What a mess! I never thought I would see the United States being destroyed and the people of America allowing it to happen. The destruction isn’t just in the United States, but the entire world is engulfed in demonic hatred. I shouldn’t be surprised. No Christian should be surprised. Prophecy is on fast-forward. Anyone who studies prophecy can easily see what’s happening.
Unfortunately, too many Christians don’t take time to read Scripture, let alone study it. I have actually had Christians tell me that there are parts of Scripture that God doesn’t want us to understand. Oh my! Why would God inspire men to write words that aren’t to be understood?
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Those words where inspired by the Holy Spirit and penned by Paul. So, think about it for a minute. That verse says “all” (Greek word “pas” meaning each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything), so shouldn’t we study all of Scripture? That’s a no-brainer. Yes, we need to study every word of Scripture. That means the easy parts as well as the parts that take a bit of study. In order to grow in our walk with the Lord, we need to change our way of thinking and living to match God’s expectations. One of those parts of Scripture that takes a bit of study is prophecy. God put prophecy into Scripture in order to let us know where we are in history. It’s up to us to study the signs.
Another statement I’ve heard from Christians is “Every generation has believed they were the last.” That’s true. Actually, Paul’s writings seem to indicate he felt the Rapture would happen during his lifetime. Since he was inspired by the Holy Spirit in what he wrote, shouldn’t the Spirit have told him that the Rapture and the end days would happen many centuries after his lifetime? Ask yourself this question. If you knew the exact day of the Rapture, or even the exact day of your own death, would you live a wild and crazy life right up until the final hour? Then just before the end, would you repent and get right with God? We need to repent now and live for Him because, at any moment, we may find we’ve run out of time.
Although we cannot know the exact day, we can see the signs. That is, we can see the signs if we study all of Scripture, including prophecy. Jesus seems to think it’s important to understand the times in which we live. He rebuked the Pharisees for not discerning the times in which they lived.
“He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:2-3).
The Pharisees had just asked Him for a sign that He was the Messiah. Jesus had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies which gave signs of the Messiah, but the Pharisees chose to continue in their stubborn blindness and ignorance. Christians today also choose blindness and ignorance of the signs of the end times which are happening so quickly.
The Old Testament includes many prophecies concerning the end of days, including ones by Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and others. The New Testament also contains end-times prophecy, including Jesus’ answer to His disciples when asked about the end of the age. He told of false prophets, wars, famine, pestilence, and earthquakes. Have you noticed any of these signs today? Actually, these are reasons why every generation thought theirs was the last. These signs have always happened.
Jesus said “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:7). These events would happen throughout time, but grow stronger towards the end…like birth pains. He also talked of love waxing cold. “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12).
The word for “iniquity” is “anomia” and means “a condition without law; contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness.” I see a lot of that on the news lately, and it’s getting worse. The word for “love” is agape, and the word translated “wax cold” is “psycho.” When there’s contempt for law, and people no longer have a Godly type of love, then they will sink to the lowest levels of wickedness. The coldness can be seen in every generation, but the coldness of today is astounding.
The Caesars of Rome were coldhearted and immoral, and they had little love for Christians. Hitler was coldhearted, and the murders he sanctioned were absolutely evil. Today we see riots in the streets fueled by demonic hatred, and the murder of babies is sanctioned by government law. Yes, things are getting worse and iniquity is abounding. Can any good come from such evil? After Hitler’s fury, the nation of Israel was re-established, which is an amazing fulfillment of prophecy (Isaiah 11:11 and Amos 9:14-15). If you’ve studied prophecy, you know that God said the nation of Israel will never be uprooted again.
Let’s get back to love waxing cold. When I was a teenager growing up in the 1960’s, I was very afraid. Drug abuse was rampant, riots were violent, and student protests at colleges kept me from going to college because of fear. Those things all seem mild by today’s standards. The riots of today are for the sole purpose of destroying America.
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places” (Matthew 24:6-7).
These “wars and rumours of wars” have always happened, but are growing in numbers. Civil strife within a nation and war between nations are happening worldwide. I can tell you that I have very little sympathy and no respect for a high-paid movie star or sports figure talking about how unfair their life is because of their skin color. I have no sympathy for hoodlums destroying businesses that hard-working people have built, and then crying police brutality when they are treated like the criminals they are. Verily, verily love is waxing cold, and satanic forces are driving the unreasonable hatred seen today. This strife is all leading up to a world leader who will turn out to be pure evil. That’s in prophecy.
Can we talk about pestilence? There’s a virus today that has shut down the world. Is it a fake crisis or is it real? No matter what you believe on that point, the stage is being set for complete control of people. It also shows just how cold people are becoming. When this craziness began, a movie star and his wife came down with the virus. Headlines were filled with concern, and when they survived, it brought hope that others could survive. Recently, President Trump and his wife have come down with this virus. The same liberal voices who were so concerned about the movie star are spewing hatred and venom towards President and Mrs. Trump.
One liberal big mouth said he was praying for the virus and that it kills the president. What’s wrong with people? Oh, I remember. Scripture says that love would wax cold as the end of days approaches. Because of this virus, many are forbidden to gather together to worship God, but angry, lawless people are allowed to destroy cities and businesses. Schools have been closed, masks are required, and the governments of the world are successfully isolating people from each other. Not to worry. There’s a miracle vaccine that’s about to make everything OK. Actually, it’s about to set the stage for the Anti-Christ to force the mark of the beast upon all people, as prophesied in Revelation.
“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16-17).
Is that shot the actual mark of the beast? No, but it’s laying the groundwork for it. If you refuse to be injected with this shot, will you be able to work or go to a grocery store? What will be the proof that you’ve had the shot? Let’s just see what the next few months bring. By the way, the mark described in Revelation 13 comes at least 3 ½ years after the Rapture. Do you think signs of the times show the Rapture will happen soon? I do. Maybe you should think about things you need to change in your life in order to honor God. Tomorrow may be too late.
Many, many prophecies have been fulfilled since Israel has been reestablished as a nation, and many are being fulfilled right now. What does that mean to you? If you knew the Rapture would happen tomorrow, what would you change today? Would you continue to condone sin and embrace it in your own life, or would you repent, ask Jesus to forgive you, and live your final hours sharing the Gospel? The reality is, the Rapture could easily happen tomorrow, or it could even happen before you finish reading this commentary. Yes, my friends, we are that close. When it happens, it will be quick. You won’t have time to repent and get right with God.
“Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
What if you don’t live to be taken in the Rapture? What if you die of a heart attack or car accident tomorrow? None of us know when we will find ourselves standing in the presence of Jesus. Now is the time to start living for Him. If you don’t think there’s sin in your life, then you need to start studying Scripture. Remember, it’s God’s opinion that matters, and He never changes. If you think people have changed and Scripture needs to be updated to accommodate the modern ideas of man, then think again. Pride, lust, anger, etc., were sins when Scripture was written and are still sins today. Scripture says that Christians are to be a living sacrifice.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). That means to put aside our fleshly desires and attitudes in order to serve Jesus. Serve Him on His terms, not human terms.
I will ask again. If you knew that tomorrow would be your last day on earth, what would you change? My heartfelt suggestion is that you would live for Christ and that you make those changes now.
God bless you all,
Nathele Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
www.straitandnarrowministry.com
ron@straitandnarrowministry.com
Ron and Nathele Graham’s previous commentaries archived at https://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/graham.html
All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.
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