I used to attend a church where prophecy, the coming of future Biblical events, was frequently presented. I used to love it, but after a few years I became a prophecy burnout. I didn’t care to hear or follow another prophetic “sign.” But as I studied the Scriptures along with current events, I started to see that indeed the signs of the return of Jesus are imminent, and I got excited. Even though this message is a little different from the others, it is of utmost importance to both the believer and unbeliever because Jesus wants us to know where we stand in relationship to His return. This message is in two parts. The first part is to show how close we are to the return of Jesus. Sometimes parts of the first section could become a little “heady” with a lot of information to digest. There are a lot of facts and information, but they are important. The second part is the practical Scriptural basis of how we should live in these last days.

 Understanding the Present Time

 Jesus told us in Luke 12:54-57 that we are to look and see where we stand in terms of His return. He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is..You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?” God already told us that we will never know the day or hour in which He returns, but He wants us to know how to interpret the present time in relationship to His return.

Signs of the Times

Matthew 24:3-13 gives us some of the signs of the end times. “..And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the e nd of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them, See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frighten ed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.”

Wars and Rumors of Wars

 “And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of war..” Usually the word “war” does not affect the average American anymore since we hear it so much, and because it’s usually on “the other side of the world.” Because of the uncertainty of the Middle East, or the terrorist countries, we can be put into a war shortly. Yet much of the world is still gearing for a major war, and we know from the Scriptures that the final BIG war in the Middle East will be the war that ushers in Jesus. How is the world gearing up for the final battle? Nuclear Threat – Since the end of the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war has seemingly diminished. But is it wise for us to discount the countless nuclear warheads stockpiled around the world? Certainly, the threat of nuclear war continues to loom over the world. With the Communist Party losing narrowly in Russia’s recent elections and the precarious state of the economy in former communist block countries, we must ask ourselves, is communism truly dead in the former USSR? The answer is, of course, NO. While the United States is very actively cutting back on our military, the former Soviet Union is in the process of modernization! As the United States is dismantling it’s nuclear warheads, the former Soviets are replacing all their obsolete systems with more high-tech weapons. So the Russians now have more fire power with less weapons! The Washington Times reported that, “…the world’s preeminent nuclear power – with it’s combination of strategic missiles and national ballistic missile a nd air defenses – is now Moscow. (Washington Times, 1/30/96) The influence of communism is still strong in the Russian military as they continue to conduct major strategic weapons exercises, which include mock nuclear attacks on the United States! (Washington Times, 6/10/96). Russia’s military does play an important role in the last days, so we ask the question, are they starting to position themselves for the final battle? Remember, If communism is dead, someone forgot to tell the Chinese. China is a no longer a sleeping giant, they are starting to wake up. This coming June they are reclaiming Hong Kong. They are in the process of strong alliances with India (both together equal almost 40 percent of the world population). The Bible tells us in Revelation 9 that when this 200 million man army begins to march, 1/3 of mankind will be wiped out. By the way, China has a first-class fleet of nuclear bombs, bombers and fighter planes. They are also supplying India, Pakistan and the Arab nations with nuclear missiles. (Intelligence Digest, 10/16/92) II Peter 3:10, tells us, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Sounds like a nuclear bomb blast, doesn’t it? With all the weapons of warfare around us and realizing that man has never created a weapon that he hasn’t used, one wonders what event could trigger them off. There are no direct or indirect references to America in Bible prophecy. We are the police of the world, how could we not be listed? We go to Bosnia, Haiti, Panama, Zaire and to street fights in other countries, so why are not counted as a major player in the end times scenario? Maybe because the United States will no longer be in power or existence!

