..........................I have placed this in the current events section because it is current
by Michael G. Mickey
(6-28-08)
2nd Timothy 3:1: This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. Luke 21:25: And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Luke 21:11: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. You know we must be living in the end times when even the secular media begins suggesting that our world is spinning out of control as seen in an Associated Press article. The following are excerpts from that article:
Is everything spinning out of control? Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.
and...
The sense of helplessness is even reflected in this year's presidential election. Each contender offers a sense of order — and hope. Republican John McCain promises an experienced hand in a frightening time. Democrat Barack Obama promises bright and shiny change, and his large crowds believe his exhortation, "Yes, we can."
and...
Americans need do no more than check the weather, look in their wallets or turn on the news for their daily reality check on a world gone haywire. Floods engulf Midwestern river towns. Is it global warming, the gradual degradation of a planet's weather that man seems powerless to stop or just a freakish late-spring deluge? It hardly matters to those in the path. Just ask the people of New Orleans who survived Hurricane Katrina. They are living in a city where, 1,000 days after the storm, entire neighborhoods remain abandoned, a national embarrassment that evokes disbelief from visitors. Food is becoming scarcer and more expensive on a worldwide scale, due to increased consumption in growing countries such as China and India and rising fuel costs. That can-do solution to energy needs — turning corn into fuel — is sapping fields of plenty once devoted to crops that people need to eat. Shortages have sparked riots. In the U.S., rice prices tripled and some stores rationed the staple.
Is our world spinning out of control? Yes, but few today are willing to make the obvious connection between all of these things and Bible prophecy as RaptureAlert.com has been doing since 2003. All around us, the signs of Christ's coming are plainly visible. Our world is in deep trouble and there's no let-up in sight nor is there going to be.
Believe it or not, like it or not, we are nearing a critical juncture in the history of mankind.
Soon Almighty God, who has shown mankind tremendous grace both through the gift of His precious Son to take away the sins of the world and restraint He has shown to wicked and rebellious mankind by remaining largely in the shadows, is going to rapture the Church and, subsequently, make Himself known as the Most High once again by bringing a world that has forgotten its God to its knees and, ultimately, to a direct confrontation with Him we commonly refer to as Armageddon after which there will no longer be any question as to who is in charge. Praise God!
Between the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Christ, a world that is already beginning to reel on wobbly legs is going to be shaken like a leaf in a tornado. It will be a time of horror for those left behind which is why I prepared, near the creation of RaptureAlert.com, a post-rapture survival guide I pray will prove to be of some benefit to the poor souls who, having had ample opportunity to come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ prior to this terrible time coming upon them, might have one final chance to come to salvation - and make the decisions they may well have to in order to end up in the presence of the Lord and the saints when all is said and done, which is going to be nightmarishly difficult but by no means impossible.
Let the skeptic beware
Someplace out there a skeptic will read this and think that maybe we're simply in a rough patch and things will get better soon. To that person I would say without hesitance, "You're kidding yourself." Let's look at just a few reasons why... The Associated Press is reporting the following, in part:
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), bitterly divided over sexuality and the Bible, set up another confrontation Friday over its ban on ordaining non-celibate gays and lesbians. The denomination's General Assembly, meeting in San Jose, Calif., voted 54 percent to 46 percent Friday to drop the requirement that would-be ministers, deacons and elders live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between and a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness."
In Bible prophecy we're told that the last days is going to involve apostasy overtaking the Church as recorded in 1st Timothy 4:1 and 2nd Timothy 4:3-4:
1st Timothy 4:1: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2nd Timothy 4:3-4: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Not only does God forbid homosexuality being practiced, adultery (sexual relations outside of the biblical definition of marriage) is forbidden as well. The invasion of homosexuality into the Church and adultery being an acceptable behavior for church leaders is a sign of the times. It is, in fact, an even larger sign of how close we are to the return of Christ than these sexual sins being practiced outside of the Church. It is one thing for the world to accept these things; another thing for churches to signal a lack of opposition to them!
Concerning the advancement of the homosexual agenda on many fronts, the Bible tells us that when the world becomes as it was "in the days of Lot", when he lived in Sodom and Gomorrah leading up to their destruction, Christ's return is at hand. (Luke 17:28-30) We're there, readers. Our world is spinning out of control and that tells us something. It tells us Jesus Christ is coming soon!
