Christians who have signed a letter issued by the
Yale Center for Faith and Culture as a response to a letter signed last
month by 138 representative Muslim leaders calling on the two Abrahamic
faiths to love God and neighbors together.
Sounds nice doesn't it? These Muslim clerics are not looking for love and
peace, only mainstream acceptance! The very teachings of their false
religion doesn't call for this type of peace, only the DEATH of those who
refuse to convert to their lies. I know these high profile Christians can't
be that stupid, so there has to be some other motivation. Sadly, I have
documented for you in the past the key leaders who sold out in the 80s to
Moon's Unification Cult to give that lie from hell mainstream acceptance.
Now, we have several very high profile prominent Christian leaders getting
in bed with Muslim leaders!
Don't these people read the Bible? The Bible says MUCH about who we
associate with, about avoiding being associated with the wrong people. In
Numbers 33:55, God warned Israel that bad associations would be a continual
thorn in their side. In Exodus 34:12 and Ezra 9:14, Israel was specifically
forbidden to develop relationships with ungodly nations. You can go all
throughout the Bible and read God's warnings and what He says about the type of relationships we enter into and those we associate with. That is why
these ecumenical movements that seek to bring all the false religions and
faiths of the world together as one is such a damnable lie. It is so
damnable, in the final days there will be a One World Religion that all will
be forced to be part of.
Some have asked what is wrong with being part of these groups with the false
religions and cults of the world. Simple! THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH, THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE. What is required when you enter into any of these ecumenical groups is that you lay aside the absolutes of the Bible. IT IS CALLED COMPROMISE, SOMETHING I HAVE PREACHED ON CONTINUALLY FOR 2 DECADES! IT IS COMPROMISE THAT HAS MADE THE CHURCH SO WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE. IT IS COMPROMISE THAT HAS ALLOWED SOME CHURCHES TO ACCEPT AND CONDONE SINS LIKE HOMOSEXUALITY AND ABORTION. IT IS COMPRISE THAT HAS CAUSED CHURCHES TO STOP BELIEVING AND TEACHING THAT THE BIBLE IS THE INSPIRED INERRANT WORD OF GOD, REPRESENTING ABSOLUTE TRUTH AND OUR FINAL AUTHORITY IN ALL MATTERS.
IT IS COMPROMISE THAT ALLOWS MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD TO ASSOCIATE WITH THOSE WHO FOLLOW RELIGIONS AND FAITHS IN COMPLETE REBELLION TO GOD, HIS TRUTH, AND HIS SON JESUS!!!
I can only pray as I continue to sound this trump of warning that people will wake up. I cringe every time I hear people like President Obama state that Islam is a "religion of peace." ISLAM HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT PEACE, ONLY DEATH! I have shared with you earlier this year how I felt that Islam would be the United States Babylon if we didn't turn back to God and His Truth. As I watch what is happening in this nation I firmly believe that now even more than when the Holy Spirit led me to write that special message. Recently, a Muslim nation bought a 5% stake in Citicorp. The energy requirements of this nation are still tied almost exclusively to the oil we get out of Muslim nations. Muslims who have come to the United States have refused to assimilate into the American way of life, instead, are doing all they can to force Americans to assimilate into their way of life.
Also, please don't buy this political correct lie that their are "good
Muslims" and "bad Muslims." By their own definition, a good Muslim is one
who follows the Qu'ran and the teachings of Islam without question or
deviation. The goal of Islam is to convert the world to their false
religion, and if you don't think they want to turn the United States into a
Muslim nation, you have been sound asleep. The sad thing is, this has only
happened because the church has quit being the church. Christians have taken
themselves out of the marketplace and are hiding in the safety and
profitability of the "Christian trough." Sadly, many of those who have
ventured into the marketplace have compromised the Gospel by entering into
unholy alliances with cults like the Mormons and false religions like Islam.
If there was ever a time for the true followers of Christ to rise up it is
now. Jesus is coming at any moment, the final days of human history are
unfolding, and it is time to take our stand for Him and His Truth and help
bring in that last great harvest of souls. The "allah" of Islam is NOT the
God of the Bible, but an imaginary, murderous deity, a stone moon rock
housed in the Kabba in Mecca. The Qu'ran is not a holy book, but a book of
fables that calls for the death of all who refuse to follow its lies. Islam
is NOT a religion of peace, but one of death. The only true peace there is
comes from the Prince of Peace Himself, Jesus, the One who overcomes death
and promises those who follow Him life, and life everlasting!
wife, Aasiya Zubair Hassan, days after she filed for divorce and was granted
a restraining order against him. In the world of Islam, Hassan's
decapitating his wife is actually viewed as an honor killing. Here is what
I want you to hear today. This man is not some crazed terrorist. He was
never viewed as some radical with ties to terror organizations. The fact is,
he is simply a normal Muslim man who followed the teachings of his religion
of hate and death!
So you still think Islam is a "religion of peace?" Even before 9/11, I have
tried my best to warn people about the false religion of Islam. Islam is a
false religion dreamed up by a Mecca businessman named Muhammed 1400 years ago that has been spread from day one by hatred and death and has led the souls of those who followed its lies to the eternal flames of hell. It is
the fastest growing religion in the world with nearly 2 billion people on
the planet following the teachings of the Qu'ran, the book of fables
Muhammed inspired that makes up the theology of this false religion. While
Muslims like to claim they are a religion of love and peace, their teachings
and actions over 1400 years continually prove they are about hatred and
death.
Of course there will be Muslim apologists who say that these are only the
extremists, just like they try to distance themselves from their brothers in
this "peaceful religion" who flew the planes into the World Trade Center,
the Pentagon, and the one intended for the Capital building that was crashed
in a Pennsylvania field by some real American heroes. Do you remember a few years ago when there was a cartoon in a Dutch newspaper depicting Muhammed with a bomb in his headdress? There were riots and people were actually killed over a CARTOON! Remember a year or so ago when Pope Benedict simply shared the historical fact that Islam was spread by violence and death and the Catholic churches that were burned down and the nuns killed by Muslims protesting his statements?
Do you remember the Islamic activist group CAIR that has ties to terrorist
groups and operates in this country as an "advocacy group" for Muslims, and
their 4 year campaign to take the Liveprayer TV program off this air for
simply having the audacity to tell the truth about their false religion?
After 1,175 programs and 4 1/2 yrs on the air, the gutless executives at CBS
who owned the station we had broadcast on in Tampa since March of 2003
finally caved in to the intimidation and fear of this group. Over the years
they had been successful in silencing other media personalities from saying
anything negative about Islam, and I am certain, emboldened by their
intimidation of CBS, is now doing all they can to take radio talk show host
Michael Savage off the air.
These people are not about love or peace or unity. They are about one thing.
Converting the world to their false religion and those who get in their way
or who refuse to follow their lies will be silenced and killed. The word
"Islam" literally means "submission." Maybe you don't understand what it
means when their "holy book" says "death to all infidels." An "infidel" by
their definition is anyone who has not converted to their false beliefs.
This is their book. These are their teachings. THIS IS WHAT ALL MUSLIMS
BELIEVE!
That is why I was stunned the other day when I came across an article about
many high profile Christian leaders who are forming some sort of alliance
with top Muslim leaders. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, Leith
Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, Pastors
Rick Warren of Saddleback and Bill Hybles of Willow Creek, and Robert E.
Cooley, president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, are just
a few of the prominent Christians who have signed a letter issued by the
Yale Center for Faith and Culture as a response to a letter signed last
month by 138 representative Muslim leaders calling on the two Abrahamic
faiths to love God and neighbors together.
Sounds nice doesn't it? These Muslim clerics are not looking for love and
peace, only mainstream acceptance! The very teachings of their false
religion doesn't call for this type of peace, only the DEATH of those who
refuse to convert to their lies. I know these high profile Christians can't
be that stupid, so there has to be some other motivation. Sadly, I have
documented for you in the past the key leaders who sold out in the 80s to
Moon's Unification Cult to give that lie from hell mainstream acceptance.
Now, we have several very high profile prominent Christian leaders getting
in bed with Muslim leaders!
Don't these people read the Bible? The Bible says MUCH about who we
associate with, about avoiding being associated with the wrong people. In
Numbers 33:55, God warned Israel that bad associations would be a continual
thorn in their side. In Exodus 34:12 and Ezra 9:14, Israel was specifically
forbidden to develop relationships with ungodly nations. You can go all
throughout the Bible and read God's warnings and what He says about the type of relationships we enter into and those we associate with. That is why
these ecumenical movements that seek to bring all the false religions and
faiths of the world together as one is such a damnable lie. It is so
damnable, in the final days there will be a One World Religion that all will
be forced to be part of.
Some have asked what is wrong with being part of these groups with the false
religions and cults of the world. Simple! THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH, THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE. What is required when you enter into any of these ecumenical groups is that you lay aside the absolutes of the Bible. IT IS CALLED COMPROMISE, SOMETHING I HAVE PREACHED ON CONTINUALLY FOR 2 DECADES! IT IS COMPROMISE THAT HAS MADE THE CHURCH SO WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE. IT IS COMPROMISE THAT HAS ALLOWED SOME CHURCHES TO ACCEPT AND CONDONE SINS LIKE HOMOSEXUALITY AND ABORTION. IT IS COMPRISE THAT HAS CAUSED CHURCHES TO STOP BELIEVING AND TEACHING THAT THE BIBLE IS THE INSPIRED INERRANT WORD OF GOD, REPRESENTING ABSOLUTE TRUTH AND OUR FINAL AUTHORITY IN ALL MATTERS.
IT IS COMPROMISE THAT ALLOWS MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD TO ASSOCIATE WITH THOSE WHO FOLLOW RELIGIONS AND FAITHS IN COMPLETE REBELLION TO GOD, HIS TRUTH, AND HIS SON JESUS!!!
I can only pray as I continue to sound this trump of warning that people will wake up. I cringe every time I hear people like President Obama state that Islam is a "religion of peace." ISLAM HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT PEACE, ONLY DEATH! I have shared with you earlier this year how I felt that Islam would be the United States Babylon if we didn't turn back to God and His Truth. As I watch what is happening in this nation I firmly believe that now even more than when the Holy Spirit led me to write that special message. Recently, a Muslim nation bought a 5% stake in Citicorp. The energy requirements of this nation are still tied almost exclusively to the oil we get out of Muslim nations. Muslims who have come to the United States have refused to assimilate into the American way of life, instead, are doing all they can to force Americans to assimilate into their way of life.
Also, please don't buy this political correct lie that their are "good
Muslims" and "bad Muslims." By their own definition, a good Muslim is one
who follows the Qu'ran and the teachings of Islam without question or
deviation. The goal of Islam is to convert the world to their false
religion, and if you don't think they want to turn the United States into a
Muslim nation, you have been sound asleep. The sad thing is, this has only
happened because the church has quit being the church. Christians have taken
themselves out of the marketplace and are hiding in the safety and
profitability of the "Christian trough." Sadly, many of those who have
ventured into the marketplace have compromised the Gospel by entering into
unholy alliances with cults like the Mormons and false religions like Islam.
If there was ever a time for the true followers of Christ to rise up it is
now. Jesus is coming at any moment, the final days of human history are
unfolding, and it is time to take our stand for Him and His Truth and help
bring in that last great harvest of souls. The "allah" of Islam is NOT the
God of the Bible, but an imaginary, murderous deity, a stone moon rock
housed in the Kabba in Mecca. The Qu'ran is not a holy book, but a book of
fables that calls for the death of all who refuse to follow its lies. Islam
is NOT a religion of peace, but one of death. The only true peace there is
comes from the Prince of Peace Himself, Jesus, the One who overcomes death
and promises those who follow Him life, and life everlasting!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Boiling Point
Jewish leader Isi Leibler, writing last week in the Jerusalem Post, had this to say about a global reality we should all be paying attention to:
“The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism is meeting today in London in the wake of the Gaza campaign, which ignited an exponential eruption of global anti-Semitic frenzy unprecedented since the Nazi era. The intensity of the anti-Jewish rage, frequently accompanied by acts of violence, has engendered fear and anxiety among Diaspora Jews and obliged many to seriously ponder their long-term future.
“On every continent and in virtually every city, enraged demonstrators have railed against Israel and indulged in anti-Semitic calls to "boycott Jews," "gas" them and "dismantle the Nazi Israeli state." The anti-Jewish offensives, usually initiated by Arabs, have been supported by wide spectrums of indigenous citizens.”
Leibler is not a fear-monger, nor is he crying wolf. Some lay this charge, but they did as well in the lead-up to the Holocaust. Unfortunately, Leibler is right to sound the alarm.
Repeatedly in Scripture, we are told that dark spiritual forces will intensify pressure on Israel and the Jews in the last days. Here again is a dramatic fulfillment of prophecy that many can’t see! Anti-semites are the fulfillment of prophecy and they can’t see it. Amazing.
Also a few days ago, it was announced that the U.S. would have representation at the upcoming Durban Conference. This anti-Western, anti-Israel gathering is a clearing-house for haters and has been shunned by the Americans. Until now.
What is this if not an acceleration of fulfilled prophecies that point to a friend-less Israel. Barack Obama is conducting his foreign policy exactly as he said he would, which means appeasement. An alarming byproduct of this — watch for it — is an increasing tendency to throw Israel to the wolves.
Some assume Obama and his foreign policy team are naïve. Don’t assume that they are. One reporter, soon after the election (note: not before!), called Obama “deeply manipulative.” He’s spent time with the candidate on his plane. A few days ago, Sean Hannity made an interesting comment as he discussed the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” (designed to muzzle conservative radio); he said that people fail to understand that the policymakers in Washington don’t care about the average person.
I think he’s correct. Which means that for all their pledges to ensure Israel’s security, Washington insiders and powerbrokers will sell the Jewish state down the river. As Israel sorts-out its recent election, one can see the manipulation behind the scenes. As Benjamin Netanyahu jostles for position in trying to become Israel’s next prime minister, it is hard not to notice the hatred for him…not only from the Arabs, but from Western diplomats and journalists! Obama will no doubt lean on Netanyahu (who, unlike Obama or Bill Clinton, with whom he dealt a decade ago, is not a coward).
It was noted by syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer that Obama’s overtures to Iran have resulted in the Iranians puffing out their collective chest and demanding certain things of the U.S. in exchange for “normalized relations.” One of those demands is to abandon the “Zionist entity.” We all know who that is. Does this not speak to Jeremiah 30?
