Reasons why we are in the end times right now!
It's not "global warming"; it's "global warning!"
Reasons why we are in the end times right now!
It's not "global warming"; it's "global warning!"
Doomsayers throughout the ages have been trying to convince the world that 'the end' is here. Well, it is - and we know this because we are experiencing weird weather patterns, wars, famines, tsunamies, volcanic activity, new diseases (and some old ones returning full force), ever-growing decadence and viciousness by people who consider "good" to be "bad" and who have made "bad" the norm, etc. But, "the end" couldn't arrive until most of the Bible prophecies had been fulfilled - and ironically, we are given some major clues in the Biblical Feasts that most tend to ignore ALL of which foreshadow the sequence of events!
This article used to feature links to the world's crises, but it was hard to keep up (not to mention, this page became way too crowded!); and so today, we are simply generalizing and pointing only to Scripture. As everyone surely knows, we have evil Muslim entities such as ISIS, Al Qaida and Boko Haram and their ilk out there beheading and murdering anyone and everyone in their path. At the same time, the world is experiencing summers that are too hot and winters that are dangerously cold, endless hurricanes, fires, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, diseases and famines. We have rebels in the U.S. inciting riots against the government because they feel our "government" is a threat to the American way of life (which, to these rebels, seems to be all about guns and violence and freedom to loot and pillage and wreak havoc against whomever they wish, without consequence).
We have people standing in line for hours, days and even weeks to purchase the latest $600 Iphone on their already over-burdened credit cards. Myriads of Americans (including supposed Believers) voted to legalize Marijuana and "gay marriage"; and they also decided that fetuses aren't worthy of "personhood" or that they need to be protected from those who want to terminate their "inconvenient" pregnancies. Oh, yes, and let's not forget, we have former President Obama to thank for his influence on some of these issues...this supposed "Christian" man whose major accomplishments include dividing our nation and ushering in the return of race riots....
All sorts of "self-proclaimed teachers" are cropping up to teach their respective ideas about God and the Bible to the blind throngs who are seeking "ear tickling" doctrines in lieu of YHWH's Truth. We have crazies who attempt to use Scripture to "prove" that the "earth is really flat" and insist our respective world's governments are conspiring to keep this "truth" from us. We have people blindly following self-proclaimed Bible "experts" who insist God demands men to practice polygyny (multiple wives), and those who insist the Seventh Day Sabbath is actually "lunar" and falls only on certain times of the month. One of the newest trends for Christians who have found their way to Torah, is to leave Y'shua and the New Testament altogether, and blindly follow some "anti-missionary" Jews and their converts into traditional Judaism!
Among those "ear-tickling" doctrines among Christians is the erroneous assumption that there will be a "pre-tribulation rapture." But please think about this: Man has been undergoing tribulations since he got kicked out of the Garden. Tribulation is nothing new! We have always had horrible things happening to "good people"....babies dying of cancer, innocents being slaughtered by kooks who want to "prove a point"; rape, incest, lying, cheating...you name it! And today we have madmen as leaders, such as Assad in Syria who is waging war against his own people - bombing and shooting and maiming them and starving them to death, just so he can assert his "power." Millions have fled into Europe on foot, many drowning in the Aegean Sea as they cross on rubber dinghies.... Is that not "tribulation"?
Yes, folks, we are IN the end times right now, and things are progressively getting worse - AND we're all still here....Nobody has been "raptured out" including those believers who have died at the hands of crazies with guns shooting up movie theaters, elementary schools, universities and churches, etc.
To reiterate - there is no such thing as "pre-trib rapture or a "seven year tribulation" - that seven year period mentioned in Daniel is the period after the peace treaty is signed with Israel. According to the Scriptures Yeshua will return exactly seven years after the Antichrist (whoever that turns out to be) signs a seven year treaty with Israel. In the meantime, we are and will continue to experience "tribulations" around the world. The disasters are coming faster and faster. The Bible tells us that, in the end times, there will be so many that we can't even recover from one disaster before the next one hits....
Daniel 9: 26 Then, after the sixty-two weeks, Mashiach will be cut off and have nothing. The people of a prince yet to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, but his end will come with a flood, and desolations are decreed until the war is over. 27 He will make a strong covenant with leaders for one week [of years]. For half of the week he will put a stop to the sacrifice and the grain offering. On the wing of detestable things the desolator will come and continue until the already decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator."
