March 22, 2009
The End IS Near!
During the 60's, there were a number of cartoons and characterizations that came out ridiculing, among other things, the "Jesus Freak" movement, and street preachers. Generally, the cartoons revolved around a depiction of a ratty haired and disreputable looking "hippie", standing on a crowded sidewalk and wearing a sandwich board that stated boldly "The End Is Near."
While being regaled by the talking heads, comedians and news pontificators about how ridiculous such an idea was, the truth of the matter was shunted to the side, and generally ignored.
In the 70's, some few people, such as Hal Lindsey with his "Late, Great Planet Earth" pointed out how the world, its attitudes and actions seemed to be following some master plan. And lo! that "master plan" had already been detailed for us in a book called The Bible. Among the items given in the Bible as indications that "the end is near" were such things as a move towards a one world government, a one world currency, increasing hatred and persecution of Christians and generalized ridicule of Christianity, a turning away from the moral standards established by God in His Word.
Of course, everything that Hal and others pointed out was pooh-poohed by the enlightened intelligentsia. "Society is getting worse," they said..."why, society is better off today than it ever was before. Our morals are higher, and we're looking out for the better good of all." And society in general nodded their heads in agreement, closed their eyes and went about their own business.
Is that true? Are we "better off today" than we were in 1960...or 1940...or 1900...or 1990? Are our morals higher? Is society in general more concerned with the "best for all people?"
Let's take a look at some facts...not hearsay, not postulation, but cold, hard facts.
In 1960, it is estimated that approximately 30,000 abortions were conducted in back alleys, back rooms, and other hidden places (abortion was illegal then). By 1970, with the legalization of infanticide hiding under the guise of "freedom of choice," that number had more than quadrupled. Here we are in 2009, with over 40 MILLION babies slaughtered. One doctor alone, George Tiller of Kansas, is believed to have performed more abortions by himself than occured in the entire country in 1960.
In 1960, no elected member of the House or Senate of the US was investigated, charged with, or convicted of any crime involving ethics violations, DWI, sex crimes, perjury, taking bribes or kickbacks, etc. In 2008 no fewer than 40 were either under investigation, or were charged and waiting trial, or had been convicted. From 2001 to 2007, 9 members of the House were forced to resign under pressure because of conduct involving one or more of the above.
In 2009 (and only three months old, at that!), it has come to light that Sen. Dodd (chairman of the Banking Committee) has not only received special consideration from his mortgage company (who Dodd helps to "regulate"), but that he also knew about the built-in bonus approvals contained in the stimulus bill recently passed, and that the largest recipient of those bonuses (AIG) contributed more than $150,000 to his election fund. Complicit in this was the President, Barak Obama, who not only knew about the bonuses BEFORE passage of the bill, but insisted that they be retained in the bill (in spite of opposition by many) as "necessary." Amazingly, the Obama campaign machine also received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the same AIG executives that were slated to get the bonuses. And to really cap off the total hypocrisy of those two, after the public got wind and started loudly complaining, Dodd and Obama were the first to rush to a position of "That's outrageous...immoral...by all means, lets get that money back...we need to TAX it!!"
In 1960, no large businesses, or their officers, were charged with any type of criminal wrongdoing, nor were they under suspicion by the SEC for improper manipulation of their stocks, portfolios, and values.
Since 2000, and beginning with the Enron debacle, more big companies have floated belly-up with revelations of improper management, cooking the books, stock manipulation, and outright thievery than ever before. Respected gurus of finance, such as Madoff, have been charged with running Ponzi schemes, and bilking investors out of billions of dollars.
Since 1990, over 4 million people have been slaughtered, under the name of "ethnic cleansing," in such diverse places as Africa, India, and Indonesia. Many of those have been Christians, while the killers (in the main) have been Islamic and Hindu.
