Webmaster's note: Please refer to Matthew 24: 1-51 in
conjunction with this article. Thank you! Updated May 21, 2005.
These are people, men and women, who will come to our world claiming
that they are Christ. Charles Manson, Jim Jones, Sun Jung Moon, David Koresh,
Marshall Applewhite (Doe of Heaven's Gate), etc. These people are powerful in their
persuasiveness. They have and will deceive and kill many. Years ago, New Ager Benjamin Creme ran a
full page ad in major newpapers in the world, claiming that the Messiah had come and
was living in Liverpool, England. This Lord Maitreya is still alive and still claiming
he is the "messiah". Jesus puts a postscript that "nation will
rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom". The word "nation" in the Greek
language is "ethnos" meaning "ethnic", a subgroup within a nation. It means "an
increase of civil war within a nation. No one of sound mind can escape the fact
that the news if filled with violent stories of one ethnic group against the other.
For example, in the US, latins against blacks. In Ireland, Catholics against Protestants.
In WW II, Nazis against Jews. In Israel, Arabs against Israelis. "Kingdom" is the
Greek word "basileia" which means a "kingdom or a providence", which indicates that
Jesus was speaking about international war between kingdoms like America, Russia, Africa, Israel, Canada, etc.
In Rwanda alone, in less than 90 days, 900,000 people were massacred. This was
done with machetes. Joseph Stalin killed more people in WW II, than Adolph Hitler.
There are approximatly 6 billion people in the world, growing at a rate of 1 billion
over so many years within a generation. According to WHO (World Health Organiztion),
1 in 6 people in the world are starving every night. In 1997, they said that the greatest threat to mankind, AIDS, is growing at a rate of
16,000 cases per day, world-wide. In 1999, they said that 33 million people
died of AIDS alone. However, many people are not counted in that sum because many
people die of ancillary diseases that are related to AIDS and they are not
counted. Entire regions of continents are infected, i.e., Africa. This is just
one of many diseases that kills people, unlike anything ever seen. Think about cancer and
others. Earthquakes in diverse places; the greatest proof of all three.
"Diverse" means in places they have never been before and in numerical amounts they have never
been seen. The US Geological Survey in Boulder, Colorado, tells us that in the
last 110 years of earthquake statistics, these are the startling results:
In case you are skeptical, these quakes were registered in places they have never been seen and in
increased amounts over the years. Jesus said these would be the "birth pangs". We
are not in Tribulation times yet, but we are close.
Jesus is not talking about the "now" time
but the time of the Great Tribulation. Revelation 13:7 says: "It was also
given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority
over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him." That's why
we know that the Church will not be around during the Great Tribulation because the
Bible says that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. However,
there will be people that will be saved during the time after the Rapture and they
will be defeated by the anti-Christ; they will be killed. There will be mass
executions, especially against Jewish Christians. We are seeing this persecution
of Christians now. In Sudan, Africa, 5 million Christians are being persecuted.
That's just one area. Interestingly enough, America is not doing anything about
it. America doesn't want Christians to evangelize but calls for tolerance of
other people's faith. If that means that Muslims are killing Christians, we,
as a nation, should tolerate that because Muslims have the right to exercise
their faith. Pretty amazing that that is the attitude of the liberal politicians
and media in the "land of the free".
There are many people who profess being Christians.
who are not born-again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is really not their
Savior but they go to "church" because it's a good thing to do. If you, as a born-
again believer and ask someone if they believe they are going to heaven, and get an answer like,
"Of course I do, I go to church and and I am good.", you are probably face-to-
face with someone who is not saved and will fall away during the Tribulation.
These are the people who we need to press on the Truth of the Gospel. Rom 8:15-16 says about
true Christians: "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by
which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our
spirit that we are children of God..."
You've read about the false christs but
these are different. These are cults and the new religious organizations, of
which there are over 1000 in America today. Cults are, by definition, a church
or an organiztion that calls themselves "spiritual" but denies who Jesus Christ is
in His Person and His Diety and denies the Scriptures at certain points, that
prohibits a person in truely believing who Jesus Christ is and going to Heaven.
For example, Charles Taze Russell, in the late 1800's founded the Watchtower, known
today as the Jehovah's Witnesses. He says that Jesus Christ was coming in 1914 and that
Armaggedon is getting ready to come. When Jesus did not arrive in 1914, he revised
his date to the 20's, 30's, 40's and so on. Now the Jehovah's Witnesses say Jesus
came but He is hidden. They don't believe in hell but do believe that Jesus really is Michael,
the arch-angel. Joseph Smith, in the late 1800's, founded the Mormon church. They
believe that Jesus is the "johnny-come-lately" God and if we live to be good, reach
the heights of thier Mormon ladder, with rituals and become an "apostle of the Mormons",
we will inevitably become God, like Jesus. Then, you will ascend to your own planet,
(Yes, I wrote "planet") after death and bear your own "spritual" children and have
your own world like Earth. The Mormons require a 10% "tithe" from their constituents,
and even send you a "bill" to your home. How nice... The Mormon church has amassed
over 13 billion dollars and is one of the largest communications company in America
today. They own more radio and television stations than any other company in the nation.
That is why you can see more commercials of a little mormon girl with her mormon
bible on prime time television.
We are in the cult of
"self" today. The prophet Isaiah warned(Isa 5:20-21), "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever in their own sight..."
Paul wrote in 2 Tim 3:1-5, "
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
Does this remind you of something?
The reason the love of many will grow cold and lawlessness will abound in the
Tribulation period is because the Chruch will be removed. Read 2 Thess 2, especially
verses 6-8; "And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.
Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the
appearance of His coming..." satan has no love whatsoever for this world or God, and the
Holy Spirit is restraing him until the Spirit is removed. The Holy Spirit of God
lives within every true believer in Christ. When He is removed, we shall be removed.
That's when satan will be revealed unto this remaining world and lawlessness and
lack of love for others will abound. The seven year Great Tribulation will then begin.
False christs (Matthew 24:5)
Wars and rumors of wars: (Matthew 24:6)
World wide peril: (Matthew 24:7)
-Famines:
-Pestilences:
-Earthquakes in diverse places:
From - To Number of Quakes 6.0 or Higher
1890 1899 1
1900 1910 3
1910 1920 2
1920 1930 2
1930 1940 5
1940 1950 4
1950 1960 9
1960 1970 13
1970 1979 51
1980 1989 86
1990 1994 100
1995 2003 1,373
Persecution of the Saints: (Matthrew 24:9)
The Departure of the Faith: (Matthew 24:10)
The Rise of False Prophets: (Matthew 24:11)
Lawlessness and the love of many growing cold: (Matthew 24:12)
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