The day we hear of someone making a seven year peace treaty with Israel, we'll be able to count exactly seven years until Y'shua's return! (By the way, although the Bible does refer to the "antichrist" as a "he" - this may or may not be a man; it may simply be the antichrist SYSTEM of the world. The exact meaning of "antichrist" will be completely revealed as time goes by.)
Never before has the world seen the accumulation of events as we have today (and many of them are directly related to the United States' involvement in dividing Israel)! Although no one knows the day nor the hour that Messiah will return, no generation has had as many signs of the times as our generation. We have more reason to believe that Yeshua could come in our lifetime than any other generation before us.
Unfortunately, it seems most pastors prefer to avoid the topic of "end-time" and end-time prophecies altogether. They simply don't want to talk about it and, what's more, most people don't want to hear about it, either. That's because, many people "go to church" simply to warm the pews, sing, have a good time, and have their ears "tickled" by feel-good stuff. Most turn a deaf ear to the obvious signs:
(1) Strange weather patterns, increasing earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamies, volcanoes, fires and floods, etc.
(2) Terrorist activities and growing decadence among earth's human population where degenerate and ungodly behavior is "in" today. The Bible warned us these things were coming:
Romans 1: 22 Claiming to be wise, they have become fools! 23 In fact, they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for mere images, like a mortal human being, or like birds, animals or reptiles! 24 This is why God has given them up to the vileness of their hearts' lusts, to the shameful misuse of each other's bodies. 25 They have exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, by worshiping and serving created things, rather than the Creator - praised be he for ever. Amen. 26 This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural; 27 and likewise the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion. 28 In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things. 29 They are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and vice; stuffed with jealousy, murder, quarreling, dishonesty and ill-will; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God; they are insolent, arrogant and boastful; they plan evil schemes; they disobey their parents; 31 they are brainless, faithless, heartless and ruthless. 32 They know well enough God's righteous decree that people who do such things deserve to die; yet not only do they keep doing them, but they applaud others who do the same.
2 Peter 2: 19. And they promise them liberty while they themselves are the slaves of corruption: for, by whatever thing a man is vanquished, to that is he enslaved. 20. For if, when they have escaped the pollutions of the world by the knowledge of our Master and Redeemer Yeshua the Mashiyach, they become again involved in the same and are vanquished, their latter state is worse than the former. 21. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after having known (it), to turn back from the Set Apart Commandment that was delivered to them. 22. But the true proverb has happened to them: the dog returns to his vomit and the pig that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire.
Matthew 24: 3. And while Y'shua was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples drew near and were saying among themselves and to him, "Tell us when these things will be and what is the sign of your coming and the end of the world." 4. Y'shua answered and said to them, Beware, let no man deceive you. 5. For many will come in my name and will say that "I am the Mashiyach." And many they will deceive. 6. For you are bound to hear of revolutions and rumor of wars. Watch out and do not be disturbed, for it is necessary that all these things happen, but it is not yet the end. 7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in different places. 8. But all these things are only the beginning of sorrows. 9. Then they will deliver to afflictions and they will kill you and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10. Then many will stumble and will hate one another and will betray one another. 11. And many false prophets will arise and deceive many. 12. And because of the growth of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold. 13. But whoever has patience until the end, he will have life. 14. And this Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.... (AENT)
Whether or not pastors choose to talk about "the end times", and whether or not congregations of people go to "have their ears tickled," or just to warm the pews, the fact remains that Yeshua IS returning and, when He does, things are going to change. The Bible says so.
Zephaniah 1:18 - Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the Lord's wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth."
Matthew 24 tells us that no one knows the exact day or hour of Yeshua's return, but that we are to be aware and to prepare for it. In the meantime, we need to keep up with what's happening in the world, because the signs are all around us.
The Bible predicts many things for the end times. As an example:
Front and center is the prophecy in the Book of Revelation which tells us that many believers in Yeshua Ha'Maschiach will be beheaded for their belief:
Revelation 20:4 - Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them received authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for testifying about Yeshua and proclaiming the word of God, also those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands. They came to life and ruled with the Messiah for a thousand years.
