Signs of the Times “Just Be Ready”
Matthew 24:33 ...'So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.' And we are certainly seeing "ALL these things". What things? Things in Matthew 24…
"The beginning of sorrows" started 2000 years ago with the persecution of the early church and the destruction of Jerusalem. We are living in the end times. Here are just a few “signs”….
End Time Sign - INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE
Daniel 12:4 ...'even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.'
End Time Sign Knowledge. Throughout history we have had a slow and little increase in knowledge. But take a look at the EXPLOSION of knowledge over the past 150 years! Up until recently in history, the fastest form of transport was a horse. Now man can travel at hundreds and even thousands of miles per hour, with travel to the moon! Technology has developed at a rapid pace, which has led to great improvements in computer power, scientific discoveries and the medical profession. Just look at how much we have learned about the human body with things like DNA and Cellular Structure. And how about "running to and fro"? This is pointing specifically to our day with planes, trains, automobiles and the busyness of modern day life. We are definately running to and fro and have knowledge like no time before us.
End Time Sign - ABILITY TO ENFORCE THE MARK
Revelation 13:17 ...'And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.'
What needs to happen in order for the "beast system" to stop people from buying and selling if they refuse the mark? We need to have a worldwide financial system whereby everything bought and sold
is through electronics, not cash. Has there been any time in history where this could happen? No. Are WE living in a day where this could happen? Most certainly, yes! And the powers of this world are now trying to make cash obsolete, and are pushing pure electronic forms of payment, like "PayPal" and "Google Wallet".
Look at the news headlines and you will see this being reported.
“Cash is Dead, are Credit Cards Next?”
“Nigeria Deploying Biometric Technology in the Banking System”
“Mastercard Tracking Global Economies & Cashless Societies”
“Israel Leaders Pushing for a Cashless Society”
“UN World Food Program Smart Cards and Digital Payment”
“Cashless Society Drive Gaining Momentum in Rwanda”
“Sweden close to being a Cashless Society”
Technology isn't the mark, but technology is needed for proper enforcement of it. This is a SURE sign of the end times!
End Time Sign - MAN OF SIN REVEALED
2 Thessalonians 2:3 ...'Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.'
Paul here is saying that "THAT DAY", the second coming of Christ, will not come until the falling away happens and that man of sin is revealed. Is this falling away the apostasy that took place with the Roman Catholic Church, merging Christianity with Paganism.
Is the man of sin "the" pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
Is the man of sin the leader of the free world? ( A US President )
What about Ahmadinejad, Putin or Bashar al-Assad of Syria
End Time Sign - VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL IMMORALITY
Matthew 24:37 ...'But as the days of Noah were, so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be.'
Luke 17:28-30 ...'Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall
it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.'
What was it like in Noah's day and Lot's day? Genesis 6:13 tells us that in Noah's day the "earth was filled with violence." And in Jude 1:7 it says that in Lot's day, Sodom and Gomorrha had given itself over to “fornication and strange flesh". So violence prevailed in Noah's day and sexual immorality (including homosexuality) prevailed in Lot's day. This is a sign of the end times.
So our question is, does violence and sexual immorality (including homosexuality) prevail in the world today? Very much so, yes!
Not only does violence and fornication rage across the whole world, homosexuality has become "normal". Since 2001, at least 14 countries have fully legalized homosexual marriage, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, New Zealand, Uruguay, France, with some parts of Mexico and America doing the same. And there are more countries being added to this list all the time.
29 US States now recognize gay marriage (As of October 2014)
There are currently 110 MILLION Cases of sexually transmitted diseases with 20 MILLION new cases every year in America alone!
What are we told in Jude 1:7? We are told that what God did to Sodom was set forth as an example to us today. And what did God do to the people of Sodom? He DESTROYED them with fire, because of their wickedness which included homosexuality!
End Time Sign - RISE IN SPIRITUALISM
1 Timothy 4:1 ...'Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.'
How about a rise in spiritualism and the occult in the world?
Have we seen this? Well, just look at the television and movies today. "Twilight", "Harry Potter", "Lord of the Rings",
and a whole host of other television series and movies containing
the occult and spiritualism. It has invaded our lives like no other time before us. And what is the cause of this? It is the false teaching of Universalism. Many people don't realize that spiritualism and the occult have also invaded the majority of churches around the world. Halloween is defended in the church more than Christmas.
End Time Sign - MASS ANIMAL DEATHS
Hosea 4:3 ...'Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken.'
During the last few years we have seen fish, birds and other animals die in huge numbers. Since 2010, millions of fish have been turning up dead in lakes, rivers and the sea. Birds have been dropping out of the sky in huge numbers. And we are seeing other unusual animal deaths including Bees and Bats dying by the millions.
End Time Sign - NATURAL DISASTERS
Luke 21:25-26 ...'and upon the earth distress of nations,
with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.'
Natural Disasters. Are the "seas and waves roaring"? Yes. Tens and even hundreds of thousands of people are being wiped out from Tsunamis and floods, and men's hearts certainly fear what is happening to this world. In America in 2010, a record was set for the number of Federal Disaster Declarations given over a year.
That number was 81. In 2011 that number was broken again with 99 Disaster Declarations given, costing over 32 Billion Dollars.
And in 2012, an estimated 32.4 million people worldwide
were directly affected and displaced due to natural disasters.
End Time Sign – EARTHQUAKES
Matthew 24:7 ...'and earthquakes in divers places.'
