Birth Pains in the Bible – Coronavirus COVID-19 Series

Birth pains mean something is coming, leading up to something bigger. Birth pangs start small and grow in intensity and frequency until something is born. This is how God said disasters would come in the End Times. Is the Coronavirus COVID-19 a bigger, stronger Biblically prophesied birth pain? (Tweet that) Could this pandemic be an escalation in the pain of the birth pangs revealing the near-coming of the End Times?

In the last post we looked at the words of Jesus in Luke 21. Matthew also wrote about what Jesus said that same night about the End Times in Matthew 24. Because these chapters of the Bible, and also Mark 13, talk about the same event, these are called parallel passages.

In Matthew 24:7-8, Jesus says:

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains."

Covid-19 and the situation in the United States of America and in the world is unlike anything we've ever seen before. We’ve seen plagues of various intensities. People today are talking about the Spanish Flu in 1918. But this is different. So many people affected. Entire countries shut down. It seems clear to me this is an escalation. (Tweet that) Do you agree?

If this frightens you, get to know God and his love for you and why he is allowing this in the world.
He is allowing this in the world in order to draw people to him. To make people think about him. To make people seek him out.

Consider this precursor or birth pang an act of mercy. God is letting us know something is coming, Something bigger. And he, in his mercy, is giving everyone an opportunity to know him before it comes. (Tweet that) What are you waiting for?

YOU CAN PRAY THIS

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I am a sinner and need to be saved from the consequences of all my sins, which is death and punishment for all eternity. I cannot save myself from death. Today, I receive your gift of salvation and trust you as my Lord and Savior, so that I will spend eternity with you in heaven. Thank you, Lord Jesus! I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing the penalty for my sins on the cross and exchanging them for the gift of eternal life. Teach me how to live for you from now on. In Jesus’ precious Name I pray, Amen.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, NIV)

WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

The best thing to do is to learn more about God and the Bible and Jesus Christ. You can do this by reading the Bible. You can read the Bible free on internet sites. You can also download free Bibles on a Kindle or other reading device. If you would like to know more about what I'm talking about in these posts you might read Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13.

Then I suggest you start at the beginning of Matthew and read the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For the ultimate book on the End Times, read Revelation.

Even if this Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is a bigger, stronger birth pain, you don’t need to be afraid. (Tweet that)  Jesus is more powerful and, if you trust him, he’s got you in the palm of his hand – for all eternity.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Jesus Said There Would Be Times Like This – Coronavirus COVID-19 Series 
• Praying Death will Pass Over
• COVID-19 / Coronavirus Bible Prophecies Blog Series

TWEETABLES

Is the Coronavirus COVID-19 a bigger, stronger Biblically prophesied birth pain?

It seems clear to me this is an escalation. #Bible-predicted #birthpain. Do you agree? 

In his mercy, #God giving everyone an opportunity to know him before it comes. What are you waiting for? 

Even if this Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is a bigger, stronger birth pain, you don’t need to be afraid.

"Lawlessness" in Bible Prophecy: Are We Seeing It Now?

The White House at Night
Public Domain Images

In my August 14, 2014, post, I mentioned the topic of "lawlessness" and that this would be a discussion for another day. Maybe that's a good topic for today. (Tweet that!) Did you know the term "lawlessness" is in the Bible in regard to prophecy?

Back on August 14, we were looking at that prophetic chapter in the Bible where Jesus talked with his disciples about what would be happening in the End Times, just before his return. Jesus was answering the question his disciples asked about what would be signs that he was coming soon?

In answer, Jesus gave a list of many things that would be happening in our world that would be "signs." Within this context, Jesus said in verses 12, this:

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12, NKJV).

To me, lawlessness means a total disregard for the law. It means not only that the law is not followed, but there is an attitude that a person doesn't care if the law is followed. How much worse is that situation when law enforcement officers are instructed not to enforce the laws (which has been happening in the United States for years)? And how much worse from that does it get when the highest ranking officials in the nation disregard the law?

This week the news is buzzing with President Barack Obama's speech Thursday night and his Executive Order signed Friday reforming the immigration laws of the United States. (Tweet that!) Both sides are arguing whether this, and other changes President Obama has made (for example changes to his Health Care Law), are indeed legal. Please note just because the President, in his speech, said what he is doing is completely legal doesn't mean it is.

