THE LAST DAYS

Anita Clark

“But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” I Thessalonians 5:1-6.

This is the warning of the Apostle of the Church Age, that we should not be asleep to the signs and warnings in this end-time. We are warned to not allow the Lord to come to take His precious “jewels” without our being aware of it. There are many signs of the end-time in the world today that speak loudly that Christ’s coming is at anytime.

ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT ON THE WAY – The goal is set for 2030 to have a total unification program of the various nations of the world. In the UN’s meeting in 2015 virtually the entire planet signed up for the promotion of this One World Agenda of seventeen items for unification. These would radically transform the world. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon spoke at the UN of “a dream of a world of peace and dignity for all.”

This year beginning in March, 2016, a new UN Secretary General will be selected. The one selected could well be the Antichrist spoken of in God’s Word in Revelation 13 & 17. The world is ripe and ready for this man to become prominent. Daniel 9:27 tells us that this leader will make a covenant or treaty with Israel, no doubt guaranteeing their safety. He will break that agreement and “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (great tribulation) will follow. I will refrain from speculation on who this man may be. He will be a well known man, whom all the world likes and will follow, and no doubt is in the world today.

WORLD STRIVING TO GET RID OF CASH – Revelation 13:17 says, “...And that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” In order for this to take place there needs to be a world-wide financial system whereby everything bought and sold is through electronic means, not cash. This is possible in our day with all the advancements of electronic forms of payment. It is now reported by the news that several countries are close to being cashless societies, i.e. Sweden, Nigeria, and Israel. Many other countries report that large percentages of cashless sales are attributed to the broad movement away from cash. Countries like Brazil, Poland and South Africa are now in transitioning stage, and are quickly shifting away from cash. Recently the most rapid shift from cash was observed in China. In a relatively short time the world economy could be totally shifted to cashless which is said to be a more modern, efficient payment system than the old fashioned paper and coinage system. This will work right into Satan’s plan to promote the “mark of the beast.”

TERRORISM INCREASING – “Men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26). Jesus spoke these words in regard to the end-time scenes, how there would be fearful things happening that would bring anxiety to people in these last days. According to Wikipedia the world experienced 140,114 terrorist attacks from 1971 through 2015. In Noah’s day, (:11) God said, “The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” Jesus said in Matthew 24:37, “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Just the violence of crime is despicable, but the brutality of man in terrorist acts, killing innocent people, and maiming others is just beyond what our minds can grasp sometimes. Our trust and reliance on the Lord, helps us to not be afraid. God is faithful!

GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE WORLD – Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all . 24:14). This is being fulfilled today, as God’s people are preaching the true gospel of salvation throughout the world through the internet, TV and satellite, radio, in the pulpit, and through print. A quote from Bible Readings for the Home reads, “Had no more rapid means of conveyance and communication been found than existed a century ago, it would have been impossible to communicate such a message to one generation, but because of rapid transit, and lightening couriers to bear the tidings to various parts of the earth, this last generation everywhere is hearing the message.” Ministries like Faith Comes by Hearing provides a free audio app that shares the Bible in 883 languages! And that number is growing all the time. How wonderful that many people of the world are being reached with the Word of God. I Timothy 2:3-4 says, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

We may wonder why the Lord has not come yet. II Peter 3:9 states, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Even during the tribulation of seven years of judgment, He will send an angel flying through heaven “...having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, kindred, and tongue, and people.” What a loving God we serve!

These are just some of the signs of Christ’s coming as recorded in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. Verse 16-18 reads, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” Note that at this coming, believers will “...go up to meet the Lord in the air.” This is before the tribulation coming upon the earth. Later in I Thessalonians 5:9, he says, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath...” The believers who fully overcome (called the Bride of Christ) of this Church Age will not go into the tribulation, but will be caught up before that time starts. Later, in the book of Revelation, we see the 144,000 Jewish believers taken to heaven, and the “great multitude” of chapter 7 taken up to heaven. In Revelation 19:1-8, we see the people of God from this age there in heaven with the Lord, and in verse 9 we see them rejoicing at “the marriage supper of the Lamb.” In verses 11-16, we see Jesus coming back with His saints with Him as His army. Note: His people are already with Him. This will be the Second coming when His feet touch on the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:1-5). He will come and put the Antichrist and False Prophet in the Lake of fire (Rev. 19:20). The battle of Armageddon will then be fought, and Jesus will be Lord of lords and King of kings. His kingdom upon earth will then begin for a one thousand year reign.

Believers, be stirred up in your hearts! The time for the trumpet sound is so near. He will catch up to heaven those who are truly watching and waiting for Him. Will you be ready? He will make you ready if you will yield to Him and let Him. He will not go against your will, but He will do the work in you if you will yield your will to Him.