Big earthquakes have doubled in 2014. A series of massive quakes within 2 days in 2012 prompted an earthquake expert to suggest that the earth is literally "cracking up".
Over 3,000 noticeable quakes hit Japan in 2012
Over 5,000 earthquakes hit Mexico in 2012
Korea experienced twice as many quakes in 2012 than in the past
As of the 16th of April 2014, there were around 3,500 earthquakes happening every month throughout the world.
End Time Sign - FALSE CHRISTS and FALSE PROPHETS
Matthew 24:4-5,11 ...'many shall come in My Name, saying, I am Christ ... and many false prophets shall arise and deceive many.'
Today we have many false religions proclaiming many ways to eternal life, like Roman Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Folk Religions, Wicca, and many other 'new age' movements. With false prophets like the Pope, Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha, etc., leading these religions.
We also have many false prophets and leaders in "Christian" churches, like the hyper grace preachers. Please prayerfully
seek the truth yourself, by studying the Word of God.
End Time Sign - WORLD PUSHING FOR PEACE
1 Thessalonians 5:3 ...'For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.'
End Time Sign - WAR
Matthew 24:6-7 ...'And ye shall hear of wars ... For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.'
End Time Sign War. During the 20th century alone, more people have been killed as a result of war than all previous centuries combined. HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of people were killed in wars like World War I, World War II, Russian Civil War, Congo War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Iraq, etc. Today, there are around 40 conflicts and wars raging all around the world.
End Time Sign - FAMINE
Matthew 24:7 ...'and there shall be famine.'
Just look at the famine that has struck the world over the past 30 years. Thousands die every day of starvation. Billions of people go to sleep hungry every single day. Add to that, the failed crops throughout the world because of extreme weather, and bees dying off in massive numbers. 2.4 BILLION people survive on less than
2 dollars per day! The sad thing about this is the amount of food that is being wasted. I see food wasted right here at Bethel.
End Time Sign - CHRISTIANS BEING KILLED
Matthew 24:9-10 ...'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. And then shall many be offended,
and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.'
Christians were being killed for their faith in the first century,
as well as during the dark ages when the Roman Catholic Church ruled the world and killed tens of millions of God's people. This is being repeated today in places like Iraq, Iran, China, North Korea, Pakistan, India, Nigeria, and Egypt, where many Christians are being killed for their faith in Jesus every day. And once the mark
of the beast is enforced, this persecution will spread to the USA.
End Time Sign - INCREASE IN SIN
Matthew 24:12 ...'And because iniquity shall abound,
the love of many shall wax cold.'
Idolatry, Adultery, Violence, Lust, Greed, Disrespect, Homosexuality, Theft, Lying, Aggression, Selfishness. Just go back 50 years and you would not see half the sin and wickedness that we see today. Look at what is on our TV screens and in the movies and video games! Violence, lust and all manner of evil. This is one of the major end time signs. And do you know the worst thing about
"sin" today? It is made into "ENTERTAINMENT"! Through movies, television, music, radio, magazines, comics, you name it!
End Time Sign - CHRISTIANS TURN AWAY FROM TRUTH
2 Timothy 4:3-4 ...'For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap
to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.'
A great majority of professing Christians these days do not study the Bible. Instead they rely on a preacher's word as the truth.
Anything goes, hyper grace, universalism, totally unscriptural.
End Time Sign - PEOPLE DESTROYING THE EARTH
Revelation 11:18 ...'And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great;
and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.'
What about man destroying the earth? All throughout history,
the most dangerous weapon that man had was a bow and arrow. Man could not do much damage to the earth. But now just look at what man can do and IS doing to the earth through industry,,,, destructive weapons of war, chemicals, oil exploration, depletion
of the forests and so on. Just look at the massive oil spills that
have happened during the past 30 years around the world.
Just recently, it was revealed that Russia had dumped enormous amounts of radioactive material into the ocean, including 17,000 containers of radioactive waste, 19 ships containing radioactive waste, 14 nuclear reactors, including five that still contain spent nuclear fuel; 735 other pieces of radioactively contaminated heavy machinery, and the K-27 nuclear submarine with its two reactors loaded with nuclear fuel. The rivers and seas are becoming completely polluted, and man is certainly destroying the earth
like no other time in history, and God's wrath is about to fall!
End Time Sign - GOSPEL PREACHED TO WORLD
Matthew 24:14 ...'And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; then shall the end come.'
Notice Jesus said "THIS" gospel? There are many "gospels" being preached out there, but it is the TRUE GOSPEL that is to be preached to the world before the end can come. God's people are preaching the true gospel throughout the world like never before, through the internet, tv and satellite, radio, in the pulpit,
and through print. We have never had the resources available before to reach the world for Jesus the way we can now.
Are you truly a follower of Jesus. There is only one qualification
for Salvation, JESUS. John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
"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 24:33-34)
Prophetical date-setting is wrong. No one knows the day or hour.
Five times Jesus warned men, not to go beyond their knowledge regarding the day and the hour of His coming (Mt. 24:36, 42, 44, 50; Mt 25:13). He said that He Himself did not know the exact time,
that only the Father knows, “Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” He told His followers later that
the time of the second advent was in the hands of the Father,
(Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.)
In view of these facts it is foolish to seek to know or to claim to know the date of the Rapture or of Christ's second coming.
“”””JUST BE READY”””
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William Poovey
