The End Times does have a start date. Exactly when, we don’t know. But, since the Book of Revelation is in the Bible, as such, it is the inspired Word of God and warrants our time to read and even understand it as best we can. Yes, the images are complex and difficult to understand unless one delves into the various studies, interpretations and related commentaries. Something we are doing in our Sunday morning Foundations class in Heritage Lounge. It’s not too late to join us. 

The End Times will come with “signs” indicating the unfolding of events in Revelation. Even if the Tribulation is way out there in the future, the path is being laid right now, taking us that much closer. Even if it’s out in the future, there are lessons to be learned as God’s people.

When watching the even news, one can’t help but notice the changes taking place in America. Our wide-open southern border with an estimated ½ a million illegals per month, added to the 2.4 million that entered in 2022. Illegal drugs pouring in killing 100,000 per year, mostly youth. Gender fluidity taught in schools down to the lowest grade levels, even teaching children that they can change their gender (without parental permission). That’s just a couple of the many changes, most of which occurred during these last two years.

The post WWII America we grew up in is rapidly disappearing. We are divided politically, culturally and even racially, like never before. 

Some may believe Jesus’ words were intended for that generation. Or is it also a prophecy of what is yet to come? The message very well applies to today, as well as yesterday. America can continue on a destructive path, or the Church can prayerfully seek its role in turning America back to One Nation Under God, as it once had been. 

A prayerful word of caution is warranted in today’s politics, for our school agendas, our universities, and our changing culture. It certainly is a time for “caution”. For 2,000 years the Church has been called to turn society to God, through His Son Jesus Christ. The same is equally true for today’s generation. 

The church is called to be eagles when facing challenges and not ostriches hiding from them. 

Even in a fallen world, the Lord watches over His people. He lifts them up and guides them according to His plan. Never lose hope, even in a fallen world, which began in the Garden of Eden. God’s people have always made a difference. 

Be ever mindful that our strength is in the Lord. He gives strength to the weary! Keep that thought in mind as we explore Revelation and the End Times, as a time of prayer and not a time of fear. 

Revelation introduces the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, beginning the Tribulation, including the Red horse signifying war and the Black horse signifying famine. I believe God will give His Church ample warning with signs, as a time to share the Gospel with those around us. How would you respond if you saw signs that the Tribulation was close at hand? Who would your first thoughts be for? Most likely, your loved ones and friends. 

The Antichrist is described in Revelation 6:2. As noted in the previous slide, his bow doesn’t have arrows, serving as a symbol of strength, not as a symbol of war. Nevertheless, he comes to conquer and not as a peacemaker as first implied. 

Rise of the Antichrist is described in the Book of Daniel’s 70th week prophecy, where he describes the different kingdoms, all of which have passed including the Roman Empire, but there will be a remnant of the Roman Empire from which he will rise to power.

For those not familiar with Daniel’s 70th week prophesy. 69 of those weeks occurred in the Old Testament ending at the time of Christ, with one week yet unfulfilled. Each day signified a year, the last week signifies the 7-year Tribulation. A time when God’s wrath is poured out on a sinful, unrepentant world, that does not repent at His wrath but curse Him for it. 

Which part of the Roman Empire is Daniel prophesying about? Most believe it's the European Union. Others believe it could very well be within the Middle East which had also been part of the Roman Empire. Thus comes one of the difficulties in interpreting Revelation. At just the right time in history, he will be recognized. 

We can be at the threshold of what is to come, or just seeing clues of what lies ahead. 

War and famine are the opening events of the seven-year Tribulation. This is not intended to scare anyone but only—as the Church—to make us aware of such signs, and to respond as the Holy Spirit leads us, otherwise it would not be in the Bible as the inspired Word of God. It’s in the Bible for a reason.  