Nation Against Nation

 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom..” When I first read this verse, I wondered why the Bible repeated itself in the next verse, when it talked about wars and rumors of wars. Then I studied this verse deeper and found that the word “nation” in the Greek was “ethnos,” which means race or ethnic groups. So this passage is telling us that one of the signs of the end times is wars among races! Regardless of what you thought of the decision of the O.J. Simpson trial, the true outcome of the verdict was that we have a major race problem in America. We have neo-Nazi groups starting to become more vocal and more violent, and the terrorist KKK groups still on the rise all in the “name of God.” We see in other countries such as Rwanda and Zaire where factions are killing children by cutting off their arms and legs with machetes. In Bosnia, groups of soldiers are raping and torturing the children and women, and we read the Scriptures an d say, “Maranatha, Come quickly Lord Jesus!”

Famines

 “..in various places there will be famines..” We have tens of thousands of people dying everyday from starvation. There are over 500 million children suffering from malnutrition, and 200 million chronically hungry. The world population grew this year by 100 million people to a total of 5.75 billion people. By the year 2015, we could see a population of 8-14 billion people. I don’t think I have to tell you this, but if there is widespread famine now, imagine the magnitude of famine with a not her 2.5 billion people. Ezekiel 16:49-50 tell us, “Behold, this the guilt of your sister Sodom; she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.” God is telling us that one of His judgements on Sodom was because of their arrogance, abundant food and the way they handled it while others were starving. When the Bible talks to the rich, it is talking to America. We may not be Rockerfellers, or Trumps, but 95% of the world makes under $2000 dollars per year, thus putting the majority of us in the “rich” category. It’s a pretty sad commentary of the American churches when we put $500 BILLION into bigger church buildings. As a church, we are more interested in constructing larger buildings than in fulfilling the Great Commission, when people are dying of starvation and going to hell because they never heard the gospel. Woe unto us!

Earthquakes & Ecology

“..in various places there will be..earthquakes..” The Scriptures tell us in the last days that we will have ecological disturbances. It does not matter how much the world tries to protect the environment, you can’t protect it against God’s judgements! All throughout the Old Testament, we see that God begins His judgements with the ecology. If you follow the weather, you will notice over the last decade that we have had unbelievable weather patterns. Even the highly paid weathermen are becoming stumped over the forecasts. One of the factors that changed the weather patterns affecting us is the “El Nino.” The El Nino has changed the weather patterns of the world because of the warming waters in the Western Pacific. Top meteorologists confirm that the El Nino condition is the far longest ever recorded. El Nino is Spanish for the Christ Child. So in the last days we have a wild weather patterns named after Jesus that is affecting the world! While in Ixtapa, Mexico, I was in a hotel 11 stories high when the room started to shake. The feeling of helplessness struck me. There are not a whole lot of options to chose from when you’re in a earthquake because the ground is now ruling you. Yet the Bible states that earthquakes will keep on intensifying in the last days, showing man that he is not in control. According to the U.S. Geological Survey in Boulder, CO., we had 173 killer earthquakes from the years 1890-1989, listed in the world (6.0 or above). In the 90’s we already had over 100!

Pestilences

When I first read this Scripture, I thought this word meant “bugs and insects.” I was partially correct, but it also stands for infectious diseases such as AIDS. We now have many strains of AIDS with some people having up to five types. The saddest part of the AIDS epidemic and many other viruses is that science has never found a cure for a virus of any type. This AIDS epidemic is now sweeping the world, and viruses are now considered the third most deadly killer in the United States.

Sexual Perversion

Before every empire of a ruling nation fell, sexual perversion ran rampant. God even judged His own people in II Kings 17 because of their adulterous behavior. Yet as a country we are seeing groups of people favored because of their sexual lifestyle. Throughout America we are seeing the uprise of militant homosexuals. They are starting to become the “voice” of America. They strongly influenced our American elections, and they are now dictating what should be taught in our public schools. They are forcing their life-styles on Americans so strongly that if you disagree with them, you are the one with the problem. They even started their own “gay churches.” The gay church portrays a God who blesses homosexuality instead of condemning it. They teach that Jesus was one of them! Billy Graham’s wife Ruth once said that if God holds back His wrath on America, He is going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. What does God say about homosexuality? Roman 1:22-25, & 32 says, “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” God is not condemning these people to a life of never knowing Him; He is offering forgiveness at the cross of Jesus. God loves the homosexual, but He doesn’t want to leave him that way. God loves the murderer; He loves the adulterer; He loves the thief; but He wants to change them. “For if any man is in Christ Jesus, He is a new person, old things are passed away, all things become new,” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Abortions