Do you remember what the oath says that every President swears or affirms before he (or she) takes office? Here it is:

The oath of office of the President of the United States is an oath or affirmation required by the United States Constitution before the President begins the execution of the office. The wording is specified in Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight:

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:— “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  Wikipedia 

Interestingly, it is this very same Constitution of the United States that makes him President in the first place.

Also, just because the President, or anyone else, quotes the Bible does not mean he or they are using that quote in context or with its true meaning. I always find it interesting when people who, on any other day, act or speak as though they are so opposed to what the Bible has to say attempt to use it to defend and justify what they are doing. That should be a red flag to anyone. (Tweet that!)

According to Bible prophecy, a time of complete lawlessness will come before the Antichrist appears. Am I saying what President Barack Obama has done completes that and fulfills that Bible prophecy? No. The prophesied lawlessness will be world-wide, not just in the United States.

Secondly, am I saying President Barack Obama is the Antichrist? For heaven's sake, NO. Did I answer that clearly enough? I only brought up this question to answer it because I've heard the question asked so many times. No, Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. (There are many factors about the Antichrist described in the Bible that President Obama does not fit. He is not the Antichrist.)

But I do believe everything, everything, in the world is being moved into place like chess pieces preparing the way for Antichrist to come.

For Antichrist to prosper, take over, lead the world and be followed and even loved by the majority of people, lawlessness must exist. There must be no regard for the good laws of this Christian land and no regard for the laws of God. (Tweet that!)

Lawlessness has moved up the ranks from some individuals (the world has always had at least some lawless individuals), to many more individuals (though not all), to world leaders. (Tweet that!)

This is my prediction: Lawlessness will increase. Worldwide. And history will show the actions of this President plays a part in that and paves the way for more. (Tweet that!)

Related Article:

• August 14, 2014: The Love of Many Shall Wax Cold

The Feast of Trumpets - Part 2 - The Trumpet Blasts

"A Haridi man blowing a Shofar." 
by Lilach Daniel 

The Jewish name for the Feast of Trumpets is Yom Teruah which, when translated, means "Day of Blowing" and of course refers to the blowing of the trumpet. In Jewish understanding the trumpet that is blown is the shofar or ram's horn. (Tweet that!)

When observing the Feast of Trumpets or the Yom Teruah ceremony, the shofar is blown in a pattern of three different sounds with each sound given three times. Three sounds played three times equals nine trumpet blasts.

     3 x 3 = 9     

This is done eleven times. That makes 99 trumpet blasts. (Tweet that!)

     9 x 11 = 99     

Then there is a final, 100^th trumpet blast.

When the final trumpet blast is blown, it is a long or extended blast. This final blast of the trumpet is known as "the Last Trump." (Tweet that!)

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, ESV).

Did you catch that reference to "at the last trump?" (Tweet that!)

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 (1 Thessalonians 4:16, ESV).

And, of course, the verse we just looked at on September 4 from Matthew 24:

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:31, ESV, emphasis added).

In part 3 of this Feast of Trumpets series, which will post on Saturday, September 13, we'll look at how the Jews observe the Feast of Trumpets as the heavenly court being in session to judge the deeds of the people of the earth. For the next post we will remember the anniversary of September 11, 2001.

At That Time...

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The next sentences Jesus spoke when describing to his disciples the events preceding his coming are these:

"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." Matthew 24:30-31, NIV 1984 (this version no longer available).

In the previous post we talked about how Jesus had said "immediately after" these events in verse 29. These events would be all the happenings we've been looking at on this blog since June 24, 2014, when we started reading through Matthew 24 verse by verse. So these events would include false Christian teachers and leaders who claim to be Christians but are not and are leading many astray, persecution of Christians (seen any of that in the world lately?), nations rising against nation, earthquakes, famines, the "abomination that causes desolation," and people claiming the "Christ" is in hiding.

Then Jesus said "immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light" (Matthew 24:29, NIV).

Notice now that Jesus gives another time stamp to these events when he says "At that time…" (Tweet that!)

At that time, when the world sees Jesus "coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30, NIV) the nations will mourn because they did not believe in him. (Tweet that!) They didn't think any of this would happen. They will be totally surprised and shocked, realize they were wrong, and in extreme fear will mourn.

In today's world, most of the people of the earth ridicule people like me: people who do believe in Jesus and do know that he is coming again. (Tweet that!) People like me who believe he is coming soon…not a vague "soon" but soon, as in our lifetimes.

