A collision of emerging signs of the end times is becoming more apparent each day as news reports verify the predictions of Bible prophecy. Much of my writing seems to be on this topic these days in one way or another. The rising of false doctrines based on faulty conclusions of early church teachers that lack that “rightly dividing the Word of truth” Paul wrote about to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:15).

In this Part 1 and following, we will explore what the Scriptures say about current events and how these considerations should enable us to “see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). First is the foundation of Scripture in both New Testament and Old Testament predictions.

The promise of the coming of Jesus Christ to “ingather” His body of believers of past and current numbers was actually made by Jesus, Himself. In John 11, when Lazarus died and his two sisters were mourning his death, Martha brought the timing of Lazarus’ resurrection to the end of the age when the great resurrection is to be. But Jesus, in his Son of God knowledge of the future, replied, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he is dead, yet shall he live, and he who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

Paul takes up the topic in his first letter to the believers in Thessalonica. He wrote, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Then he writes of the details of the Lord’s coming for them and future believers in verses 16-17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

That promise of Jesus in His giving the Great Commission in Matthew 28 is no contradiction to that ending promise in the prior passage, “And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” In Matthew 28:20, He says, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” What happens then? We will then be with Him.

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul alerts them, and all future believers (see 2 Timothy 3:16), that a “falling away must come first” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), saying, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition….”

Falling away from what, we must ask? It is from truth, honesty, moral integrity, justice for all, living lawfully, honoring the knowledge of right and wrong—these are principles of life that are being left behind by more of the world’s population and its political leaders.

High on the list is sexual immorality and its degradation upon society. Jesus said, in Luke 17:28-30, “…As it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

The account of that event is detailed in Genesis 19, and it tells us that the whole city was saturated with homosexuality, for every man and boy bombarded Lot’s doorway, demanding those two “men” (angels) that they might “know” them. Was Paul recalling that situation of sexual degradation in his letter to the Romans in chapter 1:18 and following?

There, he wrote of a time when people were turning man to man and woman to woman with their sexual lusts, saying, also, “who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:32). The approval of sexual deviation is under the judgment of God, and many in governmental units are approving of the LGBTQ+ lifestyle though not participating. They are equally guilty before God.

This climate of approval of sexual deviation in all forms has been established by the nation’s president in the USA, even spreading to business corporations not wanting to miss out on increased revenue from that faction. The confusion of what is the correct pronoun to use for addressing those who claim “trans-gender” status. Not only is it a sexual deviation, it is bringing about the destruction of society.

It is a Satanic attack on the highest of God’s creation, that of man in God’s own image. That spiritual warfare has continued for centuries as Satan wants to see God dishonored by His highest creation. But God is sovereign over Satan, and He will destroy that one at the right time.

When the falling away reaches its climax so that the lawless one can be welcomed wholeheartedly by the world’s population, then Jesus will come and remove the One who restrains that evilness. It is that body of believers in Christ. This is God’s plan so that one, the Antichrist, may have authority and clear sailing to events of the coming seven years of tribulation recorded in the Book of Revelation. These Scriptures establish the New Testament fact of the coming of Jesus to “ingather” His body of believers. The Old Testament prophecies tell of these things as well. In Daniel 9:24-25, the prophet is told of a coming seven-year period when God’s punishment of the Jewish people will be completed—judgment for their constant disobedience and rebellion during those years after the exodus from Egypt. The angel told Daniel this:

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.” (These are weeks of years, a year counted as one day, thus one week would equal seven years.)

This was from the time of Ezra’s rebuilding of the temple and the city to the death of Christ would be 69 weeks of the 70 weeks proclaimed. This missing week will be the seven years of the tribulation told of in Revelation 6 to 19.

When Jesus comes for His saints, that 70th week will begin, all pointed to the Jewish people. The Christian church will not be there, as its absence is so obvious. No longer any Great Commission, but 144,000 Jewish “messengers” will take “the gospel of the kingdom” to every tribe, tongue and nation of the world, as we see John’s account in Revelation 7.