In II Kings 17, when God judged His own people. He did so because of their worship of the “god” Molech. The worship of Molech was a metal statue that had a man holding his arms out. They would heat up that statue until it became red hot and put new born babies on the arms of the statue, thus sacrificing them to Molech. Today, we don’t burn the children on statues, we burn them in the womb, thus sacrificing them to the “god” of sex. In America, we save the whales, we protect the seals, we brake for animals, yet we murder unborn children. The number of children murdered through abortion in American since 1973 is more than 30 million! How many more children do you think that God will continue to let us murder before He says ENOUGH!

Economic Collapse

Many top economic leaders and senators feel we are just a few years away from a major economic collapse. We are over 4 trillion dollars in debt and still spending! We will soon need all of our taxes to just pay for the national interest on our debt. The most likely scenario is that we can reprint money like Russia or Brazil since we gave them the idea! By reprinting money, we would devalue our dollars. In other words, your $100 bill would have the spending power of a $50 bill.

Jerusalem

The word Jerusalem means the “City of Peace.” But for those who know Jerusalem, it is anything but a city of peace! Jerusalem is the city where a blessing was pronounced on Abraham nearly 4,000 years ago. It was captured and exalted as the national capital of Israel by King David nearly 3,000 years ago. It is the only city that God ever called, “My city,” (I King 11:36). It is the place where Jesus was crucified. It is considered holy by three major religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. If you want the key to prophetic events..keep your eyes on Jerusalem. Recently, Israel was giving away land for peace to Syria according to a peace agreement. The Arabs said that the peace agreement will never be fulfilled until Jerusalem become s theirs again. So they are waiting for the peace negotiations to start for Jerusalem. Israel says that Jerusalem is non-negotiable, a dead issue, “don’t even talk to us about it!” The world thinks differently. In December of 1995 the United Nations voted to deny the legitimacy of Israel’s jurisdiction over any part of Jerusalem. The vote was 133-1! Israel was the only United Nations member state to oppose the resolution, while thirteen countries abstained, including the United States. Yasser Arafat has recently been grumbling over the negotiations for Jerusalem. Some of his recent statements are:

* If Israel rejects our demands there will be a reaction and we have a 30,000 man armed force. (June 1996)

* The Israelis are mistaken if they think we do not have alternative to negotiations. By Allah I swear they are wrong. The Palestinian people are prepared to sacrifice the last boy and the last girl so that the Palestinian flag will be flown over the walls, the churches and the mosques of Jerusalem. (At his young daughters birthday, Sept. 95, Jerusalem Post.)

* Are there no stones left in Hebron? Where are the stones and where are the mobs? Prepare yourselves for a struggle if the Israelis do not retreat from Hebron…. War! War! Continue the struggle! (Oct. 96)

God already told us in Zechariah what was going to happen to Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:3 says, “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all t he nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves…” The Scriptures are clear that the world is going to turn against Israel when they refuse to give up Jerusalem. They will blame Israel for refusing the peace plan, and everyone will turn against them except God! God then says that anyone who tries to touch “His” city will injure themselves.

The Coming Persecutions

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.” We all love to claim the blessings of the Bible. Unfortunately some of the warnings to the Christians are not a rosy picture. Jesus tells us that many Christians will suffer major persecution in the last days. In countries around the world, the Christians are the most tortured people in the world. During a recent 700 Club Show (CBN), it was reported that millions of Christians are suffering for their faith every day! Millions of Christians in nations like Sudan, China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Vietnam, and Cuba, live under the threat of death, imprisonment and torture. The United States is starting to have rumblings against Christians. Anything with the portrayal of Jesus Christ is starting to be rejected. Christmas mangers, crosses, and Bible scriptures around America are being removed from public places because they represent God, and are considered “offensive.” Almost all the groups of America are uniting: Hollywood, abortionists, gays and lesbians, politicians, to fight against the cause of Jesus Christ. The Christians in America are only a short time away from persecution, yet the sad truth is that we are closing our eyes to fact that it could happen to us!

