Introduction
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
(Matthew 28:19-20)
And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house,
there abide till ye depart from that place.
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence,
shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them.
Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
(Mark 6:10-12)
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Signs Of The End-Times – What did Jesus say?
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:6 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.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Other possible signs would include a rebuilding of a Jewish temple in Jerusalem, increased hostility towards Israel, and advances toward a one-world government. The most prominent sign of the end times, however, is the nation of Israel. In 1948, Israel was recognized as a sovereign state for the first time since 70 A.D. God promised Abraham that his posterity would have Canaan as “an everlasting possession” and Ezekiel prophesied a physical and spiritual resuscitation of Israel. Having Israel as a nation in its own land is important in light of end-time prophecy, because of Israel’s prominence in eschatology (study of the end-times).
We will look at current events as they apply to:
- The New World Order
- The Coming Of A One-World Religion
- The Four Horsemen
- The Rapture
- The Great Tribulation
- The Mark of The Beast
- The Seven Trumpets
- The United States in the Bible
The New World Order
The Bible predicts that a great world government will be established on earth just before Jesus Christ returns to establish his 1000 year reign of peace. We have heard a lot about New World Order over the last few years, but very few people understand what is meant by the term. The fact is, New World Order is world government!
World government is the concept of a political body that would make, interpret and enforce international law. Inherent to the concept of a world government is the idea that nations would be required to pool or surrender (depending on point of view) sovereignty over some areas. In effect, a world government would add another level of administration above the existing national governments or provide coordination over areas national governments are not capable of adequately addressing as independent polities. The authority granted this level and how it relates to national governments and/or citizens is debated by both adherents and opponents to world government.
The Coming Of A One-World Religion
Of the three forces blamed for war among men, religion has been the most frequent cause of conflict, by far. The drive for one-world government and one-world economy has been much more prominent in the news than the push for religious unification. However, the behind-the-scenes-progress toward religious union has been widespread and far-reaching.
The Four Horsemen
The Bible prophesies about four great spirits which control the actions of human beings, leaders of governments and ultimately, even the governments of the world themselves. One of these spirits will become the dominating force in the program of the future world dictator of the coming one-world government.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are the forces of man’s destruction described in the Bible in chapter six of the Book of Revelation. The four horsemen are traditionally named after the powers/dangers they represent: Conquest, War, Famine and Death; only Death, however, is directly named in the Bible.
The Rapture – Just before The Great Tribulation?
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
The Great Tribulation – 7 years?
Many teachings on endtime prophecy stress the belief that the Great Tribulation is 7 years in duration. These teachings usually indicate that the Great Tribulation comprises the entire 70th week of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel 9. However, a careful study of the scripture indicates that the Great Tribulation is actually only 3 1/2 years long, and occurs during the final 3 1/2 years of Daniel’s 70th week.
The Mark of The Beast
The most dreaded prophecy in scripture is the prophecy concerning 666 – the mark of the beast. Books have been written about it. Movies have been produced about it. It has been called the mark of Cain and the mark of the Devil. Until recently, this dreaded subject has been projected into some far distant future. However, it now appears that the time for the enactment of this prophesied cashless society is upon us.
The Seven Trumpets – 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, Seven Bowl Judgements
The Book of Revelation describes 7 monumental events that will take place in the last days, known as the Seven Trumpets. How does the Bible describe these events? Have any of these trumpet events already occurred? Are any just ahead?
The seven trumpets are described in Revelation 8:6 – 9:21. The seven trumpets are the “contents” of the seventh seal (Revelation 8:1-5). The first trumpet causes hail and fire that destroys much of the plant life in the world (Revelation 8:7). The second of the seven trumpets brings about what seems to be a meteor hitting the oceans and causing the death of much of the world’s sea life (Revelation 8:8-9). The third trumpet is similar to the second trumpet except it affects the world’s lakes and rivers instead of the oceans (Revelation 8:10-11).
The fourth of the seven trumpets causes the sun and moon to be darkened (Revelation 8:12). The fifth trumpet results in a plague of “demonic locusts” that attack and torture humanity (Revelation 9:1-11). The sixth trumpet releases a demonic army that kills a third of humanity (Revelation 9:12-21). The seventh trumpet calls forth the seven angels with the seven bowls of God’s wrath (Revelation 11:15-19; 15:1-8).
The United States in the Bible
Many people assert that the United States doesn’t appear in the Bible. However, the four beasts of Daniel’s vision, found in Daniel chapter 7, bear an uncanny resemblance to nations in our modern world, including the United States.
Daniel’s vision in Daniel 7 describes four beasts – a lion with eagle’s wings (Great Britain (Our mother country) / U.S.), a bear (Persia), a leopard with four heads (Babylonia), and a beast described as “dreadful and terrible” (Roman Empire). We know from Daniel 7:17 and Daniel 7:23 that these beasts represent kings and kingdoms.
According to Daniel 7:9-12, these kingdoms will exist at the time of the return of Jesus Christ to establish His 1000 year reign of peace. We are rapidly approaching that day.