When they see Jesus actually coming, they will mourn because they didn't believe. They thought people like me were crazy. And yet…

Here he is. In the flesh. Coming at them, proving them wrong! How frightening this must be for all those who refused to believe in any of this beforehand. (Tweet that!) What will happen to them now?

The very next sentence says Jesus sends his angles -- notice they are HIS angels! -- to gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (This may be more than the "elect" -- the true believers in Jesus -- who are on earth; these may be all the "elect" of all time, meaning all true believers in the Christ of God.)

Please notice the trumpet call in verse 31:

"And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other" (Matthew 24:31, NIV. Emphasis added).

As I mentioned in the previous post (and many times before…repetition to help you learn it), there are seven Feasts of the Lord. Three in the spring. Then a break to the fourth, which is Pentecost, in June. We talked about these first four Feasts last spring on this blog. Then we took a break through the summer and have been looking at the prophecies Jesus spoke of the End Times in Matthew 24.

Now, as the end of summer comes and fall approaches, it's important for us to talk about the final three of the seven Feasts of the Lord, which occur in the fall. Those final three annual Feasts, celebrated by the Jewish people in the fall of the year, are:

• the Feast of Trumpets (this year in 2014 occurring on September 24-25), 
• the Day of Atonement (this year in 2014 occurring on October 3-4), 
• the Feast of Tabernacles (this year in 2014 occurring on October 8-16).

We'll talk about those in depth in coming posts, but I wanted you to notice now that the next Feast on God's calendar is the Feast of Trumpets.

Morguefile.com

And I didn't want you to miss the reference to the trumpet call in today's Scripture verse:

"...he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call…" (Matthew 24:31).

I believe these words of Jesus are a direct reference to the Feast of Trumpets! In other words, I believe Jesus is telling us this event of him coming on the clouds with power and great glory will be indicated by, and will occur on, the Feast of Trumpets. (Tweet that!)

If that bit of information doesn't excite you as it does me, I don't know what will!

Jesus now takes a turn in his speech to his disciples as he turns his attention to the lesson of the fig tree in Matthew 24:32-33. We are going to take this turn in his speech as an opportunity to take a break from Matthew 24 in order to learn about the three fall Feasts of the Lord. Included in this discussion of the Fall Feasts will be information on the coming lunar eclipse (being call a "Blood Moon") on October 8th. (Tweet that!)

The Sun Will Be Darkened and the Moon Will Not Give Its Light

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I've always found it interesting that Jesus next says "Immediately after…" Obviously End Times events are happening in a specific order and are progressing on a specific timeline. (Tweet that!)

Here's what Jesus says next in Matthew 24:

"Immediately after the anguish of those days, 

     'the sun will be darkened,

     the moon will give no light, 

     the stars will fall from the sky, 

    and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.'" (Matthew 24:29, NLT)

In case you didn't know it, this is a quotation from or reference to Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Joel:

"The heavens will be black above them;

    the stars will give no light.

The sun will be dark when it rises,

    and the moon will provide no light." (Isaiah 13:10, NLT)

(See also Isaiah 34:4.) 

The earth quakes as they advance,

    and the heavens tremble.

The sun and moon grow dark,

    and the stars no longer shine. (Joel 2:10, NLT)

We've talked about the sun being darkened and the moon not giving its light before on this blog when we talked about the series of lunar and solar eclipses that we are currently experiencing and are living in the middle of. (Tweet that!)

The first of four lunar eclipses (called a tetrad)*) occurred last April 15^th. Leading up to that I wrote a series of posts about lunar eclipses and why this current series is so interesting and important--especially to the spiritually minded. (Tweet that!) If you haven't read those posts, I'd recommend you catch up on that information. At the bottom of the post on April 15, 2014, there is a list of all the posts in that series on the lunar eclipses. Find that post here:

• "The First Lunar Eclipse on Passover 2014" ( posted April 15, 2014)

Within this tetrad* (which means these four total lunar eclipses), a solar eclipse will also occur on March 20^th, 2015. We'll talk more about solar eclipses as that one approaches, but we touched on them back in June in a three-part series. You can find links to all three posts here:

• "About Solar Eclipses Part 3 – The Spiritual and Prophetic Significance of the Coming Solar Eclipse" (posted June 21, 2014)

The next lunar eclipse, which is the second of the four, will occur in barely over a month on October 8, 2014, which is the first day of the Jewish holy day called the Feast of Tabernacles (also called Sukkot). (Tweet that!) This is:

• the third of the three fall Feasts as well as 
• the last, or 7th, of the seven annual Feasts.

