Men and brethren, the end of the last days has come. Many find it hard to believe we are living in the last days of earth's history.
2 Peter 3:3-4 says, “First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will come scoffers who will do every wrong they can think of, and laugh at the truth. This will be their line of argument: ‘So Jesus promised to come back, did He? Then where is He? He'll never come! Why, as far back as anyone can remember everything has remained exactly as it was since the first day of creation'" (TLB).
Jesus instructed us saying, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Lk. 21:36).
What are those things Jesus instructed us to “watch out” for? They are listed in Matthew 24:1-14 and they include:
1. Deception. Today, men are posing as Jesus so as to deceive as many people as possible in the last days.
Jesus in reply to the questions His disciples asked Him said unto them, “Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matt. 24:4-5).
Again Jesus warned saying, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matt. 24:11).
In Matthew 24:23-24 Jesus said, "At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!' or ‘There He is!' Do not believe it. For false Christ's and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect—if that were possible."
Be careful because so many native doctors have carried the Bible and gone into the world looking for those they can deceive especially those who are looking for signs and wonders.
Jesus told us how to recognize them: He said, “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16, 20).
2. Wars and Rumors of wars. The sign of wars, increasing violence and lawlessness is the second thing to watch out for.
"But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.” (Mk. 13:7, NKJV).
Jesus said, “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matt. 24:7).
Today’s world is full of widespread wars and rumors of wars. Many wars will erupt and the earth would be filled with violence. Never in history have so many nations stockpiled weapons of mass destruction like it is today.
Therefore, watch out for wars: big wars, little wars, ethnic wars, wars of all sorts, and escalating violence and increasing lawlessness - which will increasingly affect the entire world.
Right now, there are many ethnic wars taking place, not only in the former Yugoslavia, but also in the former Soviet Union and in many places throughout Africa and Asia.
3. There will be scoffers. In 2 Peter, chapter 3, the Bible describes these scoffers as people who will follow their own sinful desires while mocking the truth of Jesus’ return as though it will never happen (2 Pet. 3:2-5).
“People will say, ‘Oh yeah, God is dead,'” “‘We can’t find God anywhere. We took a trip up to space; we didn’t meet God, and we didn’t meet any angels while we were there.’
“And there are going to be other scoffers that will scoff at the idea of future judgment, scoff at the idea that Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth again. They’ll laugh at the whole idea.”
4. Drought and Famine: Drought is a period of dry weather especially that which is injurious to crops. Drought and famine, lack of rain and lack of food, will stalk the earth in such a massive scale never seen before.
In Matthew 24:7 Jesus talked about famine saying, “And there will be FAMINES.”
The book of Revelation confirms this coming famine. “When he had broken the third seal (shortly before the Second Coming of Christ), I heard the third Living Being (an angelic personage) say, ‘Come!’ And I saw a black horse, with its rider holding a pair of balances in his hand. And a voice from among the four Living Beings said, ‘A loaf of bread for 9000 Naira, or three pounds of barley flour, but there is no olive oil or wine’” (Rev. 6:5-6, The Living Bible).
According to the United Nations, an estimated near 900 million people went hungry in a recent year.
5. An increase in knowledge and travel is a sign of the last days. "But Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal it up so that it will not be understood until the end times, when travel and education shall be vastly increased!” (Dan. 12:4, TLB).
6. The global cry for peace. Talking of peace and safety are a sign of the last days. Never has there been such a concerted, global effort to bring about peace at any cost. About the time everybody is congratulating each other saying, “We can take it easy, we have peace and security,” suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.
"For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thess. 5:2-3, NIV).
7. The occurrence of Pestilences. Jesus said, “…and there shall be pestilences…” (Matt. 24:7). Pestilence is a deadly epidemic disease. An epidemic is a disease that affects many people at the same time. It is called a pandemic when that epidemic is affecting people all over the world at the same time.
For instance, COVID-19 is a pandemic. What is the meaning of COVID-19? COVID-19 means Certificate Of Vaccination IDentity with 19 whereby: i) 1 = a, and ii) 9 = i for AI = Artificial Intelligence.
Here is the truth: People are aware that whenever society is disrupted due to war or natural calamities, there is always the threat of disease. But these disease problems are just a small foretaste of the deadly contagious pandemics that are prophesied to sweep the earth.
Revelation 6:7-8 says, “I heard the fourth Living Being say, ‘Come!’ And now I saw a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. And there followed after him another horse whose rider’s name was Hell. They were given control of one-fourth of the earth, to kill with war and famine and disease and wild animals” (LB).
9. The Occurrence of Earthquakes in diverse places: Earthquakes and tsunamis continue to make frequent news headlines.
The Bible says: “…and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places…” (Matt. 24:6-8). In recent years, the disasters are getting worse all over the world.
Increasing seismic activity is one of the powerful indicators of the Last Days according to the Bible. In recent years, the disasters are getting worse all over the world.
For instance, in 2008, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, China, and nearly 70,000 people died and 18,000 missing.
According to the natural phenomenon, as the crust of the earth thickens, the earthquakes should have been fewer and fewer.