Ask yourself this: Who are the ONLY people in the world who still behead? It's the Muslims! The Koran tells its followers to kill the "infidels" (anyone non Muslim who refuses to convert). See passages such as Q. 2:193, 5:34, 8:65, 9: 5, 9:123, 14:17, 22:9, to mention a few.
What has Islam - that supposed "religion of peace" - done to the world?
Well, remember 9/11? Remember the Marine barracks in Beirut? And who was it that went on a mad rampage that destroyed property in parts of Europe and killed approximately 40 innocent people simply because some Danish journalist drew cartoons of "the last prophet" Mohammed? WHO is responsible for the major influx of innocents into Europe to escape the tyranny? Muslim terrorism incidents go WAY back, and the incidents continue to rise. (See Mark of the Beast.)
Muslim terrorism today includes the actual beheadings of any and all "infidels" - anyone who in some way offends Islam or its adherents. Folks, the end times are here! God is clearly using the spirit of Islam to help usher in His end-time scenario! Things are happening that are beyond our control....
Whether we choose to believe it, or not, God DOES have an ultimate purpose for us, and there WILL be an end to the world as we know it:
Anything else?
Daniel 12:3-5 says "...many will rush here and there as knowledge increase": 2,500 years ago the prophet Daniel foresaw a generation where knowledge would suddenly and explosively increase. (This could be referring to knowledge of Torah, God's Word in general or, perhaps technical knowledge, i.e., computers, cloning, DNA, etc...) Please remember not to confuse "Knowledge" with "Wisdom". There's a major difference! Knowledge can be a very dangerous thing in the wrong hands and if used for evil or "worldly" purposes. Here are a couple of examples:
(March 13, 2001) The London Daily Telegraph reports: "Secret human cloning experiments have been taking place in Australia for the past two years. In 1999, researchers implanted a cell containing human DNA in a pig. The cloned embryo lived for 32 days before it was terminated.....
(May 18, 2002) Techreview.com reports: "Human cloning will almost surely happen. In the past, other new reproductive technologies were denounced at first; but then they were adapted to serve human procreational needs and ultimately became commonplace practices. Human cloning already has advocates. According to polls, six percent of adult Americans support human cloning....
Global warming, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, dramatic weather changes - look around you!
Mysterious diseases caused by "beasts of the field/earth":
Mark of the Beast:
What is the "Mark of the Beast"? No one knows for sure, but chances are excellent that it is Islam. Why Islam? For one thing, because the Book of Revelation tells us that many believers in Christ will be beheaded (not shot or stabbed or choked, but BEHEADED):
Revelation 20: Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them received authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for testifying about Yeshua and proclaiming the Word of God, also those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands. They came to life and ruled with the Messiah for a thousand years.
Islam as a religion is completely "anti-Christ". The goal of radical Islam is to force the world to convert or die. Islam's "mark" can be noticed by the fact that they worship an entity called Allah (which is a mere title for "God"). They pray five times a day while facing Mecca (not Jerusalem). They pray in mosques (not churches or synagogues), and they lead an antiquated way of life that includes keeping their women subdued and clothed from head to foot. Although their "final prophet" Mohammed "borrowed" Scriptures from the Torah (first five books of Moses), NOTHING they do or believe in any way resembles YHWH's original teaching and instruction. (Please see our complete study on the Mark of the Beast.)
The world will turn against the Jews and Israel with a vengeance:
For centuries everybody has been fighting over this tiny country called Israel to claim it as "their" holy place. It seems that the whole world has always "had it in" for Jews in one way or another, and some (i.e. Hitler) have even tried to annihilate them completely. The bottom line is, this issue dates back to the conflict between Isaac and Ishmael, and will not be resolved until Yeshua returns....
Still not convinced?
The Book of Revelation shows hint of nuclear war (although God does NOT need our man-made weapons to make His end-time scenario happen, and only HE knows what will actually transpire):
John, the prophet on the island of Patmos, sees a vision far into the future. (Revelation) Could this be a description of a thermonuclear holocaust?
