A reader sent me a partial quote, “gloriously dark” by famed pastor Adrian Rogers, so I looked it up and here is some of what he had to say:
How can it be gloriously dark?
“We’re living in strange days, are we not? When I see what’s happening to this world, if I didn’t know the Lord Jesus Christ, I’m not sure what I would do. Yet, knowing the Bible and Bible prophecy, when I see all these things coming to pass, they do not shake me. Sometimes they grieve me, sometimes they sadden me, but they do not shake me. That’s because I know God’s Word. I know they’re a fulfillment of prophecy. I can say with all the saints, “Praise God, it’s getting gloriously dark.”
The book of Revelation is known as “the blessing book” because it’s the only book out of the 66 books in the Bible that promises in chapter 1, verse 3, a blessing to those who study it.
Our hope is not found in studying science books. There’s no eternal blessing in books of politics or sociology. Friend, the blessing is in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the book, the Bible — the Word of God, the Book of the Ages.
But how are you going to know this? You’ve got to know prophecy. God gave us the book of Revelation to show us the “things which must shortly come to pass” (Rev. 1:1). You’re not supposed to be in the dark. You’re to be informed. You are to know, so “that day will not overtake you as a thief” (1 Thess. 5:4). Next time you read something in the paper that shadows the end times, use it as an open door to share the Second Coming of Jesus with someone. I saw those words and they really spoke to my heart.
My optimism was short-lived. Today as I hold my nose and read the news each morning, I’m reminded of the days that Obama declared we were no longer a Christian nation and illuminated the Whitehouse with the gay flag, and Planned Parenthood was at will merrily tearing unborn children apart in order to harvest their body parts. And the woes of this country are only a piece of the “getting-darker” puzzle.
I read today that Rabbi Winston, an acclaimed author and doomsayer, has warned that renewed clashes in the Gaza Strip or ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran over Syria may trigger the next major conflict, which, in turn, may see biblical end-times prophecy come true. Rabbi Winston, whose works over the past two decades have dealt extensively with “The End of Days”, has suggested that the IDF should be ready for a biblical war that may arrive “at any moment without any warning”.
He made a reference to a prophecy of the War of Gog and Magog from the Hebrew Bible, which precipitates the Messianic Redemption . . . He also cited a description by the Vilna Gaon, an 18th century rabbi, of what the War of Gog and Magog may look like, which suggested that it would last 12 minutes and encompass the entire world. “That was inconceivable at the time but now we can envision it as being entirely realistic. There are many aspects described in prophecy that sceptics say are impossible. It is all part of the bigger plan,”.
Sounds dark huh? Ah, but as Adrian Rogers has pointed out it is growing gloriously dark. Jesus told us not to worry for these things must come to pass before He returns in all His glory to redeem His children. In the meantime, He told us to be patient . . .
Luke 21:18
And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. Yet not even a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance, you will gain your souls