Since 1990, we have seen the establishment of the European Union, and increasing moves by the EU to consolidate political and economic control into a central government controlling all aspects of life and society. With the formation and apparent "success" of the EU, movements have developed in Asia for the formation of a similar agency, and in the western hemisphere moves are underway to establish a North American federation for the same purpose.
In the past month, and brought on by the monetary and economic crisis generated by unscrupulous corporations and businesses, there is an increasing movement towards consolidating all monetary systems into a single, easily recognizable and traded currency (tentatively called Acmetal). This move towards consolidation has the full involvement and agreement by the EU, the United Nations, and the United States.
Wars, regional clashes, civil unrest and rebellion have all been on the increase...not decrease. Surely, if society were getting better, if morals were on the upswing, then there would be less reason or rationale for war, rebellion, genocide, thievery, manipulation, murder.
On the home front (in the US), our government is pushing for the establishment of a civilian "national security force" that is better funded than the military. And, instead of being voluntary like the military, the Obama administration wants to make it mandatory, with the emphasis on school age children going to special "camps" or as the admin prefers to say it "campuses", where they'll wear uniforms and be taught certain "values" pertaining to "creating a better society." I recall a certain individual named Adolf who did exactly that in the 30's, and they were known as the Brownshirts. China currently has a similar system in place, inculcating their youth with the "values" that the government desires. We all know what those values were...and are.
The Bible...written over a period of 1,500 years, contains a revelation for man of not only who God is, but what God desires...and most importantly, revelation about what is to transpire in the history of man. That the revelations made that contain prophecy about future events is true can be ascertained simply by comparing what was said by God BEFORE it happened to what actually happened. And if we do that, we can easily see that there is not one thing prophesied about that did not happen. That makes the Word of God 100%...not 99, not 65, not even 99.9...but 100% true, and therefore RELIABLE. Frankly, any individual with even a modicum of sense would be hard-pressed to say that what's left to come (as told by God) "probably won't happen." And yet there are many who take that exact stance.
There are some events prophesied of that have not yet come to pass. That certainly does not mean they won't, just that they are events that are inextricably yoked to the "time of the end." They are events that will only come to pass when "the end is near." And what we are seeing today are the signs of those events beginning to come to pass.
In the book of Matthew (ch.24), Jesus spoke of the time of the end, and told us that wars would not decrease...indeed, they would increase. Nations fighting other nations, people fighting other people. He told us that families would decay, with family members not having a care or love for each other, even turning on and betraying each other. He told us that there would be an increase in false prophets and prophecy, and a rise in people claiming to be Him. He told us that many would depart from faith, from belief in God, and from Him.
Wars have increased. Families have decayed. False prophets and prophecy have increased. There are more today claiming to be the christ than at any other time in history. Faith in God is decreasing. In just the past five years, the number of people in the US alone who no longer believe in God has gone from under 20% of the population to over 35%.
As Jesus said, these are the "signs of the times," and to "lift up your eyes for your redemption draws nigh (near)." In other words, the end is near...but THE END is not quite yet.
In the book of Daniel, we are told about a system, and a person who arise at the time of the end. This system will be a confederation of nations, drawn together for gain, and to provide a base of operation for the person. This person will come, literally, out of nowhere. Basically unknown, of little stature, he will suddenly rise to a position of prominence, and will do it with flattery, smooth words, and deceit. When he reaches the pinnacle of power and exerts control over the confederation, he will institute a one world government, a one world monetary system, and a one world religion.
An example of how such a thing can happen can be seen, quite clearly, in the rise to prominence of the current president of the United States, Barack Obama. Rising from the relative obscurity of a "community organizer" in Chicago just a few years ago, he was elected to the state senate, then quickly went on to run for the US Senate. Before he even completed his first term, he was suddenly catapulted into a position of "fame", and adulation by his party by delivering a keynote address at a nominating convention. Shortly after that, he chose to run the presidency. In the course of his campaign, he used flattery and cajolery to win the hearts and minds of enough people to get elected to the presidency. That deceit was a part of his campaign is easily seen in the types of things he told different groups when wooing their vote. What he said to one group was rarely the same as what he would tell to another, diverse, group. And what he told to all, he has (since taking office), changed to conform to the contingencies of the current situation. Even the news media, which (generally) has been enamored with him, has begun to notice his wishy-washy ways, and how he kow-tows to the pressures of whatever squeaky wheel makes the most noise.