There, that great multitude of souls in white robes standing before the Lord are not resurrected saints but are those saved during that ministry. They “come out of the Great Tribulation, it says. They are those who do not take the Mark of the Beast in the last half of that 70th week. And the elder tells John that “many more must be killed.”

That will happen, according to Zechariah 13:8, which says, “And it shall come to pass in all the land,” says the Lord, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it.” It is the time of God’s attention directly on the Jewish people, to begin once the believers in Christ are gone to be with Jesus.

Daniel 9:26-27 follows with the prophecy of events before those seven years. In those verses, we learn of the lawless one mentioned by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 and what he does right after the removal of the Restrainer. It also tells of the 70 A.D. Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its temple and a future appearance of one who is an “abomination of desolation” who claims to be God as he stands in the new temple the Jews have been allowed to rebuild.

It says this: “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself, and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”

So far, we have the Scriptural foundations for signs that are to come. As we look at looming signs, remember that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” that God “is not a man that He should lie or change,” that He knows all things ahead of their times, and that “knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Faith—believing—comes first, then understanding.

In Luke 21, Jesus predicts world conditions of turbulence in weather, social and political happenings. Here are some of them that He says will be current issues:

“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:10-11 and 25-28).

It is true that many of these things have happened before, but have you noticed how they are bunched up into these few weeks of summer in this hemisphere? World conditions in other segments of the population and political concerns are showing signs of distress, perplexity, and fear, as Jesus predicted.

In the USA, there has been sweltering heat in one area and heavy rain with devastating flooding in another at a continual pattern for weeks. And Jesus said, “When these things begin to happen, look up, for your redemption is drawing near.” In Part 2, we will look at major reasons why it is so.

Addendum: As this Part 1 was being finished, major geophysical events began to swarm in several locations. A major wildfire was taking place in Hawaii with many deaths and destruction of property; the first Pacific hurricane in 84 years was approaching the west coasts of Mexico and southern California with torrential rains, flooding and mudslides; Canadian Rockies were inundated with wildfire and its destruction, while rains and flooding and high heat waves continued in the eastern US states. Add these to the list.

Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com

Consideration of why we love God may well bring forth some disturbing conclusions, but what does the Lord desire for us? That brings out three basic reasons we love Him.

First, the law requires it, as the greatest commandment says: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind….” (Luke 10:27). The law leaves out nothing; it is exact in its requirement, but what kind of love is that?

Who among us really loves to be reminded of an order constantly? There are those who love to give orders to others, and others who are happy that they do not have that responsibility. But taking orders—obeying commandments—well, even as believers in Christ, we fight with our Adamic natures to choose our own way. (I conclude this after 67 years as a born-again believer in Jesus Christ.)

Recall Paul’s struggle with his Adamic nature trying to take over his mind in Romans 7. He exclaims, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 7:25-8:1)

The resistance to the gospel’s message to the unsaved, that they are doomed for an eternity of suffering unless they repent of their sins and receive Christ, is rebuked, right away. Mankind does not want to accept guilt, even as believers. The message that Jesus came to die in our place for that guilt is the part of the message that mankind must embrace. He fulfilled “every jot and tittle” of the law for us, and we are complete in Him.

Secondly, we love God for what He can do for us. Now that is a compelling reason because we are always ready to get something for free. Right? But God does use this as an appeal to us. Look at Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Also, Psalm 103:1-2: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” Then He goes on to list some of those benefits in verses 3 to 6:

“Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.”

Then, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him!” Then he follows in verse 10 with, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

Even into the prophetic future, His promise of blessings continues: “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:8) and “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3b-4).

(The alternative is first, “outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth,” then eternal death at the White Throne judgment.)

Then, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19), a ready answer to the question, and perhaps the greatest, along with John 3:16. Those who claim that Jesus only died for those who believe, I repeat again, surely have no understanding of that highest of love, the Agape love of God, as we look at that kind of love.

Thirdly, we can love God for Who He is (emphasized by underlining). This is the ultimate relationship that appears to be the desire God has for those who are being “conformed to the image of Christ,” as all believers are on that journey of faith. Jesus is our salvation, totally in His person. Paul brings this together in 1 Corinthians 1:32: “But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption,” the whole process of being born again and growing to maturity in His redemption for us.

