ARE END-TIME
PROPHECIES HAPPENING TODAY?
by
Harold E. Cormany
After
the unprecedented worldwide disasters and resulting mass destruction
and loss of life in 2005, one can't help but wonder what calamities
could batter our planet in 2006.
We are witnessing events that Jesus prophesied.
In addition to unparalleled natural disasters, we see "false ministers"
who claim to be ministers of Christ, but do not preach His message
of the Gospel.
Causing 20 million deaths since 1981, in HIV-AIDS, we've seen
one of the worst epidemics ever to befall mankind. And far from
being controlled as is often assumed here, "the AIDS epidemic
continues to outstrip global efforts to contain it". Worldwide,
there are currently 50 million people who are HIV-positive and
in 2004, five million people became infected, three million died
from AIDS. World health organizations say the AIDS pandemic is
in its infancy and in places such as southeast Asia and Sub-Sahara
Africa is growing so fast , it cannot be contained and will radically
affect the future of numerous countries. There are other diseases,
so frightening and lethal (and incurable) we tend to dismiss them
as being threats only in their countries of origin, but the only
reason there haven't been larger outbreaks or pandemics of Ebola
Fever, Dengue Fever and others is they presently kill their victims
too fast to spread far. Diseases we thought cured and consigned
to history books have returned, including tuberculosis, cholera,
yellow fever, diptheria and malaria -- all major killers in the
past and capable of reaching epidemic or pandemic levels. And
one can't forget that the last pandemic that killed millions and
brought many countries to a terrified standstill was influenza,
a strain of which in a one year period in 1919 killed more people
than did World War I in the entire four years before it.
We
see in every area of the world -- Central America, the Balkans,
the Far East and the Pacific, the Middle-East , Africa -- places
where there is almost continual warfare between countries or civil
wars between classes or different cultural and religious groups.
On the web site Flashpoint if you click on "select a conflict",
a menu of 41 countries drops down, and you can read of places
you may never have heard of where people are killing each other
for reasons or principles that may be impossible to comprehend
to any but those involved.
These
are some of the evils and turmoil of the kind referred to in the
New Testament.
Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21
are known as the "Olivet Prophecy" in which Christ describes
to his disciples the troubles and catastrophes that will show
that the end time -- and his return-- are near. His description
focuses on religious trickery and deceit, wars and their accompanying
famines, epidemics and earthquakes.
In Matthew 24:3 His disciples ask"Tell
us when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy
coming, and the end of the world?"
What
is meant here by the "end of the world?" Will it be
the kind of 'end' that Hollywood and science fiction writers so
often envision - a world that is all but unlivable, with conditions
deteriorating more and more until the earth virtually explodes
into nothing, taking all life with it?
Understand
that Jesus did not use "the end of the world" as a synonym
for extinction or extermination. He was referring to the end of
an age, the end of an environment and a state of affairs very
much like those that we see today.
It's
interesting that although he mentions a number of horrifying and
catastrophic events, the first thing on his list is His advice
to , "Take heed, let no man deceive you". This is similar to scripture
in Revelations 12:9 "And that great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan
who deceiveth the whole world." So there is no doubting
who will organize and lead the religious deceptions.
Other scriptures provide warning as well.
In Matthew 24:5 Jesus says"For many
shall come in my name saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many".
The apostle Paul warned the early New Testament church about this
deception in 2 Corinthians 11:3"
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ. V.4-For if he
that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached,
or if you receive another spirit, which ye have not received,
or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear
with him."
Further
along,
in V. 13, "For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into
the apostles of Christ. V. 14 And
no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed (transforming himself)
into an angel of light. V. 15- therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the
ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their
works."
Matthew 7:15 - "Beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves." In V. 21 he says "Not everyone
that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
V. 22 Many will say to me in that
day (judgment day), Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? And in thy name have cast
out demons? And in thy name done many wonderful
works?" Jesus tells us what his reply will be in V.
23- "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you;
depart from me, ye that work iniquity [lawlessness]."
Returning to Matthew 24:11 "And many
false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." V.