The Red Horse signifies war and taking away of peace. Many believe this occurs after the Rapture of Christians. Others believe it will take place midway through the Tribulation to inspire the Church to evangelism. Nevertheless, we can’t lose sight that there will be 144,000 Israelite evangelists—12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Again, the Book of Daniel prophecies that the Antichrist will rise from within a remnant of the ancient Roman Empire, perhaps today’s European Union or elsewhere within the former Roman Empire, perhaps Iraq, home of ancient Babylon. One thing certain is that he will not be an American. An obvious, and significant, sign of the End Times is a greatly weakened United States on the world stage, no longer looked to as leader of the free world, and no longer a deterrent to aggression on the world stage. We see an example of that in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.   

Are there pending consequences of the Russian-Ukraine war? Can NATO get dragged into the conflict by a Russian miscalculation? It’s a possibility that only time will tell. How can a war so far away effect food supplies in the United States?

In Matthew 24:6-8 Jesus tells of “war and rumors of war”, described as “birth pains”—the beginning of what it yet to come. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has threatened a large part of the world’s food supply, by halting Ukraine Black Sea grain exports, thus blocking attempts to ease a global food crisis in third world countries. Not only grain, but also export of fertilizer to Europe and the U.S. Without fertilizer, there is no planting by farms. 

Which leads us here. The third of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a Black horse. The rider holds a scale, signifying sparse supplies, leading to famine. We recognize this as a reality of the Tribulation period yet to come. Are such signs beginning to unfold today? 

There have been warnings of pending food shortages associated with the Russian-Ukraine war. We are becoming quite familiar with empty supermarket shelves. Something not previously seen in America. Again, the Black Horse symbolizing famine, which follows the Red Horse symbolizing war, just as we are seeing in Ukraine. Do those events serve as hints of what is yet to come? 

American farms have always been self-sufficient in producing enough food for the Nation, even sufficient for export. 

We take for granted the decades of productivity of American farms. Anyone traveling through northern California would readily recognize its acres of rich farmland, equally true across much of the interior United States. But such productivity has limits. It’s called fertilizer and diesel fuel. 

Sufficient energy is vital for almost everything. Diesel fuel is derived from crude oil along with gasoline, kerosene, and other household products. It’s used to power trucks, trains, ships and planes, all of which transport nearly all the products people consume. Diesel powers farm equipment. Farmers cannot plant and trains and trucks cannot deliver products to local supermarkets, without diesel— leading to empty shelves. 

What’s stated above is true of Europe, especially Germany dependent on Russian energy resources. Their supply has been interrupted. The prediction, as stated, appeared on a “web-news” site. If American farmers can’t get their supply of fertilizes or diesel fuel, it will mean less planting and fewer crops. As to what degree, we don’t yet know. 

Both food and energy are affected by the Russia-Ukraine war. I’ll let this slide speak for itself. And yet, on the flip side, a recent Kremlin report stated that Putin is open to talks with Biden to end Ukraine war. We need to be ever mindful that God is sovereign over the affairs of man and will only allow what fits His plan to occur. In all circumstances, we need to take refuge and comfort in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and not fret over events or signs, as we are told in Ephesians. 

In Ephesians, Paul reminds us in v.12, that our struggle isn’t a physical one. As we are told in v.13, our defense is to put on the full armor of God, and to stand our ground.

V.14-16 describe our weapons, including putting on the full armor of God so that we can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. 

Along with the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, we are “to pray in the Spirit” on all occasions, praying for all the saints. In other words, God equips us for the battle. 

We will continue to explore “signs” of the End Times in future posts along with other topics. But this is the last posting for 2022.

Have a blessed and Merry Christmas as we celebrate the reason for the season. And a blessed New Year for you and yours. 

End of this year's postings.

God is sovereign over the affairs of man. He allows evil because man is sinful, the root cause of evil. He even uses man’s evil to achieve His plan going forward. 

