Christ First Forum

by **Jeani** » 09 Apr 2011, 07:09

The Perfect Storm - How we know we are living in the "Last Days"

Matthew 16:1-3 "Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times."
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for not recognizing the signs of His first coming, because the religious leaders of His day had full knowledge of the prophecies of the Messiah. Yet, these religious leaders ignored the signs and still rejected Him. As for me being a meteorologist, forecasting the weather and discerning the signs of the times go hand in hand. I will not be ignoring the signs of Jesus' 2nd Coming like the religious leaders did at His 1st Coming!

So what are these signs and how can we determine how close Jesus' return is? Jesus refers to these signs as "birth pangs". In the Olivet Discourse, I discuss in detail what "birth pangs" are. They are as follows (Matthew 24:6-13, Mark 13:7-13, Luke 21:9-11&25):

•Wars and rumors of wars
•World wars
•Famines
•Pestilences
•Earthquakes in diverse places
•Fearful sights and great signs in the heavens
•False Prophets
•Persecution
The key is that they are like "birth pangs", in that they will be increasing in frequency and intensity before Jesus returns. Therefore, we can use the birth pangs as a gauge to help determine how close we are to His return. When these birth pangs start to have large scale consequences, on the verge of being global, we know we are almost there. These birth pangs that are currently occurring on a regional scale will have global consequences during the Tribulation:

Revelation 6:1-2 - 1st Seal - One ultimate false christ, the Antichrist
Revelation 6:3-4 - 2nd Seal - War worldwide
Revelation 6:5-8 - 3rd & 4th Seal - Scarcity and death worldwide
Revelation 6:9-11 - 5th Seal - Martyrs of Saints worldwide
Revelation 6:12-17 -6th Seal- Wrath of the Lamb earthquake that has global impact

The super sign, that shows we are in the end times, is that Israel is nation again. God has been bringing the Jews back to the land to deal with their transgression, as we are told in Daniel 9:24. God is going to call them His people again, after nearly two millennia of rejection (Hosea 1:9, Romans 9:25-26).

In other words, God is not going to wait around for several generations to deal with the Jews. He has brought them out of exile for a specific purpose (Ezekiel chapters 36-39). Many people, including myself, believe that the sign of the fig tree in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 show that God is going to fulfill all these signs within the life of the generation that witnessed the rebirth of the nation of Israel.

There are other signs to look for, that will lead to fulfilling prophecy in the Tribulation period. As we come closer to that time we should see the following:

Daniel 12:4 - Increase in knowledge and travel
- This will support globalization.

Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:11 - Famines and pestilences
- Due to increase in natural disasters and war.

Revelation 11:9 - Satellite technology
- People from all over the world will be able to view the two dead witnesses.

Revelation 13:16-17 - Computer technology
- The mark of the beast will be a cashless society.

Revelation 13:16-17 - Global currency
- All other currencies will crumble.

2 Timothy 3:1-8 - Rampant immorality and hedonism
- Increase in selfishness and resistance to absolute Truth.

So we can see that a "perfect storm" is brewing. Since Israel has been back in the land, we've had an explosion in technology and travel. We now live in the "information age". Constantly, there are wars and rumors of wars. There has also been a drastic increase in the intensity of natural disasters. In just the last few years, these disasters have become a threat to the global food supply.

Immorality is certainly on the rise with legalized abortion and homosexual marriage, in addition to rising fornication, adultery and divorce. Hedonism has helped to lead the world into the credit crises we are in, which is threatening to collapse economies around the globe.

Because of the credit crisis, there have been calls to form a new global currency. This could easily be instituted as a cashless currency. Cash is rarely used anymore anyway with the emergence of computer technology. The technology of the mark of the beast is here, as computer chips are already being imbedded in animals and some people that have diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Having personally gone through natural child birth twice, I can tell you that it looks like the biblical birth pangs are nearing the point of transition, where the regional birth pangs with regional consequences will "transition" to global Judgments with global consequences during the Tribulation period. Also, there are not many lulls anymore between these birth pangs, reflecting the increasing frequency just like human birth pangs do.

For those that don't believe we are in the end times, I feel like they have taken the "epidural" of blindness. Anybody even casually watching can see the lateness of the hour. I believe that the rapture of the Church will be the catalyst to "transition" these signs from a regional to the global scale.

Luke 21:34-36 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
The more I watch, the more I find that I cannot not watch, if that makes sense. A perfect storm is brewing and the signs are all pointing to the ever more imminent return of Jesus Christ. Maranatha!

Specific birth pangs in the headlines
Luke 21:25-28 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
Jesus told us that a number of specific things would be going on leading up to his return. But it is when these thing "begin" to happen that our redemption is nigh, which I believe is alluding to the rapture of the Church.

To view this list of specific birth pangs in the headlines click here.

About those earthquakes.....

Click here to check out the earthquake page

For more on the "signs of the times":

www.lamblion.com

www.eternal-productions.org/

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