Signs of the Times

I would be one of those persons that many people would call a dispensationalist eschatologically, though strictly speaking I don't think I quite fit the label. I believe for a lot of different Biblical reasons that the church will be caught out of this world before a seven year long period of tribulation, and spared from the judgments that will be poured out on mankind during that time. This isn't something I will argue about with folks. It is just a belief I have arrived at after many years of studying the Bible.

There are many prophetic events leading up to that time, and events and occurrences that take place during those seven years and after. It has always been fascinating to me. While I don't believe it should be any kind of distraction, it is a huge component of the Scriptures that like the rest, should be studied. As time is winding down, I think it should be a great motivator for us to speak to people about sin, righteousness and the pure judgment of God.

The early church was motivated out of love for Christ to reach the lost, and perhaps also because they expected Jesus to return in their lifetime. They knew that the time could be very short. There are different reasons for that. For one, some in that day thought that perhaps the apostle John would still be living when He came back because of what he said to Peter before He ascended. (John 21:22) In Matthew 24:44 He said that "for in that hour you think not, the Son of Man comes," and to the apostle John he said, "Behold, I come quickly:" (Revelation 3:11). The sense was that His appearance would be "sudden", and could come at any moment, and that is how they and we ought to live.

To humans though, two thousand years is a chunk, especially to unbelieving human beings. Peter wrote of this in his second epistle saying, "3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 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. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." (Chapter 3)

There are scoffers like that today, surely. I have talked with them online and in person. No shortage there, but things are changing. There seems to be to be a trend toward questions among the unbelieving about the things prophesied in the latter days. Sure, you get the questions about whether or not some leader is the anti-Christ or about how America fits into Biblical prophecy or not, but people are starting to perceive that what is spoken of in the Bible may actually have some validity.

This inkling that people in the secular realm have that unexpected things are happening suddenly makes some of them uneasy. They may regard what they see happening and any connection to Bible prophecy in the same way that they might see the writings of Nostradamas or some other false prophet, but some people are paying attention. I do not think it is a good idea to base prophetic teaching on headlines, but I don't see a thing wrong with recognizing how events are lining up with Biblical prophecy. Jesus said in Matthew 24:36 that we would not know the day or the hour of His return, but just three verses earlier He said that when certain events were seen that men should know that His coming was very near. Likewise, there are events that precede those events, and people are seeing some of those events in the beginnings of their formations.

One good example of those events is the current economic crisis. It isn't just here in the United States. It is a global crisis, and since the key prophetic passages in Daniel, Matthew and the Book of Revelation dealing with end times speak in global terms, people are paying attention. Our leadership in the United States at present is acting extremely irrationally, pushing fiscally irresponsible bills through the House and Senate at record speed, all the while telling the American public that every dollar spent will somehow generate a buck-and-a-half in return. Hence, spending by the trillions. This is just nuts. President Obama plans to spend in his presidency, more than the sum total that all of the forty-three presidents who preceded him have spent--combined. He is literally gambling with the financial welfare of an entire nation. If he succeeds in spending the kind of brain-tripping figures that he wants to spend, it is likely a policy that will not only eventually demand extremely high taxes, but is also one from which not only this nation, but the rest of the world will probably never recover. It is likely also to be a catalyst for more cascading end times events.

The fact that people are so polarized about this policy and so many still approve of what the President is doing is amazing to me, even in 2009. What happens when this insane gamble fails as the end times wind down? More insanity will probably ensue. Will the Federal Reserve, if it still exists will be pulling out the I.O.U. and using the old Steve Martin joke and say, "I'll put them here---in my white coat."?

Many people know that the Bible says that there will be a future leader who sets into place a financial system wherein nobody can by or sell without his approval. That approval will be in the form of a "mark" the Bible says on the forehead or upon the right hand. (Revelation 13:16-17) At the present time, there are fewer people on the planet that believe that is nonsense. Before this last month, most unbelievers and a lot of Christians for that matter regarded a global currency as a ridiculous notion from conspiracy theorists. Headlines from the last couple of weeks have made many reconsider that position. A United Nations economic team not only approves of dumping the dollar as the global currency reserve that it has been almost by default, but has come up with a plan to replace the U.S. dollar with a world currency reserve. That announcement followed one by China's central bank to do the same thing.

These other governments are looking for financial stability right now, and they don't see the answers for that coming out of U.S. leadership. The U.S. is in turmoil right now because our whole system of government is being changed before our eyes. It smells a lot like socialism, and while that may not bother a great deal of the people who live here, it bothers a great deal of others. There are many "tea parties" going on throughout the U.S., and there will be more to follow. These are peaceful demonstrations so far, but I have a feeling that there will be problems and more and more people in upheaval as the leadership here tends in their arrogance to ignore them. In any event, the Bible says that things will destabilize and people will be calling for peace. They will be looking for a leader to bring that peace about.

I'm fifty-one years old, and I have never heard so many people speculate about who the anti-Christ may be. I know full well that we are not to be looking for this man, so truthfully, I don't bother. We are to be looking for Jesus. That said, it is predictable that the world would be more interested in who the anti-Christ is than in Jesus. I think that many view the anti-Christ as sort of an equal/opposite of Jesus. Nothing is further from the truth, but still the interest remains.

With all of this financial instability and craziness at the forefront of the headlines, and as some of the world's most high profile leaders are meeting in the UK to discuss it, I wonder how the nation of Israel will figure into their discussions. That tiny little country has remained in the headlines not matter what else has been happening. Try as it might to remove Israel from the land God promised to it, the world just can't seemed to take its eyes off of it. Whether because she does something independently or whether she is defending herself, the U.N. consistently condemns Israel and sympathizes with terrorist movements within the borders of her neighbors. Leaders are defined by how they deal with Middle East concerns and now, as fanatically led Iran moves ever closer to having nuclear weapons, our current president wants to appease and pander to that nation and to others who harbor terrorist factions. That only purports the leaders of those nations to be fools who can't see the error of their ways. That isn't the case. They know exactly what it is that they wish to do. They wish to erase Israel from existence by any possible means.

Some people are beginning to understand that Israel has only survived thus far by the grace of Almighty God, because He is not finished with her. They are beginning to see that with all of the fiscal upheaval in the world that perhaps those crazy prophecies in the Bible aren't so crazy after all. They are beginning to see that this world needs more than a financial and political Savior. But---I urge those brothers and sisters in Christ who might be reading this post to act for the Lord---because truly we do not know how long this window will be open. The tide could turn at any moment--suddenly.

1st Thessalonians 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 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. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.