But now the earthquakes occur more often, and this puzzles scientists. And Scripture tells us that, before Jesus Christ returns, there will be increasing “earthquakes in various places” (Mk. 13:8; Matt. 24:7).
In the last few years, there have been frequent earthquakes, sometimes in unusual places. This trend will continue because the Bible indicates that it will.
The Bible records specific instances of earthquakes in the past and predicts them in the future (Zech. 14:4-5). In the near future, there will be more earthquakes even in places where they are not normally expected.
Not all the earthquakes of the near future will be natural disasters, the usual groans and strains of planet earth’s crust. Some will be directly induced by God as a sign of His power, and will be designed to help people wake up.
The earthquakes specifically mentioned by Jesus Christ as a foreshadowing sign of His return will be unusual by their location or unparalleled magnitude.
In Isaiah 29:6, God says of Jerusalem, “You will be punished by the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with storm and tempest and the flame of devouring fire.”
10. Afflictions, Persecutions and killing of Christians: Jesus warned us that there shall be a worldwide persecution of all true believers.
Jesus said, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you…” (Matt. 24:9-10).
The banning of prayer, the Ten Commandments, nativity scenes, and the lockdown of churches, reflect this growing trend. More Christians have been martyred during the past century than during all previous history.
As I speak, many believers are in prison and being murdered in places such as the case in many parts of Nigeria especially in the north, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, accused of blasphemy and false charges, for faithfully preaching the Gospel.
11. The Regathering of the Nation of Israel. Many prophecies, such as Isaiah 11:11; Ezekiel chapters 37, 38 and 39 and Jesus’ own prediction in Luke 21, clearly foretold that the Jewish people would be regathered in the land of Israel in the last days.
Never until our generation has a nation that has been dispersed to every corner of the globe, been regathered back to their ancient homeland. That on its own is a sign of the Second Coming of Christ.
The Bible said Israel would become a wasteland when the Jews were expelled from their land, and indeed, during the past 1900 years, the land of Israel became a desolate wasteland. But according to a specific prophecy in Isaiah 66:8, Israel suddenly became a nation again in one day on May 14, 1948.
Jews have returned from the north, south, east, and west as predicted by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. Jews have emigrated from Europe, Asia, the Americas, from everywhere! Nearly a million Jews have emigrated from Russia in the north. Israel, once a desert, is blossoming and exporting produce to the world.
Israel’s increased rainfall and world-renowned irrigation technology have caused the land to blossom and fill the world with fruit and flowers!
The Jews who return to Israel will have no king until Jesus returns. “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days” (Hos. 3:4-5).
Indeed, Israel has been without a king for over 2500 years. Israel is not a theocracy; presently the Jewish state is governed by a democracy comprised of multiple political parties.
In Matthew 24:32-33 Jesus said, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.”
In May 1948, Israel was recovered. Shortly after David Ben-Gurion announced the establishment of Israel at Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948, Soviet Union recognized it soon and set up an embassy there in May 26, and later supported Israel in many ways. The Bible fact is that Israel is supernaturally invincible.
Since 1948, tiny Israel has been attacked in three major wars and several lesser wars. Yet despite being vastly outnumbered, the Jews have defeated all their attacking foes.
Even during the battle in the future, when it looks like Israel will be destroyed, the Lord promises to intervene and to save Israel.
On May 11, 1949, Israel was accepted officially as a member of the United Nations with the support of Soviet Union and America.
12. The move toward a global government as predicted by the prophet Daniel and the Book of Revelation. The former Roman Empire which encompassed present-day Europe will revive and eventually dominate the world.
The European Union has steadily moved forward in its attempt to unite Europe politically and economically. It has succeeded in creating a European parliament, a court, and a common currency.
13. The Emergence of Heresies. Heresy is any belief or opinion that is contrary to the Word of God. Now many heresies and evil cults occur in the religious world of every country. They have no truths at all, can’t supply believers with truth and life, much less bring people any edification or benefit.
In Matthew 24:33 Jesus said that many false prophets and false teachers will introduce heresies, and they will unfortunately cause many persons to reject the truth of God’s Word.
For instance, Infant baptism (Mk. 16:15), Annulment of marriage (Rom. 7:1-3), Divorce (Mal. 2:16), Once saved forever saved (Rom. 8:1-2), you should not pay your tithes because it is OT, A man can marry more than one wife, etc.
Today, because of the influence and media attention given to atheists and false teachers, tragically many people are brainwashed into rejecting the Bible. It’s the case of the old adage, that if you hear a lie often enough, you’ll believe it. There’s a proliferation of religious leaders who are only out for their pockets. They’ll say anything that sounds good in order to exploit you.
“(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil. 3:18).
Of course, they’ll come to a bad end, because God never just stands by and lets that kind of thing go on forever.
Philippians 3:19 says, “Whose end is DESTRUCTION, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things)” (Phil. 3:19).
We shall continue with this discussion next Sunday. So watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!
- Your friend: I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor) May 24th, 2020!
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