The Beginning of Sorrows

It would be impossible for anyone to have not noticed the devastating amount of tragedy that the world at large is currently experiencing.  There is huge amounts of unrest in the Middle East, there have been shattering earthquakes, landslides, flooding, tsunami's, and cyclones in many various parts of the world.  Some people are claiming this to be the result of the Greenhouse effect, others are claiming cyclical weather patterns but true Christians should know better.  I had not intended to begin discussing the various prophecies so early in this blog, however, current world events have forced me to advance my time-table slightly and I feel it would be foolish not to address our current situation.

In Matthew 24 Jesus' disciples asked Him privately when would be the coming of the end of the age and He gave them the signs to look out for, the clues pointing to His ultimate return as King of this world once and for all.  Most of you will no doubt be intimately familiar with the passage, particularly where Christ says "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places"  Matt 24:7.  It is hard not to see the fulfilment of that prophecy in our nightly news broadcasts.  Yet we must not forget that Jesus also said "All these things are the beginnings of birth pains." Matt 24:8

Like a woman giving birth there will be a period of time between the beginning of the end and the ultimate end itself.  God, in His infinite and incredible mercy allows these disasters, which will continue to build in strength, severity and frequency, to give mankind time to turn to Him.  Time to recognize the sinfulness of our lives and ask for His forgiveness and intervention.  Yet, as He is all knowing and all seeing, He already knows that the majority of the world will not do so; these events will be played out until their final end.  The Bible also tells us that 'the generation that sees the beginning shall also see the end'.  A sobering thought for those of us who can recognize the 'signs of the times'.   

It is vitally important for all followers of Christ to watch world events.  Of equal importance, we must read the Scriptures, and, with God's help, try to understand the prophecies of both the Old and the New Testament.  In the Book of Daniel God outlines the final days of war on the earth in the prophecy of the King of the North and the King of the South.  Remembering that geographical references are made from the point of view of a centralized Jerusalem this means that the King of the North will almost certainly be a United Europe - the risen Roman Empire [a topic I shall expound upon at greater length in my next post].  The King of the South therefore must refer to a United Middle East.

Given the current spate of revolution and cries for reform that is sweeping across the Muslim states of the Middle East, [south of Jerusalem], it seems likely if not probable that these states will unite to form another great Muslim Empire.  Also as we already have the European Union in place it is a very short step from where we stand today to the conditions described in Daniel 11.

Furthermore it is not difficult to imagine a united religion, the woman riding the beast in the Book of Revelation.  The Freemasons, for example, are already a fraternity which accepts all religious creeds behind one standard of belief; the Great Architect of the Universe.  If the Freemasons are capable of religious unity then it is not a huge step to seeing that kind of religious unity mirrored in the greater Christian community.  

Yet this greater Christian community, as we already know from past posts, represents the White Horse of Revelation who sets forth 'conquering and to conquer'.  It is now, and will be as it becomes more united, Satan's counterfeit religion.  The devil's religion was designed from the Garden of Eden to confuse and draw people away from the true Way of God.

Yes it is true that history is cyclical and civilizations have always risen and fallen; yet never before have so many of the Biblical conditions set out for the end times been met so completely.  Knowledge is expanding exponentially, we have weapons of mass destruction and an enormous gap between those countries of enormous wealth and privilege and those countries of extreme poverty.  All of which are conditions spoken of in God's Word; the Black horse of greed, inflation, poverty and extreme luxury for the few.  No man knows the day or the hour, Jesus made that plain, yet we are to watch world events, watch for the signs so that, like the ten virgins, we will be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom. 

Until then, peace be in your hearts and listen for God's still, quiet voice.   

Tracey