Krauthammer also noted that since Iran announced that it has sent a satellite into space, the obvious implication is that they can also target anywhere with ballistic missiles. One can see here the beginnings of classic, high-stakes blackmail that would ultimately leave Israel without allies anywhere.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who narrowly missed a bid to become prime minister, has said that not only would she not sit in a Netanyahu government (unless he agreed to a rotating premiership), but that she advocated giving away at least half of the Land of Israel to a Palestinian state.
All these things are indeed foreboding. Ominous.
And yet when one talks to Israelis in their own country, one gets the sense that more Bible prophecy is being fulfilled, because these people are not going away. They are not going to lay down and die. We have the odd situation of a pagan world that does not believe in the Bible or the God of the Bible coming into direct conflict with Israel as God prepares to supernaturally intervene, as He did in the “days of old.”
Praise the Lord, He is on His throne and in charge. Let the heathen rage and the anti-semites spew their hate.
We are at the boiling point, and the Redeemer of Israel is preparing to take the stage.
“The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism is meeting today in London in the wake of the Gaza campaign, which ignited an exponential eruption of global anti-Semitic frenzy unprecedented since the Nazi era. The intensity of the anti-Jewish rage, frequently accompanied by acts of violence, has engendered fear and anxiety among Diaspora Jews and obliged many to seriously ponder their long-term future.
“On every continent and in virtually every city, enraged demonstrators have railed against Israel and indulged in anti-Semitic calls to "boycott Jews," "gas" them and "dismantle the Nazi Israeli state." The anti-Jewish offensives, usually initiated by Arabs, have been supported by wide spectrums of indigenous citizens.”
Leibler is not a fear-monger, nor is he crying wolf. Some lay this charge, but they did as well in the lead-up to the Holocaust. Unfortunately, Leibler is right to sound the alarm.
Repeatedly in Scripture, we are told that dark spiritual forces will intensify pressure on Israel and the Jews in the last days. Here again is a dramatic fulfillment of prophecy that many can’t see! Anti-semites are the fulfillment of prophecy and they can’t see it. Amazing.
Also a few days ago, it was announced that the U.S. would have representation at the upcoming Durban Conference. This anti-Western, anti-Israel gathering is a clearing-house for haters and has been shunned by the Americans. Until now.
What is this if not an acceleration of fulfilled prophecies that point to a friend-less Israel. Barack Obama is conducting his foreign policy exactly as he said he would, which means appeasement. An alarming byproduct of this — watch for it — is an increasing tendency to throw Israel to the wolves.
Some assume Obama and his foreign policy team are naïve. Don’t assume that they are. One reporter, soon after the election (note: not before!), called Obama “deeply manipulative.” He’s spent time with the candidate on his plane. A few days ago, Sean Hannity made an interesting comment as he discussed the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” (designed to muzzle conservative radio); he said that people fail to understand that the policymakers in Washington don’t care about the average person.
I think he’s correct. Which means that for all their pledges to ensure Israel’s security, Washington insiders and powerbrokers will sell the Jewish state down the river. As Israel sorts-out its recent election, one can see the manipulation behind the scenes. As Benjamin Netanyahu jostles for position in trying to become Israel’s next prime minister, it is hard not to notice the hatred for him…not only from the Arabs, but from Western diplomats and journalists! Obama will no doubt lean on Netanyahu (who, unlike Obama or Bill Clinton, with whom he dealt a decade ago, is not a coward).
It was noted by syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer that Obama’s overtures to Iran have resulted in the Iranians puffing out their collective chest and demanding certain things of the U.S. in exchange for “normalized relations.” One of those demands is to abandon the “Zionist entity.” We all know who that is. Does this not speak to Jeremiah 30?
Krauthammer also noted that since Iran announced that it has sent a satellite into space, the obvious implication is that they can also target anywhere with ballistic missiles. One can see here the beginnings of classic, high-stakes blackmail that would ultimately leave Israel without allies anywhere.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who narrowly missed a bid to become prime minister, has said that not only would she not sit in a Netanyahu government (unless he agreed to a rotating premiership), but that she advocated giving away at least half of the Land of Israel to a Palestinian state.
All these things are indeed foreboding. Ominous.
And yet when one talks to Israelis in their own country, one gets the sense that more Bible prophecy is being fulfilled, because these people are not going away. They are not going to lay down and die. We have the odd situation of a pagan world that does not believe in the Bible or the God of the Bible coming into direct conflict with Israel as God prepares to supernaturally intervene, as He did in the “days of old.”
Praise the Lord, He is on His throne and in charge. Let the heathen rage and the anti-semites spew their hate.
We are at the boiling point, and the Redeemer of Israel is preparing to take the stage.
Monday, February 23, 2009
AIDS Rate Takes Off in China
China’s state media said HIV/AIDS took the lives of approximately 7,000 people in the first 274 days of 2008. The human immunodeficiency virus became the top cause of death among infectious diseases, surpassing tuberculosis and rabies, apparently the first time this has occurred.
According to the government’s Ministry of Health, the number of victims was fewer than 8,000, until three years ago.
“In China, the disease is mainly transmitted sexually, but the virus initially spread because of unsanitary blood plasma-buying schemes and tainted transfusions in hospitals. The first reported case of Aids in China was in 1982. Three years later, the government announced the first death from the disease. Yet concerns persist that local officials are under-reporting the figures. The United Nations’ health and Aids bodies, for example, estimate that, by the end of 2007, 700,000 people in China were HIV positive. Local officials are thought still to be fearful of recriminations if their localities buck national trends. In the old days, sexually transmitted diseases were officially eradicated—the Communist Party’s grip on personal behaviour, as well as the gathering of statistics, was absolute” (Independent).
Education campaigns help inform citizens, especially those who are at a much greater risk of contracting the virus, particularly homosexual men and sex workers.
According to the government’s Ministry of Health, the number of victims was fewer than 8,000, until three years ago.
“In China, the disease is mainly transmitted sexually, but the virus initially spread because of unsanitary blood plasma-buying schemes and tainted transfusions in hospitals. The first reported case of Aids in China was in 1982. Three years later, the government announced the first death from the disease. Yet concerns persist that local officials are under-reporting the figures. The United Nations’ health and Aids bodies, for example, estimate that, by the end of 2007, 700,000 people in China were HIV positive. Local officials are thought still to be fearful of recriminations if their localities buck national trends. In the old days, sexually transmitted diseases were officially eradicated—the Communist Party’s grip on personal behaviour, as well as the gathering of statistics, was absolute” (Independent).
Education campaigns help inform citizens, especially those who are at a much greater risk of contracting the virus, particularly homosexual men and sex workers.
Friday, February 20, 2009
'Police state is looming'
LONDON -- A former intelligence chief in Britain is warning that a police state is looming because of measures taken out of fear of terrorism, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
The comments come from Dame Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, who weighed into the recent dispute over a court proceeding involving an inmate at the Guantanamo Bay terror detention facility.
"The fear of terrorism is being exploited by the government to erode civil liberties and risk creating a police state," she said.
She has accused the government of "playing straight into the hands of terrorists."
Dame Stella, 73, became the first woman director of MI5 in 1992. In 1998 she stepped down and has become a fierce critic of some of the government's counter-terrorism and security measures.
"Since I have retired, I feel more at liberty to be against certain decisions of the government, especially the attempt to pass laws which interfere with people's privacy," she said.
Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND.
"It would be better that the government recognized there are risks, rather than frightening people in order to be able to pass laws which restrict civil liberties, precisely one of the objects of terrorism: that we live in fear and under a police state," she said.
She added: "The U.S. has gone too far with Guantanamo and the tortures. MI5 does not do that. Furthermore it has achieved the opposite effect: there are more and more suicide terrorists finding a greater justification."
She said the British secret services were "no angels," but insisted they did not kill people.
But she also said the government's plans for ID cards were "absolutely useless" and would not make the public any safer.
The comments come from Dame Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, who weighed into the recent dispute over a court proceeding involving an inmate at the Guantanamo Bay terror detention facility.
"The fear of terrorism is being exploited by the government to erode civil liberties and risk creating a police state," she said.
She has accused the government of "playing straight into the hands of terrorists."
Dame Stella, 73, became the first woman director of MI5 in 1992. In 1998 she stepped down and has become a fierce critic of some of the government's counter-terrorism and security measures.
"Since I have retired, I feel more at liberty to be against certain decisions of the government, especially the attempt to pass laws which interfere with people's privacy," she said.
Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND.
"It would be better that the government recognized there are risks, rather than frightening people in order to be able to pass laws which restrict civil liberties, precisely one of the objects of terrorism: that we live in fear and under a police state," she said.
She added: "The U.S. has gone too far with Guantanamo and the tortures. MI5 does not do that. Furthermore it has achieved the opposite effect: there are more and more suicide terrorists finding a greater justification."
She said the British secret services were "no angels," but insisted they did not kill people.
But she also said the government's plans for ID cards were "absolutely useless" and would not make the public any safer.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Mexico’s Drug Cartel War
Over 5,300 Mexicans died in drug-related killings in 2008—gunned down, tortured, beheaded—all to maintain the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. Where does the blame lie?
In El Paso, Texas, a mother finishes a bedtime story and tucks her daughter into bed, kissing her goodnight. After heading downstairs, she hears the distant pop of gunfire echoing through the crisp night air.
Source: Getty Images
Must be Juarez, she thinks and enters the kitchen to finish the dishes. Why should she worry about the city across the border? After all, this is El Paso—the third-safest city in the United States.
Things have been changing though. There have been increased incidences of kidnapping. Refugees from war-torn Juarez have begun to cross the border, seeking shelter in the States. Hotel capacity is often near 100%, with Juarez citizens looking for one night of peace. El Paso’s city council unanimously signed a solidarity agreement to support Juarez. The trouble in Mexico is beginning to be noticed in America.
But for the mother doing dishes, it is hard to imagine the appalling conditions just across the border.
At daybreak in a once-frequented park in Juarez, the light illuminates a horrific scene: headless corpses dumped in plain sight.
Tourists used to stream across from its sister city, El Paso, eager to buy trinkets and souvenirs. The streets now are bare. So are schools, with parents keeping children home in fear for their safety.
Here drug gangs are the law—judge, jury and executioner—vehemently defending trade routes in what the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates is a $23 billion a year industry.
Gangs extort store owners, but many cannot pay and are forced to close, fearing for their lives. Those who do not pay are likely to be kidnapped, tortured or killed. Heads of gang victims can be seen on fence posts, warning everyone to think twice before crossing a ruling cartel.
Welcome to Ciudad Juarez.
The Mexican “border town” of 1.7 million had an estimated 1,600 drug related-murders in 2008, the death toll rising faster than in Baghdad. In the first days of 2009, over 30 were killed in the city from drug violence.
“One speaks of failed states, Ciudad Juarez is a failed city,” George W. Grayson, an expert on Mexico-U.S. relations at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, said. “It’s a no man’s land. It’s totally out of control” (Associated Press).
The trouble is not limited to Juarez. The drug cartels have a steely grip on many of the Mexican towns bordering the United States. Throughout Mexico, the death toll was up 117% over the previous year—from 2,477 in 2007 to more than 5,300 in 2008.
The Mexican government has been fighting back, yet the body count continues to rise. The United States also fears its southern neighbor will crumple into a “narco-state” ruled by feuding drug lords—or worse, the violence will spill across the border.
Living in Fear
A wave of killings occurred in December 2008, including the gruesome discovery of eight tortured bodies in the state of Chiapas, in southeastern Mexico on Dec. 23. Three of the bodies were identified as local merchants.
The findings came just two days after Mexican authorities had uncovered nine decapitated bodies and their severed heads in the southeastern state of Guerrero. Eight were identified as soldiers, with the ninth body being that of a high-ranking police official.
These grim stories come across newswires with mind-numbing frequency. Some weeks the violence escalates. In one instance more than 100 lives were claimed in seven days. A week in December of 2008 included the deaths of 20 police officers. Also, Voice of America reported that cartel hit men assassinated nine federal agents.
For millions of Mexicans, these are not isolated events—they are a way of life.
Source: MCT
Drug gangs hold onto their territory with brute violence and intimidation. There is little doubt who rules the streets.
Kidnapping is another rampant terror. The Citizen’s Institute for Crime Studies estimates there are over 500 per month in Mexico. A December 2008 report by strategic consulting firm B.R. McCaffrey Associates stated that the majority of kidnappings are “not reported largely because of lack of trust in the police—or the reality of police involvement with the crime.”
And it is not just the rich who are targeted. “Now even poor Mexicans present a target for ATM [automated teller machine] extortion or even death because of non-payment of small ransoms,” the report said.
Death, destruction, carnage, extortion, fear—as the bodies pile up and the conflict threatens to spread into the Unites States, who or what is to blame for this drug war and its bloodied, lawless conditions?
Turf Wars
It seems obvious, one might logically reason. The members of the drug cartels are to blame, right? It is their business that is violently maintained, and they are the ones who pull the trigger. They are the ones with blood on their hands.
Taking applications: A billboard on a street corner in Juarez, Mexico, urges citizens to apply for the police force.
Source: MCT
They are armed to the teeth, from the efficient AK-47 to the brutal machete—and not afraid to use them. Some are infamous for dissolving their victims’ bodies in lye. These are the Mexican drug gang members.
Border-town citizens awaken to streets littered with their handiwork: headless bodies wrapped in old carpet and dumped unceremoniously in streets and parks. Web videos circulate documenting their crude, terrorist-style beheading videos. They have tossed grenades in public plazas. They hire teenaged boys to do their dirty work, paying about $300 a “kill.”
Terror is used to ensure their hold on the towns along the 2,000-mile Mexico/U.S. border—routes gangs hold onto, allowing the continual flow of drugs north and money back south. Battleground cities such as Tijuana, Juarez and Nogales are the front line in the cartel drug war.
Drug traffickers load cars with cocaine, marijuana and other illicit drugs and travel north. Once the drugs are dropped off, the same cars generally haul the cash back over the border. But there is often one more stop before drug-runners return with payment: gun shops in the United States. Cartels purchase high-powered weapons, such as the AR-15, a semiautomatic rifle similar to the U.S. army’s standard-issue M16. The weapons pass through border checkpoints and are delivered to drug gangs.
“More than 90% of guns seized at the border or after raids and shootings in Mexico have been traced to the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives” (Los Angeles Times).
Government Declares War
The government is charged to maintain law and order. Are they to blame for unchecked lawlessness?
Captured: Mexican Federal Police officers escort members of the Gulf drug cartel in Mexico City on January 20, 2008. The suspects were detained in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.
Source: STR/AFP/Getty Images
As would any nation under siege by “narco-terrorists,” the Mexican government has retaliated.
Upon entering office in 2006, President Felipe Calderon deployed nearly 8,000 federal police officers and military personnel to cities across the nation. Today, there are about 40,000 troops allotted to fight the cartels.
