S . I. G. N. S. OF THE TIMES
Matt 16:
16:1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, ’It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 and in the morning, ’It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. NKJV
Matt. 24:
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all[a]these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,[b] and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
What are the SIGNS of the times that will eventually lead us to the End of Time?
1. SPURIOUS SPIRITUALITY
- Deceitful
- False
The appearance of many false prophets and false messiahs. These deceiving teachers will entice people to join all kinds of sects and wild cults catering to the low moral standards of the crowd. The Lord warns us about the danger of false teachings, saying: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Do not follow them. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand" (Mt. 24:5, 24; Mrk. 13:6). The book of Revelation describes some of the striking miracles of the last and ultimate false prophet and promoter of the Antichrist. The Apostle Paul explains to the Thessalonians that these will be not actual miracles but mere illusions and deceptions of the evil spirits (Rev. 13:13-15, 2 Thes. 2:9).
2. IDEOLOGICAL IDOLATRY
- Ideas ( Worship & Devotion )
- Theories
- Aims
Sorcery, the serving of evil spirits, and other pagan practices will become widespread. The minds of most people will be poisoned by all sorts of ungodly heresies, as the Holy Spirit expressly predicted through St. Paul: "In latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Tim. 4:1). The Apostle John depicts the following gloomy picture about the overwhelming permeation of evil spirits into peoples lives: "And he [the Angel] opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit … And they [the locusts which came from the pit] had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon." Even though the Lord, by means of different punishments and calamities, will try to stop people from doing evil, they "would not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts" (Rev. 9:2-21, 16:13, 18:23).
New Age Idolatry = This is the essential belief: All is one, one is God, you are one... that’s right, you are God!...
The 4 lies of Satan of Gen.3:4-5 are:
1- "You will not die".
At the core of the New Age is "Reincarnation"... and you will never even be sick with the holistic healing, exercise, diet, herbology, biofeedback, acupuncture, massage techniques, magic, the healing effects of crystals, pyramids, and other many superstitions...
Mostly, you will obtain even the utopia of "immortality", because matter and spirit are one (monism).
2- "Your eyes will be opened".
You become conscious of how powerful you are, capable of overcoming any problem... this is the "human potential movement" which has made the greatest inroads in the spread of New Age: The "seminars" carried out in major corporations, like RCA, IBM, Boeing, Ford Motor Co., General Dynamics, etc. designed to increase productivity and potential among the employees... The "mortal omnipotence" obtained by occult divinatory devices... or by hallucinogenic drugs, hypnosis...
3- "You will be like God".
"Pantheism" is the heart of the New Age: "God is all and all is God"... because God "is not a person", it is "Energy", "the Force"... God is not "He", but "It", a stone, a star, you, I... any atom has energy!...
The "gigantic quantum leap", is when every human will realize that he is God... and this will occur "suddenly", as a "quantum leap", when enough people on earth have the consciousness of God, of being God!... this great energy will produce the sudden "gigantic leap" of all man and women on earth becoming conscious of God, becoming God!... and that will bring world peace and prosperity, a sudden solution of all the problems of the world!... a universal religion, a "global village", even immortality...
4- "Knowing good and evil"
The New Age doctrine is essentially an extreme "naturalism": The "mother earth", "Gaia", is God, and beyond the "personal transformation" is the New Age goal of "planetarian transformation": "Pollution" is got to be stopped... because we all are "Planetary Citizens", living in only one village, the "Global Village".
Jesus Christ is discarded, he is not God, and not even the son of man... he is only the "Christ Energy" or the "Cosmic Christ"... better try the occult, astrology, spiritism, astral travel, reincarnation, goddess worship, mind sciences, yoga meditation, crystals, pyramids... witchcraft or Wicca, white or black magic, sexual magic with each one of the coven having sex with everyone... something is obviously very seriously wrong!...
... And these are "the 4 main doctrines" of the New Age different cults and groups:
3. GLOBAL GLOOM
- Darkness, Depression, Fear …
Bloody wars and various disasters will reach catastrophic proportions. People will become weary from the burden of suffering from disasters. They will be unable to overcome them through personal efforts; however, they will not turn to God for help due to their own disbelief. "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places." But people will become so hardened that even these calamities will not turn them to repentance. Ever increasing licentiousness, hatred, and mutual enmity will ultimately lead to the Last Judgment. Comparing the last times with the time before the deluge the Apostle Peter says: "As God did not spare the ancient world [in the time of Noah] bringing in the flood on the ungodly … and [later] turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorra into ashes, then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment" (2 Pet. 2:5-9). "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; and men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken" (Mt. ch. 24; Mrk. ch. 13 and Lk. ch. 21). The concluding words of this prophecy evidently pertain to the end of the world. However, a few years prior to this, a more fearful event in the life of mankind will occur: the coming to power of the Antichrist.
4. NURTURING NEGLECT
- Moral Development
- Disrespect & Carelessness
Extreme weakening of the faith. Although Christ’s teaching will be generally known, people will become indifferent to it, so much so that "when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Lk. 18:8). According to Saint Paul, this will be the time "when people will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires they will choose teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and go after fables" (2 Tim. 4:3-4). In other words, close to the end of the world people will become very cynical about Divinely revealed truths and absolute moral values. They will only listen to what sounds interesting or pleasing.
Evil and lawlessness will increase greatly. As our Lord predicted: "Because iniquity will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (Mt. 24:12). The weakening of faith will lead to further moral decline and in turn, as in a chain reaction, that will weaken faith even more. In the following gloomy picture the Apostle Paul depicts the general moral decay prior to the end of the world: "In the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Tim 3:1-5).
From the combined predictions of Holy Scripture, it should be concluded that by the end of the world carnal desires and passions will suppress all noble and spiritual aspirations in people. Interest in Christ will cease, His teachings will be neglected and ridiculed, and everything related to Christianity — its customs and traditions, Church architecture and music, Christian feast days — will be considered ancient history. The general mood will be reminiscent of ante-deluvian times described in the book of Genesis: "And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart … for the earth is filled with violence through them" (Gen. 6:5-11). Similar conditions will prevail before the Second Coming of Christ.
5. SUPERNATURAL STABILITY
- The Strength to Stand & Endure
But he who endures to the end shall be saved…
2 Tim 2:11-13
11 This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
13 If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself. NKJV
2 Tim 4:7-8
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. NKJV
1 Cor 16:13
13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. NKJV
1 Cor 15:58
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. NKJV
Heb 3:14
14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, NKJV
1 Peter 5:6-11
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. NKJV
1. SPURIOUS SPIRITUALITY
2. IDEOLOGICAL IDOLATRY
3. GLOBAL GLOOM
4. NURTURING NEGLECT
5. SUPERNATURAL STABILITY
Eph 6:10-13
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. NKJV
