All this week people have been asking me if I think we are living in the last days. Just yesterday, a man in middle Georgia called asking if I think the coming of the Lord is near or something akin to it. I do. Let’s remember something, every generation of Christians look at the bible through the lens or filter of their era and experience. The latter days started around Pentecost, and during the Apostle Paul’s life he was looking for Jesus to come. Christians expected Christ’s return when the “Great Persecution” from Rome commenced in 303 A.D. under Diocletian. The Reformers thought the Pope was the Anti-Christ in the 16th century and in the 20th century several different people were thought to be Anti-Christ: Hitler, Mussolini, and Henry Kissinger to name three. Not one of these generations have seen the Lord at his return, but the bible is plainly spoken on that matter, he is coming. There are twice as many references to the second coming than there was to the first coming. You remember that one being the little baby born in Bethlehem. These generations that did not live to see Christ come in their lifetimes, simply draws us closer to that generation which will see him. I like to think “Why not our generation?”

The New Testament tells us what the times will be like when the Lord returns. Remember, we are not told the day Jesus will come, only the type of days in which it will happen. It will be a time of downward spiral spiritually and morally. Let me list a handful with some bullet points.

  • Hostility and negativity toward God, the Bible, and Christians. (II Timothy 3:12)
  • Mercy and forgiveness are lacking in society. (Matthew 24:9-10)
  • False prophets will arise. Let me throw this in at this point. How can you spot a false prophet? Often, they speak religious words, and some might even hold up a bible from time to time, but obedience to the Bible is not in their wheelhouse. They have no reverence for the Word of God, only lip service. These godless ministers will cut and paste Sunday after Sunday fleecing the flock with great swelling words of man’s wisdom. (Matthew 24:4-5; 11; 26-27)
  • False Christians will abandon the faith. The beliefs once held, at least outwardly, have now been cast aside. (II Thessalonians 2:1-3)
  • Immorality in society will skyrocket.
  • Wars and rumors of wars. (Matthew 24:6-7)

There are other signs that could be listed, but you get the gist. I intentionally left the wars point till the end of the list because of the anxiousness concerning Ukraine. Russia has invaded because of the weakness of the West. I would not be surprised if China does not invade Taiwan because of the weakness of the West. Do not forget that both Russia and China are communist nations. Communists seek only one thing, domination of all others. They claim to want peace, but their only goal is not peace as we understand it. It is “piece” as in they want all the land pieces on the global chess board. World domination is the goal of despots. Putin and Xi are not our friends. Remember two things as I close.

  1. God is in control. Proverbs 31:25 speaks of a woman that “laughs” in the face of trouble. The Lord laughs at those world leaders who think they are all powerful. God is not in any way concerned that his plan may be stopped. Isaiah 46:9-11 tells us, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”
  2. The Bible is our outline. Study the book and peace will flood your soul. Why? Because the Lord has already told you the end of the story. We know how it all will work out. I do not have a clue what the next days, weeks, months, or years hold for the war in Ukraine or the next wars on the horizon. But I know this, that for the children of God, it is all good. Are the pieces coming together? It seems as though they could be. The big “bear” from the North spoken of in Ezekiel 38-39 could be on the prowl but do not fret, the bible has already told us his fate and the fate of those with him. We keep praying for our brothers and sisters in the Lord all around the world. We help any way we can. We always remember the Lord has a plan and it will come to pass.