One would think that with all the chaos in just the first six months of 2020 we would see a concentrated focus by pastors on biblical prophecy and warnings about what is to come, but such is not the case.
Why do we see such a lack of urgency in our churches as biblical signs of the coming tribulation explode around us like fireworks in the sky? Why do Christians, some of whom profess to believe in the pretribulation rapture, flock to churches where they, sadly, hear no mention of the Lord’s soon appearing or the imminent tribulation?
Could it be that they do not want to hear about the coming disruption to their lives? Is it not much easier to attend a church that never talks about Jesus’ imminent appearing, but pushes it to the far-distant end of the age where it will not disrupt careers or our hopes of grandchildren, retirement, and future travel?
Please know I am not discounting the joy of these things. What I am saying is this: a major disruption to our lives looms in the near future. This will either come via the rapture or the intensifying chaos under the banner of Marxism that will someday lead to the world government led by the antichrist and the hell on earth known as the seven-year tribulation.
Why am I so certain of this?
Financial Disaster
The United States is currently 25 trillion dollars in debt with roughly forty million unemployed. The printing of money during the last decade will catch up to our government; such a practice always leads to runaway inflation and great misery, always!
Currently, the US government is keeping people and many businesses afloat, but it cannot keep doing this for the long term without grave consequences for us. Our economy has already entered a crisis mode; and as a result, it will only take a small spark to ignite a catastrophic collapse of our economy.
And when it does occur (not if), lawlessness will increase exponentially.
Lawlessness
Jesus warned that lawlessness would characterize the time of the end (Matt. 24:12), and His words accurately describe the day in which we live. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, the apostle describes the antichrist as the “lawless one” that will rise to power on the wave of the lawlessness that I believe now characterizes our world.
The riots, the destruction and defacing of public property, the shameful and violent attacks on our police, and the burning of buildings have resulted from considerable planning and financing. When the rioting began, bricks and stones were already in place, and someone had previously paid for the hiring and busing of anarchists to the locations where they could throw these projectiles at the police and use them to destroy private property.
Globalists, such as George Soros, have invested a great a deal of money in their stated goal to overthrow the United States, and they will not stop until they have accomplished it. Another one of their stated objectives is to replace our police with a force from the United Nations. Back in 1974 Henry Kissinger said this, “Today Americans would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful. This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence.”
As violence continually increases on our streets and cities defund and disband the police, are we not moving toward this point? Might not the UN be a welcome sight to many when chaos in our cities spirals out of control after our economy collapses?
An Intimidated Population
Notice that Kissinger said we would not welcome the presence of UN troops unless we believe it’s the only answer to threats, real or imagined. Beginning decades ago with warnings of a looming environmental catastrophe, the left has worked tirelessly to intimidate us with baseless threats.
In response to the supposed danger to our planet, the United Nations has put forth their Agenda 2030, and the left has its much-hyped New Green Deal in the United States. Both of these programs seek to place the United States and the world under a Marxist regime that will have totalitarian control of our lives. The objective of the left is Communism, which we see clearly stated in both Agenda 2030 and the Green New Deal. If you do not believe me, please take a look at their stated objectives.[i]
The response to COVID-19 in America further demonstrates the intimidation of the left. With a willing media, they have convinced the majority of Americans and churches to sacrifice their freedoms in return for protection against a virus that poses very little danger to most age groups. People have become so fearful of dying that they have ceased to live.
Marxist and anarchist groups such as Antifa and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) have made tens of millions of Americans feel guilty for racism and their white privilege, neither one of which represent the true
America. As a result, many bow their knee to Marxism rather than the Lord Jesus. Sadly, many churches have also pledged allegiance to Marxism under the banner of racial justice.
Delusion
In 2 Thessalonians 2:11, the Apostle Paul writes about a future “strong delusion” that will lead multitudes astray during the tribulation. While I believe this awaits a future and more complete fulfillment, we see evidence of this everywhere we look. This strong delusion has already infected multitudes of people.
Many, many Americans believe the lie that socialism will bring justice for all people, especially for minorities. History tells a much, much different story. The graves of over one hundred million people from the last century warn us of the deadly consequences of Marxism. Is anybody paying attention?
Blinded by their hate for conservatives and Bible-believing Christians, the left in America refuses to consider any opinion but their own and forcibly shuts down all open discussion of opposing ideas. This represents the pinnacle of this great delusion; those who close down all free speech tell us they are against fascism, which is all about stopping free speech.