Since one third of the earth was repeatedly mentioned with the destruction of the earth, trees, grass and contamination of the waters making all of them poisonous, and darkening of one third of the atmosphere, a nuclear holocaust seems most reasonable (although God certainly does NOT need to use "man-made" devices to make His end time scenario happen!).
Dennis Pollock in his paper "Does the Bible Predict a Nuclear Holocaust" (The Lamplighter Vol.XIX N.9 Oct.1998, page 5) states: "It should be evident that what we are talking about is a weapon unparalleled in human history; a weapon with the capacity to obliterate huge cities in seconds. This is a scenario that perfectly fits with the kind of swift, mass destruction spoken of in the book of Revelation. Indeed, considering the widespread death predicted by John, it would be hard for us to imagine anything other than a nuclear holocaust which could come close to producing such carnage."
"The basic power of the universe has been harnessed. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed." (President Truman, July 1945).
Wars and Rumors of Wars:
September 11, 2001 will be remembered as one of the most horrific and unbelievable days ever experienced in the United States. That is the day that Islamic terrorists crashed stolen airliners into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and another into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. A third, headed for a unknown destination, crashed at Shanksville, PA, when passengers fought the hijackers who had stolen and taken over their plane.
Muslims kill anyone, including their own as evidenced by the millions of Muslims fleeing to Europe! (You can Google it yourself to see.) Their goal is to dominate the whole world....
These are only a few examples of "rumors of wars" around the globe - but, please be aware of this: In the entire known history of man, there have only been approximately 300 years of peace, total!
Violence will increase and difficult times will come:
The Book of Revelation talks about children doing evil against their own parents in the end times; about widespread violence and chaos everywhere. We need only to listen to the news to hear about the latest school shooting, "road rage" incidences, etc. - things we never used to hear about in days gone by. Just take a look at what happened after Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans: Rescuers were SHOT AT by the very thugs they were trying to save! Violence has become a world-wide epidemic, with everyone seeming to take the law into their own hands.
Conflicts, disputes, and fighting over the Temple Mount:
The temple mount is presently occupied by the Muslims because they claim it as their holy site. (I challenge anyone to find a defensible basis for that!) It is, in fact, the very site in Jerusalem where, upon God's command, Abraham was going to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Biblically and historically speaking, the Land has never belonged to the Muslims, as God gave it to His Chosen People, the Jews! (See Genesis 15:18, Genesis 12:3, Jeremiah 30:11, Joel 3:2, and Ezekiel 36:8-10.) (The only reason the Temple Mount "belongs" to the Muslims now is because it was taken by force - the principle on which Islam apparently prides itself....) The bottom line is, Islam is simply doing God's will by making war and sending out their terrorists. Bible prophecy speaks about the struggles the Jews will encounter in order to keep their Land and how, in the end times, all the world will make war against Israel.
The Bible also warns us of the revival of the old Babylonian spirit in the last days, described in the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation. In Jeremiah 51:7, we find a perfect description of the very condition of the days in which we are now living:
Jeremiah 51:7 Babel was a golden cup in the hand of YHWH, making drunk all the earth. The nations drank her wine, that is why the nations went mad! (ISR)
Zephaniah 1:18 - Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of YHWH. And by the fire of His jealousy all the earth shall be consumed, for He makes a sudden end of all those who dwell in the earth. (ISR)
Mark 13:7. But when you hear of wars and rumors of revolutions, do not have fear. This is bound to happen, but is yet not the end. 8. For nation will arise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be earthquakes in various places. And there will be famine and uprisings. These things are the beginning of sorrows. (AENT)
So, what can we do about it? Well, nobody is immune from wars and man-made or natural disasters, so the only thing we can really do is to pray and get ourselves “right” with YHWH, because Believers ARE guaranteed eternal life in the “olam haba” (world to come)! We can see examples of the promise of “eternal life” in both Torah and throughout the New Testament:
YHWH put the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 2:9. And in Tanach we see that people are “gathered to their people,” for instance in Gen. 25:8 (Abraham), 25:17 (Ishmael), 35:29 (Isaac), 49:33 (Jacob); Deut. 32:50 (Moses and Aaron); see also Daniel 12:2 and Nehemiah 9:5. In the New Testament we see eternal life through Y’shua, whose shed blood redeemed us, thus offering eternal life to any obedient Believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: Romans 3:23-26; 6:23; John 3:16; 11:25, 3:36, 6:47, 17:3-6 etc.
