Eternal life resides in Jesus and in Him alone. No one else! This is true now and will also be the case after Jesus removes His true church from the earth.
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
What do people need the most? The answer remains the same as it’s always been: A clear understanding of the Gospel. By this I mean that people need Jesus, not the one that so many today create in their mind but but the One revealed on the pages of Scripture.
Living in the last days has its challenges, to be sure. We see wickedness, lawlessness, and deception increasing at an exponential clip. As violence erupts all around us, I pray daily for the safety of our children and their spouses as well as for all our grandchildren.
On the other hand, we live at a time like no other. I recently read Matthew chapters 12 and 13 and as I did, a coupe verses reminded me of the wonder of being alive at such a time as this.
Could the upcoming completion of an X across the U.S. midsection by the April 8, 2024, eclipse point to another catastrophe in the months afterward such as happened in 1811 after another darkening of the sun completed an X in the same area?
Is this just an uncanny coincidence, or does it point to something far more ominous?
As I wondered about how to respond to the normality bias so evident in churches today, I thought about the title of the Francis A. Schaeffer book that I read in college, He Is There and He is Not Silent. I believe that name might be adjusted for today as, “He Sees, He Is Not Silent, and He Is Coming Soon.”
How can you not see the signs of the last days everywhere you look?
For most of you, the question is a confirmation of what you believe rather than one expressing doubt in your convictions. For those that place their hope in the church rather than Jesus’ imminent appearing, I have much for them to consider.
Somewhere in the past, a tragic divorce occurred; theologians decided we must separate the return of Jesus for His church from the proclamation of the Gospel. The results of this untimely divorce have led to a dearth of understanding among believers regarding Jesus’ appearing and the joyful anticipation that comes with such awareness.
The consequences of this have been tragic.
We live on the edge if eternity. For those who know Jesus as their Savior, it will start when He catches us up to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:3-17). We live in biblical times.
As many of you know, I often write about the signs of the time. However, I feel compelled to do so again as reminder both to myself as well as to others of the nearness of Jesus’ appearing.
Why do so many believers today remain blind to the numerous signs that we live in the last days?
I believe a key reason for this lies with pastors and teachers today who in large numbers today embrace amillennialism, a belief system that denies biblical prophecies related to Jesus’ thousand-year rule and the restoration of a kingdom for Israel. As a result, they regard the miraculous emergence of Israel as a nation as mere coincidence without any prophetic significance.
What if we did not have biblical prophecy to provide a context for the events unfolding in our world? What if we did not have the book of Revelation to tell us we should expect to see a world government in the last days? What if we did not have Jesus’ words in Mathew 24 that speak of the days before His return to the earth?
Biblical prophecy is indispensable for the day in which we live!
Is this it? Are we living in the very last moments before the rapture? Is the seven-year tribulation taking shape before our eyes?
Far too many Christians answer “no” to these questions. It’s one minute to midnight and they remain asleep, unaware the we live in the perilous last days before the rapture.
Have you ever wondered during the past few months if the seven-year tribulation has already begun?
Although the tribulation has not yet started, we see the beginning of conditions we know will be much worse during this seven-year period. I believe this is God’s way of getting the attention of the world before His judgments begin. He’s also letting us know that His appearing is imminent.
I remember a scene from Star Trek: The Next Generation television series where Data is in his room watching water come to a boil in a flask. When someone walks in and asks what he is doing he explains that the old adage, “A watched pot never boils,” is just not true. As proof, he says that he has watched water come to a boil 23 times in a row without fail.
For those of us awaiting the imminent return of Jesus, there are days when we are tempted to wonder if a “watched for” Jesus never appears to take us home.
Waiting is difficult! Whether we’re waiting for cold symptoms to subside, a job offer, or a storm in our life to end, it’s never fun waiting (to say the least).
It’s also not easy waiting for Jesus to take us home to heaven as He promised in John 14:2-3. Yet I know so many of you, like me, have been waiting decades for His appearing.
A common response to those like me who believe we live in the last days is this: “The world has seen violence and wickedness all through its history. What’s so different about today?”
I fully understand that question especially when one considers the world wars of the previous century. Seventy-five years ago many Christians thought Hitler was the antichrist based on his hatred of the Jews and his efforts to establish a worldwide socialist empire. This was truly a terrible time in world history, but it was not the prelude to the tribulation.
In 1893, Norwegian Expressionist artist Edward Munch painted what has come to be known as The Scream. Munch originally called his work The Scream of Nature.
According to Munch, the inspiration for the work came while on a walk at sunset. As the setting sun turned the sky to red, he sensed an “infinite scream passing through nature.” Historians speculate that a volcano eruption may have turned the heavens him into such a daunting red hue.
For those paying attention; world events scream with great danger for those who do not know Jesus as their Savior. For those who trust Him, we await the sound of the trumpet and shout of an archangel.
As for the recent high profile departures from the true biblical faith, questions keep coming to my mind: How can a person walk with Lord and worship Him without the inner confirmation of the Holy Spirit regarding the truth of the Gospel and the claims of Jesus? What do they do with the historical fact of the empty tomb?
How do we understand what is happening?
To say the world is the same today as in years past – that we don’t live in unique times – is just not true. More than any other generation, ours has reason to expect the Second Coming. Jesus and the prophets said to look for specific signs heralding the end times. For over 1,800 years, you couldn’t find one of the signs they said to look for. Today, in one form or another, you can find all of them. Here are just a few examples:
