An Introduction to End Times

Part 3 Present Signs and the Rapture (cont’d)

Present Signs (Global) – Section 3b

Global indications.

Reaching the world for God.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” These are the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:14. Representatives of Wycliffe Bible Translators expect to have reached just about all world languages by the year 2025 (Vision 2025) and God TV reckons that the world-wide coverage of their transmissions is practically already complete.

The ‘groaning’ world and global disaster (cf. Rom 8:22).

Let us look again at Matthew 24:7 “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places”. We have seen nation against nation and widespread famine is now, unfortunately, becoming almost commonplace. As for earthquakes, have you noticed the sudden rise in their frequency? Various statistics are available covering the world but typically global numbers for earthquakes of say 6.0+ on the Richter scale have risen to around 5 times more per annum than say 40 or 50 years ago. Recent major examples have been in Japan in 2011 and New Zealand in 2010 and 2011.

Morals and behaviour.

Look now at Matthew 24:37 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” and the period it refers to, in Genesis 6:11 “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.” Look also at 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,  treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

Do you think we are getting there? In Hebrews 12:25-26 and Haggai 2:6-7 God promises that as judgment against sin He will ‘shake the earth’. Is he doing this? We haven’t even mentioned some other specifics in this category – divorce, child prostitution, abortions, embryonic research? Surely we are just piling up sins?

Fads, cult and occult.

Note Paul’s advice to Timothy and his reference to ‘later times’ in 1Ti 4:1&7: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons………Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.”

Acquisition of knowledge.

‘At the time of the end many will go here and there to increase knowledge’. (see Daniel 12:4). Certainly we are now seeking and acquiring knowledge enormously. We even have a name for it. ‘Information Technology’ is what we call it! Allied to this feature also, of course, is the ever increasing speed at which this is all happening.

Scoffers and mockers.

‘First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.’ 2Pet 3:3-7 (also cf. Jude 17-19).

No comment! This prophecy speaks for itself.

Increasing governmental control.

Do you ever have the feeling that there is greater and greater government control in our lives? The means for this could really come into being with ID cards. Alongside this type of ‘identification technology’ we also have mooted the concept of a cashless society. The ‘powers that be’ will certainly then be in a position to monitor, even control, what and which individuals may or may not buy, since every purchase will be made through the auspices of a vast computer.

Imagine, just as a conjecture, that for some reason in a given society, the authorities wanted to prevent a person, or class of person from purchasing a given commodity. The machinery would be in place to do such a thing. The anonymity of cash, of course, would have gone and the persons concerned would be unable to purchase except via the central computer route.

This may be jumping ahead from present day, and we will come to this again, but just take a look at Revelation 13:16-18.

Next time: The Rapture – Section 3c

An Introduction to End Times.

Part 3 Present Signs and the Rapture

Present Signs (Israel) – Section 3a

So where have we got to?

So, how do we know where we are now and what will happen next in all this?

Firstly, note that there will be an end, see Eph 1:9-10*, 1Pe 1:5*, and 2Pe 3:10* as well as Mt 24:35*, and Mk 13:31*.

Now, clearly the ‘church age’ is still with us but the nation ‘Israel’ has returned to the scene, so are we at a transition point?

Many people believe that we are. There are plenty of signs which indicate that the period of ‘Tribulation’ (See Part 1, section 1b) may not be far off. Some of these signs are more significant than others but all are telling, especially when considered on a collective basis. Also, should some of the evidence or bible references backing these arguments seem tenuous or not immediately obvious, please hold them in mind – the relevance will become clearer as we move forward in this whole end time study.

With regard to timing, the transition point referred to above could well materialise within the next year or so, or even sooner.

So what signs (or conditions) are we meaning and what would be the next event? Let’s look at the signs first.

First of all, Israel must exist.

Well first and foremost, as already alluded to, Israel has to exist. Why? Well we have already highlighted the fact that God’s covenant with Israel is ever-lasting. So before any final arrangements take place Israel needs to be a nation, again. This of course happened in May 1948, after a period of almost 2000 years. We have already looked (in Part 2, section 2a) at some bible references on this but let’s look at a couple more which remind us of the everlasting nature of this covenant. Firstly in Genesis 17:7-8 (below), and then additionally in Amos 9:11-15 (below), where v. 15 also shows us that Israel will ‘never again be uprooted from the land I have given them.’ Thus the prophecy cannot refer to the reforming of Israel after the return from Babylon. It must be at some later time – such as now!

Ge 17:7-8. “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.  The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

Amos 9:11-15. “In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,” declares the LORD, who will do these things. “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them”.

Note that within 10 years of the re-birth of Israel in 1948 (prophesied also in Isaiah 66:8 ‘Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?’) the EU, based on the ‘Treaty of Rome’ started emerging. See the prophecies alluding to this in Part 2, section 2b (Da 2:33a to 2:33b, and Dan 7:23 to 7:24 both being types of reformation of the old ‘Roman Empire’ to the modern ‘Treaty of Rome’).

Jerusalem must be in Jewish hands.

Before a new Temple can exist in Jerusalem, Jerusalem, at least, must be under Jewish control. This was achieved in 1967 by the Jews as a result of the ‘six-day war’, against overwhelming odds. Did you ever wonder why and how this event succeeded so quickly? Could God have been there?

Existence of the Temple in Jerusalem (See 2Thess 2:4).

Although there is no actual temple in existence at present, it is an open secret in Middle Eastern circles that detailed plans have been drawn-up, and preparations made, for the temple’s rapid reconstruction, as soon as the time is right. Furthermore, manufacture of replacement temple instruments and other paraphernalia is already said to be in hand. The precise site of the new temple has been established we are told, just to the north of the present ‘Dome’ where old documentation apparently shows it to have originally been. This position, apparently, has been confirmed by the chance exposure of an ancient archway in the original city wall, when a crater was blown in the ground during hostilities in the ‘six-day war’.

Israel blossoms (cf. the millennium era.)

Isa 27:6 ‘In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.’

Joel 2:23-24 ’Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God,

for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you

abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing

floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and

oil.’

From being largely a desert around 1948, when the Jews started returning to their promised land, Israel has become the 4^th largest exporter of fruit in the world and the biggest flower exporter in Europe. Israel today is covered with buds, grain and trees. This place was wilderness until a very few years ago.

Jerusalem to be a ‘cup of reeling’ (cf. Zec 12:2-3)

A published extract (anon): Here is a city, Jerusalem – no natural resources, no harbour, no river – no reason to be relevant on the modern scene. It’s important to whom? To a minority of the Jews (not all of them!). To Islam? Islam had it for a thousand years and let it turn into rubble, until they realised it was important to the Jews and then, of course, it was very important to Islam. To Christians? Well we like to visit there – but not to die for it. So the whole idea that Jerusalem could be a burdensome stone to the entire world, on the face of it, sounds absurd. And yet, as we look around today, people in every major capital of every nation that’s internationally relevant on earth are struggling as to what posture to take – how to deal with what could be called the struggle for Jerusalem. Increasingly it becomes the focus of world attention – even though in secular terms it is a ‘nothing place’. Why? Because it is, and remains, God’s Holy City. Anon.

End notes for ready reference:

Ephesians 1:9-10

And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,  to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

1Peter 1:5

...  (you Christians) who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

2 Peter 3:10

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Matthew 24:35

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Mark 13:31

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Next time: Present Signs (Global) – Section 3b