Are We Living in the Last Days?

Some people are intimated by the study into the Book of Revelation, but it is the only book in the Bible that promises to bless those that read its Word and that hear what it says. That is why we are taking our time to go through this book of 22 chapters slowly. Give us ears to hear what the Spirit would say to us.

The Book of Revelation highlights the fact that Jesus is coming again. There is a line being drawn in people's heart and when people hear that Jesus is coming soon, they get nervous. Perhaps they don't understand what it means and they know nothing about who He is. The Bible says that Jesus is coming back.

Acts 1:10-11 ~ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said,"why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

The Bible says that Jesus is coming again. It depends on where you are with God how you respond when you hear that. Some will be excited and some are fearful.

Titus 2:13 ~ " While we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."

Reasons for Jesus' return. Why would Jesus come back?

1. Political Reasons. God establishes the nations and powers. He established kings and removes kings. God is in every election. He gives them leaders based on what is needed. God is moving nations to a point of time when Jesus will return. Does that mean that God is overseeing the United States, no, everything is moving to an appointed time when Jesus will return. There is no Messiah on earth right now. There is no person sitting in an office of human government, that is going to solve the world's ills. Don't look to a man or woman to do that. Should we vote? Yes! God somehow uses our interaction with society and brings about change. That's like saying, "Can I eat?" Of course you can eat, but if you sit there with your hands full you will starve to death. You got to get up and go to the refrigerator or drive thru, but you got to eat. You have to do it. God is in control, no doubt about it. But regarding politics,

Matthew 24:3 ~ " As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, "Tell us,"they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

These are pertaining to end time events because the disciples understood that He was coming back even before He ever left.

Matthew 24:4-7 ~ "Jesus answered, "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors or wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. "

Politic against politic, governmental powers against governmental powers. God presides over the nations and right before He comes back, there will be an alignment of nations that God has allowed to come together. From the book of Daniel, the book of Revelation, from the Book of Zechariah, we know that there will be a unified Europe. What do we have today since 1991? A unified Europe. We now have seen them move to a single economy or a single currency. We've seen them taking down the walls, we know have the United States of Europe, which is why they so affectionately call themselves the US of E. I don't know if you are aware of that. They are trying to mimic quite frankly what God has done here in the United States of America.

The Bible tells us that from that unification of Europe, that there will be a great political leader that will arise, we know him as the antichrist. We may not know his name but we have all see the bumper stickers that read 666 with a line through it, that is the mark of the beast or the coming address of the Antichrist. The word Antichrist, doesn't mean that he is coming with horns on his head, and he keeps trying to put a hat on so you don't see it. He wears a red suit and his tail keeps sticking out. That's not what this means. He will come like a human, like a man in the place of Christ, meaning to solve the worlds' ills to solve the world's problems. The Bible says he will arise out of Europe, he will be an impostor Christ. The Bible says he will reign over the Ancient Roman Empire. Here we see Europe unifying and we see God governing over the political powers.

These are the names of some political powers that must be in existence in the last days, Libya, the Old Testament mentions a nation in North Africa named Libya, is there a Libya on the globe today? Yes! What about Ethiopia? Yes! What about Saudi Arabia? Yes! What about Iran and Iraq? Yes! Here's the best part of it all, what about Israel? One of,  if not the oldest nation is God's establishment of Israel. But under it's captivity it dissolved as a nation. Then after 200 years on May 14, 1948, in one day, the world under the leadership of the United States of America, acknowledged the existence of Israel, and declared it to be a nation in one day. Guess what, the Bible says in the last days, before the end, Israel will be established as a nation in one day! So when you put Jeremiah and Zechariah together and when you put the Old Testament passages together, there God says in the Bible, I will bring my nation together, as Ezekiel says, the graves will open up and they will come from all the nations of the world to Israel and they will be re-established. And the Bible says it will happen in one day. May 14, 1948, the first time in human history a nation was born a second time. It's name is Israel. God's country! Why do you think it's in the news all the time for? It's God's country. It's His place. He loves it!

Nations, we know from indication of political events from around the world, that the Lord's coming is near. And if His second coming is near, how much closer is the rapture of the church at any time.

