Is Ukraine Just The Beginning?
The Bible talks of the time of little trouble and finally the great tribulation before the return of Christ. Is Ukraine the beginning of the end or is it simply just another battle like all of the rest that have taken place since the beginning of time? Let’s take a closer look and see.
Wars And Rumors Of Wars
Matthew 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all of these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
Any student of the Bible will know that verse well, and most people will call this vague, simply because there have always been wars throughout the ages. But, if we add this verse to several others and put them all together we can begin to see a definite sense of urgency beginning to emerge.
Revelation 6:5-8 5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales[a] in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A [b]quart of wheat for a [c]denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
We can read this verse and see that it speaks of a time of scarcity on Earth, which is exactly what we are beginning to see now with inflation at an all-time high and commodities diminishing, as well as the scarcity of those seeking after Jesus. Again, some will argue that the great depression was the same way back in the 20s and ’30s, yet I will point out that the Bible speaks of these things in terms of labor pains, that begin gradually and progress, becoming stronger and closer together before the baby emerges.
Lovers Of Self
Over the past decades, immorality has grown to an all-time high. Even compared to Sodom and Gomorrah these times we live in now are unprecedented when it comes to the promotion of sin and the things that The Lord calls abominations.
- 2 Timothy 3 speaks of perilous times when “men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unholy, unthankful, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power.”
This sure sounds like the times we live in, with so many young people wanting to be sterilized, promoting gender reassignment, and parents even allowing their very young children to choose if they want to be a boy or girl.
God Loves Everyone So There is No Problem
This is what is being preached in a lot of churches because if they dare preach Bible Truth they will lose members of their congregation and won’t see new ones join. Worse yet, they may lose funding from certain sources. The truth is, The Lord does love everybody, yet He still hates sin and there will be no place in heaven for sin because sin is consumed by His presence. It simply cannot exist!
If we want to know what sin is, we can begin with His ten commandments and branch out from there. We can also take into consideration that for every good thing God creates Satan has a counterpart, and this includes those commandments. This is why Satan is working so hard to have them abolished from our sight.
Living In The End Times
We are indeed living in the end times, and yet again there are people who will argue that this has been preached since John the baptist. I won’t argue with that, because it is true. So what exactly does this mean? Can we know when the end will happen? What did Jesus say about the end?
Matthew 24: 7,87 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, [b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
From the very beginning, when Adam and Eve fell into sin through their disobedience the end had begun and it has been coming in waves. A savior was promised in the very first book because God had a plan from the beginning:
Genesis 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This was the first promise of a savior, and what God says will happen has happened. From the Bible’s timeline, we can be sure that Jesus will be returning soon.
How Soon?
As a Christian who believes what the Bible says, soon will be the day I die. When I breathe the last breath of life, the next conscious thought I have will be Jesus’ returning to redeem me and all of His other followers at the first resurrection to take us to heaven to live and reign with Him for a thousand years. After that, there will be a second resurrection of the wicked or lost at which time they shall face their final judgment and perish forever. (Read the book of Revelation for more, or watch the following video.)
We Can Not Know The Day Or Hour
The exact day or hour of Jesus’ return we can’t know because He Himself said this to His disciples: Mark 13:32 NKJV “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
For this reason, we do not listen to anyone who claims to know this information because it is impossible!
We Can Be Ready
Since we will not know exactly when He returns it is wise to be ready NOW. As stated earlier, I know that Jesus will come for me at my death. I know this because death is like sleep and no matter how long I will be sleeping it will seem as if it was a mere second, like waking up tomorrow. Time means nothing. Salvation must happen before death because at death probation has closed and there is no second chance for redemption.
How To Be Ready
Seek Jesus now while you are alive. Simply believing in Him may not be a guarantee. We must have a relationship with our savior in daily prayer and worship, being thankful, humble, and sincere in our desire for sanctification. When He returns, we want Him to know us as His family, then we can hear Him say “well done good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 24)
What a wonderful day that will be, won’t it?
