Submitted by James Folsom on Mon, 12/05/2011 - 07:52
The Book of Revelation is a prophecy. Which means it is a foretelling of things to come. However, like a number of other prophecies in the Bible it is very non-specific. So much so that for centuries people have been predicting the coming to pass of its predictions, only to look foolish. But someday, someone will be here to see it all come true. Could it be us?
Bible prophecies about the end times of the world
The Bible is very non-specific on these things for a good reason. If it told everything down to the last detail, there would be no need for faith, and perhaps it could even affect God's plans for mankind, if mankind understood what God was going to do.
For example, look at the Pharoahs of ancient Egypt. Would he have enslaved the Israelites if he knew in advance that God was going to bring a number of deadly plagues one day, and strike down every first born son?
Like the Pharoah if he had had the right advisors, we could just go to the book and see what’s coming and be ready. In that case, there would be no non-believers. Even the most skeptical among us would believe if the Bible had foretold of Pearl Harbor, 9-11, Hurricane Katrina, and so on.
But the Bible tells us that in the world there are believers and non-believers, and non-believers seem to outnumber the believers. We just accept that on faith and that God has ways of working that are beyond our understanding.
If Revelation is here, always be "ready"
So what do we do then? Be ready. Read up on Revelation (and other Bible prophecies about the end times) and know what it says, because one day something may happen and it will hit you that “this is it, it’s happening.” And then you won’t panic. In fact you will probably feel at peace knowing that everything is under the control of the Almighty and not the doofuses in Washington, DC or the UN building.
So what does Revelation say about America? Well, nothing really. Some believe that America no longer exists when it all goes down. But, that’s a prophecy in and of itself. America is going under as we speak. If true, then this could be all part of the beginning of the end. See if this sounds like a certain place you might know:
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
That could be America. We are luke warm. We don’t go all out to extinguish God from the country like many places in the world. But we sure don’t go all out to welcome Him either. We distance ourselves from Him more and more. And Why? Because He has blessed up with great prosperity. So we feel like “we have all we need. We no longer need you.”
Ever notice how people pray to God when things are going badly but when things are good, they don’t?
If you look at the opening of the seven seals in Revelation 6, it tells of things that happen after each seal is opened. An argument can be made that these seals have been opening for centuries and all that is left is the last two, number six may already be upon us. The first seal tells of a conquerer bent on a conquest. That has been happening for centuries. That could the Crusades or white men trying to take over as much of world as they could.
The second talks of the taking of peace on earth and making people kill each other. A No Brainer. The third speaks of “a day’s wages for two pounds of wheat and six pounds of barley. That can be taken so many ways. It could be talking about how we live our lives working to feed our families and have made that our priority.
Or it may simply be a shake-up in the world's economic markets. Well, we see that today.
The fourth seal talks about Death and how it has been given power over a fourth of the earth using plague and famine, war and beasts. If you add up all the third world countries, that’s about a fourth of the world, isn’t it?
The fifth seal talks about the avenging of the people who have been martyred asking when it will be time to make the guilty pay. The answer given is as soon as all the believers have been killed just as they have been. The hatred for Christians is building and building every day. How much longer before the hatred turns into action?
So one could read Revelation and look at today and the recent past and make a strong case that ALL of this is happening as we speak. But it could take a year or a thousand years for it all to complete. After all, God is not constrained by time like we are. He is the Alpha and Omega. He has been here for eternity past and will be here for all eternity. So a day, a week, a century, a millennium, it’s all the same to Him.
So bottom line, believe in Him, trust that he is in control, and have faith. Go about your business and don’t stress over what you have no control over. He has control over it. And if you are not a believer, none of this should bother you anyway.
We are called to live lives filled with the Holy Spirit, and always be ready for the Day of the Lord, which we're told in Matthew 24:36-42 will come upon us "like a thief in the night".
Think about what that for a moment. Thieves don't call you up and tell you when they're coming. Thieves don't write you a letter or post a billboard saying the day and time of their arrival. They come by surprise. Perhaps that is why in Luke 21:34-36 we're told not to be "weighed down by drunkeness or the anxities of life", but to always be ready, "for you do not know which day or hour your Lord will come."
Awesome Article!
James, this was a really great article. I get tired of people saying "yeah, yeah, people have been saying the world is going to end for centuries" as a rebuttal to any mention of these possibly being the end times. Anyone who has done a thorough reading of Biblical prophecy knows that even though we can't know when He is coming back, there are signs told of that clearly have only come to pass in the last century, such as the nation of Isreal re-forming.
We should live each day as if it is our last, and each day in expectance of His return.