The promise of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ governs the will of God. We do not undermine the first coming of Christ: the first coming of Christ is to prepare a people either through death or through a rapture for the Second Coming. To this end all of history has been pressing in its steady flow. Everything we see and study in the Bible that is to come to pass in the will of God is all governed by the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Revelation, the Apocalypse of Jesus, the final sacred book of the Bible.
In this issue of Straightway we want to candidly observe the End Time from the perspective of biblical prophecy. In the next issue we want to present the burden of the Remnant in the light of end-time prophecy.
The Questions of Matthew 24
In Matthew 24 on Tuesday of Passion Week, the disciples asked three classic questions. The first question was, “Tell us, when shall these things be [that’s the destruction of the Herodian Temple (a.d. 70)]?” The second question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” Finally they asked, “What shall be the end of the world” [Gr., the end of the present “age”]?”
Jesus answers the third question first. Note Matthew 24:4–14:
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 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 [that’s the end of the age]. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows [or the beginning of the birth pangs concerning the End]. 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. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end [the end of the age or the end of their life], the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world [Gr., oikumene, the ends of the “inhabited world”] for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
These verses provide insight into the transitional time leading to the “end time” into the Tribulation. Here Christ presented two aspects of the End: (1) the “beginning” of the End (of the Age) and (2) the End itself (of the Age). These early verses give us the prelude to the end of the age. Matthew 24:8 reads, “All these are the beginning of sorrows,” or the Greek rendering, this is just the beginning of the travail to birth the End. Matthew 24:14 states, “and then shall the end come.” Christ exhorts, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (24:13).
Where are we in this series of prophecies? Are we at the beginning, the travailing period of the End, or have we come to the End itself? It seems that from the description we are found beyond the beginning of the travail; we have entered into the End of the Age, for truly the gospel of the kingdom has been preached in all the earth.
Prophecy and Its Spirit
We have alluded to the fact that there are an estimated 8,145 prophecies throughout the Old and New Testaments. Various prophecies address geographies, nations, empires, individuals, and even the rise and fall of world rulers. Many of these prophecies have already been fulfilled. Nearly 300 prophecies predicted the various characteristics of Christ’s birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension; some even addressed His person, disposition, manner, and thought life. Nevertheless, there are still a number of prophecies from the Old Testament waiting to be fulfilled. With the exception of just a few that Jesus gave in regard to His own death and resurrection, the vast majority of Jesus’ prophecies are yet to be fulfilled. One of the earliest prophecies after His ascension was the destruction of the city of Jerusalem fulfilled in a.d. 70. However, most of the prophecies given by Jesus and definitely those found in the epistles of the New Testament are in reference to the Second Coming of Jesus.
Revelation 19:10 gives us a most important truth concerning prophecy:
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Amidst all of the prophecies given in Scripture, it is important to observe that there is a “Spirit” that pervades all of them, none excluded. That Spirit is Jesus Himself. Not simply Christ, the Messiah, as a title, but this Person Jesus that is focused in power, in the very breath of prophecy. In John 16:12, 13 Jesus implied this on the eve of His betrayal:
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
These words were in reference to prophecy!
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you (John 16:14, 15).
Truly, the throbbing heartbeat of all prophecy is the manifestation and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we say that the central theme of the Bible is Jesus Christ, then we must equally acknowledge that Jesus’ Second Coming and the glory that He will bring is that scarlet thread that is woven through all prophecies.
Three Prophecies Concerning the End Time
In Daniel 12:4 there are three prophecies that assist the Christian to understand the end-time global perspective. “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end [1], many shall run to and fro [2], and knowledge shall be increased [3].” The first of the three gives evidence that the writing of Daniel will be opened only in the time of the end. Although much of this book was a mystery for literally centuries, we have witnessed the unsealing of this book. It was not until about the 1840s and 1850s (around the same time when the Book of Revelation was opened), that the Book of Daniel was seen in its fullness of prophecy. It was also during these two decades that the details of the Second Coming as two advents became clear.
