Encroaching Times
2/14/2013
“And
I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the
sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns,
and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Revelation 13:1.
As planet earth takes on the appearance of what the Word of God plainly
teaches us about the days of Noah and Lot, it seems many in the
Christian community become more astonished at world events. The Bible
gives us every reason to believe there will be an all encompassing world
government in place in the last days which will be managed by the
antichrist. The book of Daniel and the book of Revelation are our guides
in learning what the antichrist has in store for planet earth.
Commerce
has so fully connected all the nations of this planet, that what is
emerging is a massive blending of earth’s cultures – for better or for
worse. Most people don’t see the significant prophetic ramifications of
such merging and blending. This mergence is all the design of the evil
one to set up his all encompassing government. As
we here in America watch our leaders reframe our nation into a Marxist
socialistic society we can be assured these are the plans set down by
Satan himself. Take a look around the nations of this world and you will
see this same phenomenon occurring simultaneously wherever you set your
gaze.
Many
today are concerned about America’s economy yet see little to no
significance that the worldwide economy is actually what’s in the
enemy’s crosshairs. A huge majority of folks simply won’t see the big
picture. They refuse to believe that one foreign nation’s economic
downfall could bring chaos to the shores of America. Since many people
these days have no use for God and scoff at His word they won’t know
what’s coming until it hits them head on. That fact alone should give
the rest of us cause to pause and reflect on biblical prophecy. Many
simply shrug off the fact that Greece’s economy has flat lined. Greece’s
economic problems have begun a ripple affect across Europe. What’s that
all about? What does Greece have to do with the economy in the rest of
Europe’s capitals? Or America for that matter? It’s simple really. We
are now so connected financially to each other that as a world community
every time a nation’s economy collapses the entire world economy will
be adversely affected. Just as Greece has begun to scrape rock bottom,
many other nations have begun their own decent into financial ruin.
This, of course, will be miniscule in comparison to what will happen
when the US economy finally gives way to all the false prosperity in
which we have been immersed, especially within just the last four years.
Certainly humanity is experiencing very strange times, some are quite
fearful at what they see approaching.
If
you are a Christian and you are fearful of the events currently shaping
this world then you are falling for the enemy’s deceptive antics. Fear
mongering is a goal of the evil one (Satan) as he attempts to gear up in
his anticipation of the Rapture. Satan’s most debilitating tool is fear
and he uses it quite efficiently. Many people fall for Satan’s lies,
even Christians. This allows Satan to build strongholds that become huge
stumbling blocks in a person’s life. When a Christian becomes
overwhelmed with the fearful situations confronting them, it means
they’ve lost sight of God. Who is it that gets us through our day by day
struggles? Here’s a clue, His name is Jesus and He is our God and
Saviour.
For
many years contentment has been very high here in America. For the most
part we’ve placated ourselves with a sense of false prosperity which
led to a false security. This all occurred when we as a nation decided
to leave behind the God of all creation and His precepts. In our world
today many have journeyed into the realm of self-importance,
self-reliance, self, self, self, which ultimately leads to
self-destruction. When “self” becomes the overwhelming factor, thus
power in a person’s life, they stop helping others as they stop relying
on others for help. Here in America the majority of people now believe
it is the government’s responsibility to take care of them, such as a
parent would take care of their little child. In many of those cases
these Americans believe it’s their right to live off the government dole – self-impotence.
Apparently
some folks are waking up to the fact that America is not immune to the
upheavals which occur in other nations. It has become obvious to some
that we are no longer separated from the chaos that occurs on the other
side of the globe. This is becoming a frightening fact that the
self-absorbed in America have no concept of how to face. There are more
than a few who have shrugged off America’s impending financial collapse,
not to mention the very obvious truth that America herself has been
transformed while moving “FORWARD” into the realm of the one world
government/currency/ecumenical system which will be headed up by Satan
himself.
“And
there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and
upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
waves roaring;” Luke 21:25.