Obviously only a selection of scripture passages have been given here to make the point. There are dozens and dozens more that were not quoted. Perhaps this is a good place to include a few more "eye-openers" to show that God isn't kidding around. To wit, every time the US meddles in Israel's affairs, our Creator lets us know He isn't happy - yet most people pay no attention! For instance, we must ask ourselves whether it was "just a coincidence" that Hurricane Katrina "displaced" thousands right after the US helped "displace" YHWH's people in the Gaza "disengagement"....
Do you still believe we are not experiencing the "end times"? The Bible speaks for itself:
Matthew 24:7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in different places. 8. But all these things are only the beginning of sorrows. 9. Then they will deliver to afflictions and they will kill you and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10. Then many will stumble and will hate one another and will betray one another. 11. And many false prophets will arise and deceive many. 12. And because of the growth of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold. 13. But whoever has patience until the end, he will have life. 14. And this Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come....
Luke 21:22. Because these are the days of vengeance that might be fulfilled everything that is written. 23. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24. And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away to every land. And Urishlim will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 25. And there will be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars. And on earth, distress of the nations and confusion from the roaring of the sound of the sea. 26. And upheaval that casts out life from men, because of fear of what is about to come upon the earth. And the powers of heaven will be shaken. 27. And then they will see the Son of man who will come in the clouds with much power and great glory. 28. But when these things begin to happen, have courage and lift up your heads, because your salvation draws near.
Revelation 6:12. And I looked when he had opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black, like sackcloth of hair; and the whole moon became like blood. 13. And the stars of heaven fell on the earth as a fig-tree casts its unripe figs, when it is shaken by a strong wind. 14. And the heavens separated, as a scroll is rolled up: and all mountains and islands were removed out of their places. 15. And the kings of the earth, and the nobles, and the captains of thousands, and the rich men, and the men of valor, and every servant and free man hid themselves in caves, and in the clefts of the mountains; 16. and they said to the mountains and to the clefts, Fall over us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17. For the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?
Revelation 11:13. And in the same hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell: and the persons killed in the earthquake were seven thousand names: and they who remained were afraid and gave glory to Elohim.
Revelation 16:17. And the seventh poured his cup on the air; and there issued a loud voice from the temple, from the throne, which said: It is done! 18. And there were flashes of lightning, and thunders, and voices; and there was a great earthquake, the like of which there was never, since men were on the earth, such an earthquake, and so great. 19. And the great city became three parts. And the city of the nations fell; and Babylon the great was remembered before Elohim, to give her the cup of the wine of the heat of his wrath. 20. And every island fled away; and the mountains were not found. 21. And a great hail, as it were of a talent weight, fell from heaven upon men: and the men blasphemed Elohim on account of the plague of hail; for the plague of it was very great.
Micah 4:1 But in the acharit-hayamim it will come about that the mountain of ADONAI's house will be established as the most important mountain. It will be regarded more highly than the other hills, and peoples will stream there. 2 Many Gentiles will go and say, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of ADONAI, to the house of the God of Ya'akov! He will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim. 3 He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for many nations far away. Then they will hammer their swords into plow-blades and their spears into pruning-knives; nations will not raise swords at each other, and they will no longer learn war. 4 Instead, each person will sit under his vine and fig tree, with no one to upset him, for the mouth of ADONAI-Tzva'ot has spoken. 5 For all the peoples will walk, each in the name of its god; but we will walk in the name of ADONAI our God forever and ever.
Read all of Zechariah 14 including this: 12 ADONAI will strike all the peoples who made war against Yerushalayim with a plague in which their flesh rots away while they are standing on their feet, their eyes rot away in their sockets, and their tongues rot away in their mouths. 13 When that day comes, there will be among them great panic, sent by ADONAI, so that everyone lays hands on his neighbor, who in turn attacks him. 14 Y'hudah too will fight against Yerushalayim; and the wealth of all the nations will be assembled - gold, silver and clothing in great abundance. 15 A plague like this plague will also affect the horses, mules, camels, donkeys and all the other animals in those camps. 16 Finally, everyone remaining from all the nations that came to attack Yerushalayim will go up every year to worship the king, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, and to keep the festival of Sukkot. 17 If any of the families of the earth does not go up to Yerushalayim to worship the king, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, no rain will fall on them.