2. Societal Events Globally. The social trends and ills of society throughout the world. You want to know what they have in common? I'll give you a few,

A. General Lawlessness is invading nations. Jesus said in Matthew 24, that "the love of many will grow cold." People not loving one another. People not caring. Because the love will grow cold, lawlessness will abound. Another words, the crime rates will rise, as we get near the end, because people won't care about other people. That woman up in Seattle up in the rain, swerved in the rain, her car seen by other motorists, went over the side of the freeway, and into the trees. She was found nearly a week later. Surviving still trapped in her car. Nobody stopped to see if she was okay, nobody backed up or called 911, to say "a car just went over the side." I bet this was what people were thinking, giving them the benefit of the doubt." Someone else will call 911." She was there on the side of the road. The woman you saw in Texas on the news, who hit the man walking across the street, with her car, impaled him in the windshield of her car. He only had two broken legs. She drove home, open her electric garage door, and closed the door while the man was still in the windshield of her car, with two broken legs and they had a conversation with each other. She left him there for 3 or 4 days and he was not discovered until she bragged about what happened at a party while she was drunk. He died. She was arrested and convicted for manslaughter and premeditated murder. He had two broken legs and she let him die, based on the extent of his injuries and exposure in her garage.

Jesus said, in the last days there will be such a low esteem for human life that men will kill other men, because lawlessness will abound. Isn't that where we are living? It's an amazing age, general lawlessness, people disobeying laws and rules and enjoying it.

B. Racial Divisions. What this mean when Jesus says in Matthew 24 where it says "for nation will rise against nation?" The word in Greek is "ethnos." So ethnos will rise against ethnos." Ethic groups will fight ethnic groups. It's going to increase. That's sad news isn't it? Have you noticed that everything is ethnicity now? Ethic based. We all bleed the same color. You want to do away with racial divisions, and that isn't going to happen until Christ comes back, but you want to know how to do away with racial divisions? Preach the gospel!!! You want to save the nation billions of dollars with all these stupid programs, preach the gospel and get man's heart changed!

Nobody is black or white or red or yellow. There is no color when Jesus sits on the throne. When the gospel is embraced and received, we don't see people with skins of a different color, because we are all one with Jesus Christ. But what do you hear every day? It's a racial issue. There should never be racial divisions in church. Racism is Satanic, it is a wedge. Jesus Christ is Jewish. How does that sit with you? My boss is a Jewish carpenter. He came to the earth as a Jew because they are the most stubborn and stiff-necked. He picked them because they couldn't save themselves!

C. An Increase in Aberrant Sexual Behavior.  Aberrant meaning strange flesh. The Bible says there will be a violation of natural laws of nature and men will lust sexually after other men. God says that anyone that practices that sexual lifestyle will not inherit the kingdom of God. Why? Because it is against the law of nature. Evolutionists? Think about this. Forget about Christianity. Forget about religion. Aberrant human sexuality on the evolutionary plane, just think of evolution alone, destroys the species. Forget God. Forget that God is. If a woman cohabitats with a woman it breeds death and no more propagation of the race. If evolution were true, than every evolutionist would be out there writing against the destruction of the race. It destroys. Everyone can figure it out. The Bible says in the last days there will be an increase in aberrant sexual behavior and if we look around at TV, movies and music, we see evidence of this everywhere, and we are just suppose to take it and think, "Well that is just the way it's supposed to be." Jesus warned that these days were coming. He said it would be just like the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.

To God sin is sin. God died on the cross for all sin. Whatever it might be. That is what the Bible teaches.

D. Refusal to Recognize Human History. Solomon said there is nothing left to learn under the sun. The more we learn history, if you want to have a smart future, learn history. When we study history we learn not to make certain mistakes. We live in a culture now that is redefining human history. If you look at the history books now, there are more chapters about Marilyn Monroe than there are about George Washington. How do you redefine history? Teach your child nothing about history and they will redefine it. They'll take words and put different meanings onto words. How many people in the world today literally believe, and in Europe it is a big problem, that there was ever a Holocaust? There are people who literally believe it never happened. That it's propaganda. It's true!

The Bible is absolutely true of Jesus' promises that He will come back again. God's Word will never fail us.   So when you look around at the things happening in the world today, you can't help but see these very signs that Jesus warned us about, things that have never happened in the history of the world today, and while we may not know the exact day or hour of His return, Jesus promised us that we would know the seasons based on the signs happening all around us. Much like looking at a tree and knowing it is going to bear fruit, so we can look at the things happening in the world today and see that we are on the verge of Him returning any day for His church. The question is, Are YOU ready if He came today?