Rise of the False Prophets

Some of the strongest signs of the last days according to Jesus is false prophets (Matthew 24:24), the apostasy (2 Thess. 2:3), and seducing spirits (1 Tim. 4:1). Welcome to the last days! We are now in a period of time in America when the church is losing her power. Instead of relying upon the Holy Spirit, ministers are resorting to gimmicks, and shows to entertain people into the kingdom of God. Turn on your local Christian radio show and much of the programming is for your health, or your psychological welfare. And even though our total being is affected after conversion, we are not to concentrate on winning peoples minds, but their souls. We have famous ministers teaming with the Rev. Moon because they agree together on politics! Talk about becoming unequally yoked! Matt. 24:24 tells us that there will false prophets coming with signs and wonders. What is a false prophet? Someone who can present 95% of the truth. But that 5% is enough to keep you from going to heaven! When you have some of the “famous” names in Christianity making statements like:

“..God is the biggest failure in the Bible..”

“..Jesus’s death on the cross was not enough to save us..”

These statements are more than false teachings, they are from the pit of hell, no matter who says them! And yet these statements are from the leading prosperity teachers of America. False teachings from false prophets. The Washington Post summed it up when it said, “Just when we needed the church, the church has become like us.” So now that we know the exciting news that we are in the season of the last days, let us see how the Scriptures tell us to live.

How to Live in the Last Days

I believe that the answer for surviving in the last days is in Ephesians 5:14-20: “..for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you’. Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be fill ed with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Wake Up

This passage starts off by telling us that those of us who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus are to wake up! C.S. Lewis once said that “the whole world was a drama, but when the main Author walks on the stage, the play is over.” The first step to living in the last days is to have a relationship with the Author of the drama! The picture of the coming events and disasters is depressing and frightening, unless you know that you have a solid insurance policy with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the Eternal Life Insurance Plan. God tells us in 1 Peter 1:3-5: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” This passage tells us that our only hope is a new birth into the Living Hope, Jesus. The new birth represents being born again, or as the as the Greek implies, born from the Spirit above. To be born again means that you’re asking Jesus to come into your life, letting Him become Lord and Savior. Jesus gives you the opportunity to start your life over again! He will make you a new person by giving you the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then changes you and makes you the person that He wants you to be. Those who have a relationship with Jesus have a living hope because Jesus rose from the dead. No other claimed “god,” Buddha, Krishna, Elvis, has risen again from the dead..only Jesus Christ. Then God promises us an “inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” As believers in Jesus see all these events happening, they will know that the return of their Messiah is near. Instead of being terrified by the m, we wait expectantly for His return.

Wise Up

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise..” This verse is exhorting us to walk carefully as Christians, being cautious to conduct our lives in righteous living. The word for “careful” implies with accuracy, in the right w ay, or exactly. If we stray from the way we should be walking we will fall into sin and be counted as a fool. The warning is to not be like the fool who cares little how they are living or what is happening. The fool does not care for the worth of his soul and through neglect, destroys himself. Proverbs 2:2-6 tells us how we receive wisdom, “Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if your cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” From the mouth of God, or actually the Word of God, comes wisdom. God’s wisdom gives us the ability to make right choices, to discern what is good or bad. When you have God’s wisdom, based on His Word, you can make right choices for your life, you can discern false teachings, false movements of God, and you will know the heart and mind of Christ. To live “as wise” means that you’re making the most of every opportunity, while understanding God’s will for your life, and you are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Redeeming the Time