Ecclesiastes 9:1 I applied myself to all of this, sifted through it and concluded that the righteous and the wise, along with their deeds, are in God's hands - a person cannot know whether these people and deeds will be rewarded with love or with hatred; all options are open. 2 Anything can happen to anyone; the same thing can happen to the righteous as to the wicked, to the good and clean and to the unclean, to someone who offers a sacrifice and to someone who doesn't offer a sacrifice; it is the same for a good person as for a sinner, for someone who takes an oath rashly as for someone who fears to take an oath.
3 This is another evil among all those done under the sun, that the same events can occur to anyone. Truly, the human mind is full of evil; and as long as people live, folly is in their hearts; after which they go to be with the dead. 4 For as long as a person is linked with the living, there is hope - better to be a living dog than a dead lion! 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; there is no longer any reward for them, because all memory of them is lost. 6 What they loved, what they hated and what they envied all disappeared long ago, and they no longer have a share in anything done under the sun. 7 So go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God has already accepted your deeds.
8 Let your clothing always be white, and never fail to perfume your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife you have loved throughout your meaningless life that he has given you under the sun, all the days of your futility; for that is your allotted portion in life and in your labor that you work at under the sun. 10 Whatever task comes your way to do, do it with all your strength; because in Sh'ol, where you will go, there is neither working nor planning, neither knowledge nor wisdom. 11 Yet another thing I observed under the sun is that races aren't won by the swift or battles by the strong, and that food doesn't go to the wise or wealth to the intelligent or favor to the experts; rather, time and chance rule them all.
12 For people don't know when their time will come any more than fish taken in the fatal net or birds caught in a snare; similarly, people are snared at an unfortunate time, when suddenly it falls on them. 13 Here is something else I have seen as wisdom under the sun, and it seemed important to me: 14 there was a small town with few people in it; and a great king came to attack it; he surrounded it and built massive siege-works against it. 15 Now there was found in it a man who was poor but wise, and by his wisdom he saved the city; yet afterwards, nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So, although I say that wisdom is better than strength, nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised; nobody pays attention to what he says. 17 A wise man speaking quietly is more worth heeding than the shouts of a ruler commanding fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but a person who makes a mistake can destroy much good.
Okay, so is there any GOOD news?
Fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsnamies, volcanic eruptions, sickness and disease, mass murders, wars, rumors or wars and evil all over the world ... With all the bad news we're hearing lately, is there any GOOD news?
YES - Yeshua's Second Coming! Halleluyah!
YHWH's Messiah will put an end to wickedness and evil on this earth. He will rule and reign for a thousand years upon the Earth after he defeats the Antichrist at Armageddon. After that, on Judgment Day, every soul that has ever lived will stand before YHWH to give an account of their life. (Psalm 2:2; Daniel 2:44; Ezekiel 39:7; Revelation 16:14-16, 19:11-16 and 20:1-15.)
In Matthew 24 we begin to see that Believers will be translated (cease to exist here on Earth to suddenly find themselves in the Presence of Yeshua). This does not necessarily mean that our physical bodies, upon Yeshua's return, will float up into the air, as depicted by Christian artists! We don't know for sure what will happen; but we do know that, according to 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, it will be "in the twinkling of an eye." Matthew 24:40 reveals that this "translation" from physical to spiritual bodies will be sudden. (See also John 5:28-29.)
Note that these scriptures also tell us that the "resurrection of life" is the first resurrection, which happens just prior to Yeshua's Second Coming; and that the "resurrection of judgment" does not occur until a thousand years later at the end of Messiah's millennial reign, when everyone who has ever lived will stand before YHWH on Judgment Day. These things are outlined in Daniel 12: 1-3; Acts 24: 15; Luke 14: 14, and Revelation 20.
(NOTE: This "catching up" will be when Yeshua returns to Earth; not before! According to Daniel 9:26-27, t will occur at the end of that seven year period which will begin when the "Antichrist" makes a seven year peace treaty with Israel. The day we hear of someone making a seven year peace treaty with Israel, we'll be able to count exactly seven years until Yeshua's return!)
