SIGNS OF THE TIMES….
[COMING OF JESUS CHRIST Part 2]
Just the other evening [16/01/2006], my pastor and his wife were visiting with my wife and I, when the topic of the ‘Rapture of the Church’ came into our conversation. The rapture of the Church, as spoken of in 1Thess 4v 13-18, has been the debate of many a conversation over the years. One has heard several different versions such as…who will go and who will be left behind. How will He [Jesus] return to earth, and so many others have been debated, as to how this event will happen and when.
In Signs of the Times [part 1], I made mention of Luke 21: 25-27, as more evidence of certain events that must first occur as portrayed in this prophecy. ‘And there will be signs in the sun and moon and the stars; and upon the earth [there will be] distress [trouble and anguish] of nations in bewilderment and perplexity [without resources, left wanting, embarrassed, in doubt, confused, not knowing which way to turn] at the roaring of the tossing of the seas,’ [v25]
Let’s go and see what Isaiah 13 v10 says, ‘for the stars of the heavens and their constellation will not give their light; the sun will be darkened at its rising and the moon will not shed its light.’
As plain as day these verses indicate that somewhere in the near future, the sun and moon and stars will not shed their light anymore. Let me just say this, I do not profess to know everything about end time prophecies. A lot of you will differ from me on some issues. But my understanding of the Word of God [as the Holy Spirit sheds His light in my spirit], is that the disciples of Jesus came to Him, asking what will be the signs indicating His return to earth according to Matthew 24v3.
I believe there will be two [2] events that will take place and will coincide with what our Lord Himself taught what must happen on the earth at this time. The events spoken of here in these scriptures are events that have happened in recent years; and that will increase in intensity [meaning it will get worse], as the time draws nearer before the first event, ‘the rapture of the Church’ [the catching away of God’s children who are truly His], according to 1Thess 4v13-18. This dear reader is God Almighty in His love and mercy for mankind, trying to warn people of coming judgement.
The second event that will happen is of course the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which unlike the first event [that happens in the twinkling of an eye, like lightning flashes.
Matthew 24 v27 says, 'For just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines, and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man [Jesus] be. The above verse coincides with what the Apostle Paul spoke of in 1Thess 4v13-18 [Speaking here of the Rapture of the Church]
Revelation 1v7 says, ‘Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes [nations] of the earth shall gaze upon Him and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Him’. [Speaking of the Second Coming of Christ]
This great event will of course take place toward the end of the ‘Great Tribulation’ period. This being the seven [7] years spoken of in Revelation as revealed to John the Beloved, on the isle of Patmos [Rev 1v1].
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries], God gave it to Him [Jesus] to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass in their entirety. And He sent and communicated through His angel [messenger] to His bond-servant John.
Those of you who have studied the books of Revelation and Daniel, concerning these things, will know all about the Christ as related to the world; of the heavenly throne; the seven seals; the seven trumpets of God; the seven figures; the bowls of wrath; Christ the Victor; Babylon judged; Beast and false prophet judged; Satan judged; the millennium reign of Christ; rebellion and judgement; and finally New Heaven, New earth and New Jerusalem.
Concentrating on the ‘bowls of wrath’, this is God Almighty meting out punishment and judgement on a world [mankind] that has rebelled and followed the ‘Antichrist and his false prophet’ during this seven year period. It will be a time of Great Tribulation as the world has never before or ever will experience again [Matthew 24 v21].
My friend, according to God’s Word as related to John the Revelator, this is going to be a time where Satan will be allowed a free reign to do just what he wants. And believe you me he [Satan] will unleash his hatred on them that refuse to follow the ‘Antichrist’. Your life will be worth nothing. If you refuse the mark of the beast [the number of man 666] will result in, if not cruel punishment then/or instant death.
Are you starting to get the meaning of all this, dear reader?
The signs spoken of by Jesus in Luke 21, will continue, but increase in intensity even after the ‘Church of Jesus Christ’ has been removed from this earth, right through the ‘Great Tribulation’ period with the outpouring of God’s ‘bowls of wrath’, until Jesus makes His appearance with all the saints of the ages, and His angels accompanying them. Then at this time Satan, the Antichrist and his false prophet will be dethroned, so to speak, and Jesus will set up His millennium Kingdom on this earth.
Coming back to Luke 21, we read in verse 26, ‘Men swooning [literally means men’s hearts will fail them and death will occur], away or expiring [meaning that they will breathe out air from their lungs and die, come to an end, cease to exist], with fear and dread and apprehension [they will become confused in their minds], and expectation of the things that are coming on the world; for the very powers of the heavens will be shaken and caused to totter.’
