The End of the Age

The day of the Lord is coming!

Lately I have been writing about the seven prophetic hours (7 x 15 years) and I suggested the seventh will expire perhaps in mid-2023. And soon after that, events may come about rapidly, and the Day of the Lord shall come upon us.

Surprisingly, not many in the world, even in Christendom, believes this. Indeed, if it wasn’t for Bible believing Christians, like those in the Israel Truth movement, the truth would rapidly fall prey to the falling away. The Apostle Paul described this falling away in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition”. The “day” referred to here is clearly identified in verse two, “……the day of Christ is at hand”.

It will not be a day for a picnic. The Bible describes it otherwise. The prophet Joel, for instance, describes it with these frightening words, “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness ….” You know, there are some eighty plus references to this Day of the Lord in the Bible; I picked Joel because of Chapter 1:15 and the call from the Assembly, “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come”. In his second chapter, Joel follows up his alarm by referencing the northern army that will come against the Israel lands.

One more example! The Book of Zephaniah (“Zephaniah” meaning Hidden by God) describes it thusly in 1:14-15, “The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: they shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness”.

So, Joel and Zephaniah and many others tell us what it will be like in that day of the Lord but are there any clues as to when. There are many, of course, because although we don’t know the actual time, the Lord God wants us to be fully aware of the seasons. For instance, He tells us in 1 Thess. 5:1, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you”. In other words, while we are not privy to the exact day, when you read the balance of 1 Thess. 5, or Mathew 24, Matthew 25 or so much other Scripture, there are so many indications that we are very close to the end of the age and the return of Jesus Christ. And as I wrote earlier, we are rapidly coming to the end of the seventh prophetic hour. Last month, I reflected on the first six prophetic hour periods and how each ended with corporations, banks, billionaires and government power brokers owning more of the wealth of our nations and the rest of us finding ourselves much poorer.

Interesting that Damian Wilson, a UK journalist, ex-Fleet Street editor, financial industry consultant and political communications special advisor in the UK and EU. was quoted in a RT newsletter as, “Two shocking headlines that sum up Covid: Billionaires made $3.9 trillion during the pandemic, while workers lost $3.7 trillion. As I wrote in February, this prophetic hour period ending in 2023 could very likely dwarf all the transfers of wealth in the previous six prophetic hours combined.

In 2 Thessalonians 2 the Apostle begins the chapter by highlighting the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but in verse 3 he makes it clear that the day of His Return will not come except it first be preceded by a falling away (apostasy). Interesting too is that only a blind man might miss that we are in the midst of such troubles today. Christianity and the Divinity of Christ have been under attack for several decades now, but in closing churches for weeks and months at a time; together with the success the man of lawlessness has achieved through the introduction of changes in the hearts and minds of most Christians, the growth of false religions, and so on, God is signalling clearly that we are close to the end of the age. A Churchman acquaintance told me that when churches received approval to open for a short time, that less than 50% of the congregation returned. So, the falling away has picked up tempo and will gain strength with the pangs of bondage on Christians, and the resulting loss of freedoms,

Where do we go from here?

One thing this Covid pandemic has brought upon the Western World, particularly the Anglo-Saxon nations, is seemingly weaker resolve, particularly in our leadership, with lockdowns that are having a devastating impact on economies and debt. Some say we are heading for an economic abyss, followed very closely by war. Sadly, I am one who believes this is very possible, either this year or in early 2022. Let’s hope we are all wrong, but the frightening events of Ezekiel 38 will have to come to pass at some point. And Ezekiel 7 has some fearsome warnings for our Israel people who have strayed so far away from the faith. Several times we were warned that the end has come, the time has come, the day of trouble is near and the day has come and that we will be judged and recompensed for our abominations. He pointed out the bloody crimes and the cities full of violence; the lands given to strangers; the worst of the heathen taking control of our houses and that destruction is on our doorstep and peace will disappear.

As the analyst might say, “What to do? What to do”?

One of our favourite correspondents with readers often quotes Isaiah 26:20, where the Lord tells us what to do, “Come, my people. Enter into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.” The questions that are most asked are, 1. Who are My people? and 2. Where are the chambers? The people, of course, are the true Christian believers, Israelite or not, who receive God’s comforting invitation that they take refuge in Him during the severe part of the tribulation. It’s a bit like the Christian’s quest in Psalm 21, “Happy am I under the protection of the Lord God Almighty, He is my refuge and my fortress, He will deliver me from the evil one’s trap, its raging tempest like calm when I am in His care.” And, as Ephesians 6:10 counsels, “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

Remember, the ‘Chambers’ represents the comfort of being under the Blood of Christ, so our faith must overcome our fear, we must be strong in our faith. Ezekiel 7:3 makes it clear that retribution for abominations will occur but so does God’s Words following His invitation that we enter into our Chambers, “For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity ….”

It will not be a fun time and the temptations will be to join the other side as the Devil and his minions entice each of us on a daily basis. But, notwithstanding any alure, we must be guided by the Apostle James’ solid advice in chapter 4:7 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.