Revelation 20: 11. And I saw a great white throne and Him who sits upon it; from whose presence the earth and heaven fled away, and this their place was not found. 12. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is (the book) of life. And the dead were judged from the things written in the books, according to their deeds.
13. And the sea gave up the dead in it; and death and Sheol gave up the dead in them. And they were judged, each one according to his deeds. 14. And death and Sheol were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death (namely,) this lake of fire. 15. And if any one was not found enrolled in the book of life, he was cast into this lake of fire. (AENT)
So, YES, that IS good news … for BELIEVERS!
Atheists and "religion hoppers" and the "lukewarm" and anyone who didn't accept THE Creator, YHWH - the ELOHIM of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - as their God, are facing eternal separation from Him! It will be as if they never existed. (See 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15.)
Unfortunately, most people today don't seem to be concerned with the "hereafter"; let alone YHWH or His Word. Even many Believers don't know the meaning of the word, "wholehearted" - and, as a result, they will NOT be taking that narrow gate that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14).
John 3:36, 11:25 and 17:3, etc. reveal that "eternal life" does not consist of simply "believing in Jesus," but living for YHWH according to His Torah rules. (Remember: Yeshua came to proclaim the Kingdom of YHWH, do everything His Father commanded, and teach Torah, and then martyr himself on our behalf.)
Luke 4: 43 "But he (Yeshua/Jesus) said, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."
Luke 8: 1. And it happened after these things that Y'shua was going around in the cities and in the villages and was preaching and declaring the Kingdom of Elohim.
Acts 28: 23 "From morning till evening the Apostle Paul explained and declared the Kingdom of God and tried to convince people about Yeshua from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets."
Acts 24: 14. But this indeed I (Paul) acknowledge, that in that same doctrine of which they speak, I do serve the Elohim of my fathers, believing all the things written in Torah and in the prophets.
Most, according to what we read in Scripture, will end up separated from YHWH forever BECAUSE of their refusal to become "wholehearted"; but the believing and obeying remnant will get to spend eternity with Him in "the new heavens and the new earth."
As you know, Yeshua was the "arm" of YHWH (Isaiah 53:1) and the Word (John 1:1-4, 14), and to "believe" in Him is to gain eternal life. Nobody is guaranteed the next day, but we at least have the assurance of salvation, when our life here on earth ends!
So, YES - there are some evil days ahead; but be encouraged ... The indwelling Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) will guide us, with Torah as our Light (Psalm 119:105) – so, go out and BE that light while there is still time!
Isaiah 51: 4 "Pay attention to me, my people! My nation, listen to me! For Torah will go out from me; (Yeshua embodies Torah; he is the Word!) I will calm them with my justice as a light for the peoples. 5 My righteousness is at hand, my salvation (Yeshua) goes out, my arms will judge the peoples. The coastlands are putting their hope in me, trusting in my arm (Yeshua - Isaiah 53:1).
6 "Raise your eyes toward the skies, look at the earth below. The skies will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like clothing. Those living on it will die like flies; but my salvation (Yeshua!) will be forever, and my justice will never end.
7 "Listen to me, you who know justice, you people who have my Torah in your heart: don't be afraid of people's taunts, don't be upset by their insults. 8 For the moth will eat them up like clothing, the worm will eat them like wool; but my justice will be forever, and my salvation (Yeshua!)for all generations." (CJB)
John 17: 1. Y'shua spoke these things and he lifted up his eyes to Heaven and said My Father the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that your Son might glorify you. 2. Just as you have given him authority over all flesh that whomever You have given him, he will give to him life that is eternal. 3. Now this is life that is eternal, that they might know You, that You are the Elohim of Truth, and he alone whom You have sent, the Mashiyach Y'shua.
4. I have glorified You on earth. The work that You have given to me to do I have finished it. 5. And now glorify me my Father with You in that glory that I had with You from before the world was. 6. I have made Your Name known to the sons of those men whom You had given to me from the world. They were Yours and You have given them to me, and they have kept Your Word.
7. Now they have known that everything that you have given to me I have given to them and they received them. 8. And they know that I have truly proceeded from your presence, and they believe that You have sent me. (AENT)