God Is Warning the Unbelieving World

All of us were heartbroken at the images coming out of Maui in early August. Everyone said it was like the end of the world. It was apocalyptic. The scenes remind us of images from WWII when dozens of cities looked like Lahaina, Maui.

But this wasn’t a wartime ordeal. This was a peaceful day in paradise that was interrupted by the unthinkable. A wildfire of suspicious origin violently ended the lives of hundreds, and potentially thousands, of people whose day started like any other and ended in a hellish ordeal. We see why the Bible says, “Today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Life can end abruptly and unexpectedly. No one is promised a tomorrow.

The word “apocalyptic” is being used all over the world as the planet groans, awaiting the liberation of Jesus Christ when He will set it free.

Elsewhere in Europe, a month of rain fell on parts of Slovenia in a single day. China experienced devastating floods. Crops throughout the region were completely wiped out, and the property damage that has been done is off the charts. Devastating heat has tormented millions of people around the world. Hail pounded Germany. Fires in Portugal created an “apocalyptic inferno.”

This, and much more, as we are in a run-up to the Rapture—the ultimate apocalyptic event.

And divine judgment must also be considered as we see reprobate activity. “Go Gay Hawaii” welcomes everyone to gay-friendly Maui on a website built for just such promotion.

The website says, “The Maui gay community is substantial and accepting. There are numerous LGBT and gay-friendly businesses on the island, exclusive Maui gay resorts, and plenty to see, do and experience on this magical island. Maui Gay Pride is a staple event taking place each year around the first weekend in October.”

The promotion continues, “In 2011, when Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie signed legislation legalizing gay marriage in Hawaii, he sealed the State’s fate as one of the top gay destinations in the world. We welcome you to plan your Maui gay vacation or wedding today!”

And interestingly enough, about the only structure in Lahaina not destroyed was a church, though it was not a gospel-preaching church.

During the seven-year Tribulation, every city and nation will look like Maui. Can you imagine? I cannot. The city of Lahaina is a preview of things to come. The earth will reel from earthquakes, meteor showers and asteroids, stars falling from heaven, and the moving of mountains. One-third of the trees will burn up.

The sun will go dark, and the moon will turn to blood.

Mankind will hide in caves and rocks and plead, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Rev. 6:12-17).

When things are at their worst, Christ will suddenly appear on planet Earth during His second coming, or “no flesh would be saved.” (Matthew 24:22)

God is warning the unbelieving world about what is coming. Billions perish during that unprecedented time, and modern-day disasters are a pale foretelling of things to come.

If you have Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, none of this is of concern. Believers escape the wrath to come in the Tribulation (Rev. 3:10). But all of us have loved ones who know little about God’s plan of the ages. They have never been told about eternal life. They are unaware that God’s wrath is not destined for true believers—unless you tell them. And, unless you outline the plan of salvation to them.

Do so today.

https://olivetreeviews.org/

I am revisiting an article I wrote in 2018, which is even more pertinent today. I asked back then, haven’t we waited long enough for Christ’s return? Five years later, I am still weary of this groaning planet, of the sick antics of today’s Left, of watching disturbing events from around the world, and of scoffers who mock my beliefs as though I’m an outdated Neanderthal.

So, I’m bringing back some of those musings because they’re more intense here in mid-2023.

How Much Longer?

The malady goes by many names: End-time weariness; Rapture fatigue; Rapture-watch burn-out. The scoffers and skeptics are gaining too much territory and too many followers. The fact that the King is coming is boring and just old news.

What Hal Lindsey wrote in 1969 in his classic The Late-Great Planet Earth, in the eyes of many, did not come to pass. Thus, there is a collective so-what sigh. The pulpits marginalize or ignore this glorious good news. How much longer can I look up with expectation?

Late-Great Burn-Out?

Recently, I read a revealing article in The Guardian that further mocks those with an end-time view and reinforces the growing skepticism. This article suggests:

• Authors like Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey prophesied a lot of things that have not come to pass. Haven’t you Rapture-watchers waited long enough? Perhaps it’s time to move on from this message. [Never mind that a ton of things they predicted HAVE come to pass.]
• Larry Norman told us in his 1970s song, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready,” that life was filled with guns and war and everyone gets trampled on the floor, but a generation later, that’s still happening. It’s far worse today. A generation later, the world is groaning even more! We’ve waited long enough, and it’s time to change the channel.
• Hal Lindsey told us that 1988 was a key year as that was 40 years since Israel’s re-birth. He never said he was targeting that year for the Rapture, but he encouraged us to anticipate His soon return surrounding that 1988 date. We’re still anticipating 25 years later, but alas, no trumpet or shout to date!

These are just three talking points of The Guardian article.

To be frank, there is now a “we’ve been through this all before” mindset rather than apocalyptic anticipation. Words of warning are falling on deaf ears. I now see way too much end-time weariness and left-behind indifference. The article in The Guardian suggests all this and more, but the Bible tells us to expect this (II Peter 3:4).

The Bashers and Scoffers

Then came the bashers who are respected in some circles—just not mine. Hank Hanegraaff said there was no Rapture to be found in the Bible. Who knew? Well, he’s no Bible Answer Man to me, but at one time, he had a sizable audience whom he greatly influenced. In 2017 he called me out on air as one of the biggest troublemakers in evangelical leadership and said that I engage in “script torture.” Maybe I should be honored.

What’s in the water Frankie Schaeffer is drinking? When he, like Hanegraaff, joined the Eastern Orthodox Church, he went sideways. He now goes into tirades on MSNBC against what his parents — Francis and Edith Schaeffer — might have believed about the end times. He has tried to shame anyone who would embrace “left behind” theology, as he calls it.

Frankly, the line-up of bashers and scoffers is so long that I need a book to document them properly, so I am not dwelling on them. Rick Warren calling eschatology “a distraction” did not help. Legions on the religious Left including Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo, Rob Bell, and more–have denigrated this glorious good news for two decades. Social justice is a far greater interest to them.

Déjà vu All Over Again

Stunning events are breaking daily. We are on the cusp of digital money. Russia, who is likely Gog from the land of Magog, is stirring and roaring. Mark of the Beast technology is staring us in the face. The spirit of the Antichrist is manifesting globally. And yet many suggest this is just déjà vu all over again! You have talked about such things for decades. We’re weary of your warnings!

So, the fact that things are all coming together excites only a tiny remnant who will never grow weary of keeping their eyes on the sky! If you are among them, hang in there. He is coming soon. As things continue to deteriorate, we may be left with only one hope—the blessed hope.

It’s better to sound the warnings than have multitudes come to us and ask us, “Why didn’t you warn us of all of this and of all of the things to come?”

(I go into detail about all of those turning the “blessed hope” into the blasted hope in the DVD below. I also consider the importance of the pre-Trib Rapture of the church. You can see the short online version here.)

www.olivetreeviews.org