Did you know that, for the very first time in human history, this summer may see the North Pole have no - as in ZERO ice covering it, according to The Independent. The following is an excerpt from that article:
It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year. The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic – and worrying – examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer. "From the viewpoint of science, the North Pole is just another point on the globe, but symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed to be ice at the North Pole, not open water," said Mark Serreze of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado.
The unthinkable may well happen this year. There's a lot of that going on lately, isn't there? All around us there are indicators that our world is spinning out of control. The Bible likens the last days to a woman in labor. (1st Thessalonians 5:3) Not only do the contractions involved in that process grow both in length and intensity, they additionally occur more frequently until, finally, the pain gives way to the birth of a child.
Where prophecy is concerned, the baby that's coming at the end of the world's pain in this instance is the fully-matured version of the baby who was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago or so. When He arrived here the first time, He did some crying. When He returns, however? It's going to be the world that does all the crying! All kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him! (Revelation 1:7)
Lastly, as odd as it may sound to someone unfamiliar with Bible prophecy, the prospect of peace coming to the Middle East, particularly between Israel and her enemies, is something to keep an eye on - that seemingly being a contradiction to a world spinning out of control when in fact it's anything but!
Peace as a sign of a world spinning out of control?
To get to my point we need to look at an ancient prophecy given us by the prophet Daniel, some history, and current events.
First, the prophecy...
Daniel 9:26-27: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The people who come to destroy Jerusalem and the sanctuary in AD 70 was the Romans. The prince (or leader) that shall come, the Antichrist, will be of Roman descent. He will confirm (or make strong) a covenant of peace in the Middle East between Israel and her enemies seven precise years in length.
When the Antichrist confirms peace in the Middle East or at some point prior to that, the Rapture of the Church will take place and the Tribulation Period will begin. The world will rejoice briefly, thinking we've gone from spinning out of control to the onset of a period of peacefulness that could allow mankind to rally the wagons so to speak but that won't be the case. It's at that point that a world that has forgotten its God will go from spinning out of control into a nosedive!
1st Thessalonians 5:3: 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. Points to consider on this topic:
Jerusalem is today the burdensome stone of the world as prophesied in Zechariah 12:3.
We're told an Antichrist of Roman descent will arise to confirm peace "with many" between Israel and her enemies. Recently, French president Nicolas Sarkozy made clear that a goal of his six-month EU presidency set to begin on July 1st will be to bring peace to the Middle East. Just a few days ago Sarkozy offered to negotiate peace and even went so far as to pledge EU troops to the region which is how the modern world confirms peace! (I'm not suggesting that Sarkozy is the Antichrist in the making. I'm merely addressing the fact that what Bible prophecy tells us is eventually going to occur, sooner or later, is presently falling from the lips of those in positions to bring Daniel's prophecy to fulfillment if this is the appointed time set forth by the Most High God, which only He knows!)
Bearing the previous in mind, top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority Saeb Erekat said the following recently, "If we want a peace agreement – there are only six months left. This is the time to make decisions."
The international Quartet of the UN, US, EU and Russia is still active, continuing in its efforts to bring peace in the Middle East. Could the Quartet be the "many" of which the prophet Daniel wrote?
President Bush, a staunch supporter of the Quartet's roadmap to peace, is continuing to suggest that Middle East peace may arrive prior to him leaving office in January of 2009.
Conclusions To the untrained eye our world is spinning out of control, but to those of us who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and understand Bible prophecy? The immediate future looks dark from our perspective as well, but the difference between us and everyone else is we know that our plight could be over in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Soon, we believe, Christ is going to gather His Church to His side that the whole of Bible prophecy can be fulfilled, which will lead to His Glorious Appearing at Armageddon and the establishment of His kingdom here on the earth - a time when war will be learned no more and things will be better than we can even begin to fathom, especially in light of everything going on around us.
Isaiah 11:6: The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
...................................................benny
P.S...Curiously, I wonder if the melting of the North Pole, would be connected somehow to the magnetic polar reversal in 2012???
..................................benny