Are We Near The End?

World events, seen through the eyes of biblical prophecy, strongly imply we are much nearer the end of this present evil world than people realize.

Jesus Christ said, that when we see these events begin to come to pass, we may know that the time is near, even at our very door! He also said the end of this world shall come, suddenly, catching those not watching like a rat caught in a trap. The trap springs suddenly before the rat knows what happened to him.

But the good news is the very Gospel message that Jesus taught: the Kingdom of God is at hand. The Second Coming of Christ, in supreme power and great glory, as King of kings to rule all nations. That very time is now almost upon us!

Not a time of despair and hopelessness, but a time of world peace, of worldwide prosperity, of eternal salvation offered to everyone, a time when there shall be no Satan to mislead and deceive the whole world as he has done these 6,000 years!

But make no mistake! Frightful, unprecedented evils shall strike this world briefly before the glorious coming of the Savior to usher in that wonderful New World to come – the world tomorrow!

You, who do not know and understand the Holy Bible, listen now while yet you may! Let this Church quickly take you through a fast-moving summary of what the living God says shall now quickly happen to this world! You will not hear this warning from any of the “world’s churches because they do not understand it. God has only revealed these amazing truths to His Church.

God has set us as your watchmen, to watch world events, to warn you of what is now near! We are now at, close to, or just past the prophecy revealed in Revelation 12. This prophecy covers a span of approximately 2,000 years.

The Apostle John was taken, in a vision, into time when God Almighty is going to directly intervene in world affairs. In vision the prophet was shown God’s people - Israel - under the Old Testament and Israel spiritually converted as the Church of God in the New Testament. To this Israel, a Messianic Child is about to be born (Rev. 12:1-2), foretold in Isaiah 9:6-7.

Then there appeared another wonder in his vision, a great red dragon, identified (v. 9) as Satan the devil, lying in wait to devour the Christ child as soon as He is born. This did happen, but God preserved the Christ child safely, Satan then attempted to destroy Jesus when He was 30 years old, just before He launched into His 3 ½ year ministry, but Jesus Christ overcame and conquered him.

The prophecy of Revelation 12 moves swiftly, verses 3-4, Satan, the former archangel Lucifer (Isa. 14:12) had with his angels invaded heaven attempting to conquer God (Isa. 14:13-14), but now (Rev. 12:4-5) was cast back down to the earth with his one third of the angels, now demons. Here, he persecuted the true Church of God through his great false church (Rev. 17:5 Roman Catholic Church), and the Church has to flee and go underground for 1,260 years (Middle Ages) (Rev. 12:6).

Then after the Middle Ages, at approximately our time now (Rev. 12:7-9), Satan and his demons made or will make another flight to God’s heaven to try once again to take over the throne of the entire universe. This time, for this war in heaven, God assigned His archangel Michael with his angels to fight off Satan’s invasion. God gives Michael and his angels power to win this battle for the rule of the whole universe. Satan and his demons are cast back down to earth.

In the sequence of the prophecy we are now just about at that very time. Once cast back to the earth Satan is full of wrath. If he could not conquer God, he will now try to destroy God’s True Church. Verse 10 shows this to be the time just before Jesus Christ returns, bringing salvation to His saints, and setting up the Kingdom of God. Satan is here the accuser of God’s people.

Verse 12 warns the world of the woes to come on the world as a result of Satan’s wrath. He now knows that he has but a short time, because when Christ comes in supreme power to rule the earth, Satan shall be removed and imprisoned.

All signs in world events imply strongly we are now on the very eve of these events to shake the world as never before, just prior to Christ’s return, and the coming of the happy New World! Christ taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come.” We should not want God to delay any longer what must shortly come to pass!

Up to this point we have covered that sequence of events revealed in Revelation 12, with a brief reference to other scriptures speaking of a certain phase of it. This chapter hits the high spots, speeding through the time from Old Testament Israel, through the birth of Jesus Christ. Satan’s attempt to destroy Him, early Middle Ages persecution by Satan to the true Church, Satan’s second attempted attempt to dethrone God, his being cast back down to earth, his persecution of the True Church.

But remember, the Bible is like a jigsaw puzzle. This puzzle is made-up of many pieces, which must be properly fit together. Each piece, by itself, gives no one picture. Put together in a manner in which they do not properly fit together, you have confusion. But when all is put together properly, one sees a beautiful picture.

We have covered one chapter of one book of the Bible. But there is much much more. So now let us fit in a number of other scriptures of the Bible and bring the whole picture more clearly to completion.

The whole book of Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, not of ‘St. John the Divine – who was not divine, yet! Revelation is a word translated from the Greek apocalypse meaning revealing, not hiding; opening up, making clear, not a mysterious concealing.

But Jesus does not reveal the meaning within this one book. He gives the key to opening up the meaning of the book in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. He opens up other portions of it in other scriptures. Remember, the whole Bible is the written Word of God, and Jesus Himself is the living personal Word of God.

In Matthew 24, Jesus reveals much of that portion of Revelation 12, beginning with the time when Christ was on earth speaking with His disciples. The whole book of Revelation is summarized in chapter 6, that is, a summary beginning at the time Jesus was teaching on earth.

