Gospel Order

Will The World Really Come To An End?


The condition of the world in these last days is not getting better than we thought but it will continue to go worse as we approach the final crisis.

Look around you and what do you notice? Read today’s news headlines or maybe watch them on your television, or perhaps listen to your news radio -- what do you read, see, or hear? Well, unfortunately there’s a lot of bad news nowadays than good news to put smile on our face. But ironically, for the Bible Christians, this is just a living proof that “we have also a more sure prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19) bringing us to what our Lord Jesus said in Luke 21:28 that “when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

Early in 2015 the Amnesty International releases its annual report that -

2014 was a catastrophic year for millions caught up in violence. The global response to conflict and abuses by states and armed groups has been shameful and ineffective. As people suffered an escalation in barbarous attacks and repression, the international community has been found wanting. -- Source

The fact is, we were already told in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 what unfavorable scenario will be in these last days. It says, “This we know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

In a recent poll conducted by Pew Research Center, it says that -

more and more Americans are becoming less and less religious, and fewer nowadays are attending church and participating in daily acts of prayer than in past survey years. Specifically, the share of adults in America who still profess belief in God fell from 92 percent in 2007 to 89 percent in 2014. But as the Associated Press reported, the level of believers in America is still high in comparison to other industrialized nations. By the numbers: The level of all U.S. adults who say they’re “absolutely certain” God exists fell from 71 percent in 2007 to 63 percent in 2014, and the number of Americans who pray every day and attend church regularly has fallen, as well. Young people, in particular, are losing their religion, with only 39 percent saying they pray every day. Only half of those born between 1990 and 1996 are “absolutely certain” God exists, compared to 71 percent of those born between 1928 and 1945, the so-called “silent generation,” AP said. -- Source

Please note that this research covered only the Americans. We can only imagine the percentage would be higher if it is conducted covering other nations.

Who can question that we are in the last days and are now living in perilous times? Only scoffers or mockers do who, like the wicked antediluvians, did not believe God and they all perished.

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3-4.

"As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be". Matthew 24:37-39. Other English translation says “they had no care till the waters came and took them all away.”

Sadly, the people “knew not” nor “had no care” what was going to happen at that moment. Are we presently so absorbed with temporal things in this world that we care not to examine ourselves if we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5)? Or do we set our affection on things above (Colossians 3:2)? No one knows the day or hour of Christ’s coming -- neither angels nor the Son but only the Father. We were only admonished to be careful, to watch and to pray and be ready for we don’t know when that time will come. (Mark 13:32-33).

In chapter 24 of the book of Matthew, after Jesus went out and departed from the temple in Jerusalem, the disciples asked Him privately “when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (v. 3)

Let us itemize Jesus’ answers and apply them in our present time.

1. “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (v. 4-5)

Sadly, many people are being deceived for Satan is putting forth desperate efforts to ensnare the world and devising many plans to occupy minds and to divert attention from the truths essential to salvation. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:9

So-Called “I Am Christ” (False Christ)

There is at present a “partial list of (37) notable people who have been claimed, either by themselves or by their followers, to in some way be the reincarnation or incarnation of Jesus, or the Second Coming of Christ” according to Wikipedia.org. Namely, Sun Myung Moon, Ahn Sahng-hong, David Koresh, Apollo Quiboloy, Inri Cristo, David Icke, Alan John Miller, etc. -- Sources: 1-2


2. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: (v. 6-7 first part)

As of October 2015, below are TOTAL number of ongoing conflict in different nations. Covering the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Americas.

Number of Countries involved in wars 65
Number Militias-guerrillas and separatist groups involved 665
Source

Locations of ongoing conflicts worldwide, October 2015
Major wars, 10,000+ deaths in current or past year
Wars, 1,000–9,999 deaths in current or past year
Minor conflicts, 100–999 deaths in current or past year
Skirmishes and clashes, fewer than 100 deaths in current or past year.

Source

World War & Army Timeline [War News] updated 04/14/16!


3. And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. (v. 7 - 8)

Famines.