Just a little side-note at this point. My home state, Texas, has decided (for security reasons) that anyone renewing their drivers license has to provide a certified copy of a birth certificate to get that license. If I want to travel to Canada, or Mexico, or any foreign country, I have to have a passport...and to get that passport, I have to provide a certified copy of a birth certifiate. Obama has been elected president of this country, under a constitutional provision that stipulates that NO person can be the President if he (or she) is not a NATURAL citizen of the US. That means one who is BORN IN THIS COUNTRY. When John McCain was running for president, he provided a certified copy of his birth certificate for public perusal. Ditto with every other one of the candidates in the race...except for Obama. The only thing we've gotten from him is a suspect copy of a certificate of live birth, which does not stipulate where a person is born, only that they were alive when the certificate was requested. And for the past 4 months, Obama has gone out of his way to make sure that no records and no birth certificate are provided, or available. Why? What does the prez have to hide? Nothing? or everything?
Does this mean that Obama is the antichrist...this "person" spoken of by both Daniel and John? No, I don't think so...but it certainly lays the groundwork for understanding HOW someone can rise from relative obscurity to a position of immense power and prominence in a short time.
When you put all of these things together, a picture emerges...a picture of what lies before us...and it is NOT a pretty picture. Because it dosn't stop there, with one person in the driver's seat, and a unified world government, money, and religion (which to too many people would be a welcome thing). That's when things really start to heat up...that's when God says "ENOUGH," to the self-destructive narcissim of humanity. That's when the "cup of iniquity" will be filled to the brim, and God pours out His wrath and anger upon sin.
There are many, many more observations about current events that can be made, and they will be in future editions. However, I believe that enough has been said now to justify the saying: "THE END IS NEAR."
Those who read this are going to fall into one of three classes of people, no more and no less.
One, you're a believer in Christ as the atonement for your sin, and you're born-again. In which case, lift up your eyes, for your redemption IS nigh...and gird up your belt, don the armor, and fight the good fight of faith...cause things are gonna start getting hairy!
Two, you're a dyed-in-the-wool non-believer who stupidly believes that you've got all the answers. More than likely, your attitude is just like that spoken of by Peter, when he said "...there will be mockers and scoffers in the END, who will walk after their own desires, and will say , 'well...where is He..I don't see Him', and will say everything is just peachy keen...been that way since the beginning, and it's going to stay that way." (my paraphrase). In which case, you're a fool, so get ready to reap the harvest of what you and your class have sown.
Three, you're either an agnostic (undecided) or a typical church-goer that thinks you can argue with God, and your reason is better than His. In which case you'd better get right with God, or you're gonna get left...and you won't like being left! If you do get right, then you'll be in the first group..and you'll definitely have something to look forward to.
Getting right is simple...just acknowledge your sinfulness and shortcoming in the face and presence of the Almighty. Confess that you are a sinner, and you repent (are truly sorry) of being that sinner, and acknowledge that Jesus Christ of Nazareth (God come in the flesh) IS God, and came to take upon Himself our punishment for that sin. Believe in your heart (with everything you've got) that God DID raise Jesus from the dead after His crucifixion, and finally, CONFESS before others that Jesus is LORD. That's all it takes.
And that's a whole lot simpler than trying to figure out the stimulus bill!!
Have a comment about this post? Tell us about it!
The Master's Table is brought to you free of charge and is supported by friends like yourself. If you would like to make a donation (tax-deductible in the US) to help us continue this service around the world, you can do so by clicking here and making a donation by credit card/Pay Pal.