First, in Revelation 6, are the famous “Four Horsemen.” They are symbolic. Their meaning is explained in Matthew 24 and elsewhere.

First was a white horse, followed by a red horse symbolizing war, a black horse, famine and a pale horse symbolizing death. Now glance into Matthew 24, Jesus had been showing His disciples the buildings of the great temple in Jerusalem. Then they had gone to the Mount of Olives, where His disciples asked Him privately, “When shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” – this present evil world.

Christ was talking to His disciples, about A.D. 31. He did not answer their question first, instead He warned them of what would begin to occur even in their lifetime. “Take heed that no man deceive you,” He said to them. He was talking about false teachers that might deceive them, even in A.D. 31. “For many shall come in my name,” He said. Now understand this before reading the rest of that sentence. You may research the Bible thoroughly, and you will find that everywhere those coming “in Christ’s name,” come claiming to represent Him, coming in the pretense that they are the ministers of Jesus Christ. They were to come, even beginning A.D. 31, saying that Jesus is the Christ, “and deceiving many.”

Christ was not referring to men coming who would claim that they were the Messiah. But how could they claim to be Christ’s Christian ministers proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ, and still deceive the many? Do you know that people may even worship Christ, and all in vain? Jesus said, “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). (Have you enrolled in our Traditional Christian Doctrine Series? You should! Learn the truth about tradition Christianity. You could be worshipping God in vain).

But from A.D. 31 until now, many have claimed to be ministers of Jesus Christ, proclaiming Christ, yet actually deceiving the many who hear them, even as they, themselves, were deceived by a master Satan. They have preached to this day about Christ. But they have not preached His message, which was HIS gospel. The True gospel is the message Jesus brought for mankind from God, the Good News (Gospel) of the coming Kingdom of God. For almost 2,000 years, the gospel He preached was suppressed! People heard about Christ, but they did not hear His gospel. Weren’t you taught that when you die you go to either heaven or hell? Weren’t you taught that God is a Trinity? Were you ever taught that Christ was returning to this earth to set up His Kingdom? That is the true gospel Christ taught. (Mark l:14-15).

That false preaching began in the very first century, and continues until now! Jesus revealed that the white horse of Revelation 6 represented these false preachers. Next, in Rev. 6, came the red horse of war. And in Jesus’ Olivet prophecy (Matt. 24) Jesus said wars would come, Matthew 24:6-7. Next, the black horse. Jesus said, verse 7, there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes.

Next, Christ said Christians would be martyred, put to death. That happened, beginning with Stephen (Acts 7), and into the Middle Ages, when, as in Revelation 12, the Church had to flee and go underground, meeting for worship services secretly.

Then after that, Jesus came to the answer to their question about the sign preceding His return to earth as King of kings in verse 14: “This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.”

Then what? The 5th seal of Revelation 6 shows another time of martyrdom, this time the Great Tribulation. In Matthew 24, coming next to verses 21-22, Jesus shows the Great Tribulation, a time of trouble greater than any before, or any to come later. This is also shown in Daniel 12, as occurring just prior to the resurrection of the saints. Also Jeremiah 30 as a trouble coming chiefly on Americans and the British peoples.

Then what is next? The Great Tribulation is shown as the 5th seal. The 6th seal shows there shall be frightening signs in the sky, and the sign of Christ in the sky, and the Day of God’s wrath shall have come, called in many prophecies “the Day of the Lord” or the “Lord’s Day.”

In the Matthew 24 account, verse 29, “immediately after the tribulation of those days shall” come the signs in the sun, moon and stars, then the Day of the Lord! That will be the time of God’s supernatural intervention in world affairs.

Notice Joel 2:31: “These signs in the sky, in the sun, moon and stars shall come immediately before the Day of the Lord, but, Matthew 24:29, immediately after the Great Tribulation.

In Revelation, beginning chapter 7, the time has come for God’s plagues, but they shall be delayed until God seals those who came out of the Great Tribulation. The following chapters in Revelation, except the inset chapters, continue the Day of the Lord, to the coming of Jesus Christ in chapter 19.

Then shall come a thousand years of the New World to come, the wonderful world to tomorrow ruled by the Kingdom of God, a time of world peace. Satan shall be bound. Then all still living shall be called to salvation and eternal life. Those previously truly converted (not including the millions of deceived “Christians) shall have been resurrected as immortal spirit persons at Christ’s coming.

The coming of Jesus Christ is shown in Matthew 24:30 and on. This article has given you a brief, yet fairly complete, account of prophesied events from now until Jesus’ coming and the happy, peaceful, glorious New World to come. Are you prepared for the cataclysmic events yet to take place? Have you not wondered why the world has spun into an economic tailspin? Or, why violent crimes are on the increase? Why there is racial tension around the world? Why America and Britain are losing their status as world superpowers? Why the drastic change in weather conditions around the world? There is a reason, we are near the end.

 
The Church of God, New World Ministries P.O. Box 5536 Sevierville, TN 37864