Why are there still so many hungry people in the world?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), almost 1 billion people suffer from chronic hunger and almost 2 billion are under- or overnourished. Children are the most visible victims of nutritional deficiencies. Approximately 5 million children die each year because of poor nutrition. Access to adequate food during the first 1,000 days of life is vitally important for healthy future generations. Even a temporary lack of food during that crucial time has a negative effect on physical and intellectual development. I was shocked when told that in Haiti, even before the devastating earthquake that ruined the country, that small mud balls were being sold in the market to ease children’s hunger pangs. -- Source

“Years after the earthquake, the famous mud cakes of Cité Soleil are still being sold on the street: discs of baked dirt, water and salt eaten by starving families to stave off hunger –" Source

Haitians eat dirt cookies to survive. [Video] -- Source

Photo courtesy by Ariana Cubillos / AP nbcnews.com

See also a list of famines in Wikipedia.org

World Famine Timeline [Famine News] updated 04/14/16!

Pestilences or Diseases (Epidemics)

New strains of illnesses and resulting infectious disease outbreaks are on the rise around the globe, Brown University researchers discovered after analyzing data from the last 33 years. Bruised as your eyes feel after reading that, also know there’s a general trend whereby each outbreak affects fewer people (the current Ebola crisis excepted). To perform their analysis, the team turned to supercomputing to help them derive quantifiable data from the prose reports stored in the Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Online Network known as GIDEON. They began by creating what they called a "bioinformatics pipeline;" this is an automated database comprising 12,102 outbreaks of 215 infectious diseases involving 44 million people in 219 countries between the years 1980 and 2013. An outbreak, by the way, is defined as an increase in the number of cases of disease beyond what would normally be expected in a community, geographical area, or season. Having created the dataset, the researchers next went about analyzing it. Immediately, the team observed a spike in the number of outbreaks occurring around the world. -- Source

See also a List of epidemics in Wikipedia.org

World Healthcare Timeline [Healthcare News] updated 04/14/16!

Earthquakes

According to the website Today’s Earthquakes, they reported the following on 11/05/15,

Yesterday: 6.3 magnitude earthquake near Atambua, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia
There have been: (M1.5 or greater)
75 earthquakes today
699 earthquakes in the past 7 days
3,423 earthquakes in the past month
39,295 earthquakes in the past year
The biggest earthquake:
today: 5.5 in Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands
this week: 6.3 in Atambua, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia
this month: 7.5 in Jurm, Badakhshan, Afghanistan
this year: 8.3 in Illapel, Coquimbo, Chile
-- Source
The Haïtian earthquake in 2010, the Japanese tsunami in 2011, Hurricane Sandy, typhoon Bopha and Haiyan, recurrent floods, and other severe weather events remind us that every day severe natural disasters occur somewhere in the world. Natural disasters are a major issue, not only because of their frequency, but also because they cause 100,000 deaths per year (average between 2001-2013), result in thousands of injuries, and cost on average $100 billions a year.
-- Source - cache

But do you know that the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 was one of the major signs that actually fulfilled the prophetic event after the tribulation?

Great earthquake.

"The Lisbon Earthquake, which occurred on November 1, 1755, is the most notable earthquake of history." —Nelson's New Loose-leaf Encyclopedia (Book Production Industries Inc.), art. "Earthquake."
Says Sir Charles Lyell, ,"A violent shock threw down the greater part of the city. In the course of about six minutes, 60,000 persons perished. The sea first retired and laid the bar dry; it then rolled in, rising 50 feet or more above its ordinary level.... The area over which this convulsion extended is very remarkable."—Principles of Geology (11th ed., 1872), vol. 2, pp. 147, 148.
Encyclopaedia Britannica (1945) estimates the deaths at a lower figure, but says that the effects of the quake were felt from Scotland to Asia Minor and that the distinctive feature of the Lisbon earthquake was the agitation of inland lakes and streams far beyond the disturbed area—in Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, Sweden, and Norway. (Articles "Lisbon" and "Earthquakes.")

WATCH: Documentary Video of Lisbon Earthquake

Natural Catastrophes in 2012 Dominated by U.S. Weather Extremes
In 2012, 93 percent of natural catastrophes were weather-related disasters. The United States was seriously affected: it accounted for 69 percent of overall losses and 92 percent of insured losses due to natural catastrophes worldwide. -- Source

How Natural Disasters Changed the World in 2012
Last year, an estimated 32.4 million people worldwide were forced from their homes due to natural disasters. Here, 10 countries that suffered some of the worst displacements, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. -- Source

See also a List of natural disasters by death toll in Wikipedia.org

World Earthquake Timeline [Earthquake News] updated 04/14/16!


4. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. .. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. ( v. 11,23-25)

If you will look at Wikipedia.org and search for predictions and claims for the Second Coming of Christ and the list of dates predicted for apocalyptic events, you will find that there are many claimants, either notable groups or individuals of when Jesus was, or is, expected to return. That includes Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, Sun Myung Moon, Herbert W. Armstrong, Benjamin Crème, Alice Bailey, Pat Robinson, Harold Camping, Jerry Falwell, Timothy Dwight IV, Jack Van Impe, Mark Blitz and John Hagee to name a few. -- Source 1 - 2

Just recently in October 2015, one of the many false prophets has failed on its prediction that October 7 will be the end of the world. So, Chris McCann and the eBible Fellowship has added to the list. -- Source

We also have these televangelists who preached a “prosperity gospel” like Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Eddie L. Long, Joyce Meyer, and Randy White who were probed by the US senate because of their lavish and expensive lifestyles. -- Source

We can also add on this long list Joel Osteen, Franklin Graham, Felix Manalo, Mike Velarde, Eddie Villanueva, and Eli Soriano among others.


5. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

On The Peace Alliance Statistics on Violence & Peace page, they reported the following --

• The 20th century was one of the most violent periods in human history. An estimated 191 million people lost their lives directly or indirectly as a result of conflict, and well over half of them were civilians. [World Health Organization: visit: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention (2002)].

• Terrorism is on the rise, with an almost fivefold increase in fatalities since 9/11, in spite of US-led efforts to combat it in the Middle East and elsewhere around the world. [2014 Global Terrorism Index]

• 2013 saw a 61% increase in the number of people killed in terrorist attacks. [2014 Global Terrorism Index]

- See more at: The Peace Alliance website

World Crime Timeline [Crime News] updated 04/14/16!


6. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! (v. 15-19)

Please note that “all the predictions given by Christ concerning the destruction of Jerusalem were fulfilled to the letter.” According to history, in A.D. 66, when the idolatrous standards or banner of Pagan Rome was set up or planted in the holy ground of Jerusalem under Roman general Cestius who had surrounded the city, they unexpectedly abandoned the siege when everything seemed favorable for an immediate attack, he withdrew his forces without the least apparent reason. Those watching and waiting Christians knew and discerned the promised sign foretold by Christ and they obeyed the Savior and fled. Not one Christian perished. However, during the destruction in A.D. 70 under General Titus that 1.1 million jews were killed during this terrible siege, and that 97,000 were captured and enslaved (Eusebius, Church History, book 3, chap. 5; Josephus, The Wars of the Jews VI.9.3, GC 29-30)

But this prophecy was twofold in its meaning; while foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem, it prefigured also the terrors of the last great day. This terrible crisis had also its partial fulfillment and was experimented during the French Revolution. “Would we know the result of making void the law of God? The experiment has been tried. Terrible were the scenes enacted in France when atheism became the controlling power.” GC 25, 585

(For further reading of what happened during the French Revolution, please read GC 265-288).

Were you also aware that the Catholic Church had already planted her “idolatrous standard” in major continents of the world? During his second trip to the Philippines from January 12 to 16, 1995, the late Pope John Paul II has this speech,

In these years of preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, your particular Churches are fully committed to giving a fresh impulse to the evangelization of Asia. Just as in the first millennium the Cross was planted on the soil of Europe, and in the second on that of the Americas and Africa, we can pray that in the Third Christian Millennium a great harvest of faith will be reaped in this vast and vital Continent. -- Source 1 -2

Don’t you know that a cross is associated to the power of Rome and its power is in Sunday keeping? So if you are an honest member of any Sunday keeping church then it is now time for you “to flee” or “come out of her” (Revelation 18:5) just like the obeying Christians did in AD 66 for destruction is surely to fall upon these Babylonian churches -- SOON! (This is not exempting the present Seventh-day Adventist church, because this harlot church has already raised-up the standard of Rome that portrays a pagan cross way back in 1996-1997.)


7. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, (v. 29 first part)

Sun Become Darkened and the Moon Not Given Her Light

NOTE.—May 19, 1780, is known in history as the "Dark Day." The obscuration extended, in varying degrees, over New England and into New York. Newspapers said that a smoky haze from continued forest fires, which had been noticeable for several days, was said to have combined with heavy clouds to produce an unaccountable darkness from about 11 A.M. until past midnight, after which time the moon and stars reappeared. "There was the appearance of midnight at noonday," and in the evening, although the moon was just past full, "perhaps it was never darker since the children of Israel left the house of bondage." In connection with this extraordinary phenomenon the moon was reported to appear red. The cause was disputed, for the forest fires seemed insufficient to explain such an extensive darkness, and the exact cause has never been settled. (Letter signed "Viator" in Independent Chronicle [Boston], May 25, 1780, p. 2; see also the Pennsylvania Evening Post [Philadelphia], June 6, 1780, p. 62.) (Bible Readings for the Home, p. 284)

