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Observations relating to the "end-times"

I have included this page to share some observations about current day life relating to the end-times. These writings are just that: "observations". There are already many others on the net who present the end times facts & research much better than I ever could. ( See my Prophecy / End Times Links page )  So I must clearly state that these observations are a collective of my thoughts and in some instances the echo of other's thoughts & research, who's writings have impacted my understanding over a period of time.

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Observation 1: Biblical prophecy:

Back in 1983, I had been attending confirmation classes, followed on by a year of Bible study. In our group we all had many questions about life and one of our interests had been the book of Revelation and other prophetic writings in the Bible.
We embarked on a journey to study all we could of the mysteries of Biblical prophecy. I must admit that, although we tried to understand Biblical prophecy, we came up with more questions and confusion, than with any real answers.

It's really interesting to look back and see how much has changed from 1983 to 1998. So many changes have happened in a relatively short period of time.
There has been the emergence of a new South Africa; the Berlin wall came tumbling down; the USSR made an about turn; there's been the war in the Gulf and many many more changes throughout the world. I mention only a few dramatic changes in the world, but my point is that the world and life in general has changed so much in a very short period of time.

Fifteen years ago it was a very hard task to try and match the Biblical prophecies to current events. In the present time, it seems that all you need to do to match Biblical prophecy and current events, is to place your Bible and newspaper side by side and browse the "news" in both scripts.

 

Observation 2: What ever happened to "fear" ?

The one thing that interests me nowdays is how people seem to have lost their "fear" of Biblical prophecy. In days gone by we would shiver and shake at the thought of the end time. It seems that satan has used the world media to de-sensitise people to such an extent that they have no concern about what the Bible has prophesied.

There is a fear that is destructive, this is not the fear I speak of, rather I believe that we all should have a reverend fear of God and take seriously all that He has spoken through the prophets.

The media has been instrumental in making us sit on the edge of out seats through countless number of horror; action and cataclysmic movies. Together with the movies, we have had every horrific natural or man made disaster sensationalised on news broadcasts. These numerous movies and news broadcasts have caused people to become apathetic towards the reality of life and the "fear" which protects us from harm.

 

Observation 3: The "Gospel of self"

There's a modern trend where people have started to practice the "gospel of self". There seems to be a global trend to become the best that you can be. There are hosts of modern day writings on self improvement and personal development. People seem to be trying (as in the time of the tower of Babel)  to reach a god-like perfection. (see my Personal Development Links page !)

I believe there's merit in self-improvement, but this should never be at the expense of our faith. When we give our hearts to Jesus, he lives within us and should be on the throne of our lives. Any program or course that eliminates Jesus from the very core of our lives is dangerous, to say the least.

When working through any personal improvement plan I believe that we should consider carefully what we read and make use of only that which doesn't remove anything from our faith in Christ. Like someone once said: "Look at the cows - they eat the grass & spit out the sticks". This we need to do with all that is presented to us - eat / use only that which will be beneficial to your Christian walk and spit out anything that will be harmful.

 

Observation 4: Millennium Fever

The writings on this page could easily be written off by many as "Millennium fever", a condition which has been evident many times before in history.
Millennium fever is generally considered to be a condition which afflicts the minds of people, as the end of a thousand year period of our calendar approaches. This had been the case when the last Millennium approached. There were countless numbers of "doomsday prophets" and all kinds of strange predictions and trends at that time. The same kind of "Millennium fever" has seemed to been afflicted on many in this present time, as we approach the year 2000.

I am in complete agreement that, yes there's a lot of people, especially on the internet, who've been bitten by this millennium bug.
To try and get some perspective on this consider the story of the boy who cried wolf.

World affairs have been moving toward destruction since time began and now would be a great time to be a prophet of doom, as this 1000 year period draws to a close. It seems that this in itself may be a cause for concern, because there are a number of "doomsday prophets" preaching and predicting dates and times, now than ever before.

I don't believe for a moment in setting dates that say it will all end on the 31st of December 1999; 1st January 2000; 1st January 2001 or any other date for that matter.

The problem is that because of so many "date-setters", people have started laughing off any possible future prophecy, even that which God spoke of through the prophets.

