What in the World?

Luke 21:25-28  - "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." 

These are very powerful words. Are we truly prepared for our future? Are there really going to be some who will wake up one morning and wonder what in the world happened, seemingly overnight?

As I sit here waiting for a fragile bone in my foot to heal enough that I'm able to walk without crutches and boot, I've bombarded myself with news. I'm amazed at all that has transpired in even the six weeks of recuperation. There is so much unrest in this world. How did we get here anyway? Yes, it is a sign of the times, but whose times? 

Over the past fifty years we've seen technology moving fast and it continues to do so. We've seen the ability to travel more from horses to wagons to trains to automobiles to airplanes to space travel. Think about how quickly that transpired. We've seen armament change from perhaps rocks and sticks, slingshots and other larger hurling devices to knives, pistols, machine guns and AK47s to today's probability of nuclear or biological warfare. We've seen the quick development of all forms of devices for building, surgery, you name it. We've seen the development of communication change from handwritten letters transported by horse to telegraph, telephone and email. Entertainment has come into our homes. We are a creative people to say the least.

It seems, however, that no matter what great accomplishment we've made there is always a sinister side to it. It is used not only for good but for evil. It always falls into the wrong hands. 

You either agree or disagree, understand or don't. I would have had very mixed feelings about these things a few years ago. I would have gone with the flow out of ignorance. Had someone tried to tell me we were turning into a "all about me" society, I would have said, "Well, it should be all about me. I have a right to this or that, to live my life as I see fit, to fit in with today's culture and living styles. No one is going to tell me otherwise. Everyone else is doing it, so I am too." 

There's just an unsettling feeling in my spirit these days. I recognize the face of things to come even if I can't put my finger on every aspect of them. There appears to be something sinister brewing. Rights and freedoms are being removed and replaced with non-offending ideas...and yet Christianity is slowly becoming more offensive. 

We are seeing what I've mentioned before, birth pains. The birth pains of a world so totally changing. Who could be up to this? Try as we might to place blame on any one person in the world we can't. We do, however, have an enemy of our souls whose only purpose is to do the complete opposite of a loving God. He is only out to pull down and "evilize" society, person by person. And the scariest thing is there are many who don't see it.

When we know Jesus Christ we can see through the smokescreen. Our eyes are opened. We are able to see this not as a sign of the worldly times but a sign of God's time. This may not make sense to some. People have gone through life not believing there is spiritual conflict taking place all around us. People have rejected Jesus and the prophets sent to proclaim this Messiah before He came; people will reject the same way today. Oh, this couldn't happen again, where's the proof He's returning...it's been promised for years. "Look and see your redemption is nigh."

I've listened to numerous people talking about the signs of the times and how they are coming about at alarming speed. Biblical prophets didn't know how to put into words what they saw except with what they knew back thousands of years ago. In their eyes they described:

• How everyone on earth will see and hear Christ's return (satellite - 1Thessalonians 4:16, Revelation 1:7)
• How we will be able to flit from here to there with great speed and our knowledge would increase (airplanes and internet - Daniel 12:4)
• There will be a rise in the number of earthquakes (Matthew 24:7)
• A one world government or a new world order will arise out of the dictatorship of one man (Revelation 13...a study all of it's own)
• How Israel would become a nation once again (Amos 9:14-15 and other more detailed scriptures). This was fulfilled May 14, 1948.

 You can't argue these things. They and many more prophesies are taking place before our eyes, if we recognize what the Bible says. It is imperative we begin to take notice or we might fall into the category of men's hearts failing them from fear or as Proverbs 10:21 states: The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.

We will not know the day or the hour Christ will return but God has put into His Word the signs for us to recognize if we just take the time. There are other scriptures that tell us even Christians can be deceived and that there will be false prophets in the last days. So who do we believe? We listen to the voice of the Lord. We get into the Word and learn.

There's a lot of speculation that Christ will return in my generation. Only time will tell. It was prophesied that the generation who saw Israel become a nation in a day would see him return. This is shown in the parable of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32-34). The fig tree represents Israel and the new leaves its becoming a new nation. I don't know about you but I was born in the generation that saw this happen. It's exciting. I consider it an honor.

There are still things that have me stumped, like the Jewish Temple being rebuilt; that would have to happen soon! In order for the Temple to be used in the manner it would mean all the implements and clothing would have to be in place. It is my understanding that since 2008 some of this has been accomplished. It's in the works! 

Will we be ready? Will we be prepared for our future? We live in a fallen world and it's only a matter of God's time before He will have had enough one last time. He has shown us the signs. Will we heed them or will we act as though nothing could ever happen? If we have Jesus, we have hope. We will not have to fear the signs of the times. What we have here on earth is nothing in comparison to what lies ahead for those who love Christ and trust in Him. It's not about our wisdom, our strengths as nations or armies, or our possessions. What is most important is our relationship with Jesus.

Jeremiah 9:23-25 - This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.