JESUS SAID: "...if I go . . . I will come again." (See John 14:3)
THE ANGEL SAID: "... why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." (See Acts 1:10, 11)
PAUL SAID: "... the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangeI, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them. . . to meet the Lord in the-air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (See I Thess. 4:16, 17)
PAUL ALSO SAID: "Our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." (See Phil. 3:20)
JESUS SAID: "... Surely I come quickly. . ." and John said: "even so, come, Lord Jesus." (See Rev. 22:20) These Scriptures definitely teach that Jesus is coming, but the question is: "How soon?" The closer one gets to a city, the more signs appear.
THE LORD ALWAYS GIVES HIS PEOPLE A SIGN BEFORE HE DOES SOMETHING OUT¬STANDING. He gave the early Christians a sign before the destruction of Jerusalem. (See Luke 21:20-24) He has left Israel a sign as to when the tribulation will start. (See Matt. 24:15-22) He has also left the church some signs of His return. (See Luke 21:25-28)
1. SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS. That means the powers that control the heavens will be out of order and disturbed, sun spots, etc.
2. DISTRESS UPON EARTH THAT PERPLEXES THE LEADERS OF GOVERNMENTS. In other words, they do not know how to handle situations that are happening in these days. Let me mention just a few of the distressing problems:
(a) POLLUTION OF AIR, WATER, AND LAND. If something is not done, the human race will die of poisoning from millions of cars, in¬dustrial smoke stacks, atomic reactors, etc.
(b)POPULATION EXPLOSION. If something is not done, people will starve to death and space on earth will run out. This certainly has the leaders of the world perplexed.
(c) THE BREAK DOWN OF CIVILIZATION. Up¬risings are in every country in the world. It seems people are dissatisfied with everything. What can leaders do? There are not enough jails to hold all of the dissenters, and they could not run the Country if it were turned over to them. The "sea and the waves are roaring!" No wonder the leaders are perplexed!
(d) IT SEEMS THE COUNTRY IS SUDDENLY FULL OF HIPPIES AND YIPPIES! They do not want to work. Some live almost like animals. Leaders are perplexed about where they all come from and even more, what to do with them!
(e) THE COMMUNISTS ARE STARTING MORE WARS THAN THE FREE WORLD CAN HAN¬DLE. The perplexing question is: "How are we going to keep Communism from taking the world?"
(f) OUTLAWS ARE SO NUMEROUS IT IS DAN¬GEROUS to be either in or out. Robbery, rape, and murder are the order of the day. No matter how many laws are passed, outlaws increase all the time. The perplexing question is how to handle them.
(g) USE OF DOPE, LIQUOR, AND CIGARETTES is increasing all the time. It looks as though people are determined to wreck their lives regardless of what is done. Venereal disease is also on the increase. People live in fear. This in turn, increases tension and trouble in the home, which results in divorce, nervous breakdowns, insanity, etc. All of these things perplex the leaders.
3. DANGEROUS TIMES. Paul said in the last days, perilous times shall come. (See II Tim. 3:1-5) It is dangerous today to drive a car because of drunks and dope fiends. It is dangerous to walk your neighborhood sidewalks. It is even dangerous to stay in your own home, for you may be robbed or raped. It happens all the time. It is obviously dangerous to hold any public office, considering how citizens turn upon their leaders, resorting to violence, even assassination.
4. LOVERS OF MONEY. Paul also said in the last days men would be "lovers of their own selves, covetous," which means, lovers of money. Some men love money more than they love what money will buy. The Bible says: "... the love of money is the root of all evil..." (See I Tim. 6:10) Money lovers will do anything to get money. They will cheat, rob, steal, or kill. That means times are more dangerous because of these money lovers.
5. PAUL SAYS IN THE LAST DAYS PEOPLE WILL BE "TRAITORS, HEADY, HIGH-MINDED." (See II Tim. 3:4) Peter says: "But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of un¬cleanness, and despise government: presumptuous are they, self-willed: they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities." (See II Pet. 2:10)
These Scriptures describe the condition that exists in our colleges and universities today. It is even dangerous to go to school!
6. JESUS SAID THE LAST DAYS WOULD BE LIKE THE DAYS OF NOAH. (See Matt. 24:37) Before the flood, men thought only of evil things -their mind was on everything but God. (See Gen. 6:5) Today, one tries to witness to the truths of the Bible, only to discover very few who are even mildly interested. The world is so deceived, that the truth sounds like a delusion.