23- "Then if any man shall say unto you Lo, here is Christ,
or there; believe it not. V. 24-
For there shall arise false christ's and false prophets, and shall
show great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect."
We've seen those who claimed to know when the rapture would take
place, we've heard those that preach that Christ is already on
the earth.
Many
people believe that the Olivet Prophecies were fulfilled, that
Christ's' words were meant only for the early New Testament church.
And one cannot argue that many of his prophesies came to pass
in the days of the apostles,a time of great turmoil, distress
and tribulation that included a great earthquake that struck Phrygia,
in Asia Minor, in 61 AD causing destruction on a scale never before
seen. In 63 AD an earthquake near Mount Vesuvius in Italy destroyed
half the city of Pompeii and in the process made Vesuvius active.
When Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD Pompeii disappeared from the face
of the earth. There was general unrest and warfare through the
60s in Judea and all parts of the Roman Empire, culminating in
the Roman siege and eventual destruction of Jerusalem and the
Jewish state in 70 AD during which between 600,000 and 1 million
men, women and children were killed. There was the well-chronicled
persecutions suffered by Christians from both Romans and Jews.
As
Christ prophesied, there was no shortage of false prophets to
take advantage of the unrest and fear that was rampant at the
time. As many as 60 men claimed to be the Messiah alone in the
first century after Christ's death, many of them amassing sizeable
--for the day -- followings. Some, such as Simon Magus (Acts
8), Theudas, and Judas of Galillee (Acts
5:36-37) deceived so many they are mentioned
by name in the Bible.
2
Peter 2:1-2 "But there were false prophets also among the
people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily
shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord
that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
V. 2- And many shall follow their
pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil
spoken of."
Peter wrote in 2 Peter 2:1- "even
denying the Lord. . ."
Now
read what the apostle John wrote in I John
2:18 "Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have
heard that anti-christ shall come, even now are there many anti-christ's…"
Preterists
(those who believe the prophecies of the Apocalypse to have
been already fulfilled) use John's phrase 'it is
the last time' as proof that all things Jesus prophesied,
came to pass during that time. They claim Nero and/or The Roman Empire was the beast.
If what they say is true, where is Christ? In
the book of Revelation, we are told
that Christ, in the latter days, will establish God's kingdom
on the earth. (This is also described in Zechariah
14:9.) That Christ did not return proves that the events
that took place in the first century were not the total fulfillment
of his prophecy.
Those
events were
only a type of an anti-type that will come in the latter days.The
events of the last half of the first century are a foretaste of
what must yet happen. Remember what the disciples asked? “What
will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
(V 3).Keep in mind it's the
latter days the disciples were asking about,
the days leading up to the end of the world.
If today is an example of what God's Kingdom is like, then He
is truly a failure. However, those who preach that all prophecy
has already occurred are themselves deceived.
Continue reading in I John 2:22-
"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He
is anti-christ, that denieth the Father and the Son."
There
are major religions that deny the Son, one is Judaism, another;
Islam.
How then can we base our religious beliefs on a Judeo-Christian
relationship if the Jews deny that Jesus is Messiah and the very
Son of God?
One
needs to look into just what their religion is based on, what
is its' true foundation? True Christianity is not
based on Judaism, nor any other religion or belief. It's origins
come exclusively from the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Paul told the elders of the church ,whom he committed to feeding
the Church of God, in Acts 20:28-
"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over
the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." V.
29 "For I know this, that after my departure shall grievous
wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. V.
30- Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away disciples after them."
False
ministers have crept into the Church of God in virtually every
era. It happened in the first century and it's happening today.
Christianity
today is a jumbled mixture of heretical doctrine that in no way
resembles the doctrines of the early New Testament Church of God.
Instead we find a Sunday, Christmas and
Easter worshipping church that claims Jesus nailed the Law of
God to His cross. If that's not deception, what is?
In Matthew 24,Jesus
tells of other conditions that will prevail in the latter days,
In Matthew 24:6 "And ye shall hear
of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled; for all
these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."