There has been progress. The troops sought out and destroyed illegal crops, seized tons of drugs and contraband, and have arrested and interrogated cartel members.
But the impressive show of force appears to have worked for only a short time. After a lull, casualties began to increase and anyone standing in the cartels’ way is now in danger.
Police officers in particular have become a favorite target. Since 2006, 450 police officers, prosecutors, military personnel and other government workers have been murdered. In one incident last year, a hit list was attached to a police monument in Juarez. One by one, the officers were killed. After the cartel had crossed many names off the list, the remaining officers began to quit their jobs.
But some stood firm. Municipal Police Chief Juan Antonio Roman was gunned down near the steps of his house, becoming the third senior police official in Mexico to be killed that week. Investigators estimated that assailants fired over 60 shots.
Attacks against government employees have become even more brazen. In early 2009, three severed heads of police officers were found in coolers placed outside the town hall of Guadalupe, Mexico. This occurred shortly after the head of another suburban police chief was deposited on the steps of a town hall; he had been chief only four days before being kidnapped and killed.
Despite the deaths, President Calderon has continued to defiantly oppose the drug runners. At a memorial service last year for a fallen officer, Mr. Calderon confirmed his commitment to fighting the war on drug cartels. He said that organized crime groups were striking back against the federal government “because they know we are hitting their criminal structure.” He also said the government is “determined to recover streets that never should have ceased being ours” (Los Angeles Times).
U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said in an interview that President “Calderon must, and will, keep the pressure on the cartels, but look, let’s not be naïve—there will be more violence, more blood, and, yes, things will get worse before they get better. That’s the nature of the battle. The more pressure the cartels feel, the more they’ll lash out like cornered animals” (Dallas Morning News).
One thing is certain: The drug gangs will defend their livelihood—and they are doing it with increasing levels of sophistication, with weapons often superior to the police defending the nation.
Outgunned, Out-trained
The drug cartels are heavily armed, others may think. Should their weapon suppliers be to blame?
Mexico’s cartels are not “brainless thugs” with guns and knives. Often the Mexican army and police must combat attacks from highly trained units of gang members who employ night vision goggles, helicopters, encrypted communications and other sophisticated 21st-century technology. Cartels also have in their arsenal automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank rockets, mines, booby traps, heavy machine guns, hand grenades and grenade machine guns.
Meanwhile, another trouble plagues the Mexican government’s war on drug cartels: corruption.
An analysis report by the Council on Hemispheric Affairs detailed the rampant corruption: “Army Major Arturo Gonzalez, a member of Felipe Calderon’s presidential guard, was purportedly put on the pad for $100,000 a month to report the President’s movements to a splinter group made up of former Sinaloa cartel leaders, the Beltran-Leyva brothers.
“The intelligence community also has been compromised; Noe Ramirez Mandujano, head of the country’s anti-organized crime task force (SIEDO), was caught receiving $450,000 a month in bribe money from the Beltran-Leyva brothers in exchange for classified information that could threatened [sic] the core of the cartel’s operation.
“Ricardo Gutierrez, director of Mexico’s Interpol branch, also has been accused of colluding with the Beltran-Leyva organization in providing sensitive information in exchange for large sums of money. This revelation was hugely embarrassing to the Mexican authorities.”
Some police officers and army personnel simply switch sides altogether, hired to work for the drug gangs. A number have studied in the U.S. at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in Georgia, a facility that trains Central and South American police and military leaders. Their training and experience are often used to the drug runners’ advantage, helping them to anticipate how the police and army will react.
The U.S. Front
Or does it come down to supply and demand? If there were less Americans purchasing the drugs, wouldn’t the problem disappear?
The implications of the Mexican drug war are not lost on the United States. “In terms of worst-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico,” said a U.S. Joint Force Command report.
It seems to be in America’s best interest to act quickly to curb the violence. With its forces already spread thin by military operations in Iraq, it cannot afford to have a narco-state as a neighboring country.
Additionally, the Mexican cartels have a growing presence in America. “In April, the Justice Department reported that Mexican drug cartels represent the ‘largest threat to both citizens and law enforcement agencies in this country and now have gang members in nearly 200 U.S. cities.’ The 200 cities include Washington; Baltimore, Frederick and Greenbelt in Maryland; and Arlington and Galax in Virginia” (Washington Times).
The U.S. State Department estimates that 90% of cocaine enters the nation at the Mexican border. Cartels also operate methamphetamine labs in the states, particularly in California, and are known to grow marijuana in the U.S.
In response, the U.S. Congress approved the Merida Initiative, a $400 million emergency aid package to combat the cartels. The package includes money for helicopters and additional training for Mexican police to stop smuggling and decrease police corruption.
Laying Blame
As with every aspect of the drug cartel war, there seems to be plenty of blame to go around.
Although Washington has already delivered $197 million to the Merida Initiative, Mexican Ambassador Carlos Rico said until the U.S. stops consuming cocaine, the cause is hopeless.
“‘The key market in this case is a U.S. Market, that in spite of very, very impressive efforts that the U.S. government has put into reducing demand, it has remained as pretty much as it used to be a few years ago,’ [Mr. Rico] said. ‘So as long as that demand is there and the impressive possibility of amazing profits of illegal operators and criminal organizations, it is going to be pretty much impossible for Mexico to solve the issue’” (Voice of America).
In border towns, lynching and vigilantism are becoming commonplace, the citizens blaming gang members. The situation has become desperate—prompting calls for desperate measures.
“We’ve reached such a level of crisis here along the border that all solutions now have to be on the table, including lifting the prohibition of narcotics,” El Paso City Councilman Beto O’Rourke said after the council signed a solidarity agreement with Juarez. “Our national security is at stake” (Dallas Morning News).
Others support this cause, thinking that if heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs were legalized, the cartels would lose their power.
These proponents are sincere in their want to cease violence. But in the end, this solution puts the blame on the law itself. If the laws against illicit drug use were abolished, where would this lead? Can legalizing drugs or removing laws really end crime?
Mankind is truly in desperate times, but when in history have even “desperate measures” brought lasting solutions? When has man ever solved his most pressing problems that destroy families, promote fear, insecurity and corruption, and incessantly plague humanity?
Proposed solutions for any problem come from knowledge obtained by one of the five senses, then formulated into a thought using the human mind. But these answers assume that the problems are physical and can be solved with scientific reasoning.
However, even with “all the options on the table,” the record of history is against man. With the resources currently at his disposal, solutions will not be found, and it appears the best man can do is continue to futilely play the “blame game.”
In El Paso, Texas, a mother finishes a bedtime story and tucks her daughter into bed, kissing her goodnight. After heading downstairs, she hears the distant pop of gunfire echoing through the crisp night air.
Source: Getty Images
Must be Juarez, she thinks and enters the kitchen to finish the dishes. Why should she worry about the city across the border? After all, this is El Paso—the third-safest city in the United States.
Things have been changing though. There have been increased incidences of kidnapping. Refugees from war-torn Juarez have begun to cross the border, seeking shelter in the States. Hotel capacity is often near 100%, with Juarez citizens looking for one night of peace. El Paso’s city council unanimously signed a solidarity agreement to support Juarez. The trouble in Mexico is beginning to be noticed in America.
But for the mother doing dishes, it is hard to imagine the appalling conditions just across the border.
At daybreak in a once-frequented park in Juarez, the light illuminates a horrific scene: headless corpses dumped in plain sight.
Tourists used to stream across from its sister city, El Paso, eager to buy trinkets and souvenirs. The streets now are bare. So are schools, with parents keeping children home in fear for their safety.
Here drug gangs are the law—judge, jury and executioner—vehemently defending trade routes in what the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates is a $23 billion a year industry.
Gangs extort store owners, but many cannot pay and are forced to close, fearing for their lives. Those who do not pay are likely to be kidnapped, tortured or killed. Heads of gang victims can be seen on fence posts, warning everyone to think twice before crossing a ruling cartel.
Welcome to Ciudad Juarez.
The Mexican “border town” of 1.7 million had an estimated 1,600 drug related-murders in 2008, the death toll rising faster than in Baghdad. In the first days of 2009, over 30 were killed in the city from drug violence.
“One speaks of failed states, Ciudad Juarez is a failed city,” George W. Grayson, an expert on Mexico-U.S. relations at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, said. “It’s a no man’s land. It’s totally out of control” (Associated Press).
The trouble is not limited to Juarez. The drug cartels have a steely grip on many of the Mexican towns bordering the United States. Throughout Mexico, the death toll was up 117% over the previous year—from 2,477 in 2007 to more than 5,300 in 2008.
The Mexican government has been fighting back, yet the body count continues to rise. The United States also fears its southern neighbor will crumple into a “narco-state” ruled by feuding drug lords—or worse, the violence will spill across the border.
Living in Fear
A wave of killings occurred in December 2008, including the gruesome discovery of eight tortured bodies in the state of Chiapas, in southeastern Mexico on Dec. 23. Three of the bodies were identified as local merchants.
The findings came just two days after Mexican authorities had uncovered nine decapitated bodies and their severed heads in the southeastern state of Guerrero. Eight were identified as soldiers, with the ninth body being that of a high-ranking police official.
These grim stories come across newswires with mind-numbing frequency. Some weeks the violence escalates. In one instance more than 100 lives were claimed in seven days. A week in December of 2008 included the deaths of 20 police officers. Also, Voice of America reported that cartel hit men assassinated nine federal agents.
For millions of Mexicans, these are not isolated events—they are a way of life.
Source: MCT
Drug gangs hold onto their territory with brute violence and intimidation. There is little doubt who rules the streets.
Kidnapping is another rampant terror. The Citizen’s Institute for Crime Studies estimates there are over 500 per month in Mexico. A December 2008 report by strategic consulting firm B.R. McCaffrey Associates stated that the majority of kidnappings are “not reported largely because of lack of trust in the police—or the reality of police involvement with the crime.”
And it is not just the rich who are targeted. “Now even poor Mexicans present a target for ATM [automated teller machine] extortion or even death because of non-payment of small ransoms,” the report said.
Death, destruction, carnage, extortion, fear—as the bodies pile up and the conflict threatens to spread into the Unites States, who or what is to blame for this drug war and its bloodied, lawless conditions?
Turf Wars
It seems obvious, one might logically reason. The members of the drug cartels are to blame, right? It is their business that is violently maintained, and they are the ones who pull the trigger. They are the ones with blood on their hands.
Taking applications: A billboard on a street corner in Juarez, Mexico, urges citizens to apply for the police force.
Source: MCT
They are armed to the teeth, from the efficient AK-47 to the brutal machete—and not afraid to use them. Some are infamous for dissolving their victims’ bodies in lye. These are the Mexican drug gang members.
Border-town citizens awaken to streets littered with their handiwork: headless bodies wrapped in old carpet and dumped unceremoniously in streets and parks. Web videos circulate documenting their crude, terrorist-style beheading videos. They have tossed grenades in public plazas. They hire teenaged boys to do their dirty work, paying about $300 a “kill.”
Terror is used to ensure their hold on the towns along the 2,000-mile Mexico/U.S. border—routes gangs hold onto, allowing the continual flow of drugs north and money back south. Battleground cities such as Tijuana, Juarez and Nogales are the front line in the cartel drug war.
Drug traffickers load cars with cocaine, marijuana and other illicit drugs and travel north. Once the drugs are dropped off, the same cars generally haul the cash back over the border. But there is often one more stop before drug-runners return with payment: gun shops in the United States. Cartels purchase high-powered weapons, such as the AR-15, a semiautomatic rifle similar to the U.S. army’s standard-issue M16. The weapons pass through border checkpoints and are delivered to drug gangs.
“More than 90% of guns seized at the border or after raids and shootings in Mexico have been traced to the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives” (Los Angeles Times).
Government Declares War
The government is charged to maintain law and order. Are they to blame for unchecked lawlessness?
Captured: Mexican Federal Police officers escort members of the Gulf drug cartel in Mexico City on January 20, 2008. The suspects were detained in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.
Source: STR/AFP/Getty Images
As would any nation under siege by “narco-terrorists,” the Mexican government has retaliated.
Upon entering office in 2006, President Felipe Calderon deployed nearly 8,000 federal police officers and military personnel to cities across the nation. Today, there are about 40,000 troops allotted to fight the cartels.
There has been progress. The troops sought out and destroyed illegal crops, seized tons of drugs and contraband, and have arrested and interrogated cartel members.
But the impressive show of force appears to have worked for only a short time. After a lull, casualties began to increase and anyone standing in the cartels’ way is now in danger.
Police officers in particular have become a favorite target. Since 2006, 450 police officers, prosecutors, military personnel and other government workers have been murdered. In one incident last year, a hit list was attached to a police monument in Juarez. One by one, the officers were killed. After the cartel had crossed many names off the list, the remaining officers began to quit their jobs.
But some stood firm. Municipal Police Chief Juan Antonio Roman was gunned down near the steps of his house, becoming the third senior police official in Mexico to be killed that week. Investigators estimated that assailants fired over 60 shots.
Attacks against government employees have become even more brazen. In early 2009, three severed heads of police officers were found in coolers placed outside the town hall of Guadalupe, Mexico. This occurred shortly after the head of another suburban police chief was deposited on the steps of a town hall; he had been chief only four days before being kidnapped and killed.
Despite the deaths, President Calderon has continued to defiantly oppose the drug runners. At a memorial service last year for a fallen officer, Mr. Calderon confirmed his commitment to fighting the war on drug cartels. He said that organized crime groups were striking back against the federal government “because they know we are hitting their criminal structure.” He also said the government is “determined to recover streets that never should have ceased being ours” (Los Angeles Times).
U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said in an interview that President “Calderon must, and will, keep the pressure on the cartels, but look, let’s not be naïve—there will be more violence, more blood, and, yes, things will get worse before they get better. That’s the nature of the battle. The more pressure the cartels feel, the more they’ll lash out like cornered animals” (Dallas Morning News).
One thing is certain: The drug gangs will defend their livelihood—and they are doing it with increasing levels of sophistication, with weapons often superior to the police defending the nation.
Outgunned, Out-trained
The drug cartels are heavily armed, others may think. Should their weapon suppliers be to blame?
Mexico’s cartels are not “brainless thugs” with guns and knives. Often the Mexican army and police must combat attacks from highly trained units of gang members who employ night vision goggles, helicopters, encrypted communications and other sophisticated 21st-century technology. Cartels also have in their arsenal automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank rockets, mines, booby traps, heavy machine guns, hand grenades and grenade machine guns.
