End Time Study-Pt. I

Jesus said, "Behold, I come quickly---; And, behold, I come quickly---; surely I come quickly---" (Rev. 22:7,12,20). I believe Jesus wanted His followers to understand that He is coming quickly. He even promised His followers in John 14:1-3, before His death and subsequent resurrection and ascension, that He would go away and prepare a place for them. And if He would go then He would return for them so that they could forever be with Him. Even the angels promised those who witnessed the ascension of Jesus that, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Throughout the New Testament and even in portions of the Old Testament we find scriptures dealing with the end times, the rapture or the gathering of the saints and the return of Jesus. Yet no one knows the day or the hour that He will return. But throughout scripture God has given us clues as to when the season of the return of Christ will be.

Many have given their predictions as to exactly when Jesus would return, and they have all been wrong. We must understand all the scriptures pertaining to Jesus' return, as well as all the predicted events of the end time occurring, before we can draw any concrete conclusions as to when the season of His return will be.

Although no man knows the day or hour of Jesus' return, the Bible makes it very clear that that day will not take the saints by surprise (I Thes. 5:1-11). God wants to equip the saints with the knowledge they need to be prepared for what is about to break loose in the earth and the heavenlies.

Some of the events that must take place during the generation that will witness the return of Jesus are Israel, the Jews, would gather to their homeland and would become a nation again. This occurred on May 15,1948. Also, the temple is to be rebuilt in Jerusalem where the sacrifices will be offered up again. It has been reported that the Sanhedrin have reformed in Israel and are currently looking for direct descendants from the tribe of Levi in order to train them as priests to do the daily sacrifices. There are also reports of them doing a worldwide search for a red heifer whose sacrifice is needed for the dedication and purification of a temple. These events are some of the events that must happen to Israel, in one generation, before Jesus' return. Another event leading up to the return of Jesus is found in II Peter 3:3, 4, that being, "in the last days there will be those, who walking in their own lust, will scoff and mockingly proclaim, 'where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.'" I believe that even those within the confines of most churches are now, if not saying this are at least, believing it. This is easily substantiated by simply observing the lifestyles of the average church attendee today. Do their lifestyles reflect holiness and righteousness? Are they more earthly focused than eternally focused? Do they bear a burden for the lost? Do they make the effort to clothe the naked and feed the hungry? If the answer is no to these questions, then sadly we must say, we are not looking for or hastening the coming of the Lord.

Another sign or event to be fulfilled before Jesus returns is the characteristics and lifestyles of the people toward the end of the history of mankind. The Modern Language Bible states it this way, "But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, avaricious, boasters, haughty, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, irreverent, without natural affection, relentless, slanderers, uncontrolled, brutal, with no love for the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. While retaining a form of piety, they are strangers to its power." (II Tim.3:1-5). I believe we all would agree that these scriptures are definitely being fulfilled worldwide.

If there was ever evidence of end-time scriptures being fulfilled, it is the fulfillment of II Tim. 4:3, 4 that is taking place today. Paul warns us here, "For there is going to come a time when people won't listen to the truth, but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. They won't listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas." (TLB). Many of our mega churches today are evidence of people going where their ears are being tickled or hearing the things that make them feel good about themselves. People do not want to hear anyone pointing out sins that they may be comfortably living in. And God forbid if a minister would call them to repentance. Instead our churches must be people friendly and, by all means, nothing should ever be said that may cause embarrassment or discomfort to the attendees. Everyone, regardless of their lifestyles, are to be made to feel welcomed, received, blessed and saved because after all they are in "our" church. I stand amazed at the arrogance of people today. Even when I quote nothing but scriptures, they still disagree with what I say when pointing out their shortcomings. They are determined to follow their own misguided ideas. It's as though everyone has their own plan of salvation all worked out and no one can tell them that they are wrong.

Then there are the signs spoken by Jesus recorded in Matthew twenty-four. He says in the end times there shall be wars and rumors of wars(v.6); famine, pestilences and earthquakes(v.7); christians will be hated(v.9); we shall betray one another and hate one another(v.10); false teachers and preachers shall arise(v.11); and sin will abound, lawlessness will prevail and the love of many will wax cold(v.12). I would dare say that each of these signs are prevalent in our world today.

II Thes. 2:3 tells us that before Jesus comes back there must first be a great falling away from the faith and the anti-Christ must be revealed . The falling away has and is occurring and it will be magnified during the Great Tribulation. And the anti-Christ will not be revealed until the mid-point of the Tribulation.

All of these things must occur before Jesus returns. Are we close? I say definitely, factually and scripturally--YES! We shall look at these signs and events more in depth as we look at the end time scriptures further to prove that we are in the last of the last days. But for now I must reiterate that no man knows the day or the hour of our Lord's return, but the body of Christ shall know the season of His return. We are not the children of darkness, so the day of His return will not surprise us like a thief in the night. God is increasing revelation knowledge about the end times as never before in order to prepare His people to be able to persevere to the end. Even Jesus told us in Matthew twenty-four to observe the fig tree. He stated that just as we can tell by the tenderness of the branches and the budding of leaves that summer is near, so it will be before He returns. We will know the season by the signs and events foretold in scripture.

Daniel tells us that in the last days, during the Great Tribulation, "---that the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. And those of the people who understand shall instruct many." (Dan.11:32, 33). The true church, those who understand the seasons, signs, events and scriptures dealing with the end times, will be strong and will be able to instruct the masses as to what is occurring in the world around them. I believe this wisdom of the end-time events along with the exploits of the believers is what will cause many to believe upon Jesus Christ as the Messiah, a great harvest of souls as it were.

So we must be wise pertaining to the end times. This wisdom will be brought about by increased knowledge (Dan.12:4) from God. The world will be asking questions about the events occurring in the world and the church will have the answers. Nothing will take us by surprise. We must realize that the words of John in Rev. 1:3, "---for the time is near," is upon this generation and we must make ready for "the Bridegroom cometh."(Matt. 25:6)