The Book of Revelation tells us about the End Times. Will God give us ample warning of its coming? I believe so. He will do it with “signs”, especially as evil intensities. History itself is a sign of His sovereignty. He allows evil because man, by his own freewill, is sinful and the root of evil. God could stop all evil by killing all sinners but chose not to. Nevertheless, God uses man’s evil to bring about good. The following slides show how God achieved good out of evil. 

In Luke 21, Jesus uses the fig tree as an example of how there will be recognizable signs of what is to come, and that the kingdom of God is approaching. Without signs, even the change of seasons would pass by unnoticed. The End Times will not occur unnoticed. Nevertheless, God is sovereign, and nothing can happen without His permission. God had a plan. 

As we are told in Ephesians 6, we are in a state of spiritual warfare. We live in a state of “parade ground rest” or one of "basic training" preparing for battle. Even if the End Times doesn’t occur in our lifetime, the path is being laid out, one step at a time. 

Eph. 6:12 lays out the scope of the battle, even within our national capitol. As we are told in Ephesians, Satan and his fallen angels are active in this battle, for the very heart and soul of the United States of America. They are powerful, but God’s forces are greater and more powerful.  

As we are told in Ephesians, our biblical response is to put on the full armor of God, so that when the "day of evil" comes, we are prepared to stand our ground as His Church--the Body of Christ. 

Paul describes our weapons of defense, as the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, and the shield of faith. As the inspired Word of God, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t describe it if they weren’t prayerfully available. 

Last but not least, we are to put on the helmet of salvation through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, while praying for all the saints in our church and across the nation. It’s also a civic responsibility to combat evil in the public square, and support righteousness. 

God overcomes evil to accomplish His plans for good. 

Judas, one of the 12 apostles, betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Not a surprise to Jesus, being foreordained by God. Judas followed his own sinful motives and desires, but God used it to accomplish His plan of redemption. Jesus paid the sin-debt of those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, because we are incapable of doing so ourselves. Do you profess Jesus as your own Lord and Savior? Your eternal destiny depends on it. 

The Jewish religious leaders, the Sanhedrin, to retain their positions of power and prestige, put Jesus on trial because of His popularity with the people. His miracles did not convince them, but only instilled a desire to be rid of Him. They had no authority to kill Christ and brought Him to the Roman authorities. Again, man intended evil for his own gains, but God used it as part of His plan for our redemption. 

The Sanhedrin demanded the death of Christ. Pontius Pilot, fearful of Jewish threats that might reach the emperor about a man claiming to be king. Thus, he ordered the death of Jesus for his own purposes. He did not want word to get back to Rome that he was not keeping things under control. God used Pilot’s sin to implement His own plan for our redemption. 

If Judea was not under Roman jurisdiction, there would be no crucifixion, which was a Roman punishment. The Jewish leaders would have condemned Jesus to death by stoning. Would we then be wearing a stone around our neck instead of a cross? God had a plan, which included the cross that highlights the depth and consequences of sin against His holiness, for which He had to pay the price because it is beyond our means to do so. Give thanks for His love and mercy. 

Jesus paid our sin-debt in full, with suffering to such a degree and intensity, that we couldn’t even imagine. Yes, sin has consequences, even our sins. Jesus carried the full weight of them on Himself on the cross. God has a plan. A plan that stretches across time and eternity. 

As prophesized by Jesus in Luke 19:41-44, the Jewish rejection of the Messiah was punished with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Romans. Prior to Judah’s destruction, Christianity was viewed as a Jewish sect. With the destruction of Jerusalem and scattering of the Jews, Christianity stood on its own merit, no longer seen as a Jewish sect. The Apostle Paul, discarding his Hebrew name, Saul, using instead his Latin name, Paul, to bring Christ to the Gentile world. 

What is traditionally believed to be the temple mount, there is not a stone left standing of the Jerusalem temple. Some believe the temple was in the City of David not far removed from that site; and that this is the site of the Roman Fort Antonia. Either way, there is not a stone left standing of the Jerusalem temple on either site, as prophesied by Jesus in Luke 19. His words were a warning and a sign of what was to come, and did occur in 70 AD. God had a plan.

