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Will we face the End of Time?
The End of Time is an exciting and popular topic during times of chaos. Both Christians and non-Christians alike can see the growth of evil in the world around us. There is lawlessness everywhere we look. Murder and other major crimes are on the increase. The hands of our police are being tied and when they do arrest criminals they are often booked and released.
You may have read or a least heard of Hal Lindsey’s book, “The Late Great Planet Earth.” He published it in 1970 and it made the New York Times “no. 1 non-fiction bestseller of the decade.”
His message was on the soon-coming end of time. Everyone was excited about the possibility that the end of time was soon. It was popular with both Christians and non-Christians.
I was able to hear Hal Lindsey preach a great End of Time message a few years later. He laid out why he and others believed that we were living in the End Times. I did not agree with everything he said, but I did agree with his concluding remark.
Hal said that we should, “live our lives as if Jesus were returning tomorrow.” It does not matter if He returns tomorrow or in another thousand years. Our lives may end at any time and we are accountable for all our actions.
The End of Time for you is when you take your last breath!
Jesus tells of its coming.
In chapter 24 of Matthew, he records the answer Jesus gave to His disciples on the Mount of Olives when asked about the End. I would encourage you to read and meditate on what Jesus said about this coming event.
Jesus starts by warning His disciples in verse four telling them (and us) “take heed that no one deceives you.”
This is the same warning I would give you today! There will always be false teachers telling Satan’s lies. You must hold on to the truth that God gives you in His Word. What He says in this Chapter tells us all we need to know about the End of Time.
There will always be false teachers, some because they believe that God gave them greater understanding. Others teach false doctrines to build themselves up and persuade people to follow them for financial gain.
Just a few years ago several noted ministers were teaching about the signs of the end and tying them to present-day happenings. They didn’t listen to what Jesus said and were deceived and deceived others. They wanted to jump on the bandwagon that was popular and failed in their position of leadership.
Satan wants to deceive us with partial truths. We need to always be sure we are following the Word and not our desires.
Jesus did tell us some things will happen before the end.
We are seeing what Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 24:6 NKJV. “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. We are now seeing this all over the world, however, He tells us not to be troubled the end is not yet.
In verse seven He says, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. And in the eleventh and twelfth verses He continues, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”
Looking at the events happening around the world and within our own country we might be inclined to believe the end is near. We certainly are seeing lawlessness abounding within the United States and most of the world. Followers are falling away and turning to the world for answers.
Yet this is not the End!
The Coming of the Son of Man
Before Jesus returns you will see even more wickedness in the world around us. Hate for the Jewish people and of Christians will continue to grow. They will be blamed for all types of evil. It will be much like we saw in Nazi Germany during Hitler’s reign. Laws will be passed to make obeying God’s Word a crime and persecution of the Church will be common.
At some point, God will say this is enough and bring it all to a close. Jesus tells us about this time in the following words. In Matthew 24:29-31 NKJV He says, 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
When Jesus returns He will gather us if we have made Him the Lord of our lives and followed His commands. As His followers, we are the elect and His angels will gather us from one end of heaven to the other.
You, my friend, will want to be in this group at the End of Time!
It is important to note that Jesus tells us a very important fact about the End of Time.
Good men and women have been trying to figure out when the End of Time will occur for centuries. Some religious leaders have had their followers sell all they had and wait on a mountaintop to be caught up. Others have said it would occur at a certain location within a certain period of time. When it did not happen they offered many different excuses.
Jesus is very clear on when the End of Time will be. It will be at the exact time God the Father decides it is time.
Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 24:36-44 NKJV. 36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 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, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Note: the 42nd verse says, “Watch.”
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 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. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
The point is we don’t need to know and can not know, but we can prepare for that great event. Jesus came into the world to prepare us for this event. When this event takes place we will all be judged by one standard. That standard is our faith in the saving grace of Jesus the Son of God.
We express that faith by obeying the commands of Jesus. If we are not following Him we will be the one left behind on that Day.
This is what we do know!
The world will be corrupt and full of sin.
The Apostle Paul makes it clear what we will see before the return of our Lord Jesus. He says in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV. 3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
Do you see this around you today?
Is there anyone you know who is a “lover of themselves? Is it, perhaps, you? We need to examine ourselves on all these points.
Don’t just read or listen to this Scripture. Look at each part of it and see how many areas you can see in yourself.
At the end of time, people will be like this. Each of the following points we can see today in our society and this is why so many think that we are now in the end times. These are the things we need to look for:
- Lovers of themselves
- Lovers of money
- Boastful, proud, abusive
- Disobedient to 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.
Paul warns us to have nothing to do with such people. I repeat, Paul warns us to have nothing to do with such people.
We are not to be such people and we are to have nothing to do with them!
What if?
If upon examining yourself you find these sins in your life understand that you can change. God has provided a way for you, but it is up to you to choose.
Paul tells us that, “all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” Romans 3:23
He also tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 NKJV
In Romans 10:9-13 NKJV Paul tells us God provides a way for you, 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Don’t stop if you have gone this far!
Many go this far and then fail to follow through. Repentance means we must stop doing what we are doing and go the other way. In this case, it is following what Jesus teaches, His commands.
You cannot fool God! Jesus says in John 14:21, He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
Will we face the End of Time?
The answer is yes. We will either be living when Jesus returns or our earthly time will end with death. Either way, we need to be right with God. We need to accept Jesus as our Savior and follow His teachings. If we follow His teachings we will not be guilty of the evils listed above.
One of His teachings is that we should be watching for His coming. He has promised to come when we do not expect Him. You probably do not expect Him right now, but this may be when He comes. The signs are right!
I hope that you pray as you read and study these Scriptures. If you are listening to the Audio, listen again then apply it to your life.