Meanwhile, another trouble plagues the Mexican government’s war on drug cartels: corruption.
An analysis report by the Council on Hemispheric Affairs detailed the rampant corruption: “Army Major Arturo Gonzalez, a member of Felipe Calderon’s presidential guard, was purportedly put on the pad for $100,000 a month to report the President’s movements to a splinter group made up of former Sinaloa cartel leaders, the Beltran-Leyva brothers.
“The intelligence community also has been compromised; Noe Ramirez Mandujano, head of the country’s anti-organized crime task force (SIEDO), was caught receiving $450,000 a month in bribe money from the Beltran-Leyva brothers in exchange for classified information that could threatened [sic] the core of the cartel’s operation.
“Ricardo Gutierrez, director of Mexico’s Interpol branch, also has been accused of colluding with the Beltran-Leyva organization in providing sensitive information in exchange for large sums of money. This revelation was hugely embarrassing to the Mexican authorities.”
Some police officers and army personnel simply switch sides altogether, hired to work for the drug gangs. A number have studied in the U.S. at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in Georgia, a facility that trains Central and South American police and military leaders. Their training and experience are often used to the drug runners’ advantage, helping them to anticipate how the police and army will react.
The U.S. Front
Or does it come down to supply and demand? If there were less Americans purchasing the drugs, wouldn’t the problem disappear?
The implications of the Mexican drug war are not lost on the United States. “In terms of worst-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico,” said a U.S. Joint Force Command report.
It seems to be in America’s best interest to act quickly to curb the violence. With its forces already spread thin by military operations in Iraq, it cannot afford to have a narco-state as a neighboring country.
Additionally, the Mexican cartels have a growing presence in America. “In April, the Justice Department reported that Mexican drug cartels represent the ‘largest threat to both citizens and law enforcement agencies in this country and now have gang members in nearly 200 U.S. cities.’ The 200 cities include Washington; Baltimore, Frederick and Greenbelt in Maryland; and Arlington and Galax in Virginia” (Washington Times).
The U.S. State Department estimates that 90% of cocaine enters the nation at the Mexican border. Cartels also operate methamphetamine labs in the states, particularly in California, and are known to grow marijuana in the U.S.
In response, the U.S. Congress approved the Merida Initiative, a $400 million emergency aid package to combat the cartels. The package includes money for helicopters and additional training for Mexican police to stop smuggling and decrease police corruption.
Laying Blame
As with every aspect of the drug cartel war, there seems to be plenty of blame to go around.
Although Washington has already delivered $197 million to the Merida Initiative, Mexican Ambassador Carlos Rico said until the U.S. stops consuming cocaine, the cause is hopeless.
“‘The key market in this case is a U.S. Market, that in spite of very, very impressive efforts that the U.S. government has put into reducing demand, it has remained as pretty much as it used to be a few years ago,’ [Mr. Rico] said. ‘So as long as that demand is there and the impressive possibility of amazing profits of illegal operators and criminal organizations, it is going to be pretty much impossible for Mexico to solve the issue’” (Voice of America).
In border towns, lynching and vigilantism are becoming commonplace, the citizens blaming gang members. The situation has become desperate—prompting calls for desperate measures.
“We’ve reached such a level of crisis here along the border that all solutions now have to be on the table, including lifting the prohibition of narcotics,” El Paso City Councilman Beto O’Rourke said after the council signed a solidarity agreement with Juarez. “Our national security is at stake” (Dallas Morning News).
Others support this cause, thinking that if heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs were legalized, the cartels would lose their power.
These proponents are sincere in their want to cease violence. But in the end, this solution puts the blame on the law itself. If the laws against illicit drug use were abolished, where would this lead? Can legalizing drugs or removing laws really end crime?
Mankind is truly in desperate times, but when in history have even “desperate measures” brought lasting solutions? When has man ever solved his most pressing problems that destroy families, promote fear, insecurity and corruption, and incessantly plague humanity?
Proposed solutions for any problem come from knowledge obtained by one of the five senses, then formulated into a thought using the human mind. But these answers assume that the problems are physical and can be solved with scientific reasoning.
However, even with “all the options on the table,” the record of history is against man. With the resources currently at his disposal, solutions will not be found, and it appears the best man can do is continue to futilely play the “blame game.”
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Israel’s Leadership Precariously Perched
It becomes increasingly obvious that just as the rest of the world is reconfiguring for some profound geopolitical repositioning outcome, Israel stands at the center of the strange goings-on. Everything revolves around matters involving war and peace, particularly in the Middle East.
The Israeli elections reflect those dynamics as perhaps no other single issue and/or event of the present can do. Since the election of Tuesday, February 8, the tiny but most exigent nation on the planet has been embroiled in a quagmire that is the nightmare scenario of parliamentary-type governments. The various elements (political parties) are of such diverse ideologies as to make forming a coalition capable of governing extremely problematic.
As of this writing it, is not certain who won the election. Some thoughts from this report, perhaps, provide insights into Israel’s future governance.
“Who won the election on Tuesday night and what do the results tell us about the composition of the next government? Israeli voters decided two things on Tuesday. First, they decided that they want the political right to lead the country. Second, leftist voters decided that they want to be represented by a big party so they abandoned Labor and Meretz and put their eggs in Kadima's basket.
These two decisions--one general and one sectoral--are what brought about the anomalous situation where the party with the most Knesset seats is incapable of forming the next governing coalition. Despite Kadima leader Tzipi Livni's stunning electoral achievement, she cannot form a coalition. Binyamin Netanyahu will be Israel's next prime minister. The Likud will form the next coalition.
But what sort of governing coalition will Netanyahu form? That is today's sixty-four thousand dollar question” ("Enter the Netanyahu Government," Caroline B. Glick, http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0209/glick021309.php3?).
The opinion of the writer of the above report, at least, is that Binyamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party, has been given the commission of the electorate to take Israel on somewhat of a road to the political right. But he has no mandate, only a narrow pathway—one that he must walk hand-in-hand with indeed strange political bedfellows. The Likud leader has no broad-based support.
Netanyahu must include left-leaning parlimentarians in a coalition of some flavor. Ehud Barak’s Labor Party–whose founder and champion was David Ben Gurion—was deserted by the majority of the left, many of whom joined with the Kadima Party led by Tzipi Livni .
Netanyahu finds himself between the proverbial rock and hard place if he wants to form the coalition necessary to achieve the prime ministership. It will be a character tester for sure.
The easier road to go, from the standpoint of putting together a government that might win favors with the international community and the Barak Obama administration would be to bite the bullet and bring the Kadima bunch into the coalition. This would be partially palatable for the Likud leadership because Livni and much of the Kadima leadership look at the developing Iranian situation in much the same way as the Likud membership. Surprisingly, they do not rule out preemptive action against the threats of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe Israel off the map, once they are ready to do so.
The rub, of course, is that Livni and the Kadema Party leadership are for making nice with Hezbollah, Hamas, and other of the Islamic terrorists to some extent. Ms. Livni is for a two-state, divided Jerusalem solution to the “Palestinian question,” and is, according to the writer of the article above, willing to give up Judea and Samaria for the peace process, and even to give the Golan Heights to Syria.
The less acceptable alternative in trying to construct a viable government coalition–from the perspectives of the international community and the Obama administration—would be to embrace the right-leaning parties within the parliamentary mix. Such a choice will bring the collective ire of the globalist elites for sure. Nonetheless, a coalition of Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, United Torah Judaism, the National Union and the Jewish Home parties would constitute a stable governing majority that could assure that Likud maintain its ruling status against the leftist Katima party’s assaults in the Knesset.
Much more importantly, a coalition that would not only stand against Iran’s insane hatred, but against the fanatic Islamic terrorists such as Hezbollah and Hamas, Syria and that nation’s lust for the Golan would go much farther in assuring Israel’s security. Mr. Netanyahu would be infinitely wiser to choose a government that will face down Israel’s enemies while resisting at all costs the world incessant attempts to force the division of Jerusalem and further divide the land God gave Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their heirs forever.
God’s Word pronounces His wrath upon end-times Israeli leadership that crawls in bed with the leadership of earth’s satanically controlled governments:
"Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves… And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it” (Isaiah 28:14-15, 18).
Bible prophecy foretells that Israel’s leaders will, at the beginning of the tribulation, give in to the international community and its great leader. They will enter into a seven-year covenant with the man who will be Antichrist (Dan. 9: 26-27). A word of caution, Mr. Netanyahu, Ms. Livni, or whoever becomes prime minister of whatever coalition government when the political dust settles: You are precariously perched on God’s end-times timeline.
The Israeli elections reflect those dynamics as perhaps no other single issue and/or event of the present can do. Since the election of Tuesday, February 8, the tiny but most exigent nation on the planet has been embroiled in a quagmire that is the nightmare scenario of parliamentary-type governments. The various elements (political parties) are of such diverse ideologies as to make forming a coalition capable of governing extremely problematic.
As of this writing it, is not certain who won the election. Some thoughts from this report, perhaps, provide insights into Israel’s future governance.
“Who won the election on Tuesday night and what do the results tell us about the composition of the next government? Israeli voters decided two things on Tuesday. First, they decided that they want the political right to lead the country. Second, leftist voters decided that they want to be represented by a big party so they abandoned Labor and Meretz and put their eggs in Kadima's basket.
These two decisions--one general and one sectoral--are what brought about the anomalous situation where the party with the most Knesset seats is incapable of forming the next governing coalition. Despite Kadima leader Tzipi Livni's stunning electoral achievement, she cannot form a coalition. Binyamin Netanyahu will be Israel's next prime minister. The Likud will form the next coalition.
But what sort of governing coalition will Netanyahu form? That is today's sixty-four thousand dollar question” ("Enter the Netanyahu Government," Caroline B. Glick, http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0209/glick021309.php3?).
The opinion of the writer of the above report, at least, is that Binyamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party, has been given the commission of the electorate to take Israel on somewhat of a road to the political right. But he has no mandate, only a narrow pathway—one that he must walk hand-in-hand with indeed strange political bedfellows. The Likud leader has no broad-based support.
Netanyahu must include left-leaning parlimentarians in a coalition of some flavor. Ehud Barak’s Labor Party–whose founder and champion was David Ben Gurion—was deserted by the majority of the left, many of whom joined with the Kadima Party led by Tzipi Livni .
Netanyahu finds himself between the proverbial rock and hard place if he wants to form the coalition necessary to achieve the prime ministership. It will be a character tester for sure.
The easier road to go, from the standpoint of putting together a government that might win favors with the international community and the Barak Obama administration would be to bite the bullet and bring the Kadima bunch into the coalition. This would be partially palatable for the Likud leadership because Livni and much of the Kadima leadership look at the developing Iranian situation in much the same way as the Likud membership. Surprisingly, they do not rule out preemptive action against the threats of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe Israel off the map, once they are ready to do so.
The rub, of course, is that Livni and the Kadema Party leadership are for making nice with Hezbollah, Hamas, and other of the Islamic terrorists to some extent. Ms. Livni is for a two-state, divided Jerusalem solution to the “Palestinian question,” and is, according to the writer of the article above, willing to give up Judea and Samaria for the peace process, and even to give the Golan Heights to Syria.
The less acceptable alternative in trying to construct a viable government coalition–from the perspectives of the international community and the Obama administration—would be to embrace the right-leaning parties within the parliamentary mix. Such a choice will bring the collective ire of the globalist elites for sure. Nonetheless, a coalition of Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, United Torah Judaism, the National Union and the Jewish Home parties would constitute a stable governing majority that could assure that Likud maintain its ruling status against the leftist Katima party’s assaults in the Knesset.
Much more importantly, a coalition that would not only stand against Iran’s insane hatred, but against the fanatic Islamic terrorists such as Hezbollah and Hamas, Syria and that nation’s lust for the Golan would go much farther in assuring Israel’s security. Mr. Netanyahu would be infinitely wiser to choose a government that will face down Israel’s enemies while resisting at all costs the world incessant attempts to force the division of Jerusalem and further divide the land God gave Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their heirs forever.
God’s Word pronounces His wrath upon end-times Israeli leadership that crawls in bed with the leadership of earth’s satanically controlled governments:
"Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves… And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it” (Isaiah 28:14-15, 18).
Bible prophecy foretells that Israel’s leaders will, at the beginning of the tribulation, give in to the international community and its great leader. They will enter into a seven-year covenant with the man who will be Antichrist (Dan. 9: 26-27). A word of caution, Mr. Netanyahu, Ms. Livni, or whoever becomes prime minister of whatever coalition government when the political dust settles: You are precariously perched on God’s end-times timeline.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Have the Last Days Arrived?
Everyone wants to know what the future holds. With world trends and conditions growing more grim by the day, what lies ahead for all nations has become the very greatest concern today. Millions are searching—wondering about the course of events.
Has this final interval in world history arrived? Can you be sure? You can—in fact, God expects you to know!
Many “sense” or even firmly “believe” that we are in the last days. We hear from them daily. But these have rarely sought to prove this. They can—and should—know whether we are. So must you.
Let’s pull back and look at the big picture. It has become painfully obvious that this world is in terrible trouble. Mankind is overwhelmed with every kind of trouble, evil and ill—war, terrorism, violence of every kind, famine, disease, pollution, overpopulation, political upheaval, religious confusion and tremendous economic turmoil and decline, threatening to make the great depression look like child’s play. Then there are the hundreds of millions who live in abject poverty, ignorance and oppression. Now add rampant and worsening immorality and perversion in every Western nation—and growing hatred, unrest and the never-ending cycle of war in the Middle East—and deteriorating conditions throughout Africa—and frightening weather patterns across many parts of the world—and devastating fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, drought and floods occurring with greater frequency and intensity—and headlines screaming of murder, rape, robbery and crimes of every kind. These mushrooming problems now threaten all nations.
Is all of this really only a little temporary worsening of what is otherwise “business as usual” for Planet Earth? Many—and much louder!—are the voices that say time is running out to solve the really big problems facing the world. More and more world leaders are expressing pessimism about the rise of troubles within and between nations. So are educators, military planners, sociologists and scientists. Yet, because this is also an age of religious sundowners and doomsayers, most will not pay real—serious!—attention.
Big Questions
How long until Jesus Christ returns? For those who believe He will, no question is bigger. But there are other questions, some big, that must be answered first. This personal will look at perhaps the second biggest question.
The Bible speaks of the period preceding Christ’s Return as “the last days”—“the time of the end”—“the end of the age”—“the end of these things”—“the end of the days”—and of a time when the course of human history as we know it, Daniel wrote, “shall be finished.”
Of course, many professing Christians do not believe in a literal Return to Earth by Christ. Of those who do, most think that it could be decades or even hundreds of years away. Some believe it could be “a thousand years away.” Others feel time may be short but see no way to know.
