Countdown To Safety

We seem to wake up every day only to discover more of our freedoms taken away. In fact, can we possibly imagine a time in our past, or for that matter, a time in history, when we have experienced such anxiety as we have in the past year, or potentially what will greet us in the next one to two years? I hope you have reviewed Revelation 12:12, as mentioned last month, because it is so true that the Devil knows he has but a short time remaining and is creating as much damage as possible.

No one can doubt that for years we have lived with terrorism in our minds, most fueled by actual incidents or numerous threats, causing security to be emphasized at the expense of more freedoms. But with the humiliating defeat of the Great Nation of Genesis 48:19 in Afghanistan, terrorism, a form of War, will very likely increase around the world, particularly in the middle and far east nations anxious to flex their muscles seeking expansion and emboldened by what they see as weak leadership in the western Israel nations.

In Matthew 24:3, the Disciples asked our Lord Jesus Christ for a sign of His Coming and of the end of the world. I’ll jump a little to verse 21 where Jesus describes great tribulation like we have never witnessed before. The question is, “are we in the early stages or in the very midst of this now”? It will be devastating, that’s for sure, as we can see from his words leading up to verse 21.

He began with an ominous warning (Verse 4) to Christians, and I think those who are living today, when He said, “Take heed that no man deceive you”. Brothers and Sisters, think long and hard on this opening statement because it reflects on the world around us. We are deceived so often by most of our political leaders, at every level, with their empty promises; our corporations with only profits in mind, our media, who slant news away from truth, and so many other segments of our society.

Jesus mentions in verse 5 that “many will come in his name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many”. Well, we can all think of certain individuals over the years who have claimed divinity like-status but is Christ referring to the myriad of those who claim to be Christian but preach false doctrine? Our churches are full of them, including great numbers of pastors. Indeed, perhaps milk-toast sermons is a major contributor to the closing of so many of our churches.

There will be wars and rumours of war, so says Jesus (Verse 6). We can look back at the last 100 years and easily count the large and small conflicts, along with the threats today between nations big and small. Earlier in this article, I mentioned terrorism is a form of war and it is certainly concerning at this particular time. But then there are other forms of warfare, like how political correctness has spawned critical race theory and seemingly directing too much on our Caucasian descendants. The effect is already evident in the thinking of Caucasian youth because they are beginning to believe they bear responsibility for ancestral behavior. Notwithstanding the wars of every nature, Jesus makes it clear the “end is not yet”.

In verse 7 is a frightening reminder of the recent past and potential conflicts between nations, but since Jesus is talking about the end, perhaps we should be looking at trade wars, economic conflict and ownership of energy and mineral wealth, whether on land or sea. Kingdom against Kingdom might well relate to the ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdom of Evil (The Devil and his main servants – the Beast and the False Prophet). Nonetheless, there is no mistaking the references to famines, pestilences and earthquakes, in various places. We’ve had more than our share in the past but they are all coming together in these days of the very end. Food shortages are showing up in many countries, including our own Israel nations, but more than food, as one described it, “The Everything Shortage is not the result of one big bottleneck, we are running low on supplies of all kinds”. Now, couple this with the massive natural disasters we have been witnessing lately, signs of the very last times. For instance, volcanos and earthquakes are picking up in frequency. But perhaps the very worst of the three is the pestilence, the world has been shocked by the Covid pestilence but perhaps even worse will be the results of the experimental vaccines that are already demonstrating crippling and deadly incidences.

Whew! You might say, could it get any worse? Indeed, it will because Jesus said, “All these are the beginnings of sorrows”. And recall His earlier words, “the end is not yet”.

Now at this point, it is critical that we Christians have strength of purpose to be exceedingly firm in our faith toward Almighty God, because it’s going to be so very, very dangerous from this moment in time to the very short time until the events of verses 29 to 31 take place. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days …. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven …. And he shall his angels …and they shall gather together his elect …” You might like to read these verses in their entirety because if what has been written in the past about the seven prophetic hour periods, then this event could take place a couple of years hence.

Still, our faith must be super strong because Jesus said in verses 9, 10, 11, 12 that, among other things:

we shall be delivered up to be afflicted,

we shall be hated for following him,

we will be betrayed by those around us,

false prophets will abound to deceive and lead us into err

the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity.

Again, I suggest you read these verses in their entirety.

Space prevents me by presently delving further into this chapter, but I want to leave you with Jesus’ encouraging words from John 8:51, “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone observes my teaching – lives in accordance with My message, keeps My word – he will by no means ever see and experience death”.