There are those who believe the Rapture is a “theory” that was founded during the time of Dispensationalism. However, careful study of early Church history and even the hymnody of the 18th-century Revivalist period gives evidence to a continued belief in a coming Rapture. Nevertheless, with the unveiling of the books of Daniel and Revelation, greater detailed insight has been seen concerning the doctrine of the Second Coming. This increasing clarity truly is a sign of the End Time.
Secondly, Daniel 12:4 recognizes that “many shall run to and fro.” Since the Fall, man has always been a traveler, a wanderer. However, it was not until the twentieth century that God permitted the discovery of much faster modes of transportation such as cars and planes. By the end of that century, supersonic flight and travel to outer space became common. This prophecy could not have been fulfilled until the increase of travel and modes of travel as has been realized at this time in history.
Lastly, Daniel 12:4 prophesies that “knowledge shall be increased.” This is not so much a prophecy of the internet; nonetheless, the internet has become a vast medium for accessing an overwhelming amount of knowledge. We do not necessarily see in this prophecy the medium through which the knowledge comes; it just states that knowledge will explode in the End Time. We are in an unprecedented time in history that a vast amount of knowledge has come to man through books and all kinds of technological assistances, including the internet. Whatever one seeks, whatever kind of epistemology one desires to pursue, in just a matter of seconds knowledge can be at his fingertips. This could never have happened prior to even the latter years of the twentieth century. Yes, the vastness of knowledge shall continue to increase.
The Knowledge of Certain Prophecies
In spite of the proliferation of knowledge in the earth, there is also a quelling of knowledge through the media. While any given number of situations transpire on this planet each day, my knowledge of these events depends greatly upon whether the media report it. I only know what is happening with my own life, my immediate home and circumstances. Apart from the tools such as radio, television, and the internet, my access and knowledge of world events are severely limited.
In the End Time two things are very possible concerning the information coming through the media: (1) historical events can be rewritten to shape the consensus of popular opinion; or (2) the media can suppress the knowledge of an event so that it passes basically unnoticed by the world. Such an event could have been of prophetic proportion. Because of technology, information today could be quite accurate and ubiquitous. However, are we receiving accurate, complete knowledge about events broadcast? Global information quelled by the media can affect my understanding of where we are in prophecy. Prophetic events could be happening at this hour without my knowledge.
Reading the early part of Matthew 24, we may not realize that such events and conditions may be closer than what we naturally see. For example, note Matthew 24:6, 7:
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 [it’s in the transition]. For nation [“ethnic groups”] shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
The prophecies of these two or three verses would never be suspected today if we did not hear of them through mass communication. We hear of certain wars, we hear of certain rumors of wars, but we do not know the proportion of wars happening on the planet at this hour. It has been estimated that easily eighty percent of local wars and conflicts taking place at any given time go unreported. We only know what we are told, and we are only told what the media want us to know. The skirmishes and wars happening in war-torn South America, Latin America, that have been virtually ongoing since 1945, are unreported in the public media. The constant coups and counter-coups in countries such as Sudan, Uganda, Ghana, Libya, Zimbabwe, Rhodesia, Mozambique, Angola never make the headlines. We are not told of all the wars that are presently being engaged in on the continent of Africa: wars of blacks against the whites or blacks tribes against each other. The constant tension and unrest even in South Africa is quelled from public knowledge.
The conflicts and skirmishes between ethnic and religious groups the media choose to report could lead us to believe that the rest of the world is relatively peaceful. But this is not true. Even the skirmishes reported within the Middle East could be underestimated. When do we really hear of the conflicts within communist China and Russia? When do we hear of China’s oppression of Nepal and Tibet? How much is reported of the civil wars of Bangladesh or the factions and conflicts within Islamic countries?
Have we come to this point of “wars and rumors of wars,” or do we believe because of what we are told or not told that they have not reached a prophetic proportion in the earth? It is evident that we have come to a proportion of global control by the leaders in the dissemination of knowledge concerning international events.
Changes in global weather patterns have escalated to prophetic proportion as typhoons, cyclones, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes significantly increase. But again, we are only told about certain ones that are taking place. The foretold destructive forces of Revelation 6 seem to suggest we may be in the prelude of these events today. This should prompt questions of heart: do these weather circumstances begin in the Tribulation Period, or do they begin in the beginning of the End Time while transitioning into the Tribulation Period? It is far worse, I believe, than what we hear.