When Jesus challenged Peter about his love for Him, the Greek language uses three different words for “love” in the challenge, as I understand what Greek scholars are telling us. They are: eros, philia, and agape. And the apostle reports, in John 21:15 and following, how Jesus challenged Peter. (I am not making a contradiction with the Lord in the three levels of love described above. The quality of love is not really different in the first two types or levels of love in each consideration.)

Eros is the basic love of the flesh, sexual and romantic, that seeks “what you can do for me” kind of relationship.

Philia is a higher level of relationship, like friendship, helping others, praying for others. That is the most common love, as I see it in the world as a step above the basic lust of the flesh that is seen in the current atmosphere of moral degradation. The love David and Jonathan had for each other was this and touched, too, on that love of God, the Agape love. (No, it was not a homosexual relationship, as the LGBTQ+ has claimed, for such a relationship is vividly rejected by God as morally unacceptable.)

Agape, the God kind of love, is what is meant in the familiar John 3:16, where it is said, “For God so loved the world that He gave ….”

Romans 5:6-8 brings together the agape love of God in contrast to the level of friendship: “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Let’s take a side step at this point and consider the application of that passage to a current doctrinal teaching that Jesus did not die for the whole world but just for those who believe. The Romans 5 passage affirms that Jesus died for sinners before they are saved and not after they believe. John 3:16 says He loved the world (of sinners) so much, not just believers. What was it that Jesus prayed from the cross—”Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Will God deny the prayer of His Son?

While Paul acknowledges the elect’s foreknowledge in God’s eternal view, he says this: “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10). When a person hears the gospel and accepts Jesus, he confirms God’s foreknowledge of his election and choice. Just as Romans 10:13 says, “Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Let’s not forget the justness of God, for if one hears the gospel and accepts it, he is saved. If another hears the gospel and rejects it, he has heard the offer and is then responsible to its judgment. Thus, God says to believers, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

Hard-core or raw Calvinism has some believers saying, “I’m saved because I was chosen by God, and I had nothing to do with it.” However, it takes claiming the shed blood of Christ to obtain salvation, just as Paul saw it in 2 Timothy 2:10 above. William Carey, called “the father of modern missions,” felt called to India to preach the gospel, but his fellow church members there in England ridiculed his desire, saying, “Mr. Carey, if God wants to save those people in India, He will do it without your help.” But Carey went anyway.

This insert testifies to the truth that believers of that frame of mind will never know the agape kind of love that God has for those who seek Him for who He is. Or so it seems to me.

David surely had that kind of love for God, as his psalms so indicate. Look at Psalm 71, where he elevates the goodness of God so profusely, over and over again, even as he was confessing his sins. They spring forth not as if he is thinking God’s thoughts after God, but as he is thinking God’s thoughts with Him, and they become the inspired Word of God. No wonder, then, why David was said to be “a man after God’s own heart.”

The Apostle Paul experienced great inclinations toward this kind of relationship with God. In Philippians 3:8-10, he writes this:

“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”

Perhaps that old book by Brother Lawrence, called Practicing the Presence of God, has a secret to this kind of love for God in Jesus Christ. Even Hebrews 11:6, which we looked at earlier, uses the present tense to describe His presence: “But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to Him must believe that He IS….” Jesus amplified it when He said, “Before Abraham was, I AM!” (John 8:58).

Paul also stretches our minds and hearts with his description of God to the philosophers at Mars Hill in Athens: “…in the hope that they might seek for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being….” (Acts 17:27b-28a). (God is Spirit and fills all things.)

We must include the expressions of agape love in practice, as Paul describes them in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a: “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

Finally, the relationship of son to Father becomes one of deep affection that expresses the meaning of the term in Scripture, “Abba Father,” as Paul explains it in Romans 8:15:

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.'” It takes on an attitude of surrender to Him. It is not like “Daddy,” but an expression from within the very soul of a person. It was that kind of passionate cry when Jesus prayed to His Father in the Garden that night: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

Is Jesus Christ, the God we will be with in person for eternity, worthy of our love for Him for who He is?

Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com