History has thrown up good reasons for believers to think they are in the last moments of history before the Day of the Lord. I can't imagine being herded into a subway for any other reason than a sandwich. But in world war 2 people hid from hundreds of bombs dropping from planes. Sat hearing explosions in my city would have stirred feelings of 'end times' for sure. It turns out that World war 2 was not the Antichrist, although it was a type of Antichrist in Hitler. The Bible is clear that the entire world will be taken in by the Antichrist proper, and if you feel it is too ridiculous to imagine we have been shown Germany, the nation of the finest and most brilliant people on earth be sucked into the Nazi regime. Why would anyone claim that the days we are in now bear the marks of 'end times' more than any?
1. The level of deception
Firstly we have the fact that deception is everywhere. On being asked about the last days Jesus said 'do not be deceived.' I rarely meet a christian who is grounded in solid biblical teaching. They are either so worldly that you can't see the mark of new birth or so stuck in the mindset of Laodicean church practice that they will never receive anything to re-calibrate their spiritual compass. The prophets and Apostles told of these things and its nothing new. In the end times everything is concentrated but God always provides a remnant who stay on track. You can tell who they are because they will not compromise the speaking of truth even at personal cost and the detriment of their own progress. It isn't about attention, adoration or applause for them. Believers are strangely drawn to them or instantly repelled as the gap between truth and deception becomes more stark. Be warned - there is a huge acceptance of false teachers today because of the error that says 'their hearts are right.' Jude, Peter, Jesus all say this is not true. Anyone teaching doctrinal error with no self assessment has something wrong spiritually.
2. Prophecy and Israel
The second mark of the end times being upon us is the events in Israel. Since 1948 scripture has been fulfilled in and around Israel including the Jews returning to their own land. This has to happen for the Day of Jacobs trouble to take place. We are seeing prophecy being fulfilled such as Damascus being destroyed before our eyes (Isaiah 17). This is not a regular thing. It is a once-and-only-once event for anyone who is watching and remotely interested. As these things continue to occur we have to conclude that the Bible has always been forensically true and our unbelief is the issue.
3. Believers falling away
The third of three things to highlight in this writing is the falling away of believers. This is connected to the first two issues. Deception takes believers away from their living source Jesus Christ and they find their level as a non distinct entity in the world. The detachment from understanding the Jewishness of the Bible and the Lords intent towards the Jews (Rom 9-11) leads to a woeful neglect of what the scriptures say. As the gap widens between the Jewishness of the Gospel mixed with the false teaching of Laodicean faith, people fall into a category rather than a vibrant faith that stands for Jesus.
As we say to everyone who comes to our house group, 'be discerning.' I want people to come to us and assess what issues forth from us. We want people to be accessing things that aren't deceptive and focused on the truth about God. We want people to be able to figure this out from the Lord, not from the propaganda weaved into the Bible teaching or preachment. We want people to find true connection as the family of God and try to walk it out well. We want people to be watching the world as the are dieting on the word. We want that to lead to a healthy perspective on their own occasion as a believer and be a vessel the Lord can issue forth through. We practice the first things while having our eye on end times. The times are growing darker and it is getting harder to find believers who have stayed clear of the sensual, ear-tickling sound-byte merchants whose aim is to promise much yet deliver nothing.
Please make sure you read 'The End Times Survival Kit' coming next
Love in Christ
Gary Ward
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