Are You Ready? Part 2

Matthew 24:3-14 Now as He [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

 

Since Jesus spoke those words, there have been many times in history that by this list appeared to be the end times. Right now is certainly one of those times as deception occurs in media and politics, there are active wars in the Ukraine and  Israel, Clean water is in short supply worldwide, we just went through a worldwide COVID pandemic, and natural disasters occur. Talks of a socialist controlled one-world government are progressing, the God-rejecting world-system promotes Darwinian evolution, rejection of biologic identity and Biblical worldview. Atheistic secular humanism promotes naturalism, unnatural attractions and relations, racial hatred, ending of infant and elderly life and criminalizing people of faith, which offends them. Persecution of Christians and the Word of God happen on a regular basis. Talking with many residents during our evangelism outreach to the community, they do not see any way to stop this dark lawlessness. Every day we are one step closer to the end of days and the coming of the Lord. But, who is to say if the Holy Spirit brings revival again? Or not!

 

Jesus continues in Matthew 24:37-44, But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Luke 17:28-30 adds, Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

 

It was obvious that when my father’s Senior Living facility’s Prayer group asked to study the biblical accord of the “End Times”, that it was going to be an eye-opening experience and a thought-provoking reality check for everyone. But, it is  a necessary one because we are either for God or against God; In God We Trust and obey or In Man we trust and obey. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Since the Fall of Man to sin in the Garden of Eden, God has had an overarching plan of redemption and restoration which included End Times for this world, Tribulation and Judgment.There is a plan! Are you ready?

Let's look into this topic even deeper in the next post.

In Christ, Brian