Let me share with you the following. Most of you have heard of ‘The Five Angels of the Continents’, as told by Dr Samuel Doctorian, who on the 20th June 1998, had a visitation from five [5] angels who introduced themselves as the ‘Five Angels of the Continents’. This visitation took place while Dr Doctorian was on the Isle of Patmos on orders from the Lord.
The first angel said, ‘I am the angel of Asia’. [Dr Doctorian relates how he saw instantly all of China, India, Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos, Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The angel showed him Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya, and Australia and New Zealand].
Dr Doctorian relates, ‘I saw a ‘tremendous trumpet’, that he [angel] is going to blow all over Asia. The angel said there shall be disaster, starvation; many will die from hunger, strong winds blowing like never before. A great part shall be shaken and destroyed. Earthquakes will take place all over Asia, and the sea will cover the earth. Friends, several weeks later [Dr Doctorian relates from the news], thousands of lives were in jeopardy], whole villages wiped out and swept into the sea, in Papua New Guinea. The angel said further that this is going to happen all over Asia.
Now who can deny that what the ‘angel of Asia’ spoke to Dr Doctorian about what would happen, is not the truth. Who can forget the 24,25 and 26th December 2004, as an earthquake from under the sea on the coast of south-east Asia where whole villages were totally destroyed by the tsunamis [killer waves].
Most of us on the other side of the world sat in shocked dismay as we watched on television for several weeks after this occurrence. People who had lost everything, their homes and belongings swept away by the roaring waves; and loved ones dying or drowning before their very eyes. For days on end people affected by the tsunami walked about in a daze and a confused look of despair on their faces. Time-magazine, January 7, 2005 [page14] relates this story.
‘Yusmiar still hears the roaring in her head, the waves thunderously loud. The sea that was supposed to be a mother, protecting, sustaining/feeding became a fury, sweeping two of her children away.
Time-magazine, January 10, 2005 [pp 18-19], relates this story also.
Bustami, a fisherman from the Sumatran village of Busun experienced and survived the tsunami. ‘Sometime after 07:30 on the morning of December 26, I was on my boat off the coast when I felt the sea moving around me. That must have been when the earthquake hit, he says. About half an hour later came the shock-wave-tsunami- that devastated the region. At first Bustami saw water retreat from the shore, with fish jumping around on the empty beaches. Then, he says, I heard this strange thunderous sound from somewhere, a sound I’d never heard before. I thought it was the sound of bombs. The water rose behind him as high as the coconut trees on the shoreline, and he was thrown off his boat. It felt like doomsday, says Bustami, who was clinging to a coconut tree, and was then eventually picked up by a soldier three hours later, almost three kilometres from where he had lost his boat.
Comparing this terrible devastation on the south-east Asian coast, will you agree with what Dr Doctorian related in his visitation from the five [5] angels of the Continents, as truth , and would you agree that this is exactly what Jesus spoke of to His disciples [as recorded by God the Holy Spirit] in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. These things we see on our television newscast are happening today folks, not sometime in the distant past of future. And the ‘rapture’ draws nearer each day.
While I am on a roll, why not share with you what the fifth angel said concerning North and South America. Dr Doctorian relates, ‘I saw in his hand [the angel’s], a bowl. The angel said he would pour out over these countries, the judgements that were in the bowl. I heard the angel say, ‘No justice anymore, No righteousness, No holiness. Idolatry, materialism, drunkenness, bondage of sin, shedding of innocent blood [millions of babies being killed in their mother’s wombs before they are born]. Families are broken. An adulterous generation.
The angel continued, ‘Many times God has spared and spoken, but they will not listen, they love money and pleasure more than they loved God. As the angel began to pour from the bowl, I saw floods all over Canada and North America. I heard the world market collapsing with mighty earthquakes- New York skyscrapers tumbling- millions dying.
Does this sound familiar America? Does this sound like September 11, 2001. Does this sound like the devastation that happened in New Orleans? Does this remind you of Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Rita?
Dr Doctorian continues, ‘I saw ships in the ocean sinking. I heard explosions all over the North Country. I saw the angel pouring over Mexico and two oceans joining together- the Atlantic and the Pacific. A great portion of north Brazil covered with water; The Amazon River turning into a great sea.
Folks, the Amazon River has never in its existence had people surfing on it. Just the other morning [25/01/2006], on our morning newscast I pointed this phenomenon out to my wife. I saw it with my own eyes, as a young man was surfing on the Amazon, like he was riding the waves at the local beaches.