With the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jews scattered across the Roman world and beyond, as shown on the map. Satan meant it for evil, but God had a Plan. 

After the death of Jesus Christ, the Gospel message of salvation was carried across the Roman world. Map shows the extent of the pagan Roman Empire. The gospel began to spread throughout the Gentile world initially by the apostle Paul. In accordance with God’s plan, it would not remain pagan. 

Constantine, became a Christian through a vision leading him to victory, thus becoming Emperor in 313 AD. He issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance for Christianity. In 395, Emperor Theodosius I (r. 379–395) decreed Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, sin prevailed in man, and the Church itself turned against pagans and Jews. Christianity eventually became as much political as it was religious. God still had a plan, yet sin still had consequences.  

Rome declined over time with internal strife, division and conflict, with self-serving leaders and motives. The Roman Empire met its own destruction in 476 AD by Germanic tribes who invaded across the Empire’s northern frontier border, opening it up to other invasions across Italy. The Germanic tribes invading Italy were exposed to Christianity, not otherwise possible. Yes, God had a plan and still does.

The apostle John prophesied that there would be many antichrist, such as Nero in the 1st century, and Hitler in the 20th century.  

Adolf Hitler was pure evil. He began his rise to power in 1933, with a continued and intense hatred of the Jews. Out of that hatred, he initiated the Holocaust for their extermination.   

Under Hitler’s rule of Germany, violence against the Jews broke out. Kristallnacht, (German: “Crystal Night”, called Night of Broken Glass or November Pogroms, November 9–10, 1938, when German Nazis attacked Jewish persons and property. The name Kristallnacht refers to the litter of broken glass of Jewish owned businesses, left in the streets.  

Even with violence against the Jews, Germany’s Christian leaders were silent. When the Church is silent, evil will prevail. What is the role of the Church in today’s America? Should we follow the same path of silence as a church and as individual Christians? What is God’s plan? We know He has one. 

At the close of WWII and defeat of Nazi Germany, the Jews were liberated from the death camps. Most of whom desired to flee Europe. The Holocaust was meant for evil, but God used it to return them to the Land promised first to Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob. God had a Plan. 

With the devastation in Europe, many European Jews fled the European continent. God’s plan overcame Hitler’s evil. returned the Jews to their homeland, which otherwise would not have happened. God isn't finished with the Jewish nation. They are back in their Promised Land because of the Lord prophesying their return. 

God doesn’t renege on His promises, even when man falls short. He brought the Israelites home. He sees all of history from the beginning to the end and knows everything there is to know. There are no surprises and consequently His promises stand. 

The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordan, both of which had been conceded by the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I in 1918. After the failure of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, the 1947–1949 Palestine war ended with Mandatory Palestine divided among Israel, the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank and the Egyptian Protectorate in the Gaza Strip. 

After the British withdrawal, Israel declared its statehood. President Harry Truman immediately recognized it as such giving it legitimacy on the international stage. Yes, God had a plan and America was very much part of that plan, destined to be a world leader after WWII. 

The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been at the start of the war British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence. In May 1948, the State of Israel’s creation having been declared on the last day of the British Mandate, which became the Arab-Israeli War as shown on the map. God gave them the victory as He had in the Old Testament. God had a plan. 

Only because God still has a plan for modern-day Israel. It’s very creation and existence was and is by the grace of God and His protective hand. 

Yes, Israel’s creation and continued existence, being surrounded by avowed enemies, is a modern-day miracle, because God has a plan. The sovereignty of God is undeniable over the course of history and man’s trek toward the End Times. 

The message we see in history is that God is sovereign over the affairs of man. He has a plan for His people and His Church. We are to be mindful and prayerful resting in His sovereign care and love.

End of this Week's Posting