In anticipation of that lunar eclipse, we are going to spend some time in coming posts talking about the three fall Feasts of the LORD. (Tweet that!)

We talked about the three spring Feasts last spring. Those three spring feasts are (click on their links to learn more):

• Passover 
• Unleavened Bread 
• and First Fruits

Jesus also fulfilled the fourth of the seven Feasts, which is Pentecost [link]:

• Pentecost

That means of the seven annual Biblical Feasts, there are three left for us to explore, to learn how Jesus will fulfill them in his second coming, and to celebrate before the year ends. (Tweet that!) These final three annual Feasts of the LORD are: 

• the Feast of Trumpets
• the Day of Atonement
• and the Feast of Tabernacles

This means that, as we've moved into September, the next annual Biblical Feast to occur on the calendar is the Feast of Trumpets, and the trumpet call is actually referred to in the next few verses in Matthew 24. We'll talk about that in the next post. (Tweet that!)

*tetrad: "A sequence of four total lunar eclipses including no partial eclipses [in between them]..." ("'Blood Moons' Explained" on Space.com.)

Related Articles:

• The Moon as a Sign and the Prophesied Blood Red Moons
• How the Jewish Calendar Works
• The Prophetic Significance of the Feasts of the LORD
• What Causes the Moon to Turn Red Like Blood?
• "Tetrad" of Four Lunar Eclipses on Jewish Feast Days in the Past
• The First Lunar Eclipse on Passover 2014

What the Coming of Jesus will Look Like

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We've talked about false Christs and false prophets before on this blog (see Related Articles below). We've talked about how these false Christian teachers will appear and that we need to not only be aware of this but on our guard watching for them. In his speech, Jesus again circles around to repeat this topic (so it must be important!).

Here is what Jesus said in Matthew 24:23-28 (ESV):

23 Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Jesus concludes his thought with two images:

• lightning flashing in the sky and
• vultures circling in the sky.

Both of these images reveal something that can be seen by people from great distances. In other words, when Jesus comes, you and everyone else will be able to see him. It seems clear this means everyone in the world will be able to see him, no matter where you are.

He won't be hiding in the desert. He won't be concealed by a privileged few in some inner room in a remote location. When you hear of such things, remember that Jesus himself said there would be lies like this being promoted, so you can confidently dismiss them. (Tweet that!)

When Jesus comes, he'll come in a way where everyone in the world can see him. There will be no mistaking what's happening! (Tweet that!)

Denial? Yeah maybe. Especially since the false Christs and false prophets will have already come and performed great signs and miracles. Be careful what you believe based on what you see. (Tweet that!)

Think of what we see on TV and in movies that is not real but looks real because of special effects. Jesus said those who do these things will do this for the very purpose of deceiving people. And they will be very good at it, because Jesus said they will be able "to deceive even the elect—if that were possible." (Which kind of implies it's not possible, don't you think?)

(Also, there's a lot of discussion of who the "elect" are. I think it's fair to say they are the true followers of Jesus.)

But for those who are willing to look and see the truth, the coming of Jesus will be unmistakable. (Tweet that!)

Related Articles:

• Jesus' First Warning: Don't be Deceived by False Christs
• Jesus Gives Further Warnings about False Christs
• Many False Prophets Will Appear and Deceive Many People

Those Days Will Be Shortened

iStock (c) MACIEJ NOSKOWSKI

In the next section as Jesus describes what events will precede his return, he talks about something that has always intrigued me. I can't say I understand it. It's a mystery to me. Let's see what you think.

Right after Jesus talks about "the Abomination that causes desolation," he says this:

...then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house.  Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 

If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:16-22)

Focus on two verses here:

• verse 20: "Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath."
• and verse 22: "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

This has always sounded to me as if the time in which all the End Times prophecies will occur can shift in time. (Tweet that!)

I mean, if we can pray and affect the fact that our flight will not take place on the Sabbath, doesn't that mean the time for this to happen is not a set date in time? (Tweet that!)

And if the days can be shortened, or will be shortened, does this indicate some flexibility in the dates these things will take place? (Tweet that!)

If that's possible (and I'm not saying that it is), what is it that affects the changes that might occur in the date things will happen? It seems what can make that difference is our prayers. (Tweet that!)

