By Bob Barney
Are we living in the last days? Are we in the end times? Is the return of Jesus Christ right around the corner? These are the questions that many of us ask ourselves whenever we read the book of Revelation or the Gospel of Matthew concerning the return of Jesus Christ and His kingdom of God that He is bringing with Him.
First of all, there is a misnomer with the term, “end times” that most people have. Jesus was never talking about the end of the world, neither was John in his book of Revelations. What both men were talking about is best described with the phrase “the end of the age” of mankind.
When God created man, Adam and Eve to be exact, a new age upon this earth began. It was the age of mankind, and it began approximately 5 to 6000 years ago as best we can tell. Adam was set up to rule the earth during this age but because of his sin, Adam lost his right as ruler of this age–the age of mankind. Many are not aware that the Bible plainly states the Earth is much older than man. In fact, those who believe the earth to be billions of years old are not necessarily in conflict with the Bible at all! It is very possible that the earth is very old. In Genesis the correct translation of God creating the heavens and the earth is that God re-created the earth after a cataclysm that is not mentioned. This former earth was under the rulership of the great archangel Lucifer, the angel who rebelled against God and became Satan. If Adam had not sinned, he would have been the ruler of this age. But Adam did sin and was not able to replace Satan as the ruler of this age.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ, one that is rarely ever presented in churches today, is that Jesus as God is coming back to replace Satan as the ruler of this earth and usher in a new age. When Christ returns, he is bringing the kingdom of God with Him, a government that will have no end, and the age of man will come to an end. That is the gospel that is not preached today. Jesus was not merely talking about salvation, He was not talking about how to get to heaven. What he was talking about was bringing God’s government to earth, complete with God’s Laws and God's Love.
Those chosen to be Christians in this age have not been chosen for the personal reward of going to heaven when they die, because the plain truth is that we do not! Rather our mission is to help God prepare for the return of Jesus Christ as the king of this earth and to establish God’s government here, as it is now in Heaven. We don’t go to heaven when we die, we resurrect from the dead upon the return of Christ to rule with him as spiritual beings. Do yourself a favor and read 1 Corinthians 15. Paul clearly explains the state of the dead when we rise from the dead and where we will be when we rise. It is such an easy chapter to read, I think you will be amazed that you maybe have never read it! We have coming to us, an incredible awesome destiny! Unfortunately ministers who proclaim the Gospel just do not proclaim this truth! They leave the average person out there in total ignorance of the real plan of God.
I will not be telling you when the age is to come to an end because frankly, I do not know. Your preacher does not know, the Pope does not know, and some holy roller out in the desert does not know! So don’t be fooled! We must and always be prepared for the return of Christ, but we should live with the understanding that it may not happen in our lifetime. Doing anything else is doing the work of Satan to draw us away from God’s plan and eventually cause us to fail in our mission. Don’t be deceived, do not trust charlatans who would steal your money and your soul for their own gain. Christ made it clear that only He knows the exact time of His return, and we would not know. What He did give us were signs to allow us to understand in general when the time of His return was at hand. Simply put, we are to look for these signs.
#1: Wars and everyone talking about war all over the world.
#2: There would be earthquakes in places where they should not be. Earthquakes and regions where earthquakes always have been are not signs, but earthquakes in regions that do not have them, is a sign.
#3 False Christianity would become the accepted religion. Notice, I did not say FALSE RELIGION, I said false Christianity. Paul said for us to be aware of “another gospel” that was already being preached in his day. Paul warns in Gal 1:6-9: "I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” That false gospel has been preached since at least AD 50. It changed Saturday to Sunday, and Passover to Easter. It replaced the Law of Christ with lawlessness.
#4 A worldwide financial collapse (the Black Horse of Revelation) which will lead to the reformation of the Holy Roman Empire, which is Europe and NOT RUSSIA!
#5 Worldwide poverty and death brought about by wars, especially from the pale green horseman of Revelation. We will see food shortages in America, England, and the modern world! Genetically modified crops will begin to fail, food will be in short supply, and poverty disease and death will follow. Not in Africa or some third world nation, but in the modern Western World – America under Obamacare, and European health care systems will be reduced into killing machines, wiping the earth clean of seniors and sickly people. Hitler’s final solution will become reality to BILLIONS on earth, and not just to Jews and the disabled.
#6 The love of people will go away. Even Christians, (myself included), have been so overwhelmed by the evilness in this world, pretending to be “hope and change” that we will see the tribulations that are coming on the evil people as God’s just judgement. We will not care. We should care, but we won’t. Only in constant prayer and mediating on Christ’s words, will we be able to overcome the hatred that is building in our souls towards those that have caused all these calamities.
#7 Finally we will see signs in the heavens themselves. Comets and shooting stars, asteroids hitting the earth and all sorts of natural destruction, not caused by man-made global warming, but made by God as punishment to those on this planet who refuse to obey God’s Laws. The final sign we will see in heaven is the LORD GOD, we call Jesus Christ, the Yahweh of the Bible, riding on His horse, as bright as the sun itself, coming to this planet to take His place on His throne, here on planet earth, replacing and destroying the lawless and evil people of this world.
Then, Revelation will be completed. The healing will begin, but not a moment sooner.