End Time Message – Part 4 (Perilous Times)
PERILOUS TIMES
The last days are also characterized by Apostle Paul as “perilous times” because of the increasingly evil character of men and people who actively “resist the truth”. II Timothy 3:1-5 tells us, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
For anyone who has watched television or has read today’s newspapers, it is quite obvious that this prophecy has been truly fulfilled in our generation. Our leaders are often corrupt; our cities are filled with crimes of rape, kidnapping, murder, brutality, and our billboards and neon signs are proclaiming sinful and godless advertisements such as that of liquors, cigars, casinos and night clubs. We are truly living in Satan’s eden. Satan is the god of this evil age, the “prince of the power of the air”.
ISRAEL AS A NATION
The most prominent sign of the end times, however, is the nation of Israel. All end time prophecies are centered around the nation of Israel. In 1948, Israel was recognized as a sovereign state for the first time since 70 A.D. The nation of Israel did not exist before except as a dispersed people throughout the nations. The soon return of the Lord could never happen if they will remain scattered throughout all the world. Since their founding, this last generation has seen the final restoration of Jacob, as her people begin to return to their promised land. This generation that sees Israel become a nation, according to the Bible, shall not pass away untill all things be fulfilled. The Bible points to Israel as the “fig tree”. Mark 13:28-30, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, [even] at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.” Isaiah spoke of a day when the nation of Israel would be born in one day.
Paul in Romans 11:25-27 states, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their
Having Israel as a nation in its own land, therefore, is of great significance in light of end-time prophecy since God’s timeline for the world’s kingdoms is based upon Israel’s seventy weeks of Daniel (Read “70 Weeks of Daniel” in Chapter 36). Other sure signs connected with the nation of Israel would include a rebuilding of a Jewish temple in Jerusalem, increased hostility towards Israel (Isaac’s lineage) by the Moslems and Arab nations (Ishmael’s lineage), and a soon coming Judeo-Vatican-American covenant for a one-world religion and a one-world government.
THE NEW WORLD ORDER
Witnessing the founding of the United Nations and the founding of the World Council of Churches in 1948, the same year when Israel became a nation, signalled the ending of the age. The creation of the World Trade Organization, International Criminal Court, UN peacekeeping/police force, numerous UN NGO’s, and other global agencies, are but preliminary steps to the formation of a new world order. We now have the communications technology, transportation, and the pro-globalization media necessary to usher in the one world government which, according to the Bible, will be headed by the antiChrist. The increasing terrorist threat and the Middle East conflict will only speed up the formation of these governing bodies as fear and promises of better security make more people more willing to give up their national sovereignty for global governance. There will be an economic sabotage for “No man can buy or sell except he that has the Mark of the beast”. “Beast” signifies “power”; that will be the power of the ruling body of the soon coming one-world government.
The mission-vision of the New World Order is described by the Committee of 300 as follows: “Global governance aspires to provide to every person on earth security from threat of war, environmental degradation, and from the injustice of poverty, intolerance, and disease. The oppressed people of the world surely take great hope from such noble aspirations. The central theme of global governance is embodied in the concept of “sustainable development”: the integration of economic activity with social justice and environmental protection.”
KNOWLEDGE SHALL INCREASE
We can add three more other clues as stated in the Book of Daniel concerning this last generation. First, there would be a population boom. Secondly, this generation would be the most traveled generation due to the advancement in transportation sytems. And third, this generation would experience tremendous increase in knowledge due to the technological advancements in computers. Daniel 12:4 states, “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
In October of 2011, the world passed the 7 Billion mark for the world population of people living in this planet. At that moment, we exceeded the number that no one has ever imagined. We now have more people alive on the earth at this time than any other age that has ever existed upon this earth. At this moment in the history of earth, more than 50% of the people that have ever lived on it are alive at this time. Clearly, this generation (like no other) has so many people in it.
This generation has also seen travel increase exceeding anything ever dreamed of in the past generations. In 1969, we have put men on the moon and brought them back. People have gone to the North and South Pole many times. Men have climbed the highest mountain Mt. Everest. We have traveled internationally from nation to nation on a daily basis in a matter of hours due to supersonic airplanes. No other past generation can even approach us by comparison in this field alone.
Finally, this generation has seen the volume of world knowledge double more than seven times in our own time. The knowledge of the world didn’t double the first time until 1958. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, they can’t keep up with the ever increasing knowledge. They claim that the knowledge of the world is doubling every 22 months. Sociologists have characterized this generation alone as being the “Knowledge Age”. Only one generation has experienced these so many changes due to increased knowledge. The Bible says that the last generation will be characterized by this phenomena.
COMMERCIALISM & MORAL DECAY
Our age can also be well-characterized by its booming trade and commerce, marriage and divorce cases, and an increase in moral decay. The Bible types our age with that of the days of Noah and Lot. Noah’s highly scientific age was finally destroyed by water. Lot’s generation of Sodomites was finally destroyed by fire and brimstone. LUKE 17:26-30 declares- “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”
Here is one latest American Statistics:
- 60% of marriages in the United States end up in divorce.
- 40 million abortions have taken place in the U.S. since 1973.
- Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes
- Homosexuality was once a crime, now taking a stand against it, is considered the crime.
- It is currently estimated that about 10% of the population is homosexual.
- The U.S. Census 2000 reveals Households headed by unmarried partners grew 72%
Sex is the number one reason adult Americans use the Internet. One-third of all visits are to sexually oriented Web sites, chat rooms and news groups 21 million Americans visit one of the more than 60,000 sex sites on the Web at least once a month.
More than 4 out of 10 young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20—nearly one million a year.
Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 80 percent are to unmarried teens. Nationwide, 40% of our ninth graders, 48% of our tenth graders, 57% of our eleventh graders and 72% of our twelfth graders have had sex.
The average age at which American children first engage in sexual activity is currently 15 for American girls and 14 for American boys.
Lotteries have become a multi-billion dollar industry throughout the U.S.
Canada and California has approved marriages between homosexuals.
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