And yet, End Times events also seem to have a "set time." (Tweet that!)

For example, Daniel said:

The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. (Daniel 11:27)

So it seems as though End Times events do indeed have a set time. (Tweet that!)

I know. That's a contradiction. That's why it's a mystery to me. What do you think?

If you would like to read more about all of this, I suggest you read the account of "the King Who Exalts Himself" (that would be the Antichrist) in Daniel 11:36 – 12:13.

The "Abomination that Causes Desolation" Spoken of Through the Prophet Daniel - Part 1: Who is Daniel?

Photo I took of a model  of first-century Jerusalem
with the Temple at The Holy Land Experience
Orlando, Florida, USA

Let's look at the next section of Matthew 24:

So when you see standing in the holy place "the abomination that causes desolation," spoken of through the prophet Daniel -- let the reader understand -- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now -- and never to be equaled again. 

If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:15-22, NIV)

Remember that Jesus is speaking. He is responding to the question his disciples asked in Matthew 24:3:

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

After Jesus lists the events we've been discussing since June 24 (The Prophecy Buff's Favorite Chapter: Matthew 24), he now begins to talk about " 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel." 

What is the "abomination that causes desolation?" There so much information there, let's take several posts to talk about it. (Tweet that!)

First, please notice that Jesus himself validates the prophecy of Daniel. (Tweet that!)

Who was Daniel? Daniel was a young man living in Jerusalem when the Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar, invaded and took the people of Israel into exile in Babylonia (modern-day Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and parts of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, and Iran). 

There were actually three deportations of people from Israel to Babylonia: 

• Daniel was taken with the first group in 605 B.C. 
• The second deportation came eight years later in 597 B.C. The prophet Ezekiel was taken with this group. 
• The third and final deportation took place in 586 B.C., which is when the invading Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.

If, as a child back in Sunday school or somewhere along the way, you heard the story of "Daniel in the lion's den," that's not a fairy tale. That's a true story and this is the same Daniel.

From what I can gather, I think Daniel was probably a teenager when he was deported to Babylonia and I don't believe he ever saw the land of Israel again. But much later he did discover, according to the prophet Jeremiah, this exile in Babylonia was prophesied to last 70 years.

This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:10-11).

Because Jeremiah was writing from Jerusalem to those in exile in Babylonia, "bring you back to this place" refers to bringing the exiles back to Jerusalem. 

Many people are familiar with that beautiful promise of Jeremiah 29:11. But not many are aware of its context -- that it was written to the Israelites when they were in exile in Babylonia! I included verse 11 so you can see the context of that promise. (Tweet that!)

Even as a young man Daniel showed extraordinary bravery and leadership. You can read how his time in exile began here. (I'm not posting it all because of its length, although it will only take you a few minutes to read it):

Read Daniel 1:3-21 here.

That passages ends with a mention of the first year of King Cyrus, king of the Medes, which was 539 B.C. That means by this time Daniel had spent 66 years in Babylonia.

Note that in verse 17 we are told "Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds." Daniel not only interpreted dreams of Nebuchadnezzar (see Daniel 2), Daniel was given visions of the End Times by God. It was in these visions that he "saw" the "abomination that causes desolation." (Tweet that!)

We will look at the actual verses where Daniel told about this "abomination that causes desolation" in the next post.

The Gospel of the Kingdom Will Be Preached in the Whole World

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Finally, in this paragraph, Jesus makes one final statement, one final event that must occur before "the end" comes (Tweet that!):

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14).

(Tweet that!)

I remember in the 1980s or perhaps the 1990s hearing Christian mission organizations talking about the "1040 window" (the "ten forty window"). That's the geographical area within those latitude and longitude designations. This is an area of the world where many Christian mission organizations were sending Christian missionaries to tell the people the gospel of Jesus.

I also remember hearing them quote numbers on the "people groups" in the world who had not yet heard the Gospel. Then they described their plans to reach all these people with the good new of Jesus.

The plan: to complete, or nearly complete, this task by the year 2000.

Did they make it? Well I never hear of any claims that they have. I only continue to hear of people groups who need to hear about Jesus but have yet to. And that's okay. The right thing to do is to keep working whole-heartedly until He comes again. (Tweet that!)

Last week I heard a man talk about this very prophecy. He suggested it might be possible that if a "people group" has been given the gospel in decades or centuries past, that might fulfill what is needed here. Whether that people group "received" it, held onto the information about Jesus, and handed it down to each generation, or whether they refused to believe may not matter -- only that they had been reached with the Gospel at some point in history.

