The earthquake research center has recorded five major earthquakes that happened in one day. This is now not unusual. To the believer it strikes the cord of Matthew 24: 7 where Jesus said "for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places."
Weighty comments could be made regarding economic, political, moral and ideological climates of the world.
A few minutes ago, we were evangelizing on a Baltimore street with our Christian school students. One lady we talked with said, "The world is a troubled place, now - it seems to me, more than ever."
"I don't trust it," I answered.
What is happening?
The world is moving in a definite direction. We can see it. It isn't that it hasn't been this way before, but we are more globally conscious of its direction. We can imagine it one day running headlong into errors. The errors of the past were regional, balanced by God's light from other places. The Soviet and Chinese ideologies were balanced by the West. Nazism was challenged by the Free World. The Free World has plenty of its decadence and errors on all levels. What will happen when the whole world is on the same page in error?
Here are a few things to look for:
ANTI-SEMITISM -- If we have seen anti-Semitism in the past as a pattern of evil thought, then we can anticipate its continuation and increase. The Bible reveals the conflict between EVIL and God are manifest in the world's attack on Jews and Christians. If Christians will be "snatched" (raptured - I Thessalonians 4:16) from the world in a miraculous deliverance and the world is left to move in its own direction, we can be sure that Satan, with his increased powers and his "short time," will pick up his attack on the Jews and Israel.
ANTI-CHRISTIAN -- People with biblical perspectives will continue to evangelize and plant churches as Christ commissioned. As God gives grace for this incredible work to move forward, the "world" - human ideologies and human governments - moves forward in its agenda to see a one world global mentality of relativism and pluralism. People, groups, churches who will be targeted as retardants of the global agenda will be marginalized. And later, after the Rapture, those against this agenda will be targeted and exterminated.
In short, the regional evil that we see in history will become global evil. Easily that which is essentially good will be determined collectively, by the world community, as bad; thus fulfilling Isaiah's poignant words, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20).
"Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, 'peace and safety!' then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should over take you like a thief: for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 NAS).
Our international convention in Baltimore is titled Numbering Our Days. We will pay attention to the hour that we are living in and what the New Testament instructs us to embrace in this hour. People from many parts of the world will be visiting us during this time. God will instruct us, encourage us and lead us into this next year with a much needed sense of urgency and Holy Spirit fervency. We all need it.
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