What do you believe?
The original apostles thought for a time that Jesus would return in their lifetimes. Paul spoke of the resurrection of the dead at Christ’s Second Coming, and twice used the word “WE—which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord” (I Thes. 4:15, 17), because he expected to still be alive when it happened.
Paul later came to realize that he had misunderstood the timing of specific events that must precede Christ’s Return. In fact, he had to warn of those who would deceive others about when this would occur. He wrote about “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” and that brethren should be careful to “Let no man deceive you by any means...” (II Thes. 2:1, 3).
Could you be deceived?
So then—have we entered the last days? Do you and I live at the time of the end? If so, how can you know for sure?
Jesus told His disciples, “I will come again” (John 14:3). Forty days later, as He was ascending to heaven, two angels added, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Matthew records Christ’s words: “For as the lightning comes...so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Seven times just in this chapter (Matt. 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 42, 44, 46), Jesus spoke of His Coming again, and the need to watch for key events, trends and conditions preceding it.
Is the world nearing Christ’s Return? Again, can we know?
Make no mistake! The Bible is plain about the Return of Jesus Christ. Many verses speak of His Second Coming to Earth. It will happen—and it does not hinge on the opinions of men. However, in the period leading to this climactic event, many other things are foretold to happen—some, in fact many of them, catastrophic! Can you afford to be in the dark?
The idea of the end of the world has been a subject of speculation, ridicule, discussion, fascination and fancy for almost 2,000 years. Of course, most do not realize how much the Bible shows can be known about this time.
In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Christ, “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the SIGN of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (vs. 3). After a detailed answer, Jesus added, “But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven but my Father only” (vs. 36).
Does this mean we cannot know the general time of Christ’s Second Coming?—and then also about the last days before it? Many think so—and therefore shrug off any need to be concerned with either.
Then what do verses 50-51 mean?: “The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites”? Most will simply not be looking for Jesus’ Return at the right time. Worse, many will not be looking for Him at all. But Christ’s indictment shows they will have no excuse.
Why will so many be unable to recognize the onset of such an awesome, whole-world-altering event?
In verses 32-33, Jesus gave a parable: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that [He] is near, even at the doors.” Since this could only apply to those alive at the end, Jesus states WE—“you”—can know the “season” of His Return, or when He is “at the doors.”
Do not be willing to settle for less than what the Bible reveals!
“Signs of the Times”
Years ago, a catchy tune called “A Sign of the Times” became popular. You may remember it. The title actually came from another verse here in Matthew. Religious leaders had confronted Christ, desiring a “sign.” He also called them hypocrites, adding, “You can discern the face of the sky; but can you not discern the signs of the times?” (16:3).
While the intent of their question was to get a sign that Jesus was the Messiah (read Matthew 12:38-40), His point was that they were unable to discern events they were witnessing all around them—or the “signs of the times”—and in that case, the “signs of their times” regarding Jesus’ FIRST coming!
Can you discern the signs of OUR times?
Christ told His disciples, “And when these things begin to come to pass [He has just listed them], then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28). The “these things” He referred to include a whole series of events prophesied to occur for the first time in history! These things are happening—and intensifying—NOW!
A closer look helps to see the “signs of the times.”
First know this. The apostle John recorded the words of Christ that open the book of Revelation (remember this book is Christ’s revealing of things to come, not John’s), “The Revelation of Jesus Christ...to show[get this, “TO SHOW”—reveal—open up] unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass...blessed is he that reads [you must pick up your Bible to do this], and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (1:1-3). At its end, the book states for emphasis, “Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand” (22:10).
Two thousand years later, how much more—today!—has the time for understanding colossal prophecies come! You CAN comprehend the message they bring, IF you are determined to obey God—IF you are determined to become one of His servants—and this begins with IF you are willing to research these prophecies.
But time is short.
God has allotted man 6,000 years to try his own governments, philosophies, religions, values and forms of education. But humanly-devised ideas do not and can never solve the world’s truly big problems. They always fail in the end. And, in the last 200 years or so, the world has changed dramatically—and rapidly. Events are speeding up in a way that has never been seen before! The 6,000 years are almost up.
The Twenty-First Century World
Everyone is familiar with sign-carrying kooks on street corners saying, “Repent! The end is near!” Hollywood has depicted many. For the most part, such people are not taken seriously. But times have changed, and, I repeat, now many are the voices of reason who report, for those who will listen, that something is terribly wrong! This has caused the idea of one world government, designed to save the planet and mankind from itself, to be heard more often. I recently read an article calling for this. However, no one seems to know how to create such a government and then acquire the cooperation of everyone necessary to make it succeed!
Look all around. What do you see?
As a whole, the world was a much more stable place until the early 19th century. At that time, the Industrial Revolution gave birth to the Modern Age. It was not until about a century ago that men began to drive cars and fly, and civilization went from the Modern Age to the “Nuclear Age” on to the “Space Age” and then to the “Information Age” in just a little more than a half century.
The arrival of new inventions, at the fastest rate in history, is changing life daily. Just think of the impact of the printing press and you can appreciate how dramatically a single invention can change the world. Computers have done the same—and there is no turning back from the huge impact, good and bad, of just this one invention. Remember, jet travel only arrived in the last half century.
Although estimates vary, it is believed that mankind’s total fund of knowledge is doubling every few years. Some think this could soon accelerate to every six months!
In the early 1970s, a book appeared titled Future Shock. It described a certain psychological stunning or shock effect on minds due to the high speed of changes in society. The author demonstrated that these changes began in the 1970s at such a rate that people could no longer properly process them. Society as a whole began to go into what was described as mental overload—or “shock”—explained as the “future” slamming into the “present” so fast that people were “short-circuiting” in a way never seen before. Some time after, a sequel described the worsening of this condition.
The picture described was not good, and has only gotten worse!
Yet, with all man’s supposed “advancement,” his problems have never seemed greater or more insoluble!
The projections of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are constantly being revised to reflect an outlook far more alarming than previously thought. Entire sections of Africa’s population are forecast to be wiped out in a few years by this single, awful disease.
Earth’s population of over 6.5 billion people is rising consistently at 1.2% each year. This means it will reach over 11 billion by 2050—if time were to permit, and it will not! This is despite the fact that disease and starvation are worst in the fastest growing parts of the world! High fertility rates in the less-developed parts of the world have already brought these increases right on schedule.
End-Time Prophecies
Let’s look at some passages that describe crucial, end-time prophecies!
We explained that Paul came to realize he did not live in the age when Christ would return. However, God did use him to record what conditions would be like when that time finally came. Consider this description of the widespread degeneration of attitudes and character, just before Christ’s Return: “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 [just ponder changing marital laws], trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good [be aware of this], traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God [so true, but strangely at the same time]; having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: [the instruction to you] from such turn away” (II Tim. 3:1-6).
This is a graphic picture. It describes a complete breakdown of character in “the last days.” This time has come!—and these conditions grow worse daily! Again, look around. People’s conduct is rapidly changing—seemingly always for the worse. More authority figures are sounding the alarm that human nature is running wild—and conditions are exploding out of control!
No thinking person could disagree.
The degeneration of people’s attitudes and behavior is stark when compared to only a generation ago. There have always been acts of violence but now they occur more often, and are more depraved. There have always been liars but now deceit is more pervasive. There has always been adultery but the percentage of people who commit it is now epidemic. There has always been divorce but today it is much more common. There have always been disrespectful young people, but soon an entire generation will have forgotten the Fifth Commandment, “Honor your father and mother.” There have always been thievery and fraud, but statistics show these have never been worse—even in the most affluent countries, where people have a lot, but want more.
Much more could be said of each term used in Paul’s prophecy. And we have not discussed pornography, child abuse, crime and trends in perverted sex, drug abuse, hatred, war and others! All these conditions have combined to create an age correctly described as “perilous”—or dangerous!
They become one powerful indicator that these ARE the last days!
Christ’s Great Olivet Prophecy
Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13 contain Christ’s Olivet Prophecy. We saw Matthew’s account begins with His disciples asking about the events that would precede the “end of the world”—the end of civilized society as we know it. They had originally believed this would occur in their lifetime because they misunderstood Christ and tied it to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. While the temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, Christ knew that His Second Coming would be almost 20 centuries after.
He prophesied certain other, much later events would precede it.
Jesus also described the breakdown of character: He warned that conditions would mirror “the days of Noah,” which Genesis 6 describes this way: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for ALL flesh had corrupted HIS way upon the earth” (11-12).
Corruption is mentioned three times in this one short passage. But, this description is at the same time highly specific and speaks of men as having individually AND collectively degenerated into absolute corruption—with civilization “filled with violence.” God uses both the singular “his” and the collective “all” to drive this point home!
Consider how often acts of mass violence now occur in schools, campuses, restaurants, malls and workplaces in ways unheard of until recently! The terms serial snipers and suicide bombers were unknown 15 years ago. And the relatively new phenomenon of terrorism has become global in nature.
Christ also compared conditions before His Return to those in Sodom and Gomorrah. He leads in with Noah again: “...As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage [society looked like it would go on], until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded [society looked like it would continue]; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-29).
Genesis 18 and 19 show that these two cities were so rotten—so evil—that, just before God rained fire and brimstone, only four people were deemed worthy to escape—Lot, his two daughters and wife, who later turned to salt. Only eight people were allowed to enter the Ark before God flooded the world.
Ask: How much longer before conditions cannot grow worse?
An aside at this point that has much to do with whether you will believe Christ: Many have been told that the early chapters of Genesis do not describe real people and real events. This is to accommodate the nonsensical fiction of evolution in place of a literal Adam and Eve. But had you realized Jesus Christ said that Noah, the ark and the flood existed?—and that so did Sodom and Gomorrah, including its destruction?
Those who dismiss these and related Genesis accounts seem unaware that Christ validated this first book of the Bible. They also forget—or willingly ignore—Jesus’ (and Paul’s) references to Adam, and how this validates the Creation account. (Most simply do not know that, while man has been here for only 6,000 years, the earth has existed for billions of years—and the key to this is understanding what happened between Genesis 1:1 and the very next verse 2, a subject for another time.)
We are left to ask: How many will believe and act on Christ’s warning about oncoming events—when He compared these future events to Bible parallels that most do not accept as true?—as having ever happened?
This personal opened with a reference to “scoffers” in the last days. Let’s now read the passage containing it and continue reading through a warning for us today. Notice: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts” (II Pet. 3:3)—people choosing and following the course of human nature, as in Sodom and Gomorrah, and Noah’s time.
Now verse 4, “And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? [thinking either “that’s faded knowledge” or “it will never happen”] for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation”—people unwilling to believe that serious times—the last days!—could actually come.
God declares, “For this they willingly are ignorant...”—this speaks for itself!
And verse 6: “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished”—remember, Christ supported the Noachian account and signified its warning for us.
So did Peter.
Now see this in verse 9: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise...but is longsuffering to us-ward [patiently waiting, because He is] not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.”
Sadly, of course, most will not do this.
Next comes a stark warning to those who are not looking: “But the day of the Lord [the time of His wrath upon a sin-sick world] will come as a thief in the night...”, followed by “Seeing then...what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy [conduct] and godliness”, and “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God...”, and also “...Seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of [Christ] in peace, without spot, and blameless” (10-12, 14).
Finally, the very personal verse 17: “You therefore...seeing you know these things before[hand], beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the wicked [scoffers and ungodly people all around you], fall from your own stedfastness.”
Now a caution: Be careful you are neither among the pooh-poohing, unbelieving scoffers—nor one of those who will not seek and obey God while there is still time.
The Bible promises that those who are faithful and obedient will be protected through the worst calamities that could fall upon an unsuspecting world. While the last days certainly are perilous—or dangerous—this is just the run-up period prior to the infinitely worse final three and a half years to follow before the good news of the gospel is fulfilled in Christ’s Coming.
While much of Christendom accepts the false rapture theory—nowhere taught in Scripture!—God promises a special place of divine protection for the faithful in His Church. To learn more, read my booklet, God’s Promised Protection – Place of Safety or Secret Rapture?
You do not need to fear the future. But neither should you listen to people who do not understand either events that are playing out now, or how God will protect His people from this greatest time of world trouble.
But there is more to know about whether we have reached this time.
What about religious confusion at the end? Matthew 24 records Jesus’ warning about future great deception: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I [Jesus] am Christ; and shall deceive many” (vs. 4-5). In other words, many would claim to represent Jesus, and would acknowledge He was indeed the Christ, but bring a message that deceives their listeners. The confused, disagreeing groups within professing Christianity today confirm Christ’s prophecy.
Jesus’ warning is critical. Modern preachers all stress the Person of Jesus Christ, instead of His message! They focus on the Messenger not His message! Saying Christ was, in fact, the Christ—the Messiah—is a true statement! The deception starts when His message of a coming world-ruling kingdom—with all that this means—is ignored—and even suppressed.
False Gospel Proclaimed
Herein lies the greatest deception! Understand this!
Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom of God. Here are His first recorded words: “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying...the kingdom of God is at hand [Christ was its representative]: repent you, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). Many verses show Jesus consistently preached this message.
Within 30 years of Jesus’ crucifixion, Paul warned of those who were already perverting Christ’s gospel with a counterfeit message. This understanding was so central that he pronounced a double curse on any who did this. He also warned, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him” (II Cor. 11:3-4)—meaning, you put up with it.
Preachers misrepresent Christ by bringing what is “another Jesus,” “another spirit” and “another gospel,” other than the kingdom of God.
God indicts these false ministers: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing [don’t be surprised] if his ministers [Satan’s] also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness...” (vs. 13-15).
This demonstrates the power of the deception Christ warned of by the ministers of this world’s brand of Christianity. Some of these specialize, particularly today, in confusing, incomplete hodgepodges of prophetic theories about how the last days will play out. The utter nonsense of these conflicting seers, psychics and prognosticators, like Nostradamus and other supposed prophets and prophecy fiction writers, is without end.
But ministers do not preach the kingdom of God! Instead, they talk incessantly about “baby Jesus,” “Christ on the cross,” “the virgin birth” and various social gospels. How often do you hear that Jesus Christ is coming to rule Earth as a King—to bring an all-powerful government to replace the failed governments of men?
Rarely, if ever.
Christ told His disciples they would be terribly persecuted and even killed for the message they would bring. Only the apostle John survived martyrdom, living into his 90s.
The 1,900-Year Gap
Until Herbert W. Armstrong began to proclaim the true gospel in 1934, the announcement of the kingdom of God had not been taken worldwide for nearly 1,900 years. From the time of the apostles, until the beginning of the 52-year ministry of this one man, the true gospel did not go out in any real power to the world as a whole!
