14/06/2022
Should We Fear the End Times?
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How does it feel when hearing words and phrases such as “disasters” “the End Times” and “the second coming”? Would you take a closer look into this? Or simply ignore it? Hi everyone, my name is ###. If you have never thought of the questions above, or you have a certain feeling about the End Times, why not join me and seek further now to understand more truths concerning this seemingly “fearsome” subject? Probably this talk will renew your perspective. Alright, without further ado, let’s get into this.
As now we are living in this modern world, our material life is sufficient, we enjoy many blessings from the Lord and people seem to have taken it for granted that this is what our belief in God is all about. Most people don’t want to even mention the topic regarding the last days or the great disasters that are taking place one after another. They think it’s too dark, heavy, and negative to talk about “the last days,” it’s better for us to focus on the positivity, enjoying the love and grace of God. There’s no need to worry about what is currently happening to this world.
However, is it rational to think of it this way? Is it a proper attitude to look away from what is happening before our eyes?
Well, it’s understandable that we hesitate to bring up heavy topics, but a story in the bible just pops up in my mind that might be helpful for us to find out how to take this properly.
I believe we all remember the story recorded in the Old Testament, which is about the city of Nineveh.This city was full of evil and sin to the extent that God could no longer bear to see it. Not long after, God’s wrath came upon it and He decided to destroy the city of Nineveh. Before He did it, he sent a prophet named Jonah to give people there the final warning.
And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4)
How did these words sound? Didn't these words sound way harsher, darker and more negative? But it’s exactly these words that saved them! Because it was the last chance for those people to be spared from destruction if they took these words to heart and practiced repentance. However, had people in Nineveh ignored these words just because it sounded too dark, would they have been saved?
Absolutely not! A series of actions they took to have true repentance immediately after hearing Jonah’s words touched God’s heart and He changed His mind afterwards and had mercy on them. Their attitude towards the word of warning is precious! Sadly it’s rare to see another city today like Nineveh that could take the word of warning as seriously. On the contrary, a lot of us turn a deaf ear to the hard truth and choose to believe in what we prefer believing in while neglecting seeking God’s will attentively to try not missing out any crucial message from Him.
Today, there are obviously different attitudes towards the topic regarding the End Times and the second coming. Some feel content with where they are and reject listening to the truth regarding the second coming. There’s no trace of seeking the truth in their belief in God.
Others are different though. They choose to consider the will of God, seek the truth concerning the Lord’s second coming. They believe that those prophecies of the Lord’s return are fulfilled one after another as they notice frequent disasters striking many places around the world, and they eagerly want to know more about it so that they can be fully prepared to welcome the Lord.
What for? Because the second coming is not only to bring the end. It will bring us a new beginning simultaneously. God will restore the peace, happiness and bliss on earth, leading the chosen into a new era where there’s no more corruption and affliction.
As it says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’” (Revelation 21:1-6).
What do we learn here? What attitude are we supposed to have? This is a question that’s worth lots of consideration.
Some words might sound dark and heavy, but they might provide a chance of gaining salvation! The bitter the medicine, the better the cure. Many people don’t want to bring up the End Times and Lord’s second coming, but even if we ignore it, won’t it still come? Is ignoring it going to help us make it through? Is escaping it going to help us survive and enter the new heaven and new earth? Instead of dealing with the situation, we bury our heads in the sand, like ostriches. Wouldn’t it cause a huge delay in seeking the truth to find the solution? God’s work never changes according to man’s will. Wouldn't it be a shame if we resigned ourselves to waiting till we lost the chance to gain the final salvation?
Some people might think the End Times is far from us, perhaps when that comes, we will have already passed away. So what is the point of fussing about it now? Well, is that true? Let’s check on some verses to see whether we are far from the last days.
“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given to him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given to him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and see a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the middle of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see you hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:1–8).
All those who are familiar with the Bible may know that this is a prophecy of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As it is prophesied, the four horsemen appear when the first four of the seven seals are opened. With the appearance of the four horsemen, pestilence, war, famine and death would come, killing a quarter of the people on the earth.
Has this prophecy been fulfilled? Let us look at the disasters that have occurred in the past few years: From the end of 2019 to the present, in just over 2 years, COVID-19 has been raging throughout the world with more than 500 million people infected and a shocking death toll! Wars have been constant in recent years, such as the wars in Myanmar and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Besides, the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022 that has attracted the world’s attention has caused a great impact on the whole world! Many scholars of the Bible think that the two horsemen that represent pestilence and war most likely have come. What’s even more frightening, the pandemic and wars are ongoing, so famine is inevitable, and the future is unimaginable. So are the two horsemen presenting famine and death really on the way? No matter what the answer is, according to biblical prophecies, greater disasters will come one after another. This proves that we are already in the End Times, the last days have already come!
Just as it says here, “Although now is already the time of the last days, know that the “last days” is but a name for an age; just like the Age of Law and the Age of Grace, it refers to an age, and it indicates an entire age, rather than the final few years or months.”
“The last days have arrived and countries across the world are in turmoil. There is political disarray, there are famines, pestilences, floods, and droughts appearing everywhere. There is catastrophe in the world of man; Heaven has also sent down disaster. These are signs of the last days.”
From this passage we can see, in speaking of the last days, this refers to a separate age, one in which Jesus said you will surely encounter disaster, and encounter earthquakes, famines, and plagues, which will show that this is the last days and it’s a new age. The “last days” is not a single day or few months as we imagined, but refers to a period of time. Just like the time of Noah, before God sent the flood to destroy them, there was a period of time for Noah to build the Ark, this time period is the chance for people to receive the message and gain salvation. Also when Jonah cried out the message in the city of Nineveh, a 40-days time limit was set for people to hear the message and have repentance. Similarly, in the last days, it also takes a period of time for all of these prophecies to be fulfilled, this period of time provides us some chances for us to seek salvation!
It says in the Bible, “A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Psalm 91:7). Reading this scripture, many people have more faith and think that disasters shall not come near them. But is that true? Now the whole world is experiencing frequent disasters and the pandemic, earthquakes, floods, famines, and wars are growing. More and more people have died in disasters and even some priests, pastors and believers who appeared to be pious also passed away. We are unavoidably worried for the sake of the safety of ourselves and our family. At the same time, we feel confused: What kind of people can receive protection during disasters just as the scripture says “it shall not come near you”? In fact, we will know what kind of people can gain God’s protection during disasters only if we make the effort to seek more truths.
Facing the disasters at the end of the world, where is the way out for us humans? Two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus said, “I come quickly” (Revelation 22:7). Now as many prophecies of the Lord's return are fulfilled, is it indicating that the Lord is coming soon? How can we meet the returned Jesus and gain His protection in disasters? How can we enter the new heaven and new earth and receive His blessings? Feel free to click the link in this post to know more in details. We do look to have you join our online fellowship! See you very soon!
