I’m often asked if I think we are living in the end times, or last days. Jesus said that no one knows the exact time that He will return, but we can know it is drawing nigh by the “signs of the times” which he enumerated. Some people reject the End Times, the Rapture, and Jesus coming back. Others think the End Times that Christ was talking about came when the temple was destroyed and references to His return have already occurred. I’ve read the arguments and to be honest I am somewhat puzzled by some verses; however, when taken in context I believe without a doubt that we are living in the end times now. Here are but a few of the verses that allude to the world’s current state:
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.
2 Peter 3:3-4 . . . ‘Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.’
Matthew 24:9 . . . They will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake”.
Matthew 24:6 “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”
Matthew 24:7-8, “There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”
Matthew 24:14 “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.”
Most of these Bible prophecies are being fulfilled today.
Do you not believe that we are living in the last days?
Matthew 24:14 states that after the good news is preached to the Father’s satisfaction, “the end” is certain to come. “The End” means the time when
God will get rid of wickedness on earth. To destroy all who willfully oppose Him, Satan and his demons will no longer mislead the nations thanks to Jesus and
His angels. After that, God’s Kingdom will be showered with blessings on all who were faithful.
Jesus foretold that most people would ignore the evidence that we are living in the last days. He warned: “As the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before the Flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they took no note until the Flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.” – Matthew 24:37 – “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Take another look at Timothy 3:1-5 and ask yourselves if this appears to be the mindset of this world and this age. In addition keep in mind prophesy foretold that the Jews would return to their homeland after being scattered all over the world which occurred in 1948, The wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and other phenomenon that were predicted are all occurring. It seems obvious to me that these are the conditions of today that Christ was warning us about.
Matthew 24:42 reads: “So be prepared, for you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Just as a man can prevent trouble from thieves by keeping watch for them, so you can avoid trouble by always being ready for My unannounced return.”
Are you leading the kind of life that you should be? Would you be proud of what you are doing if Christ returned today like lightning in the sky? If the forecasters were predicting a hurricane and you lived in Florida, would you prepare for it? Treat this with the same concern. Jesus loves you and wants you to follow him in righteousness. So just do the right thing, today, tomorrow, and every day until you are called home, or He arrives and you meet Him and His angels in the clouds at the Rapture.
We are told not to worry. Good things are happening too. God’s word is being spread all over the world and people are coming to know Jesus, but best of all the kingdom of God is near.
Matthew 24:29
“Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.