The Lord’s Judgment is Overdue
From a human perspective, the Lord’s judgment of America is long overdue.
Does not the ongoing horror of abortion that has led to the merciless slaughter of countless millions of innocent lives tell us that God’s judgment must be right at the door? Not only have our elected leaders refused to outlaw this murderous and horrific practice, they stand by as Planned Parenthood butchers babies and sells their body parts to the highest bidder. Abortion is an abomination that will most certainly bring the Lord’s wrath upon America at some point; count on it.
Sex trafficking is also a grievous evil in our world. This horrific imprisoning of our young finds great support among many powerful leaders in governments around the world. Does Jesus see the terror in the eyes of these precious children and hear their cries? Absolutely, and those who participate in this great evil will soon pay a great price for their wicked and shameful behavior.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. The Lord’s judgment is right at our door. Unless we see a widespread turning to the Jesus of Scripture in our land that sweeps through the corridors of Congress, God’s judgment is coming to America.
We Are Targets of the Left
According to an article by Josh Harding on the website, My Christian Daily, the legislators in Virginia have added language to an existing law that endangers religious freedom in the state. Mr. Harding writes,
“On July 1, churches, Christian schools, and other religious ministries with theologically orthodox views on marriage will no longer be welcome in Virginia.
“And if you are among those operating a ministry in accordance with your religious beliefs about marriage and human sexuality, the state has declared a sort-of legal “open season” on you. The first offense comes with a fine of up to $50,000. Subsequent offenses come with fines of up to $100,000!”
If a church or Christian school makes any decision on the basis of beliefs regarding homosexuality or any other LBGTQ matter, Virginia will hit them with a huge fine. Churches in this state must also offer ‘health” plans that include abortion and transsexual operations.
Should the left get control of our country, these restrictions will come to all churches in America. Those that refuse to marry people of the same sex or speak out against the LBGTQ movement or abortion will first lose all tax exemptions and later cease to exist as the authorities place chains on the entrances to their buildings.
Unless the rapture comes first, believers in America will experience the violence of the radical left. The left hates us and our Bible-based beliefs; I know this from personal experience. If they get control of our government, they will do whatever it takes to silence us.
The coming election will decide the fate of the United States and the future of religious freedom in our land. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
Now is the Time
Now is the time to align your hopes and dreams with the reality that you may not have tomorrow. Regardless of your belief concerning the rapture, the storm clouds threatening our world grow darker by the moment.
For those outside of Christ, now is the time to place your faith in Him. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Just hours before His death on cross in our place, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
I love the simplicity of the Apostle John’s words in 1 John 5:11-12: “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Knowing Jesus as your Savior equals eternal life. Please do not delay; call upon Him now!
For those of you securely in the arms of the Savior, now is the time to recognize you may soon be with Jesus in paradise via the rapture. Now is the time to hold your future dreams and aspirations loosely in your hands. I am not at all saying it’s wrong to plan for the future or dream or carry on with our lives, but we must do so with our hearts open to biblical prophecy and our eyes to the growing storm clouds that at some point may threaten our livelihoods or perhaps our lives if the rapture does not come first.
I know it’s not easy living with the mentality that the Lord could appear in the next moment or that Marxist anarchists could overthrow the government of the United States. The later possibility, and it is exceedingly real, has made me physically ill at times during the past few weeks.
I do not know the timing of the rapture or that of the tribulation, but I do see what is happening in America, and I recognize the multitude of signs pointing to the fact that we live in the last days of human history as we know it. As James warns us, we have no certainty of tomorrow (James 4:13-17).
The time is long past when we can dismiss the sight of biblical prophecy springing to life around us with the excuse that we have our lives to live. The words in Romans 13:11-12 are more relevant to our time than ever before:
“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
Now is the time to recognize the fleeting nature of our current lives versus the eternal nature of our resurrected bodies in which we will forever enjoy the sights and pleasures of the new earth and the New Jerusalem. This joyous and exciting adventure starts with the rapture, and it is coming soon.
Jonathan Brentner
Website: Our Journey Home
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E-mail: Jonathanbrentner@yahoo.com
[i] See also Zachary B. Wolf, “Here’s what the Green New Deal actually says,” February 14, 2019, on the CNN website @ https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/politics/green-new-deal-proposal-breakdown/index.html and the United Nations website, Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development