Continuing, Dr Doctorian relates that major cities in Brazil destroyed, earthquakes in many places. As the angel poured, great destruction took place in Chile and Argentina as never before seen in human history.
My friends are you seeing this on your daily newscasts via television every day. Not one day goes by without seeing this on television. Here in my own country of South Africa we are experiencing [albeit on a small scale so far], floods and minor earthquakes and other disasters.
Have you heard or read enough? Have you read the newspaper reports this morning? Have you watched the television newscast today; what do you see? Some far off country where villages have been destroyed by strong hurricane winds, or killer waves. Have you seen or read about millions of children starving to death in Ethiopia recently. Have you read the latest statistics by maybe UNICEF or the UNITED NATIONS, of some African country where people are dying daily of starvation or aids? Or maybe you have read about South Africa where people [mostly among the black population], are dying by their hundreds. The government of the day is feeding the public with false information as to the numbers that are dying, because the President of our country will not acknowledge that the HIV-virus will eventually cause full-blown aids.
To the whole wide world I want to say that human-life in South Africa has lost its meaning. Child-abuse, wife-abuse, babies a few months on this earth are raped by full grown men because they are told it will cure them of aids; families wiped out by either the husband or criminals is the order of the day. Does this sound familiar too you America, Great Britain, Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Is this happening in your part of the world?
In Luke 21 Jesus says, ‘Even so when you see these things take place, understand and know that the kingdom of God is at hand.’ [v31] ‘Truly I tell you, this generation [those living at this definite period of time], will not perish and pass away until all this has taken place.’ [v32] ‘The sky and the earth [that is the universe, the world], will pass away, but my words will not pass away.’ [v33] ‘But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed [weighed down], with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and cares pertaining to [business of] this life; and [lest] that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose,’ [v34] ‘For it will come upon all who live upon the face of the earth.’ [v35]
These scriptures point to the time leading up to the ‘rapture of the Church’ and then continuing on in intensity [gets worse] right through the ‘Great Tribulation’ period, until the appearing of the Lord Jesus [which is the Second Coming of Christ’, and Him then visibly appearing for all and every eye to behold.
Luke 21v27 says this, And then they will [shall] see the Son of Man [Jesus Christ], coming in a cloud with great [transcendent and overwhelming] power and [all His kingly] glory [majesty and splendour].
Luke 21v28 says this, Now when these things begin to occur [happen], look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption [deliverance] is drawing near. [Just for the sake of continuity, let me make clear that the above verses does not refer to the ‘rapture of the Church’, for that will have already happened several years prior to this occurrence, but these scriptures refer to the deliverance of Israel, and those who have made it through the ‘Great Tribulation’ without taking the mark of the beast [666], and who have come into salvation].
Please take time to study up on the following scriptures, for more understanding of the above; Isaiah 11v10-12; 66v7-8; Matthew 24v29-31; Romans 11v25-29; and Revelation 19.
Dear reader it is very clear from our study of the scriptures and the evidence of those signs in our very midst that we are, ‘the generation’, spoken of by our Lord in Luke 21v32. Maybe a lot of folk will disagree, but the evidence is surely overwhelming as to the point that it is getting worse every day. The politicians promise all kinds of things; that the economy is getting better, that the future looks bright, but we as God’s children know that this is not going to be so, because the Word of God says it will not get better until Jesus Christ returns to this earth to rule as King.
A time of great sorrow is upon us, and it will only get worse. Nowhere in the Word of God does it say otherwise. Things will only change, once God Almighty has poured out His judgement on a rebellious mankind [during the Great Tribulation]. Are you willing to go through this horror called...TRIBULATION?
Listen to me dear reader; God the Father has made a way of escape for you. He sent His precious Son Jesus, to die on a cross so you and I can be saved. John 3v16 says it all, ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.’ [KJV] That my friend says it all! This is your way of escape, accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, and living for Him. Jesus loved you enough to die for you so you can escape an eternal hell, why reject such an offer?
John 1v12 says, ‘But as many as did receive Him, to them He gave authority to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name.’
John 3v3 says, [Jesus speaking to the young rich man] ‘I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again [from above], he cannot ever see the kingdom of God’.
The only requirement for you dear reader to gain entrance into God’s kingdom is to be born-again [accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour], to live a holy and righteous life through the power of the Holy Spirit, and you will inherit eternal life, as the above scriptures guarantee. Won’t you speak to the pastor of the local church if you know one, or if you know someone who is a born again, bible believing, Holy Spirit filled Christian to help you to a saving relationship with Christ? Do it today tomorrow maybe to late? This will be the greatest and the best decision of your life.
Yours in the Masters service,
William.