There are some who do set possible dates of events leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. These are people who have researched many factors before presenting their studies in a responsible way. I in no way wish to discredit them in their diligent efforts and convictions. It is these people who often after prayerful consideration point out important markers and signs of the times to Christians throughout the world.
( Have a look at my End Times Links Page )

Considering all of the above take heed of the following two warnings:

1. Beware of following just any "doomsday-prophets" without any biblical grounding, rather seek the truth in the word of God, the Bible. ( Read Matthew chapter 24; Mark chapter 13; Revelation and the old testament prophetic books.)
   
2. Be aware that the prophecy of God has been proven throughout time and He has   issued us all a clear warning about times to come. Jesus spoke of the signs to watch for and instructed us to be diligent in watching for His return.

The time of Christ's return is growing closer each day. There are a number of signs in present times which indicate that His return is very close. The right approach is always to continue in deepening your relationship with God and reaching all who you can with the Gospel of Christ. Listen closely to God and stay alert always, for one thing is sure ... He will return for those who have been faithful.

Observation 5: Money Money Money

Materialism !!! The lust after money and things has become epidemic. The "yuppie" world has emerged in recent times and I would consider this a sign of the end times. It seems that being; having; doing all that we can has become the focus of the nineties. The real problem is that now, it is at all costs, (shudder !!) even at the expense of morals and faith.

In the times we live in there is no room for Jesus, He has to take the back seat, cause we all seem to strive to first get it all. Jesus made it very clear that materialism is not of God:

 

Matthew 6:19      "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth ...."
Matthew 6:24     "No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
Matthew 6:33     "But seek first the kingdom of God  and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"

 

In the world as it is today we have millions living in poverty, yet still we find "christian countries" that have built a society that makes money and earthly possessions its god.

It seems that every business is out to make as much as possible as quick as possible. The stock market has become an elite "den of thieves" with more and more people trying to trade and make more and more money. This brings me to another point.

In days gone by people invested in life assurance knowing that they could rely on receiving enough cover to see them through their retirement years. Now a trend that I find most disturbing is the fact that many of these life assurance companies are listing on the stock exchange. In this materialistic world that seems like a good idea, because it makes these companies more competitive with the chance of having them pay nice large bonuses to their policy holders.

But .... What if a major stock market crash happens .... think about this carefully.
The world is so volatile at the moment, that a minor incident in the Middle East can cause a world war overnight, with major trauma's and a probable stock market crash.
What happens to those people who have invested in retirement and various other policies. Their money has been used in large amounts to "gamble" on the stock exchange. Now suddenly they have nothing. IF ... this happens on a global scale it would sound like the ideal time to institute a world wide money system that gives people hope of at least recovering what they've lost. Hmmmm .... sounds like something right out of the book of Revelation.

Make sure you know where your real treasure lies ... it could cost you your heart ... and soul ...

Matthew 6:20 In the words of our Lord Jesus "For where your treasure lies, there your heart will be also"

 

Observation 6: I'm the real thing ...

It numbs my soul to see the way that advertising has influenced this world. Now more than ever before it seems that the people of the world have gone crazy about themselves. Just how many weight loss; body building; "new" exercise machines and "health" products are available today. There is an obsession with self as never before. You gotta have a better body; a smoother skin; a perfect complexion etc. etc etc.

There is sooooooo much demand on people to be perfect in every aspect of self ...
This may look like a really good option on the surface, but that seems to be the problem, it is only on the surface.

The modern marketing systems of the world have been one of satan's greatest allies of all time. If you can be convinced to look at yourself all the time ... then it follows that at some stage it will become even more important than looking to Jesus. With the outer person always in focus, the world is destined to loose sight of the inner person and become easy targets for satan to manipulate.

Jesus walked the earth and attracted many because He looked deep inside people and saw the inner person, but now it seems we have become so shallow that we have forgotten that the very same Jesus still looks to each of us to find that inner person and have fellowship. The sad tragedy of it all is that so often this trend of the world has been adopted by the church ... so many souls cry out for inner fellowship with God, yet the church has turned its focus on its own cosmetics. We just gotta have bigger, better church buildings ... better TV programs ... better music programs ... better etc ...

My prayer is that our Lord will recognise His bride (the church) when He comes in glory to receive her ... 

Page last revised: 31 March 1998

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