Just as the media has quelled much of global violence, the same is true of its coverage in America. Not only is there intense crime escalating in America, but also we are going to see in the next four years potentially greater unrest and discontent among Americans. Citizen petitions from all fifty states to secede from the Union have already been to the White House. A minimum of 25,000 signatures is needed from a state in order for the Constitution to permit secession. Though this present movement of signatures does not mean that a state is seceding, it does mean that at least 25,000 people within that state personally desire secession from the Union. (Although several states did secede from the Union in 1861, the Federal government took up arms against them.) What will we witness from this growing discontent concerning contemporary attempts to overthrow the Constitution of these United States? Will providence allow us to witness the destruction of America through its own implosion by its own people? There are many ways God could choose to bring about the destruction of our country. How can we fully know the pressures on governments to do any and everything to form a new world order?
Where Are the Righteous Leaders?
The concerned heart could ask the question: “Could not someone do better than what is being done?” Yes, no doubt there are men today on the planet Earth that have the genius and ability logistically to run a country. Men have profitably overseen companies of tens of thousands of employees. Even some governors have been quite successful in reforming and improving their state government. Could not such men direct our government better than what we are witnessing today? In this End Time the innate burnings of man in greed and pride seem to be intensified when in leadership. Once capable men get into leadership, whether for a company or a country, they truly must have a heart for the people. Our early founding fathers had such character and integrity. They had the intellectual capability to run this country, but at the same time they had the capability morally and ethically to govern a nation and bring forth a republic that would benefit the people—without seeking personal gain.
The sage of Jerusalem declared, “Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” This is a promise of providence: if a nation truly exalts righteousness, God will prosper that nation. This has been exampled in history, including in the early years of our own country. At least in principle, if this could multiply from a single country to many countries where all the leadership, though fallen in sin, came to that same honoring of righteousness in heart, could not the whole world abound in prosperity and be honored by the providence of God? In principle, the answer would be yes.
Nevertheless, man is born in sin, fallen in sin, and once he acquires far-reaching leadership, he often forgets the people. Leaders around the world have prospered while their own people often lived in abject poverty. This is common throughout the countries of Africa; although in a dire strait financially today, their leaders are billionaires. Another example of this can be seen in Mexico, in a former President López Portillo. It is reported that just within his administration and by manipulating the government, he personally gained almost $3 billion. A few decades ago President Marcos in the Philippines amassed over $2 billion before he died. When trucks, food, technological and scientific means were given to such countries, instead of the populace benefiting, the leaders took it all and sold it, or used it for themselves. Saddam Hussein in Iraq (whom America put into power) made over $10 billion for himself and his family, yet Iraq was in wretched poverty when America went in to “liberate” the country.
This is the problem of world leaders today; greed has become their obsession. There is not a U.S. Representative or Senator that has not made a fortune through his/her political position. Though their salaries are $114,000 a year, through situations of greed and graft, they leave their political office with increased financial wealth caring little for the people whom they represented.
These are the master sins of global government today: the pride of leadership power, the insatiable thirst for money and gain, and the loss of any form of conscience as to the people and God. Yes, these are the times in which we live.
Conclusion
When the Antichrist comes on the scene of global government, this world will be under God’s judgments given with great severity as the Tribulation Period is well underway. Though the common man today is in deep sin, his governmental leadership is worse. The world order has become so powerful that there is no one in leadership today who is standing for humanity. When the common man sees this, is there any wonder that he will not applaud a new world order? The whole governmental world has entered into bankruptcy because of poor leadership. It is estimated that the real listed percentage of unemployment in America is 20-25 percent, but again, such information is suppressed. Once more, unless we seek it out, we only know what we are told. But we must realize that this is what world government leaders want in order to bring about a moral, mental, spiritual, economic implosion to destroy this great nation. It is not that leadership is imbecilic. No, leadership is intelligently bringing this world order to force the people to cry for a new world order: “It is time for a change!”
In our next article we want to present some changes we believe are coming soon to bring us into a position of an Antichrist persuasion. We must remember that when he comes on the political scene of the world, all things will be ready for him to control the world in every aspect of humanity.