In Matthew 24:14, Christ foretold, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations [this describes a huge, worldwide effort, and just before the end]; and then shall the end come.”
Mr. Armstrong reached an unprecedented hundreds of millions during his ministry. This included a readership (in seven languages) of approximately 25 million people of the Plain Truth magazine just at the time of his death, in 1986. Mr. Armstrong personally visited one-third of all heads of state during the last two decades of his life. He always brought the message of God’s coming kingdom. There were few places on earth where it was not heard on either radio or television. On hundreds of stations, his World Tomorrow telecast topped the Arbitron ratings as the most listened-to religious telecast on earth. The true gospel went out in power—like no other time in history!
Christ’s prophecy is still true! Beginning in 1966, Herbert Armstrong was my teacher. Today, The Restored Church of God continues this commission for a few more years.
Wars, Famines, Pestilences and Earthquakes
The most cursory look reveals that this world is not led by God, but rather is filled with problems, suffering and misery of every kind. Christ warned, “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars...and there shall be famines, and pestilences and earthquakes, in diverse [various] places,” but that “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:6-7, 8).
Who can doubt these things have come to pass in a greater way? For instance, how often do we now hear of devastating earthquakes? A well-known television commentator stated that “for some reason” there are now more earthquakes occurring every day. Seismologists record 12,000 separate, measurable earthquakes annually. 88,000 died in them just last year.
New, serious outbreaks of old diseases—some now antibiotic-resistant—are reported more frequently. These include the HIV epidemic, cholera, typhoid, dengue fever, flesh-eating bacteria, Legionnaire’s disease, the Ebola and West Nile viruses, malaria, the return of stronger, more resistant strains of tuberculosis and diphtheria, and an explosion of sexually transmitted diseases. These are but a small part of an immense, constantly-emerging picture of frightening new diseases—and old ones returning with a vengeance!
Consider. Over 10,000 die from lung disease every year just in Hong Kong—just due to pollution. But 1.28 million die just in China—one country!—each year just due to lung-related diseases.
About 24,000 people now starve to death every day—with this number steadily rising! Think. A medium-sized city disappears every 24 hours.
Wars, and what the gospel writer Luke called “commotions,” including acts of terror and protracted riots in more places, fill headlines—bringing more suffering and death. Greater disease and starvation are merely natural by-products of the population displacement and confusion that always follow in the wake of armed conflict.
In recent years, scientists have warned of global warming. Few any longer doubt that more extreme weather has arrived on the front edge of a worldwide phenomenon, whatever the cause. Storms are more severe, and more often. Abnormal flooding and devastation of the land are contributing to famines and disease epidemics of unheard of proportions. Weather catastrophes, earthquakes, wars and the resulting disease and hopelessness tend to exacerbate what is already an epidemic of suffering. Prophecy also foretold more volcanic activity—and this is happening!
The world needs God’s Law, which, if kept by all nations, would bring universal peace, happiness, abundance and prosperity. Cities would become beautiful. Disease, famine and war would disappear, as would racism, ignorance, poverty and all false religion.
Yet, no man, no government, nor all the governments of men put together can bring these things!
Only God’s kingdom, led by Christ and the saints who have qualified to join Him, can. The world must learn about the laws of God. Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah 4:1-4 also speak of the “last days,” when this will happen. God’s Law and the love of God are prophesied to replace the lawlessness and hate between people and nations today!
God has to intervene! Christ revealed, “Except those days should be shortened [cut short], there should no flesh be saved [alive!]: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt. 24:22)!
Think! When has mankind held the capability to destroy all human beings? Only with the advent of nuclear, chemical, biological and now “radiological” weapons could this be possible. We live when all of these are available—and nuclear weapons alone possess the capability, with the stockpiles that currently exist, to wipe out all mankind many times over! As one leader said, “Once would be quite enough.”
Some assert that these weapons are too terrible to ever be used—that they exist only as a “deterrent” against their use.
Do not be fooled! They will be used. Many prophecies make this clear. Remember, the moment these weapons became available, and the United States felt it in its interest to use them, President Truman ordered it in August 1945—and without hesitation! Yet, the two bombs that landed on Japan were little more than “firecrackers” by comparison to what exists today.
It is no coincidence the gospel was preached around the world at the time weapons of mass destruction became available—proving correct the timing of Christ’s prophecy about danger to the survival of all humanity!
The Coming Great Tribulation
Immediately after the gospel can no longer be preached, Matthew 24:21 includes a warning about Great Tribulation. This is just before Jesus’ statement that the last days will be cut short: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” This pictures a truly terrible time for all life on Earth!
This article would be unending if only a fraction of the passages describing the coming horrifying conditions on Earth were cited. Nearly every Old Testament prophet spoke of this worldwide trouble, now just ahead. Time is running out!
Daniel’s Long Prophecy
The longest single Bible prophecy is in Daniel 11. Chapter 10 introduces it and 12 completes it. The first reference to “the time of the end” is 11:40, and six times in chapter 12 alone the word “end” is used.
The prophet Daniel was not permitted to understand what he recorded. God told him it was “sealed till the time of the end,” when it would then be unsealed. This has happened. Verse 10 teaches, “the wise shall understand,” but “none of the wicked shall understand.” This means some—a relative few—will comprehend events around them!
Daniel 12:4 gives two clues to know when the end time has arrived. Notice: “O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
We have already discussed the astonishing knowledge explosion brought about by the arrival of computers in scores of millions of homes. Great numbers now have access to vast amounts of knowledge—instantaneously! What can be quickly known by anyone seeking information is staggering! Surely we have arrived at the time when “knowledge shall be increased”—along with its easy access!
What about “many shall run to and fro”? The arrival of railroads in the middle of the 19th century—then great ships driven by powerful engines to move them ever faster across oceans—followed by automobiles—and finally, passenger jets, made our planet universally accessible, and quickly. Jets turned the Atlantic Ocean into little more than a large lake. Earth grew smaller because of its inhabitants’ ability to “run to and fro” almost anywhere at any time!
Four Prophesied Kingdoms
The book of Daniel addresses other great prophecies. The second chapter contains another long prophecy spanning over 2,500 years, concluding with Christ’s Second Coming. It pictures a giant man consisting of four metals (gold, silver, brass, and iron mixed with clay), which represent four succeeding world-ruling kingdoms that began in Daniel’s time.
The first, which was the head made of gold, represents Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian, or Chaldean Empire (625-538 B.C.). The silver breast and arms that followed represents the second or Medo-Persian Empire (558-330 B.C.), while the belly and thighs of brass represents the third or Greco-Macedonian Empire (333-31 B.C.), led by Alexander the Great. Finally, the fourth kingdom, depicted by legs of iron, and feet and toes of iron mixed with clay, represents the Roman Empire. This last, greatest empire defeated and succeeded the Greco-Macedonians. The toes represent 10 nations or kingdoms in Eastern and Western Europe. (The Roman Empire had two capitals—Rome and Constantinople.) This religious/political combine of nations will coalesce under one final leader, aided by a second, miracle-working world figure. This united superpower system is now forming behind the scenes, with today’s worldwide economic crisis giving it birth.
Daniel 2:34 and 44 prove these 10 toes exist at Christ’s Coming. They describe a stone coming from heaven that smashes and replaces the toes—and establishes God’s kingdom. This symbolism depicts Christ’s Return and the setting up of God’s divine government—supplanting all humanly-devised governments!
Remember, when Christ foretold the “end of the world,” He meant man’s civilization—not the planet “blowing up.”
Only by comparing Revelation 13, 17 and Daniel 7, with Daniel 2, can you fully understand the immense scope and magnitude of this prophecy. Numerous other scriptures refer to these four kingdoms.
Briefly, the Roman Empire, which began in 31 B.C., collapsed in A.D. 476—having been overrun by three kingdoms (or horns) from Northern Europe—the Vandals, the Heruli and the Ostrogoths. Daniel 7:8 shows these horns were “plucked up by the roots,” meaning they disappeared from history. (The Vandals were so barbaric and destructive that the modern term “vandalize” is derived from their name.) However, seven more horns (verse 7 says there were a total of 10) were prophesied to rule this empire.
Beginning in A.D. 554, the Roman Empire became known as the Holy Roman Empire. Historians acknowledge that the Pope’s crowning of Justinian signaled this change. Events in Europe, surrounding the Holy Roman Empire, rose and fell for many centuries. Periodically, new rulers appeared—Charlemagne (the Frankish second head in A.D. 800)—Otto the Great (the German third head crowned in A.D. 962)—followed by the Habsburg Dynasty of Charles V (the Austrian fourth head crowned in A.D. 1520)—which, in turn, was followed by Napoleon’s reign (the French fifth head crowned in A.D. 1805)—with the sixth head being Garibaldi’s united Italian head from A.D. 1870-1945! This culminated in the defeat of Adolf Hitler and the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Mussolini, after signing a secret agreement with the Vatican in 1929, united Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland back to Italy in 1935—and declared this union the Roman Empire re-established!
This is prophesied to happen one more time—one revival of the Holy Roman Empire remains!
Only the tenth horn of Daniel 7:7 (the same as all 10 toes of Daniel 2) is yet to appear. This will be the final beast of Revelation 17 that will come upon an unsuspecting world with stunning speed and force. With the 1989 collapse of the Iron Curtain and the reunification of Germany, the last resurrection, consisting of countries and kingdoms throughout Eastern and Western Europe, is soon to appear as a kind of United States of Europe. But we have already read how Christ will smash this union of human kingdoms at His Coming!
Fifty bibles are sold every minute worldwide. This translates to over 26 million each year. How many believe and act on its contents? All convicted Bible readers will accept that “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn...” (II Pet. 1:19). This personal has brought light on subjects you have almost certainly not even heard referenced, never mind explained. Incredible events are foretold to play out upon the world just before the Tribulation. Some people know a few pieces within God’s prophetic “puzzle,” but even then they are never assembled correctly.
Let’s briefly assemble some critical time periods. The Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord last 1,260 days, or 3 1/2 years. This is one of three key periods in God’s final time frame before Christ’s Return. The others are “1,290 days” and “1,335 days.”
Photo illustration: Paula C. Rondeau
The 1,335 days—of Daniel 12:12—also count down to the Return of Christ. This moment signals the end of God’s Work for this age—the completion of Matthew 24:14—and is when the “call” goes out to His faithful people to assemble for flight to safety. Then, 45 days later, at 1,290 days until Christ’s Second Coming, events culminate in Jerusalem and the Church leaves its assembled location.
Peter’s Warning
Earlier, we saw “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His Coming?” (II Pet. 3:3-4).
The modern world is filled with scoffers. They do not believe God will intervene—or that this is even necessary! Most believe man is capable at the last minute of “snatching victory from the jaws of defeat,” and will save himself by solving his own problems! They think “everything will turn out all right, somehow!” Though wrong in the short term, this is ultimately correct—but by other means!
Scoffing at the thought Christ is coming, people choose to live rotten, sinful lives, following their lusts. But scoffing will not change the truth of God’s prophecies! Men must learn bitter lessons—that they have utterly failed to bring the conditions everyone longs for. Peace, happiness, prosperity and abundance remain elusive despite humanity’s best efforts to find them.
Armies “trying to make the world safe for democracy,” humanitarian efforts, missionaries, “think tanks,” new scientific labor-saving devices, computers, cellphones, better school systems, fundraising efforts to eradicate deadly diseases, etc., will all fail—because humanity will not humble itself and seek the God who does have solutions—all of them!—to man’s greatest troubles!
But, when it is almost too late, Christ will intervene in power and glory to save man from himself!
What About You?
What about you? What will you do to prepare yourself for what lies ahead? Notice: “At that time...there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation...and at that time Your [God’s] people shall be delivered...And many...that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life” (Dan. 12:1-2).
This describes the resurrection of the dead—of the true saints of God, who reign with Christ! Let’s read: “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout...and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we [the living saints in God’s Church—the true Church] 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” (I Thes. 4:16-17).
New Testament scriptures state plainly that Jesus’ Second Coming will be sudden and unexpected. Christ is repeatedly depicted as coming “like a thief in the night.” Carefully read these verses. Christ returns to an unsuspecting—and unprepared—world: “So likewise you, when you see these things come to pass, know you that the kingdom of God is near at hand...For as a snare shall it come on ALL them that dwell on the face of the WHOLE earth. WATCH you therefore, and PRAY ALWAYS, that YOU may be accounted worthy to ESCAPE all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:31, 35-36).
This can be your future!
You are the “captain of your own ship”—the “master of your own destiny.” It is your choice to reject God’s warning or to yield yourself to Him and ask Him to prepare you for rulership in His kingdom!
A formal statement is necessary here. Many write or call our Headquarters to thank us for what they call the “service” we are performing. They often add, for boldly or courageously “educating” or “informing” the public about matters others will not address. Of course, we appreciate such gratitude. But The Real Truth magazine, The World to Come broadcast and our vast library of free literature are FAR MORE than a mere “service” or attempt to “inform.”
Just knowing about the last days means nothing. There is a warning attached to this subject. Notice what God recorded in Ezekiel (twice) to one who would be alive at the end of the age: “I have made you a watchman unto the house of Israel [the book America and Britain in Prophecy explains in detail who is the house of Israel]: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them WARNING FROM ME” (3:17; 33:7)—meaning, this is from God not any human.
Understand. Someone, somewhere—yes, someone, somewhere!—had to be raised up to do this. God does not speak audibly from the heavens, but rather through His human servants. But make no mistake. The warning is not from the servant, it is from GOD!
You have been warned. You now know the last days are here. What will you do?
Has this final interval in world history arrived? Can you be sure? You can—in fact, God expects you to know!
Many “sense” or even firmly “believe” that we are in the last days. We hear from them daily. But these have rarely sought to prove this. They can—and should—know whether we are. So must you.
Let’s pull back and look at the big picture. It has become painfully obvious that this world is in terrible trouble. Mankind is overwhelmed with every kind of trouble, evil and ill—war, terrorism, violence of every kind, famine, disease, pollution, overpopulation, political upheaval, religious confusion and tremendous economic turmoil and decline, threatening to make the great depression look like child’s play. Then there are the hundreds of millions who live in abject poverty, ignorance and oppression. Now add rampant and worsening immorality and perversion in every Western nation—and growing hatred, unrest and the never-ending cycle of war in the Middle East—and deteriorating conditions throughout Africa—and frightening weather patterns across many parts of the world—and devastating fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, drought and floods occurring with greater frequency and intensity—and headlines screaming of murder, rape, robbery and crimes of every kind. These mushrooming problems now threaten all nations.