This makes sense to me. I don't believe that, to fulfill this prophecy, we need to reach a point where every person living in the world needs to have heard the gospel…and then the end will come. But, oops! Wait. Someone else was just born so we have to wait until they've heard the gospel. No, I don't think that's how it works.

The Gospel of Jesus must be preached everywhere, to all nations, as a testimony to all nations. (Tweet that!)

This testimony gives every nation, and every individual within each nation, an opportunity to follow Jesus. (Tweet that!) If they refuse, this will be the testimony against them that convicts them of the worst sin ever, the only unforgivable sin: unbelief in Jesus. (Tweet that!)

Frankly, I think we're probably already there. At the very least, if this prophecy of the end times has not already been fulfilled, then I believe we are very, very close. (Tweet that!)

Do you find that exciting? Or frightening?

The Love of Many Shall Wax Cold

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Jesus then says that because of all this persecution, hatred, betrayal, turning away from the Christian faith, false prophets leading many astray, and deception, this will be one result:

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:12-13, NIV).

The New Living Translation says it this way:

Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.

The New King James Version says it like this:

And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

"Lawlessness." How often are we hearing that word today? There's another prophecy all about that very term ("man of lawlessness," see 2 Thessalonians 2 - there's two different translations at that link), but that's a whole big discussion for another day. (Tweet that!)

The original King James Version uses this phrase which has always stuck in my mind:

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

That phrase has stuck with me because it is such a visual image. "The love of many shall wax cold." (Tweet that!) Love waxes cold. Love no longer flows. What a sad and desperate condition. But this is what will happen when Christians are slammed and silenced and persecuted and hated and betrayed to death. (Tweet that!)

God is love (1 John 4:8), and without His representatives in the world allowed to speak His truth about what is sin and what is right, when we are hushed from speaking the truth about sin, which is the most loving thing to do, love waxes cold. (Tweet that!)

But not all love will wax cold. The love of most or of many will wax cold, but not of all. (Tweet that!) The one who stands, those who remain firm in their faith in Jesus through to the very end, will be saved.

What does it mean that these people will be saved? I believe these are those who have already been saved to eternal life because of their faith in Jesus. (If you're not one of us, you can be at any moment you believe in Jesus as your Savior.) Because of Him, their love will never wax cold. (Tweet that!)

Many False Prophets Will Appear and Deceive Many People

Morguefile.com

As we continue our look at the prophecies Jesus gave in Matthew 24 of what our world would be like in the end times, He said:

…And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people (Matthew 24:11).

We have already talked about false prophets in several posts in this blog. To find them, you can go to the list of Labels in the right sidebar and click on the label "false prophets" and a list of all the posts labeled with that tag will come up.

Today, we need to carefully think about what false prophets might look like in our age. (Tweet that!) For me, I can think of two kinds of false prophets right away (Tweet that!):

• leaders of false religions. A false religion is any religion that is not based on the truth of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. 
• And false prophets or leaders who claim to be within the true religion of Christianity but are not teaching truth.

Frankly I see many of each of these today.

In the United States, this once-Christian nation was founded on Christian principles by men and women of the Christian faith. Yes, I said the Christian faith (not "deists" like some try to claim today). Our freedom of religion allowed all faiths to be represented, but also allowed us to talk about our faith and, through reasoning and peaceful conversation, we could convince others of the truths of our faith. (Tweet that!) Today, however, Christians are hushed and bullied while other faiths are promoted and protected.

Also, I see many within the Christian church teaching and promoting principles that are not in line with true Christianity. (Tweet that!) For example, homosexuality is wrong, however many churches are not only accepting homosexuality as another "life style" but are ordaining church leaders who are openly homosexuals! God will not allow this for long.

However this is nothing new. And homosexuality is not the only sin God abhors, of course. The apostle Paul wrote about sin his letter to the Romans. Notice the list of different sins toward the end of the passage. Also notice the spiral downward with the three-time repeated phrase that "God abandoned them…":

18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 

21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. 

24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. 

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.32 They know God's justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too (Romans 1:18-32).

In the United States homosexuality and same-sex marriage has been "normalized" and is now promoted as good and right. Those of us who speak out against it are slammed and bullied into silence. This can only happen because so many people are deceived.

These are only a couple of examples of how many false prophets are appearing and deceiving many people.