The Last Days

Anita Clark

“AND THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE SAY, COME. AND LET HIM THAT HEARETH SAY, COME. AND WHOSOEVER WILL, LET HIM TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY. HE THAT TESTIFIETH THESE THINGS SAITH, SURELY I COME QUICKLY. AMEN. EVEN SO COME LORD JESUS.” Revelation 22:17.20.

We are looking for the Lord to come any time. It cannot be too soon for us. Everyday there are many signs that warn the world that soon time will be no more. The things mentioned in this article are but a few of the news items we see everyday.

A NEW ADDICTION - According to an article in Women’s Day Magazine, Loraine Stern M.D. reports that a new federal study shows that more than one million children in the USA are addicted to gambling. Is it any wonder, when so many of the adult population is addicted to gambling as well. Gambling is available in many forms including the lottery, sporting events and casinos. Even in the state of Kansas, the Native Americans have their gambling casinos. Thousands flock to these. Lottery tickets are sold by the millions. Many families are deprived of necessities because the money is spent in these foolish ways. Parent will be held accountable to God for the poor example they set before their children.

The internet presents one of the most popular forms of gambling, contributing to the addiction of children to this vice. It is not considered anymore to be an immoral thing.

Dr. Stern warns parents, “The signs of this addiction is not much different from those of drug abuse: stealing from family, withdrawal from usual activities, school truancy, and lying.” She recommends that the children be treated with counseling.

We as Christians need to stop and think about what kind of example we are setting for the younger ones. Are we worldly? Are we given over to the addictions of the world?

METORITES - IS THE EARTH IN DANGER? As the earth rotates around the sun it passes through meteors and comets which are also rotating around in orbits which intersect or collide with the earth’s orbit.

Scientists are increasingly worried about a meteor of great size hitting the earth again. There is evidence that smaller ones hit the earth all the time. Several larger ones have hit the earth in the past 100 years, some doing great damage. It is believed that one such meteor impacted earth causing the beginning of the ice age and destruction of the dinosaurs.

Man is making plans to use missiles or rockets to deliver explosives into space to blow up or blow off course any big ones that might be detected coming too close to earth. They believe that the explosive of choice is a nuclear bomb.

There has been so many articles in magazines lately, which if one was not a Christian, would bring fear and dread to the heart. It would make it seem that there is no hope. I cannot imagine what anyone would do without a relationship with Jesus and the peace that faith in Him brings.

The Word of God teaches us that fire will come down out of heaven some day soon, as God brings down His fierce wrath upon the Christ rejecting world. I’m so glad to have peace with God and the peace of God, and the God of peace with me.

CATHOLIC CHURCH WATERS DOWN THE FIRES OF HELL - U.S. News & World Report tells that the Catholic Church is teaching that Hell is not a place, but the “...state, a persons state of being in which a person suffers deprivation of God.” John Paul II says that the Bible just uses figurative language when it speaks of fiery torment to describe what a person feels when he is far away from God.

In spite of all this talk of diminishing the fires of Hell, a study shows that in 1997 48% of people in the US believed hell is a real place where people suffer fiery torments. In 2000 only 34% believed in it. Today 53% of people believe that hell is an anguished state of existence eternally separated from God.

Jesus talked about “eternal life” and “eternal judgment.” If we believe the Bible, we know that it is definitely a real place, where the wicked dead will be held until the judgment, and they are cast into the Lake of Fire. How sad that many have allowed Satan to blind their minds and hearts.

SEARCH IN THE UNIVERSE- STILL NO OTHER LIFE FORMS - Man is spending a lot of time and money trying to find out if we are alone in the Universe. They have spent millions of dollars to try to find any sounds in Outer Space. An article in U.S. News & World Report is entitled “Why We Should Go to Mars.” People are serious about trying to find another planet that we could live on.

Many Scientists believe that through evolution there may be life on another planet. They all agree that the life form would possibly be totally different from we earthlings. People know that there will come a time when natural resources of the earth will be used up. Many are very serious about flying to some other world. There are other scientists who believe that we are all alone in the Universe. This is mainly because that random selection of all the right ingredients to cause the same evolution on another planet as is here, would be preposterous.

Isn’t this ridiculous! We know that there is life up there beyond the Milky Way. We are not alone. Jesus is always with us. The wisdom of man is foolishness with God. One day soon He will prove His power.

EARTH’S FUTURE LOOKS GRIM - this is a headline in the newspaper. It goes ahead to say, scientists are saying that the earths’ oceans are warming up due to the sun itself becoming warmer. Another article in U.S. News & World Report tells about the Antarctic Meltdown. Arctic ice is melting very fast. Land that has always been covered with ice is now exposed to view. Species of animals, such as fur-bearing seals, and varieties of penguin that have never come that far south, are now invading the area, as they are drawn to the warmer climate. The danger is that the depth of the ocean will increase and cause water to flood over shorelines, and some forms of life in the ocean in the food chain will cease to exist. The lower life feeds the higher life and etc.

Again, we say newspapers and magazines are full of doomsday articles. However, the Bible teaches that troubles are coming upon the earth. Elements will melt with a fervent heat. At one point in time, the earth’s large cities will fall together as earthquakes come. The natural man can talk about the weird phenomena and feel afraid and worried for all the fearful things coming upon the earth, but the believer in Christ can be happy because he knows that God is over all and will take care of His own. Judgment is coming! It will be so severe that the Scripture says that unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved.

I do not write these articles to discourage anyone or to bring fear in hearts. I write what I do to try to stir hearts up to look for a better hope than the world offers. If this were all there is, we would have no hope. I believe this is why the people of the world, including young people do not have hope. There is a constant barrage of negative, discouraging articles hurled at us through the media, and no remedy offered. The Lord Jesus Christ will soon appear. We look up! Our outlook is positive! We are resting in perfect peace because we know God will bring about everything to fulfill His Word. Praise God!

Many Christians will be flying to another world soon. Our Saviour has gone before to prepare a place for us. We will be going one day far beyond Mars.