Is all of this really only a little temporary worsening of what is otherwise “business as usual” for Planet Earth? Many—and much louder!—are the voices that say time is running out to solve the really big problems facing the world. More and more world leaders are expressing pessimism about the rise of troubles within and between nations. So are educators, military planners, sociologists and scientists. Yet, because this is also an age of religious sundowners and doomsayers, most will not pay real—serious!—attention.
Big Questions
How long until Jesus Christ returns? For those who believe He will, no question is bigger. But there are other questions, some big, that must be answered first. This personal will look at perhaps the second biggest question.
The Bible speaks of the period preceding Christ’s Return as “the last days”—“the time of the end”—“the end of the age”—“the end of these things”—“the end of the days”—and of a time when the course of human history as we know it, Daniel wrote, “shall be finished.”
Of course, many professing Christians do not believe in a literal Return to Earth by Christ. Of those who do, most think that it could be decades or even hundreds of years away. Some believe it could be “a thousand years away.” Others feel time may be short but see no way to know.
What do you believe?
The original apostles thought for a time that Jesus would return in their lifetimes. Paul spoke of the resurrection of the dead at Christ’s Second Coming, and twice used the word “WE—which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord” (I Thes. 4:15, 17), because he expected to still be alive when it happened.
Paul later came to realize that he had misunderstood the timing of specific events that must precede Christ’s Return. In fact, he had to warn of those who would deceive others about when this would occur. He wrote about “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” and that brethren should be careful to “Let no man deceive you by any means...” (II Thes. 2:1, 3).
Could you be deceived?
So then—have we entered the last days? Do you and I live at the time of the end? If so, how can you know for sure?
Jesus told His disciples, “I will come again” (John 14:3). Forty days later, as He was ascending to heaven, two angels added, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Matthew records Christ’s words: “For as the lightning comes...so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Seven times just in this chapter (Matt. 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 42, 44, 46), Jesus spoke of His Coming again, and the need to watch for key events, trends and conditions preceding it.
Is the world nearing Christ’s Return? Again, can we know?
Make no mistake! The Bible is plain about the Return of Jesus Christ. Many verses speak of His Second Coming to Earth. It will happen—and it does not hinge on the opinions of men. However, in the period leading to this climactic event, many other things are foretold to happen—some, in fact many of them, catastrophic! Can you afford to be in the dark?
The idea of the end of the world has been a subject of speculation, ridicule, discussion, fascination and fancy for almost 2,000 years. Of course, most do not realize how much the Bible shows can be known about this time.
In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Christ, “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the SIGN of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (vs. 3). After a detailed answer, Jesus added, “But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven but my Father only” (vs. 36).
Does this mean we cannot know the general time of Christ’s Second Coming?—and then also about the last days before it? Many think so—and therefore shrug off any need to be concerned with either.
Then what do verses 50-51 mean?: “The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites”? Most will simply not be looking for Jesus’ Return at the right time. Worse, many will not be looking for Him at all. But Christ’s indictment shows they will have no excuse.
Why will so many be unable to recognize the onset of such an awesome, whole-world-altering event?
In verses 32-33, Jesus gave a parable: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that [He] is near, even at the doors.” Since this could only apply to those alive at the end, Jesus states WE—“you”—can know the “season” of His Return, or when He is “at the doors.”
Do not be willing to settle for less than what the Bible reveals!
“Signs of the Times”
Years ago, a catchy tune called “A Sign of the Times” became popular. You may remember it. The title actually came from another verse here in Matthew. Religious leaders had confronted Christ, desiring a “sign.” He also called them hypocrites, adding, “You can discern the face of the sky; but can you not discern the signs of the times?” (16:3).
While the intent of their question was to get a sign that Jesus was the Messiah (read Matthew 12:38-40), His point was that they were unable to discern events they were witnessing all around them—or the “signs of the times”—and in that case, the “signs of their times” regarding Jesus’ FIRST coming!
Can you discern the signs of OUR times?
Christ told His disciples, “And when these things begin to come to pass [He has just listed them], then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28). The “these things” He referred to include a whole series of events prophesied to occur for the first time in history! These things are happening—and intensifying—NOW!
A closer look helps to see the “signs of the times.”
First know this. The apostle John recorded the words of Christ that open the book of Revelation (remember this book is Christ’s revealing of things to come, not John’s), “The Revelation of Jesus Christ...to show[get this, “TO SHOW”—reveal—open up] unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass...blessed is he that reads [you must pick up your Bible to do this], and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (1:1-3). At its end, the book states for emphasis, “Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand” (22:10).
Two thousand years later, how much more—today!—has the time for understanding colossal prophecies come! You CAN comprehend the message they bring, IF you are determined to obey God—IF you are determined to become one of His servants—and this begins with IF you are willing to research these prophecies.
But time is short.
God has allotted man 6,000 years to try his own governments, philosophies, religions, values and forms of education. But humanly-devised ideas do not and can never solve the world’s truly big problems. They always fail in the end. And, in the last 200 years or so, the world has changed dramatically—and rapidly. Events are speeding up in a way that has never been seen before! The 6,000 years are almost up.
The Twenty-First Century World
Everyone is familiar with sign-carrying kooks on street corners saying, “Repent! The end is near!” Hollywood has depicted many. For the most part, such people are not taken seriously. But times have changed, and, I repeat, now many are the voices of reason who report, for those who will listen, that something is terribly wrong! This has caused the idea of one world government, designed to save the planet and mankind from itself, to be heard more often. I recently read an article calling for this. However, no one seems to know how to create such a government and then acquire the cooperation of everyone necessary to make it succeed!
Look all around. What do you see?
As a whole, the world was a much more stable place until the early 19th century. At that time, the Industrial Revolution gave birth to the Modern Age. It was not until about a century ago that men began to drive cars and fly, and civilization went from the Modern Age to the “Nuclear Age” on to the “Space Age” and then to the “Information Age” in just a little more than a half century.
The arrival of new inventions, at the fastest rate in history, is changing life daily. Just think of the impact of the printing press and you can appreciate how dramatically a single invention can change the world. Computers have done the same—and there is no turning back from the huge impact, good and bad, of just this one invention. Remember, jet travel only arrived in the last half century.
Although estimates vary, it is believed that mankind’s total fund of knowledge is doubling every few years. Some think this could soon accelerate to every six months!
In the early 1970s, a book appeared titled Future Shock. It described a certain psychological stunning or shock effect on minds due to the high speed of changes in society. The author demonstrated that these changes began in the 1970s at such a rate that people could no longer properly process them. Society as a whole began to go into what was described as mental overload—or “shock”—explained as the “future” slamming into the “present” so fast that people were “short-circuiting” in a way never seen before. Some time after, a sequel described the worsening of this condition.
The picture described was not good, and has only gotten worse!
Yet, with all man’s supposed “advancement,” his problems have never seemed greater or more insoluble!
The projections of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are constantly being revised to reflect an outlook far more alarming than previously thought. Entire sections of Africa’s population are forecast to be wiped out in a few years by this single, awful disease.
Earth’s population of over 6.5 billion people is rising consistently at 1.2% each year. This means it will reach over 11 billion by 2050—if time were to permit, and it will not! This is despite the fact that disease and starvation are worst in the fastest growing parts of the world! High fertility rates in the less-developed parts of the world have already brought these increases right on schedule.
End-Time Prophecies
Let’s look at some passages that describe crucial, end-time prophecies!
We explained that Paul came to realize he did not live in the age when Christ would return. However, God did use him to record what conditions would be like when that time finally came. Consider this description of the widespread degeneration of attitudes and character, just before Christ’s Return: “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 [just ponder changing marital laws], trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good [be aware of this], traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God [so true, but strangely at the same time]; having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: [the instruction to you] from such turn away” (II Tim. 3:1-6).
This is a graphic picture. It describes a complete breakdown of character in “the last days.” This time has come!—and these conditions grow worse daily! Again, look around. People’s conduct is rapidly changing—seemingly always for the worse. More authority figures are sounding the alarm that human nature is running wild—and conditions are exploding out of control!
No thinking person could disagree.
The degeneration of people’s attitudes and behavior is stark when compared to only a generation ago. There have always been acts of violence but now they occur more often, and are more depraved. There have always been liars but now deceit is more pervasive. There has always been adultery but the percentage of people who commit it is now epidemic. There has always been divorce but today it is much more common. There have always been disrespectful young people, but soon an entire generation will have forgotten the Fifth Commandment, “Honor your father and mother.” There have always been thievery and fraud, but statistics show these have never been worse—even in the most affluent countries, where people have a lot, but want more.
Much more could be said of each term used in Paul’s prophecy. And we have not discussed pornography, child abuse, crime and trends in perverted sex, drug abuse, hatred, war and others! All these conditions have combined to create an age correctly described as “perilous”—or dangerous!
They become one powerful indicator that these ARE the last days!
Christ’s Great Olivet Prophecy
Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13 contain Christ’s Olivet Prophecy. We saw Matthew’s account begins with His disciples asking about the events that would precede the “end of the world”—the end of civilized society as we know it. They had originally believed this would occur in their lifetime because they misunderstood Christ and tied it to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. While the temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, Christ knew that His Second Coming would be almost 20 centuries after.
He prophesied certain other, much later events would precede it.
Jesus also described the breakdown of character: He warned that conditions would mirror “the days of Noah,” which Genesis 6 describes this way: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for ALL flesh had corrupted HIS way upon the earth” (11-12).
Corruption is mentioned three times in this one short passage. But, this description is at the same time highly specific and speaks of men as having individually AND collectively degenerated into absolute corruption—with civilization “filled with violence.” God uses both the singular “his” and the collective “all” to drive this point home!
Consider how often acts of mass violence now occur in schools, campuses, restaurants, malls and workplaces in ways unheard of until recently! The terms serial snipers and suicide bombers were unknown 15 years ago. And the relatively new phenomenon of terrorism has become global in nature.
Christ also compared conditions before His Return to those in Sodom and Gomorrah. He leads in with Noah again: “...As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage [society looked like it would go on], until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded [society looked like it would continue]; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-29).
Genesis 18 and 19 show that these two cities were so rotten—so evil—that, just before God rained fire and brimstone, only four people were deemed worthy to escape—Lot, his two daughters and wife, who later turned to salt. Only eight people were allowed to enter the Ark before God flooded the world.
Ask: How much longer before conditions cannot grow worse?
An aside at this point that has much to do with whether you will believe Christ: Many have been told that the early chapters of Genesis do not describe real people and real events. This is to accommodate the nonsensical fiction of evolution in place of a literal Adam and Eve. But had you realized Jesus Christ said that Noah, the ark and the flood existed?—and that so did Sodom and Gomorrah, including its destruction?
Those who dismiss these and related Genesis accounts seem unaware that Christ validated this first book of the Bible. They also forget—or willingly ignore—Jesus’ (and Paul’s) references to Adam, and how this validates the Creation account. (Most simply do not know that, while man has been here for only 6,000 years, the earth has existed for billions of years—and the key to this is understanding what happened between Genesis 1:1 and the very next verse 2, a subject for another time.)
We are left to ask: How many will believe and act on Christ’s warning about oncoming events—when He compared these future events to Bible parallels that most do not accept as true?—as having ever happened?
This personal opened with a reference to “scoffers” in the last days. Let’s now read the passage containing it and continue reading through a warning for us today. Notice: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts” (II Pet. 3:3)—people choosing and following the course of human nature, as in Sodom and Gomorrah, and Noah’s time.
Now verse 4, “And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? [thinking either “that’s faded knowledge” or “it will never happen”] for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation”—people unwilling to believe that serious times—the last days!—could actually come.
God declares, “For this they willingly are ignorant...”—this speaks for itself!
And verse 6: “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished”—remember, Christ supported the Noachian account and signified its warning for us.
So did Peter.
Now see this in verse 9: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise...but is longsuffering to us-ward [patiently waiting, because He is] not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.”
Sadly, of course, most will not do this.
Next comes a stark warning to those who are not looking: “But the day of the Lord [the time of His wrath upon a sin-sick world] will come as a thief in the night...”, followed by “Seeing then...what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy [conduct] and godliness”, and “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God...”, and also “...Seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of [Christ] in peace, without spot, and blameless” (10-12, 14).
Finally, the very personal verse 17: “You therefore...seeing you know these things before[hand], beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the wicked [scoffers and ungodly people all around you], fall from your own stedfastness.”
Now a caution: Be careful you are neither among the pooh-poohing, unbelieving scoffers—nor one of those who will not seek and obey God while there is still time.
The Bible promises that those who are faithful and obedient will be protected through the worst calamities that could fall upon an unsuspecting world. While the last days certainly are perilous—or dangerous—this is just the run-up period prior to the infinitely worse final three and a half years to follow before the good news of the gospel is fulfilled in Christ’s Coming.
While much of Christendom accepts the false rapture theory—nowhere taught in Scripture!—God promises a special place of divine protection for the faithful in His Church. To learn more, read my booklet, God’s Promised Protection – Place of Safety or Secret Rapture?
You do not need to fear the future. But neither should you listen to people who do not understand either events that are playing out now, or how God will protect His people from this greatest time of world trouble.
But there is more to know about whether we have reached this time.
What about religious confusion at the end? Matthew 24 records Jesus’ warning about future great deception: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I [Jesus] am Christ; and shall deceive many” (vs. 4-5). In other words, many would claim to represent Jesus, and would acknowledge He was indeed the Christ, but bring a message that deceives their listeners. The confused, disagreeing groups within professing Christianity today confirm Christ’s prophecy.
Jesus’ warning is critical. Modern preachers all stress the Person of Jesus Christ, instead of His message! They focus on the Messenger not His message! Saying Christ was, in fact, the Christ—the Messiah—is a true statement! The deception starts when His message of a coming world-ruling kingdom—with all that this means—is ignored—and even suppressed.
False Gospel Proclaimed
Herein lies the greatest deception! Understand this!
Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom of God. Here are His first recorded words: “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying...the kingdom of God is at hand [Christ was its representative]: repent you, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). Many verses show Jesus consistently preached this message.
Within 30 years of Jesus’ crucifixion, Paul warned of those who were already perverting Christ’s gospel with a counterfeit message. This understanding was so central that he pronounced a double curse on any who did this. He also warned, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him” (II Cor. 11:3-4)—meaning, you put up with it.
Preachers misrepresent Christ by bringing what is “another Jesus,” “another spirit” and “another gospel,” other than the kingdom of God.
God indicts these false ministers: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing [don’t be surprised] if his ministers [Satan’s] also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness...” (vs. 13-15).