Stars Fallen in Heaven

NOTE.—When the Scripture mentions stars falling, it evidently means what even an astronomer refers to as "falling stars," or meteors. Within a little over a half century following the most notable darkening of the sun and moon, a number of star showers occurred, but "probably the most remarkable of all the meteoric showers that have ever occurred was that of the Leonids, on November 12 [12-13], 1833" (Charles A. Young, Manual of Astronomy [1902 ed.], sec. 521), when "a tempest of falling stars broke over the earth. North America bore the brunt of its pelting (Agnes M. Clerke, A Popular History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century, 1885 ed., p. 369).
An eyewitness reported: "This language of the prophet has always been received as metaphorical. Yesterday it was literally fulfilled, . . . as no man before yesterday had conceived to be possible that it should be fulfilled. . . .Were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of the heavens as that which St. John uses in the prophecy. . . . They were what the world understands by the name of 'Falling Stars.' . . . The falling stars did not come, as if from several trees shaken, but from one: those which appeared in the east fell toward the East; those which appeared in the north fell toward the North; those which appeared in the west fell toward the West; and those which appeared in the south, (for I went out of my residence in the Park,) fell toward the South; and they fell, not as the ripe fruit falls. Far from it. But they flew, they were cast, like the unripe fruit, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and, when it does break its hold, flies swiftly, strait off, descending; and in the multitude falling some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force."—Eyewitness account in the New York Journal of Commerce, vol. 8, no. 534, Saturday, Nov. 16, 1833. (ibid, p. 284-285)


8. “And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (v.29 – 31)

Powers of Heaven Shaken

This sign is yet to transpire immediately before the Son of man Jesus Christ is seen “coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” because in Revelation 16:17-18, the 7th plague is cited to happen and the great voice of God will shake the sun, moon, and stars or in other words they will be moved out of their places but will not pass away.
“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.”

“The powers of heaven are the sun, moon, and stars. They rule in the heavens. The powers of earth are those that rule on the earth. The powers of heaven will be shaken at the voice of God. Then the sun, moon, and stars will be moved out of their places. They will not pass away, but be shaken by the voice of God… The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder and an earthquake.” EW 41, 15


TIME IS ALMOST FINISHED - PLEASE GET READY!

So, the disciples’ questions have been answered by Christ and we are fortunate and blessed to see them happened and or being fulfilled in this our time except for that last sign which will not take place until after probation has closed and the 7th plague has begun.

“We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude. The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.” 9T 11

Yes, these great changes are now taking place around us and in rapidity so we don’t want to be caught unprepared. But ready or not, it will come so it is now high time to act our part.

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:32-34.

“Are we to wait until the fulfillment of the prophecies of the end before we say anything concerning them? Of what value will our words be then? Shall we wait until God's judgments fall upon the transgressor before we tell him how to avoid them? Where is our faith in the word of God? Must we see things foretold come to pass before we will believe what He has said? In clear, distinct rays light has come to us, showing us that the great day of the Lord is near at hand, "even at the doors." Let us read and understand before it is too late. “ 9T 20

“It is not for lack of knowledge that God's people are now perishing. They will not be condemned because they do not know the way, the truth, and the life. The truth that has reached their understanding, the light which has shone on the soul, but which has been neglected or refused, will condemn them. Those who never had the light to reject will not be in condemnation. What more could have been done for God's vineyard than has been done? Light, precious light, shines upon God's people; but it will not save them unless they consent to be saved by it, fully live up to it, and transmit it to others in darkness. God calls upon His people to act. It is an individual work of confessing and forsaking sins and returning unto the Lord that is needed. One cannot do this work for another.” 2T 123

Let us not forget that "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). And that law is no other than the Ten Commandments of God (Exodus 20:3-17;34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13;10:4). "Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14.

God will destroy sin and this sinful world. (1 John 3:5-8. Hebrews 2:14.) You and I are too precious in God’s sight for He bought us with a price. (1Cor 6:20) He is waiting in mercy for you and does not want to destroy anyone. (2 Peter 3 :9)

At this very moment dear ones, He is pleading for you to "COME unto Me" (Matthew 11:28;Revelation 22:17). Please, I pray, do not ignore His unfailing love!


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