Today and Forward─Or Has It Begun? :: by Don Twobears

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

2 Timothy 3:1-7: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

2 Timothy 4:1-4: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

2 Corinthians 11:13-14: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”

Revelation 6:1-8: “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 unto 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 unto 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 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.

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 unto 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.”

Lately, I have been paying more and more attention to all the things taking place around this world. Most of what I have seen has been here in the U.S.A., but then again, this is where I live and would feel the impact greater with those situations closest to me. All the shootings and murders, the obvious thefts by ordinary citizens everyday things that 50 years ago would have never taken place─except by someone with an obvious mental handicap. We watch as the leaders of our own country squander the wealth of the nations citizens bringing us to the brink of financial and economic collapse. Rather than working to create jobs here for the welfare of our own citizens, these same individuals work to out-source these jobs, to the point of economic collapse and eventual ruin for families.

We watch as our president bows (literally) to the people that are killing our sons and daughters in the Armed Forces that are stationed all across the globe. We ideally standby as this same president and members of Congress take possession of the funds that every American has set aside for old age and retirement. These “leaders” place the proceeds into their own pockets. We like to call all these individuals the “one per-centers.” We fall all over ourselves with actors and the like to the tune of millions and millions of dollars, yet, are they worth of that much? The vast majority of people are not willing to honestly assess themselves and take responsibility for their own actions─they prefer to blame others. They are on welfare because they don’t want to work and they fain disability to facilitate their lazy lifestyles─regardless of the effect on the economy. And then those same folks expect everyone to see them as “true stand-up sort of guys!” What’s worse, they lie to themselves to the point that they actually believe their own lies!

Last days? Perilous times? Do you think we are there yet? Where does this period of time begin and then where does it end? Do you believe it could be taking place as we speak? Consider the drought and the subsequent increase in the cost of food. Are we beginning to see the effects of the “four horsemen of the Apocalypse,” as in the third horseman? And what about all the diseases that are increasing in magnitude? We have a sexually transmitted disease known as gonorrhea (quite common even back into the Vietnam era). It has mutated to the point where we may not have an antibiotic to cure it! That brings to mind (MRSA) or Methicillan Resistant Staphylo-coccus Aureious with few antibiotics left that will treat it successfully. It also brings to mind the days of the AIDS Epidemic in gay men but now we MUST be willing and accepting of the “Gay Lifestyle?” And these are but a few examples of our current situations!There are many, many others! The question is this: What are we doing about them?

How about the current apostasy in the churches? Where are the preachers of “that old time religion?” Evidently, money is more favorable than finding peace and contentment in our lives or preparing for our eternal lives, after this life! No one wants to hear about Jesus Christ anymore. He is passé now─old-fashioned─as is His holy Word─the Bible. We want our treasures now, this very instant! We don’t want to wait or prepare, we don’t want to save, we want to spend. Even when we have nothing to spend, we have “plastic!”

We see the children we have conceived, grow-up to be warmongers filled with hate, suffering from deep depression, addicted to drugs. They are alcoholics, blasphemers, wild, “lovers of their own selves,” covetous, boasters, proud, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God!OOPS!! I am so sorry! I may have stepped on a few toes there! It is more important that we exude political correctness, than the truth. We must not say anything that could be “bashing” anyone or someone’s lifestyle! We must “evolve” and become more “tolerant” of whatever someone else thinks is so important, regardless of the “end-effect.” We should never evoke the God of Creation, because He is so…” (Whatever you wish to fill in there.)

The preachers are telling us that: “All of us will EVENTUALLY make it to heaven, because we all worship the same God!” YEAH! RIGHT! Lets check that in 100 years, okay? Oh darn, there I go stepping on a few more toes! Oh no… they’re going to get all upset with me!! We need to go back and RE-READ the first 5 Scripture verses at the beginning of this article. Okay─that my friends is indeed─the Word of God talking to us, telling us how things are going to be! Not, how we would LIKE them to be!       “Perilous times in the end of days.” Do you think that means even the “born again” believers will suffer? Absolutely! The difference is that we have the Lord to go to and ask for help, for assistance and also wisdom and discernment from HIS Word─to help us through it.  We are PROMISED that HE, Jesus Christ─God, the eternal Creator of all, will NEVER leave us or desert us! Those that are not saved through Jesus Christ do not have that blessed hope. For the unsaved, they have just so many days right now where they still will experience HOPE. Hope that they will endure another day, another bad experience or another “failure.” The problem is, they better enjoy the HOPE that they are experiencing right now! In HELL there will not be any HOPE of any kind; it will not exist. Minute after minute, hour after hour, eon of time after eon of time, there will be NO end to the torment and suffering─the likes of which we have no imagination to conceive!

God created everything for us to enjoy, that we would HIS people and HE would be our God! So on that note let me say this: THAT is the reason for our being here! A big black line exists, with Jesus Christ on one side and Satan─the devil on the other and our only decision is to decide which side you want to be on. THAT IS THE REASON FOR THIS LIFE OF OURS! That one single-decision will dictate where we spend the rest of eternity─forever.

Go ahead call it that “old time religion” or even “the straight and narrow way of life!” Call me a “Bible Thumper” or a “Jesus Freak,” that’s okay with me! I am both those things and happy as a lark to  “When my life ends or when the Rapture of the church of Jesus Christ takes place, I KNOW where I will be─with my Lord and Savior!

Jesus Christ has written the Words HE has chosen for me in my heart and there they will forever remain. I am branded, I am humbled, I am forgiven, I am washed clean and I am able to come before my Father in heaven and rest in His hands. I am not afraid to die and actually speaking, I can’t wait for HIM to come for me! Fear? What’s that? I no longer have to deal with that or worry about it. It does not exist in my life because Jesus Christ─my God─my Lord and Savior, holds me and I sleep like a baby.

The real question is this: Where do you rest? Where are you going to spend eternity? Where are you going to be after the Rapture and where will you be when the Tribulation takes place? You see, I have this affliction: I hate pain! Therefore, I would hate to wake-up one day in hell. I really don’t care whether you follow Jesus Christ because you understand HIS Love for you, or whether you’re scared into the arms of our Lord. You must understand that you will at least be in HIS arms and not the arms of Satan if you choose Him. You will be in heaven with peace and harmony─for all eternity. Now…the decision is up to you. Where do you want to go?

Praise my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!