This demonstrates the power of the deception Christ warned of by the ministers of this world’s brand of Christianity. Some of these specialize, particularly today, in confusing, incomplete hodgepodges of prophetic theories about how the last days will play out. The utter nonsense of these conflicting seers, psychics and prognosticators, like Nostradamus and other supposed prophets and prophecy fiction writers, is without end.
But ministers do not preach the kingdom of God! Instead, they talk incessantly about “baby Jesus,” “Christ on the cross,” “the virgin birth” and various social gospels. How often do you hear that Jesus Christ is coming to rule Earth as a King—to bring an all-powerful government to replace the failed governments of men?
Rarely, if ever.
Christ told His disciples they would be terribly persecuted and even killed for the message they would bring. Only the apostle John survived martyrdom, living into his 90s.
The 1,900-Year Gap
Until Herbert W. Armstrong began to proclaim the true gospel in 1934, the announcement of the kingdom of God had not been taken worldwide for nearly 1,900 years. From the time of the apostles, until the beginning of the 52-year ministry of this one man, the true gospel did not go out in any real power to the world as a whole!
In Matthew 24:14, Christ foretold, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations [this describes a huge, worldwide effort, and just before the end]; and then shall the end come.”
Mr. Armstrong reached an unprecedented hundreds of millions during his ministry. This included a readership (in seven languages) of approximately 25 million people of the Plain Truth magazine just at the time of his death, in 1986. Mr. Armstrong personally visited one-third of all heads of state during the last two decades of his life. He always brought the message of God’s coming kingdom. There were few places on earth where it was not heard on either radio or television. On hundreds of stations, his World Tomorrow telecast topped the Arbitron ratings as the most listened-to religious telecast on earth. The true gospel went out in power—like no other time in history!
Christ’s prophecy is still true! Beginning in 1966, Herbert Armstrong was my teacher. Today, The Restored Church of God continues this commission for a few more years.
Wars, Famines, Pestilences and Earthquakes
The most cursory look reveals that this world is not led by God, but rather is filled with problems, suffering and misery of every kind. Christ warned, “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars...and there shall be famines, and pestilences and earthquakes, in diverse [various] places,” but that “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:6-7, 8).
Who can doubt these things have come to pass in a greater way? For instance, how often do we now hear of devastating earthquakes? A well-known television commentator stated that “for some reason” there are now more earthquakes occurring every day. Seismologists record 12,000 separate, measurable earthquakes annually. 88,000 died in them just last year.
New, serious outbreaks of old diseases—some now antibiotic-resistant—are reported more frequently. These include the HIV epidemic, cholera, typhoid, dengue fever, flesh-eating bacteria, Legionnaire’s disease, the Ebola and West Nile viruses, malaria, the return of stronger, more resistant strains of tuberculosis and diphtheria, and an explosion of sexually transmitted diseases. These are but a small part of an immense, constantly-emerging picture of frightening new diseases—and old ones returning with a vengeance!
Consider. Over 10,000 die from lung disease every year just in Hong Kong—just due to pollution. But 1.28 million die just in China—one country!—each year just due to lung-related diseases.
About 24,000 people now starve to death every day—with this number steadily rising! Think. A medium-sized city disappears every 24 hours.
Wars, and what the gospel writer Luke called “commotions,” including acts of terror and protracted riots in more places, fill headlines—bringing more suffering and death. Greater disease and starvation are merely natural by-products of the population displacement and confusion that always follow in the wake of armed conflict.
In recent years, scientists have warned of global warming. Few any longer doubt that more extreme weather has arrived on the front edge of a worldwide phenomenon, whatever the cause. Storms are more severe, and more often. Abnormal flooding and devastation of the land are contributing to famines and disease epidemics of unheard of proportions. Weather catastrophes, earthquakes, wars and the resulting disease and hopelessness tend to exacerbate what is already an epidemic of suffering. Prophecy also foretold more volcanic activity—and this is happening!
The world needs God’s Law, which, if kept by all nations, would bring universal peace, happiness, abundance and prosperity. Cities would become beautiful. Disease, famine and war would disappear, as would racism, ignorance, poverty and all false religion.
Yet, no man, no government, nor all the governments of men put together can bring these things!
Only God’s kingdom, led by Christ and the saints who have qualified to join Him, can. The world must learn about the laws of God. Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah 4:1-4 also speak of the “last days,” when this will happen. God’s Law and the love of God are prophesied to replace the lawlessness and hate between people and nations today!
God has to intervene! Christ revealed, “Except those days should be shortened [cut short], there should no flesh be saved [alive!]: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt. 24:22)!
Think! When has mankind held the capability to destroy all human beings? Only with the advent of nuclear, chemical, biological and now “radiological” weapons could this be possible. We live when all of these are available—and nuclear weapons alone possess the capability, with the stockpiles that currently exist, to wipe out all mankind many times over! As one leader said, “Once would be quite enough.”
Some assert that these weapons are too terrible to ever be used—that they exist only as a “deterrent” against their use.
Do not be fooled! They will be used. Many prophecies make this clear. Remember, the moment these weapons became available, and the United States felt it in its interest to use them, President Truman ordered it in August 1945—and without hesitation! Yet, the two bombs that landed on Japan were little more than “firecrackers” by comparison to what exists today.
It is no coincidence the gospel was preached around the world at the time weapons of mass destruction became available—proving correct the timing of Christ’s prophecy about danger to the survival of all humanity!
The Coming Great Tribulation
Immediately after the gospel can no longer be preached, Matthew 24:21 includes a warning about Great Tribulation. This is just before Jesus’ statement that the last days will be cut short: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” This pictures a truly terrible time for all life on Earth!
This article would be unending if only a fraction of the passages describing the coming horrifying conditions on Earth were cited. Nearly every Old Testament prophet spoke of this worldwide trouble, now just ahead. Time is running out!
Daniel’s Long Prophecy
The longest single Bible prophecy is in Daniel 11. Chapter 10 introduces it and 12 completes it. The first reference to “the time of the end” is 11:40, and six times in chapter 12 alone the word “end” is used.
The prophet Daniel was not permitted to understand what he recorded. God told him it was “sealed till the time of the end,” when it would then be unsealed. This has happened. Verse 10 teaches, “the wise shall understand,” but “none of the wicked shall understand.” This means some—a relative few—will comprehend events around them!
Daniel 12:4 gives two clues to know when the end time has arrived. Notice: “O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
We have already discussed the astonishing knowledge explosion brought about by the arrival of computers in scores of millions of homes. Great numbers now have access to vast amounts of knowledge—instantaneously! What can be quickly known by anyone seeking information is staggering! Surely we have arrived at the time when “knowledge shall be increased”—along with its easy access!
What about “many shall run to and fro”? The arrival of railroads in the middle of the 19th century—then great ships driven by powerful engines to move them ever faster across oceans—followed by automobiles—and finally, passenger jets, made our planet universally accessible, and quickly. Jets turned the Atlantic Ocean into little more than a large lake. Earth grew smaller because of its inhabitants’ ability to “run to and fro” almost anywhere at any time!
Four Prophesied Kingdoms
The book of Daniel addresses other great prophecies. The second chapter contains another long prophecy spanning over 2,500 years, concluding with Christ’s Second Coming. It pictures a giant man consisting of four metals (gold, silver, brass, and iron mixed with clay), which represent four succeeding world-ruling kingdoms that began in Daniel’s time.
The first, which was the head made of gold, represents Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian, or Chaldean Empire (625-538 B.C.). The silver breast and arms that followed represents the second or Medo-Persian Empire (558-330 B.C.), while the belly and thighs of brass represents the third or Greco-Macedonian Empire (333-31 B.C.), led by Alexander the Great. Finally, the fourth kingdom, depicted by legs of iron, and feet and toes of iron mixed with clay, represents the Roman Empire. This last, greatest empire defeated and succeeded the Greco-Macedonians. The toes represent 10 nations or kingdoms in Eastern and Western Europe. (The Roman Empire had two capitals—Rome and Constantinople.) This religious/political combine of nations will coalesce under one final leader, aided by a second, miracle-working world figure. This united superpower system is now forming behind the scenes, with today’s worldwide economic crisis giving it birth.
Daniel 2:34 and 44 prove these 10 toes exist at Christ’s Coming. They describe a stone coming from heaven that smashes and replaces the toes—and establishes God’s kingdom. This symbolism depicts Christ’s Return and the setting up of God’s divine government—supplanting all humanly-devised governments!
Remember, when Christ foretold the “end of the world,” He meant man’s civilization—not the planet “blowing up.”
Only by comparing Revelation 13, 17 and Daniel 7, with Daniel 2, can you fully understand the immense scope and magnitude of this prophecy. Numerous other scriptures refer to these four kingdoms.
Briefly, the Roman Empire, which began in 31 B.C., collapsed in A.D. 476—having been overrun by three kingdoms (or horns) from Northern Europe—the Vandals, the Heruli and the Ostrogoths. Daniel 7:8 shows these horns were “plucked up by the roots,” meaning they disappeared from history. (The Vandals were so barbaric and destructive that the modern term “vandalize” is derived from their name.) However, seven more horns (verse 7 says there were a total of 10) were prophesied to rule this empire.
Beginning in A.D. 554, the Roman Empire became known as the Holy Roman Empire. Historians acknowledge that the Pope’s crowning of Justinian signaled this change. Events in Europe, surrounding the Holy Roman Empire, rose and fell for many centuries. Periodically, new rulers appeared—Charlemagne (the Frankish second head in A.D. 800)—Otto the Great (the German third head crowned in A.D. 962)—followed by the Habsburg Dynasty of Charles V (the Austrian fourth head crowned in A.D. 1520)—which, in turn, was followed by Napoleon’s reign (the French fifth head crowned in A.D. 1805)—with the sixth head being Garibaldi’s united Italian head from A.D. 1870-1945! This culminated in the defeat of Adolf Hitler and the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Mussolini, after signing a secret agreement with the Vatican in 1929, united Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland back to Italy in 1935—and declared this union the Roman Empire re-established!
This is prophesied to happen one more time—one revival of the Holy Roman Empire remains!
Only the tenth horn of Daniel 7:7 (the same as all 10 toes of Daniel 2) is yet to appear. This will be the final beast of Revelation 17 that will come upon an unsuspecting world with stunning speed and force. With the 1989 collapse of the Iron Curtain and the reunification of Germany, the last resurrection, consisting of countries and kingdoms throughout Eastern and Western Europe, is soon to appear as a kind of United States of Europe. But we have already read how Christ will smash this union of human kingdoms at His Coming!
Fifty bibles are sold every minute worldwide. This translates to over 26 million each year. How many believe and act on its contents? All convicted Bible readers will accept that “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn...” (II Pet. 1:19). This personal has brought light on subjects you have almost certainly not even heard referenced, never mind explained. Incredible events are foretold to play out upon the world just before the Tribulation. Some people know a few pieces within God’s prophetic “puzzle,” but even then they are never assembled correctly.
Let’s briefly assemble some critical time periods. The Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord last 1,260 days, or 3 1/2 years. This is one of three key periods in God’s final time frame before Christ’s Return. The others are “1,290 days” and “1,335 days.”
Photo illustration: Paula C. Rondeau
The 1,335 days—of Daniel 12:12—also count down to the Return of Christ. This moment signals the end of God’s Work for this age—the completion of Matthew 24:14—and is when the “call” goes out to His faithful people to assemble for flight to safety. Then, 45 days later, at 1,290 days until Christ’s Second Coming, events culminate in Jerusalem and the Church leaves its assembled location.
Peter’s Warning
Earlier, we saw “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His Coming?” (II Pet. 3:3-4).
The modern world is filled with scoffers. They do not believe God will intervene—or that this is even necessary! Most believe man is capable at the last minute of “snatching victory from the jaws of defeat,” and will save himself by solving his own problems! They think “everything will turn out all right, somehow!” Though wrong in the short term, this is ultimately correct—but by other means!
Scoffing at the thought Christ is coming, people choose to live rotten, sinful lives, following their lusts. But scoffing will not change the truth of God’s prophecies! Men must learn bitter lessons—that they have utterly failed to bring the conditions everyone longs for. Peace, happiness, prosperity and abundance remain elusive despite humanity’s best efforts to find them.
Armies “trying to make the world safe for democracy,” humanitarian efforts, missionaries, “think tanks,” new scientific labor-saving devices, computers, cellphones, better school systems, fundraising efforts to eradicate deadly diseases, etc., will all fail—because humanity will not humble itself and seek the God who does have solutions—all of them!—to man’s greatest troubles!
But, when it is almost too late, Christ will intervene in power and glory to save man from himself!
What About You?
What about you? What will you do to prepare yourself for what lies ahead? Notice: “At that time...there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation...and at that time Your [God’s] people shall be delivered...And many...that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life” (Dan. 12:1-2).
This describes the resurrection of the dead—of the true saints of God, who reign with Christ! Let’s read: “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout...and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we [the living saints in God’s Church—the true Church] 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” (I Thes. 4:16-17).
New Testament scriptures state plainly that Jesus’ Second Coming will be sudden and unexpected. Christ is repeatedly depicted as coming “like a thief in the night.” Carefully read these verses. Christ returns to an unsuspecting—and unprepared—world: “So likewise you, when you see these things come to pass, know you that the kingdom of God is near at hand...For as a snare shall it come on ALL them that dwell on the face of the WHOLE earth. WATCH you therefore, and PRAY ALWAYS, that YOU may be accounted worthy to ESCAPE all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:31, 35-36).
This can be your future!
You are the “captain of your own ship”—the “master of your own destiny.” It is your choice to reject God’s warning or to yield yourself to Him and ask Him to prepare you for rulership in His kingdom!
A formal statement is necessary here. Many write or call our Headquarters to thank us for what they call the “service” we are performing. They often add, for boldly or courageously “educating” or “informing” the public about matters others will not address. Of course, we appreciate such gratitude. But The Real Truth magazine, The World to Come broadcast and our vast library of free literature are FAR MORE than a mere “service” or attempt to “inform.”
Just knowing about the last days means nothing. There is a warning attached to this subject. Notice what God recorded in Ezekiel (twice) to one who would be alive at the end of the age: “I have made you a watchman unto the house of Israel [the book America and Britain in Prophecy explains in detail who is the house of Israel]: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them WARNING FROM ME” (3:17; 33:7)—meaning, this is from God not any human.
Understand. Someone, somewhere—yes, someone, somewhere!—had to be raised up to do this. God does not speak audibly from the heavens, but rather through His human servants. But make no mistake. The warning is not from the servant, it is from GOD!
You have been warned. You now know the last days are here. What will you do?
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