THE COMING DESOLATIONS
The events
currently happening in our world today are so terrifying that the hearts of men
are beginning to fail both believers and unbelievers alike. Every nation of the
world seem to be fulfilling bible prophecies. We see the scriptures been played
out before our very eyes daily. The actors on stage earth do not realise that
they are acting the scripts exactly as it was written by the hand of the
Almighty. The whole of heaven is focused on earth watching the events unfolding
as divinely orchestrated.
The majority of earth’s population wish these
terrible events are not happening. A certain percentage of the church wish they
could pray away these times. Only a few understand that these events must need
come to pass so that the scriptures might be fulfilled. If God be God and his
word be true then the earth should be ready for the greatest disaster of all
times.
If these days of
vengeance must of necessity come to pass just as God’s word said, what then is the
hope of the church at these times? Many are already losing faith, doubting the
existence of God and this is just the beginning of sorrow. The gravity of
terror coming upon the earth is such that the hearts of men will fail because
of fear. In the very words of Jesus you will see how He described the coming woes.
7 “Teacher,” they
asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are
about to take place?”
8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For
many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not
follow them. 9 When
you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen
first, but the end will not come right away.”
10 Then he said to
them: “Nation
will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be
great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful
events and great signs from heaven.
12 “But before all
this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to
synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and
governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will
bear testimony to me. 14 But
make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give
you words and wisdom
that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be
betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will
hate you because of me. 18 But
not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and
you will win life.
20 “When you see
Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is
near. 21 Then
let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get
out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the
time of punishment in
fulfillment of
all that has been written. 23 How
dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There
will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by
the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be
trampled on
by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “There will be
signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and
perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint
from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly
bodies will be shaken. 27 At
that time they will see the Son of Mancoming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things
begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption
is drawing near.”{Luke 21:7-28 NIV}
A careful look at this prophecy will reveal that
Jesus didn’t tell his disciples to pray to stop the wars but said to them not
to be afraid because these things must happen first. He went further to say to
them that the end is not yet.
He told them to stand up and lift up their heads
when they see these things begin to happen because their redemption draws near.
I know that a lot more terrible events will happen in the coming year. A lot of
our brethren have been killed and many more people will be killed. Many more
nations will rise against nations and many more military alliances will be
formed. Strange things will happen that will shake nations and the Church will
wonder why God should allow such events to happen.
Many will lose faith and
some of the very elect will be deceived but this is what I want the Church to
know “STAND UP AND LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR.
If these events do not happen in the coming
years, then God’s word would cease to be true. If we could pray these events
away, preventing them from happening, then God’s word could be doubted but we
all know that God’s word is true and never lies. If these prophecies about the
times must of necessity come to pass, what then should be the disposition of
the church?
3 And as he sat
upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell
us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and
of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall
come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear
of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things
must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines,
and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the
beginning of sorrows.
9 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.
10 And then shall
many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false
prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall
endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come. {Matthew 24:3-14}
Jesus said in verse 14 above
that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations before the end will come. This is where the church should
stand. Yes the gospel of the kingdom must be preached unto all nations. This
suggests to me that in the years to come, God will be raising an army of
preachers who will evangelize the world. There shall be great salvation like
never before. Many will be turned unto the Lord. World evangelists will emerge
and stand up to proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus fearlessly even in the
face of persecution.
Satan is also raising a demonic
horde, an army of possessed tyrants who will further the course of Satan. They will
persecute the believers in Christ and kill many. His agenda will be propagated
so quickly because he knows that he has but a short time. He will possess
political leaders and the military and use them to cause havoc in every nation.
All their plans will be to exterminate the people of God. What they wouldn’t know
is that they are been used to fulfil the scriptures just as God had planned it.
9 Then
the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I saw underneath the altar the souls of
those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God's word and had been
faithful in their witnessing. 10 They
shouted in a loud voice, “Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be
until you judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?” 11 Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to
rest a little while longer, until the complete number of other servants and
believers were killed, as they had been.{Rev 6:9-11 GNT}
Amidst all these, the Lord’s fearless army
will be ready to die for the course of the gospel and many people all over the
world shall come to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The knowledge of
the glory of the Lord will fill the earth. The most intriguing part of the
prophecy is that all of these events are a pointer to the fact that OUR
REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR. How should the Church prepare for this redemption? What
is expected of her?.........to be continued in my next article
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