What do I need
to know in order to survive the end times?
puricarefiles
remember
the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it. Isaiah 46:9
English Standard Version (ESV)
Most
people would display fear and anxiety when asked about the future. But for
those who know God and His Word, the Bible, thoughts of the future bring
eagerness, confidence and comfort.
God
is sovereign and in control of everything. He knows the future and has plans
for everything that He allows to happen.
In the Bible, God
has already revealed to humankind what will occur in the “latter days” or “the
end times.” The Bible is God’s revelation to man.
Thus, we can believe what God has declared to come to pass:
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’… I have spoken, and I will bring
it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
Concerning
the future, the Bible says, “No prophecy
was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2 Peter
1:21) (ESV)
The Bible has never once been wrong. Every time the Bible has
predicted a future event, it happened exactly as Scriptures said it would.
Over 300 prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ were
literally fulfilled. The predictions surrounding the Messiah’s birth, life,
betrayal, death and resurrection were not fulfilled allegorically but literally.
Jesus was literally born in Bethlehem, performed miracles,
was betrayed by a Judas for 30 pieces of silver, was pierced in His hands and
feet, died with thieves, was buried in a rich man’s tomb, and was resurrected
three days after His death. All these details were prophesied hundreds of years
before Jesus was born and were fulfilled literally.
What
Will Happen in the End Times?
The Bible predicts a downward spiral of events - disasters,
human rebellion, and religious apostasies before the return of Christ.
Paul
writes, “But realize this, that in the
last days difficult times will come .... Evil men and impostors will proceed
from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy
3:1, 13). (ESV)
What does the Bible say will happen then?
The Church, the total body of believers, will be Raptured, or
snatched to heaven, together with the resurrected saints. God removes all
believers in Christ from the earth in preparation for His final judgments.
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (ESV)
Then the world will experience a seven-year Tribulation
period, After which, Jesus Christ will return to reign over the earth for 1,000
literal years (Revelation 20).
About the Rapture, Paul says:
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus,
God will bring with him those who
have fallen asleep.15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry
of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we
who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore
encourage one another with these words. 1
Thessalonians 4:14 (ESV)
The increase of turmoil that precedes the Rapture will reach uncontrollable
proportions when untold numbers of people will disappear from the earth. Such
an event will cause panic and create an opportunity for a strong leader who
will have answers to all the world’s problems. Speculations about the identity
of this leader have been circulating for many years now.
For three and a half years, this Antichrist will reign over
the earth and promise peace. But this will be a false peace which will entrap
the people of the earth.
The
Bible says, “3 While people are saying, ‘There is peace
and security,’ then sudden
destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.” (1
Thessalonians 5:3) (ESV)
Wars, earthquakes and famines will escalate (Matthew
24).
The Antichrist will enter a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem,
restore the animal sacrifices, proclaim himself to be God and demand worship (2
Thessalonians 2:4 Matthew 24:15, Matthew
24:15). (ESV)
It is at this point that the true and living God responds. For
another three and a half years, the Great Tribulation will occur, such as has
never before been seen. Jesus predicted:
“21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and
never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved.
But for the sake of the elect
those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:21-22) (ESV)
Untold loss of lives and devastations of the earth will occur
during the Great Tribulation. Large numbers will come to faith in Christ, yet
will do so at the cost of their lives.
God will exercise his sovereignty as He gathers the
unbelieving armies of the world in order judge them. Of this event, the prophet
Joel wrote, “I will gather all the nations
And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into
judgment with them there on behalf of My people” (Joel 3:2).
(ESV)
John records the battle this way: 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Revelation 16:13-16) (ESV)
At
this point, the Jesus will return, destroy His enemies, and claim the world,
which is rightfully His.
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head
are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which
he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white
and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of
the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called
to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come,
gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the
flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of
horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small
and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered
to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the
beast was captured, and with it the false
prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he
deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two
were thrown
alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came
from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the
birds were gorged with their flesh. Revelation
19:11-21 (ESV)
After
Jesus has defeated all the armies gathered in the valley of Armageddon, He will
reign with His saints for one thousand years and fully restore Israel to her
land. After the thousand years, a final judgment of the nations and the
remaining mankind will occur, which is then followed by eternity -either with
God or separated from Him in hell (Revelation 20-21).
In
the light of these prophecies, what would our reactions be?
“11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which
the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” (2 Peter 3:11-12) (ESV)
God is sovereign over all events that He allows in the world. He is firmly in control and will bring to completion everything He has started.
Hundreds of Old Testament prophecies have already been
fulfilled and it is reasonable to conclude that what the Bible says about the
end times will be fulfilled as well.
For those who know Jesus and have trusted Him as their Lord
and Savior, His coming will be their blessed hope (Titus
2:13).
But for the unbelieving and rejects Christ, He will be their Judge
and terror.
Are you struggling with a big decision or
wondering how your eternal future will play out?
Why not talk to the God of the universe and
let Him work in your behalf?
He says, “I
will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with
my eye upon you" (Psalm
32:8).
Ask God to show you what to do. Pray the
following prayer:
“Heavenly Father,
I admit that I am a sinner and my sins have
separated me from You. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and
begin a new life with You.
Please forgive me. I now receive your Son,
Jesus Christ as my Savior, my Master and my Lord. I believe and confess that
Jesus Christ died for my sins, was buried, and rose from the dead.
I want to receive all that Jesus Christ has
provided for me as my Savior. Your Word says, ‘Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13).
I believe and confess that Jesus Christ is
the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes unto the Father, but by Him.
Lord Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come into
my heart and be Lord of my life. I thank You that you have given me eternal
life, and according to Your Word, I am born again.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of
the Holy Spirit that is in me now. I surrender my life to You. . I promise to
study Your Word – the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus Name. Amen.”
Related
Posts:
How Should We
Prepare for the End-Time Drama?
What is the Rapture?
A Look at the Different Views 
Evangelical Beliefs
on Israel Match Prophetic Doomsday Scenarios
“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”
George Duffield
lyrics
1
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
ye soldiers of the cross!
Lift high his royal banner,
it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory
his army he shall lead,
till every foe is vanquished,
and Christ is Lord indeed.
2
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
the solemn watchword hear;
if while ye sleep he suffers,
away with shame and fear.
Where'er ye meet with evil,
within you or without,
charge for the God of battles,
and put the foe to rout.
3
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
stand in his strength alone;
the arm of flesh will fail you,
ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armour,
each piece put on with prayer;
when duty calls or danger
be never wanting there.
4
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
the strife will not be long;
this day the noise of battle,
the next the victor's song.
To him that overcometh
a crown of life shall be;
he with the King of glory
shall reign eternally.
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