Wars
have historically been a virtual addiction for the human race,
but when in history has there ever been more armed conflicts than
now? We see long running guerilla/terrorist/counter-terrorist
actions, constant border clashes between some nations, battles
that are wars in all but name between classes, religious groups
and those who proclaim cultural superiority over another group
or nation, secret wars as deadly as any of the conflicts we are
familiar with but barely known to the world at large due to government
restrictions and censorship, and of course actual conflicts called
wars by both the parties involved and outside onlookers.
Another problem plaguing Christian churches today is mentioned
in V. 12 "And because iniquity [lawlessness]
shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
Mark
13:8 tells us. "For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be earthquakes in divers
(different) places and there shall be famines and pestilences
and troubles; these are the beginning of sorrows."
Preterists
claim all of these warnings and predictions were written strictly
for the first century church, and all events occurred within 50
years of Christ's death.
And
again I ask, if this is true, where is Christ? Shouldn't He be
in Jerusalem in the Temple of God at this very moment?
Such
a time is foretold in Daniel 12:1-2 "And
at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth
for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble,
such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time;
and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book. v. 2-
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
This
has not yet happened,and when it does, it will be on a far greater
scale than the prophets could have ever imagined.
In
the book of Acts it tells us how
Christ ascended into heaven after 40 days on the earth after His
resurrection. Note
what the angel told those who witnessed His ascension into heaven
in a cloud. Acts 1:11-"Which also
said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This
same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come
in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
Has anyone ever witnessed His return? My Bible tells me in Rev.
1:7- "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every
eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and
all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him."
Jude v. 14-"And Enoch, also, the
seventh from Adam, prophesied of these saying, Behold, the Lord
cometh with ten thousands of his saints."
Rev.
19:11:
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that
sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
he doth judge and make war. V. 12-
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns;
and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
V.13-
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name
is called The Word of God. .V. 14-
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and clean. V.
15- And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with
it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and
wrath of Almighty God. V. 16- And
he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF
KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."
A
descent that must happen in order for prophecy to be fulfilled.
And odds are if such an event happened already, there'd be a few oral or written histories of it
no matter where on the human timeline it occurred.
You
and I live in a time when end-time prophecies are starting to
be fulfilled. Yet few ministers preach this warning to the world.
Those who do are called ‘prophets of doom and gloom’.
Modern day ministers preach ‘I’m ok, you’re
ok’ or ‘pull yourself up by your own bootstraps’.
Could these be the ministers that Jesus tells in Matthew
7:23- ‘I never knew you, depart from me, ye that
work iniquity.’
Other ministers who preach of these things happening today, also
preach that Jesus could come tonight in a secret rapture, That
the saints will be raptured up to heaven during the entire tribulation
period. They didn't read this in The Bible because nowhere in
The Bible does it say this. The saints won't be resurrected nor
those alive changed until the blowing of the 7th and last trumpet,
which is part of the 7 trumpet plagues prior to the 7 vial plagues
of Rev. 15 and
16.
(Of
course, some claim this last trump is not the 7th trump, time
will tell who is correct.)
The main question is, are you ready to meet the Lord when He does
return? Have you received Him as your personal savior? Have you
repented of your sins? And as Peter said in
Acts 2:38- "Repent and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
This
is a witness for all of you who read this article. Perhaps its
time to sit up and pay attention to what's happening around you.
Finally, notice Jesus' words in Matthew
24:36-39 'But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no,
not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
V. 37- But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming
of the son of man be, V.38-
For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noe entered the
ark V. 39- And knew not until the flood came, and
took them all away so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be.'
We
live in a time no other generation has ever imagined, let alone
witnessed. Are you prepared to meet the Lord, or are you wrapped
up in the cares of this world, and allowing yourself to be deceived
by men who Jesus calls false ministers and false prophets? Perhaps
it's time we all rouse ourselves from our slumber, and prepare
to meet the Lord Jesus when He returns. Jesus said no man knows
the hour or the day. However, he tells us of many coming events
that we need to be watching for. The end of this age could be
closer than you think.
Yes,
end-time prophecies are happening today.