WE MAY BE WITHIN 27 YEARS (FROM 1969) OF THE COMING OF THE LORD TO SET UP HIS KINGDOM! If it was 2000 years from Adam to Moses; another 2000 years from Moses to Christ; and 2000 years from Christ to the setting up of the Kingdom; the time will be up in 1997. Young says in his Analytical Concordance that Jesus was born on Friday, April 5th, B.C. 4. (See page 544, under the word: "Jew") There¬fore, we would have to add three years and eight months to our present date. If these figures are right, the Church will be raptured sometime between now and 1990. There are seven years of the Jewish dispensation to be made up after the Church is raptured. (See Daniel's 70th week, Dan. 9:24-27)
THE LORD RECKONS TIME BY A THOUSAND YEAR DAY. (See II Pet. 3:8) Therefore, the sixth day of His week will be up in 1997. The Lord's thousand year reign on earth will complete the week. (See Rev. 20:1-6)
THINGS WILL GET WORSE. Paul says, "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." (See II Tim. 3:13) Rev. 12:9 says the Devil will deceive the whole world, and those who are deceived, will deceive others.
7. WISE FOOLS. Paul describes many of the educators of our day in Rom. 1:21, 22: "Pro¬fessing themselves to be wise, they became fools." When education goes beyond the limits of common sense, educators make fools of themselves. Com¬mon sense is given for a stabilizer both in secular education and also in interpreting the Bible. If one denies a first cause, they have effect without a cause; they have design without a designer, and creation without a creator. Men are ever learning but they never come to the knowledge of the truth, which is based on common sense. (See II Tim. 3:7)
8. A FORM OF GODLINESS THAT DENIES THE POWER OF GOD is another sign this age is ending. (See II Tim. 3:5) Modernism denies the supernatural. They do not believe Jesus was the God-Man. They deny- the Virgin Birth of Jesus, nor do they believe in His bodily resurrection. They also skip the New Birth. Much modern religion recognized only natural laws. The Bible teaches the supernatural.
THE COMING OF JESUS IS THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH. Paul says we are "looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." (See Tit. 2:13) The Church is a speckled bird in this world. It stands right in the way of the Devil's man (Anti-Christ) being revealed. It is not easy to be a Christian in these days, but it is rewarding. The rapture of the Church is the next thing on God's program. DON'T MISS IT!
9. HIGHLY EDUCATED GOD-HATERS IS THE ORDER OF THE DAY. Scientists can believe in a hundred, thousand, million, billion planets that hang in space. They also believe in invisible gravity that holds them in space, but very few believe in the invisible Spirit "God," that created them. Planets are not a cause, they are an effect of a cause. Many so-called authorities say the planets are accidents. If that is true, there are a hundred, thousand, million, billion accidents hang¬ing perfectly in space!
HIGHLY EDUCATED GOD-HATERS WILL IN¬CREASE AS THE DAYS GO BY. Education is a “must” in these, days, but our system of ed¬ucation does not lead to God as the first cause. It teaches evolution instead. Atheists say they do not believe there is a God, yet they seem to hate God with a vengeance. Here is one of their songs which shows their hatred for, God:
“It was on a Friday morning that they took me from the cell;
And I saw they had a carpenter to crucify, as well.
You can blame, it on to Pilate, you can blame it on the Jews,
You can blame it on the Devil - It's God I accuse.
You can blame it on to Adam, you can blame it on to Eve,
You can blame it on the apple, but that I can't believe.
It was God that made the Devil, and the woman and the man.
And there wouldn't be an apple if it wasn't in the plan.
Barabbas was a killer, and they let Barabbas go,
But you are being crucified for nothing here below.
But God is up in heaven and he doesn't do a thing,
With a million angels watching, and they never move a wing.
To hell with Jehovah, to the carpenter I said:
I wish that a carpenter had made this world instead.
Goodbye and good luck to you, our way will soon divide.
Remember me in heaven, the man you hung beside.
CHORUS: ¬
It's God they ought to crucify, instead of you. and me,
I said to the carpenter a-hanging on the tree."
HATING GOD CAUSES GOD-HATERS TO HATE ALL OF GOD'S PEOPLE. We are headed for some real persecution if Jesus tarries much longer. What God doesn't deliver us out of, He will give us power to go through.
THESE ARE ALL SIGNS OF THE TIMES. The world is being made ready for the Devil's man, THE ANTI-CHRIST. God's people are making themselves ready for the GOD-MAN, the Lord Jesus Christ. THE FIGHT IS ON.
THIS AGE WILL END IN CATASTROPHE with nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, with famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in different places. (See Matt. 24:1.22)
WHEN JESUS COMES AT THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON, He will take the Kingdom from the Devil's man (The Anti-Christ) by force. (See Rev. 19:11-21) Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. (See Rev. 11:15)
A FINAL WORD OF WARNING! Don't play the fool by gambling with your soul. Don't depend on religion to save you. Believe on Jesus to the extent you will genuinely "repent, and be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (See Acts 2:37-38) According to the Bible, obeying the gospel is a must. (See I Peter 4:17 with II Thess. 1:7-9)
MAY GOD'S BEST BE YOURS...
A. F. VARNELL
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