Hallelujah Bread #7,
What Is This World Coming To?

       Too many churches today are not focused on things to come. This aspect of Theology is called “eschatology.” Outside of the church the general population of the world is even more oblivious of things to come holding only to a future promised by science and sociology and the pronouncements of pundits who form public thought. The unbelieving world is ignorant of the times we live and scoffs at any future promised to come to pass as foreseen by the prophets of G-d.

       The apostle Peter makes a couple of statements in his epistles that are starkly sobering. 2 Peter 3:3-7 “3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. (and 2 peter 3:10-11)

      Yes, G-d is concerned with the moral condition of humanity of the whole world. He makes a distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous. Today millions are without discernment of truth are led into error by the voices of their leaders. These may be religious leaders or the voices of secular education or mass media. The removal of the framework of Truth produces people who become sheep without a shepherd becoming victims of their own worst choices.

       There are clear prophetic indicators about what the world is expected to experience in the text of both the Old and New Testament Scripture. The apostle Paul adds to Peter's message and addresses, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what he has been shown will come to pass in the time called "the end of the age" by Jesus in Matthew 24. Here, writing to Timothy, a son in the faith Paul emphasizes the descent into evil times in two epistles:

3 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 1 Timothy 4 says the same as the above.

       Clearly, the future holds dangerous and troubling times. As I write this we see the unraveling of liberty and justice with unbridled rioting, subversive ideology and behavior that violates every righteous tradition and the law of love clearly defined in 1 Corinthians 13. It would seem to any who have even the smallest measure of discernment that the whole world is spiraling into chaos and dark deception. These are signs of the times that have been foreseen and described centuries ago. But the religious leaders in the vast majority of denominational churches are sleeping and give no warning that we are at the cross roads described Biblically as the "end of the age."

       Each of us should take time to study what the Bible has to say about "things to come." There is much more to discover about the times we live than I can address in detail with this one serving of Hallelujah Bread. Here are just a few to examine:

A. The coming world war in the middle east; Ezekiel 38.
B. Dating and descriptions of the first coming of Messiah and end time
anti-Christ; Daniel 7 and Daniel 9:24-27
C. Jesus' teaches on the end of the age; Luke 17, Luke 21, Matthew 24
D. The end of the church age and the catching away (rapture) of true believer;
     1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:35-49;
     2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; 2; Revelation 3:17-22.

There is coming a prophetic event that seems to be at the front door, namely the end of the church age, the revelation of the anti-Christ and the one world government. Have we ever in our lifetimes seen anything like the tumultuous times happening today? We hear daily of riots, plagues, natural disasters, deception and sedition! The crazy and precipitous events we see are likely to disrupt and alter the way of life throughout the world.

These are not random events promising to have a normal resolution. They are not outside of G-d's control. The chaos and disorder are drawing us into the final days leading to the judgment of the ungodly. This can be called by various terms; the “day of the Lord; the coming "one world government;" "the time of the anti-Christ;"and "the day of Jacob's trouble" in which Israel comes fully into focus for her testing and eventual redemption.

"Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand." Joel 2:1