Now that we can see the one world everything gathering steam we’ll
begin to move into the arena Luke speaks about, that of distress of
nations – perplexity. It’s the idea that we might actually feel some
heat from all the current distress of nations that perplexes American’s.
We can see the US is being destroyed from within and yet we are
clueless and helpless as to how to stop the approaching disaster. A
large number of manufacturing jobs have been relocated to other nations
around the world leaving the American worker to try and survive on
minimum wage incomes and/or handouts from the Federal and State
governments. In the meantime, the cost of everything soars. Perplexing?
Most assuredly.
“…there shall come in the last days scoffers…” 2 Peter 3:3. The Greek word “eschatos”
is translated into our English word “last” and it actually means
extreme or uttermost. I believe we are living in those extreme last days
of which the Apostle Peter speaks. Being one who is continually
confronted by scoffers I can tell you they have become quite common in
these last days. Surely we must be very close to that “uttermost” time.
If so, should we be all that surprised in regards to the strange even
extreme worldwide events currently unfolding before us? Bible prophecy
is God’s way of telling us what will occur in the future. Are we not now
moving into exciting times in regards to how close the Rapture must be?
Certainly to those who are lost the future that is approaching is one
which will cause much anxiety and perplexity. Yet Christians should be
comforted by the current state of worldwide affairs.
The
conclusion we come to as we view our current state of worldwide events
(nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom - wars, and rumors of
wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilence – in divers places) is that the
birth pangs Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24 are obviously upon us. Sadly,
as this world moves ever closer to destruction, the majority of folks
will turn to someone who has already convinced them that he can bring
about a utopian existence to this crazy, seemingly out of control world.
I’ve
read that many people are beginning to emigrate from the US in search
of greener pastures. This is an exercise in futility. This world is
going to be equally and adversely affected by the severity of a major
economic, thus societal, collapse; no one nation will be better off than
any other. You can run but you can’t hide.
Numerous
websites are promoting preparedness in regards to what they see as an
approaching collapse of our economy and the possibility of civil unrest.
Preparedness is not a bad thing, in many cases being prepared for
calamities, unforeseen circumstances, or even impending droughts will
help those who are prepared make it through such events. Remember, the
most important preparedness is being prepared for eternity. At this “eschatos” (extreme) point in time our eternal destiny should already be settled.
Being
prepared for an eventual economic collapse will take a lot more than
just a little food set aside. Preparing for civil unrest is going to be
even more difficult, especially if the Feds are allowed to confiscate
all the guns. Don’t forget about the Homeland Security and their recent
purchase of enough hollow point ammo to shoot every American at least
six times. Something evil this way comes – and he is the destroyer.
“And
when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come
and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a
pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the
four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of
barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” Revelation 6:5-6.
In the last days a full day’s wages will be necessary to purchase one
meal, not everyone will be blessed with work and wages. Many see
usefulness in stocking up on silver and gold as a solid and reliable
form of currency in these last days. There is a line in the old song, “I
Wish We’d All Been Ready” by the late Larry Norman, which says “a piece
of bread will buy a bag of gold”. Well, that certainly sums up the
usefulness of gold in the last days. No, what we should be stocking up
on is treasures that will last for an eternity. What are those
treasures? They are whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to be involved in
during your life on earth.
The
republic on which the US was founded is gone, probably forever. But the
born again see a glorious future with the King of kings at the helm.
Those who remain lost will never understand what awesome godly living is
all about. Those who are born again will see glorious times on earth
when the Lord returns with His saints and His Kingdom is ultimately
established.
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22.
As we, the followers of Jesus Christ allow the Holy Spirit to work in
our lives He moves us into the realm of establishing ourselves as doers
of the word and not just hearers. As we are focused on doing God’s will
for our lives, the many antics of the enemy cannot overcome us, and fear
will not take seed in us. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7. Therefore, fear not my brethren, Jesus is at the door.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
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