“..making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil..” The Scriptures are telling us here to make the most of every opportunity, or to “redeem” the time. Romans 13:11-12 tells us, “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” I never forgot the sense of urgency in the Romanian Christians to get the Gospel out while the doors were still open against communism. Yet the doors of opportunity are closing in America and we have no sense of urgency at all! There are people dying and going to hell -make the “most of every opportunity” and let them know of the salvation of Jesus. There are countries where thousands of Christians are starving to death literally – make the “most of every opportunity” to help them.”…while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians 6:10). The old adage still applies today, “Work today as if Jesus were coming back tomorrow.” We are now living in what the apostle Paul called the days of evil. Paul writes, in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their 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. Have nothing to do with them.” I believe that our days of opportunity are short in America because we are approaching a time of persecution. The Bible tells us that “all who desire to live godly will be persecuted.” As man becomes more evil, his hatred towards God will grow. Since man can’t reach God, he will be going to take out his frustrations on God’s representatives, the Christians. So we must wake up and work with urgency while we still have opportunities.

Know God’s Will

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” This verse is telling us that the foolish person tries to function apart from God’s will. When Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33 to, “Seek first the kingdom of God,” He meant to seek first God’s rule, lordship, and will in our lives. Seek God’s will first in your relationships, in your finances, and in your ministry. Not only should we understand God’s will, but we should be putting it into action. God has given all of us gifts, talents, and abilities to help advance His Kingdom. When we don’t use them for His kingdom, we are like the man who failed to invest his talents in Matthew 25:14-30. God punished him for his lack of interest in the advancement of His kingdom and for his mistrust of God’s intentions! One day we will all stand before the Lord to give an account of what we have done for Him, and I’ m sure we all want to hear the words, “..Well done thou good and faithful servant..” (Matthew 25:23).

Be Filled with the Spirit

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery (corruption, evil). Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Wine leads to a temporary “high,” while the Holy Spirit gives us a better joy over depression, or anxiety. When we first received Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we were given the Holy Spirit. But God wants us to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit. God fills us as we empty ourselves, just like Jesus had to empty himself (Philippans 2). John the Baptist said, “He (Jesus) must become greater and I must become less.” As we decrease so that Jesus could increase, He fills us with His Holy Spirit. The part we play is to obey Galatians 5:25 which says “..let us keep in step with the Spirit.” This means that you must learn to walk in the same direction that the indwelling Holy Spirit is leading you to go. John McArthur, of Grace to You Ministries, gives an analogy of moment-by-moment yielding to the Holy Spirit’s control as the figure of walking. He said that “walking involves moving one step at a time, and can be done in no other way. Being filled with the Spirit is walking thought by thought, decision by decision, act by act under the under the Spirit’s control. When we fill ourselves with God’s Word, His thoughts become our thoughts, His standards become our standards, His work our work, and His will our will. As we yield ourselves to the truth of God, the Holy Spirit leads us what to say, to do, and to be.” As a yielded vessel, God empowers us to do His work in His way, with supernatural results.

Songs and Thanksgiving

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord..” Speaking to one another represents fellowship. Hebrews 10:25 tells us, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” God is telling us of the importance of fellowshiping together and encouraging one another, especially as we see the Day approaching: the return of Jesus! Music was an important part in Israel’s worship and celebration. Singing was considered an expression of love and thanks. Whenever the Hebrews were delivered from danger, they would sing with joy. “..always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” A spirit filled Christian is one who gives thanks in all circumstances because He knows that God is in control of his life. As Job went through his afflictions, he said in Job 2:10, “..Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” The same is true of us, shall we accept only good from God and not adversity? If we go through major persecution in America are we going to be bitter or thankful? To glorify God is to thank Him no matter how much we may hurt, or be disappointed, or fail to understand, because “..we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose .” (Rom. 8:28)

The Soon Return

As people of God’s Word, we should not be surprised what happens in this troubled and chaotic world. Times are going to keep on getting worse, and strange things are going to be happening. Yet Jesus promised us His peace in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” If you going through persecution or trials, keeping on pressing on, it won’t be long! Isaiah 12:3 tells us, “..God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” God tells us to set our minds on Him in Isaiah 26:3-4,”You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD is the Rock eternal.” Always remember that this is not our home, but soon we will be in a place where “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:4)