In these days and
times, it has been shown that many, many,
people are searching for explanations
concerning the end of times, as spoken of in
the Bible. I applaud anyone who is willing
to seek out these answers, because in the
process, they will find Jesus Christ, who is
and was and ever shall be God. I am also
aware of those who are the “scoffers.” The
Bible makes it known that they will abound
in the last days. This statement by our Lord
is found in 2 Peter 3:3-4: "Knowing
this first, that there shall come in the
last days scoffers, walking after their
own lusts, And saying, Where is the
promise of his coming? for since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of the creation"
(emphasis added). And as many people can
attest, this is the situation, wherever one
turns his or her attention. I must admit,
though, that I do not have a problem with
the scoffers—mostly because they are very
ardent concerning their beliefs and are very
vocal as well. I can simply proceed by
stating that “God will NOT be mocked.” These
individuals have already made up their
minds, whether or not they understand what
the Bible is stating.
In their defense, so to
speak, I must say that they have no true
knowledge of the Scriptures and the reason
is that they do NOT belong to Our Lord and
Savior; therefore, they will not have a
divinely inspired discernment. Many say they
have a hard time reading the Bible and
understanding what is written there, and so
again, I remind them that they need to come
to Jesus Christ and give their lives to Him.
After doing so, they need to ask for
discernment or understanding of what they
are reading. In essence, this is a leap of
faith that only the Lord can give, usually
not of the sort a new believer would be
capable of. Typically, the new believer will
spend a certain amount of time as a
“newborn” partaking of the Scriptures, like
a baby with milk. It would be ludicrous to
expect them to understand certain things
without first coming to know WHO Jesus
Christ truly is. In other words, groundwork
must be laid before moving on to the things
dealing with the last days. Here again is a
concern and also a period of time when many
get discouraged and lost. It is also a time
when the “newborn” needs assistance from
others who are farther along. Many of Paul's
letters were concerned with this very
subject matter and older Christians need to
be aware of this and provide the needed
assistance. This is our normal, everyday
work for the Lord.
In these, the last
days, there is another concern of the most
heinous form, the apostasy of many who
believe they are true believers and yet
their direction is not of the Lord. It can
be found in many churches teaching the
“prosperity” theology, or the theology of
happiness, while here on earth. It is the
teaching of another gospel, one other than
the Word of God that is found in the Bible.
This, then, is a bastardization of the Bible
and most heinous in nature. Oprah Winfrey
stated that there are many ways to the
Father and yet the Bible states in John
14: 5-9, "Thomas
saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither
thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me. If ye had known me,
ye should have known my Father also: and
from henceforth ye know him, and have seen
him. Philip saith unto him,
Lord, shew us the
Father, and it sufficeth us.
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long
time with you, and yet hast thou not known
me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath
seen the Father; and how sayest thou
then, Shew us the Father?"
(emphasis added). This shows without fail
that Jesus Christ is God and the ONLY way to
the Father is Jesus Christ! So as we see,
the apostasy is everywhere, and it is so
very convenient to anyone; the Internet is
full of it! For those searching so
desperately, this then is the bane that must
be proven to all, a defined line, drawn
between truth and falsehood. It is the
saddest of all, when we read or listen to or
watch on TV someone who professes a gospel
that is anything less than the gospel of
Jesus Christ. And then to think that there
are those who have sought the Lord Jesus
Christ with all their hearts and have come
away with a knowledge that is against Our
Lord and Savior and are now lost in
eternity! The Bible is NOT metaphorical,
subjective, or anything else...it is meant
to be read and faithfully believed as the
Truth without question. The discernment of
God's Word, the Bible, is only of God...as a
gift!!
Today more than any
other time in all the history of mankind,
everyone seems to innately KNOW that
“something” is up, and that “something” is
going on, and they want to know what that
“something” is. Never before has knowledge
been so readably available, or has
technology been moving so ferociously.
People across the world are in a position to
feel that they can sit back and take it
easy, not worry, because “the diseases are a
thing of the past, technology has run its
course, and we are now safe. What's there to
worry about? Let's party on, dude!” And yet
the Bible says in Matthew 24:37-39: “But
as the days of Noah were, so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be. For as in the
days that were before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noah entered
into the ark, And knew not until the flood
came, and took them all away; so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be.”
In my humble opinion...we are there, right
now!
Humanity has run its
course, according to the will of God! The
last days are upon us, with the Rapture of
the church of Jesus Christ
ready to take place any day! In Matthew
24:40-41, we read that: "Then shall two be
in the field; the one shall be taken, and
the other left. Two women shall be grinding
at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the
other left." We will see this
Rapture take place; we will hear the trumpet
of God, and then voice of Jesus Christ call
us to join Him in the clouds…and so shall we
ever be with the Lord. This is not
speculation or rumor; this is fact as the
Bible, God's Holy Word, says! As Jeff
Foxworthy says, there will be “pandalerium”
in the streets! Babies will be gone, adults
of every age will be gone, and everyone is
going to KNOW that something truly serious
has just taken place! I already know that
the government will eventually state that
this was the result of extraterrestrial
beings taking all those who are missing, but
I also know that the vast majority will know
differently...deep in their hearts, they
will know! I cannot imagine what many will
feel, those who have been told over and over
again about the Rapture of the
church
of Jesus Christ.
The ever-present statement, “left behind,”
doesn't seem to fit the bill. And yet the
horror and panic, the terror that those
people will experience will be immeasurable!
There will be a call
for explanation like has never been known in
all the time that humans have been on this
little planet! Some will instantly remember
that now begins the “Tribulation,” a time of
unparalleled violence and destruction...that
they are now in “center stage.” They will
remember being told that for the next seven
years, this earth and everyone on it will be
at the center of God's anger poured out
without dilution! I can't help but feel the
deepest sorrow of sorrows for those left
behind, that they must now deal with
everything God can hand out to them for
their unbelief. It is beyond my ability to
comprehend the level of fear they will
experience when they discover the truth of
the Bible and learn that the joke is now on
them...They will no longer be laughing and
scoffing! My heart aches...already!
With this image so
securely etched in my head and heart, I call
to anyone reading this. Jesus Christ is the
ONLY way to heaven and the Father! There is
NO other gospel than the gospel of Jesus
Christ, His blood shed on the cross at
Calvary for the forgiveness of
sin! No one can write on the last days
without writing about the gospel according
to Jesus Christ. The beginning was about
God's love and then creation. Then again,
the last days are about God's love and the
destruction of the world as we know it.
Today, the weatherman
says it is going to be over 100 degrees
Fahrenheit. I hate the heat. Anything over
90 degrees is just plain hot, dry, wet,
whatever! Thinking of the heat of hell is
beyond me, and I don't want anything to do
with it! Add to that the separation, the
isolation, the anger and hatred, the eternal
desperation, but most of all...the lack of
any sort of HOPE...and on top of that,
lasting for eternity! Go ahead, flip me on
over, I'm done just thinking about it! I do
however, know of a place of continual
refreshment, the haven of hope, eternal
peace, just ask me!