God is in control. Every detail of the end times is in His sovereign hands.
God's plan, in brief, is to separate the righteous from the wicked, give everyone their due recompense, and bring this current world to an end.
We are in a spiritual battle.
The End Times are here,
God uses the tribulation to separate the sheep from the goats, and the wheat from the tares, true believers from false believers, and the righteous from the wicked.
But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.
The key to making sense of the chaos and uncertainty is to see everything from God's perspective.
And to do that we must immerse ourselves in the word of God.
God has explained the end times in the Bible so we would not be caught off guard and unready. The Bible says we must prepare our hearts and minds by watching, praying, and trusting the Lord.
it is a perfect plan.
God uses persecution of the righteous to separate the righteous from the wicked and to purify His Church.
Clearly, God's ways
are not our ways.
And while His plan unfolds, we must be "diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish."
2 Peter 3:14, Philippians 2:14-16, Ephesians 5:27
And the only way for us to keep from succumbing to worldly pressures and thereby denying Jesus
is by fervent prayer and constant walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The world has been slowly drifting into the "days of Noah."
Most do not want to talk or even think about the coming adversity of the last days.
And some want to fix the world through political means.
It cannot be done.
The anti-christ spirit has permeated all aspects of our society and is getting stronger each day.
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
--- 1 John 4:3
We need to embrace the reality of the end times.
"And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus."
--- Revelation 17:6
[Note: The "woman" is Mystery Babylon the Great, the world system which is now forming and which scripture says is sitting on the beast. (Revelation 17:3)
This first world system will collapse, and the beast (the Anti-Christ) will pick up the pieces and "look like a savior" to the world.
The world will be greatly deceived and will WORSHIP the Anti-Christ. Both world systems hate Christians.
Persecution is coming and we need to stand firm in Christ. It is better to mentally embrace what lies ahead rather than live in constant fear of the future.
We need to prepare mentally and spiritually for what the Bible says is coming in the last days.
to escape from the end times
is not the answer.
Speaking Jesus to the lost world around us is the answer.
Luke 9:23
When we live in "escape mode" we allow fear to be our rudder and we are like the waves tossed to and fro (Ephesians 4:14).
In the end times, we will have to totally depend on God for discernment, protection, and provision including food to avoid taking the mark of the beast.
Revelation 2:17 says, "To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna..."
and reliant upon God
and this is a good thing.
My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
--- Psalm 62:5-6
We do need to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves"
(Matthew 10:16).
And that could mean for some that "When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next"
(Matthew 10:23).
But always with the intent of speaking the gospel to the lost and deceived.
We need to stand firm and embrace our testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As the body of Christ, we are part of His end time plan.
Last days "bread crumbs" are all through the Bible and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can make sense of it all.
We can remain calm, collective, and focused to live in the center of God's perfect will during what the bible calls the worst tribulation in history. (Matthew 24:21)
We cannot get around the reality of the end times.
It will be difficult for us but God has promised "never to leave us or forsake us."
for His coming and trust Him.
We will need great faith.
but remember,
God has promised not
to let go of us.
"Fear not, for I am with you;"
--- Isaiah 41:10
My sheep hear My voice....
and I give eternal life to them,
and they will never perish; and
no one will snatch them
out of My hand.
--- John 10:27-28
God's ways are not our ways.
Do not fret
"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes."
"For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land."
--- Psalm 37:7,9
It is only by embracing what lies ahead (not emotionally running from it) that we can fulfill the Lord's purpose and plan He has for each of us.
but remember,
the LORD is in control.
Love is growing cold
and like the days of Noah,
violence is increasing.
Evil will multiply and the LORD will use it to accomplish
His perfect plan and
bring this world to an end.
Times of Difficulty:
It is a winnowing process that will take the form of persecution for the righteous. This is the wisdom of God working.
God allows difficulties and suffering in the lives of the righteous to purify the church and draw us closer to Him, sharing in His sufferings (Philippians 3:10-11, 1 Peter 4:13-14, Romans 8:17).
The Lord also uses this as discipline to bring us to repentance
(2 Corinthians 7:10) and teach us patience and endurance
(James 1:2-4, 2 Timothy 2:12).
Please understand, in the end times, the primary purpose of this difficult time for the righteous is to separate the righteous from the wicked and to purify the church.
It is not condemnation.
(Romans 8:1)
After the righteous are disciplined, purified, and separated from the wicked they will be raptured. This is after the 6th seal (or 6th year of the 70th week of Daniel).
After the rapture, the wicked will begin their judgement process ending in condemnation.
The wrath of God will be poured out on the wicked in the 7th year of the tribulation.
Many believe God's wrath will last one year and 10 days just like the flood of Noah.
Ultimately, the righteous will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:9-11) and be judged for our works.
Ungodly works will be burned up like "wood, hay, and stubble" (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Godly works will remain like silver or gold tested in fire.
The righteous will not be judged for sin, it was paid for by Christ.
The wicked, however, will stand before the Great White Throne of Judgment to be judged for their sin. They will receive their due penalty which is separation from God and eternal damnation in the lake of fire.
(Romans 2:5-6, Revelation 20:11-12)
►To overcome evil and bring it to an end with God’s righteous wrath
--- Romans 1:18-19, Psalm 51:4
►To bless His children (Yes, Bless!)
If you are persecuted for Jesus, you are blessed.
-- Matthew 5:10-12, 1 Peter 4:14, Romans 5:3, James 1:12, James 1:2-3, James 5:11
►persecution is used to perfect our love for Him.
And in the last days, if you obey God's word, you will be persecuted.
But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. --- 1 John 2:5
►God is sanctifying believers through their suffering and building endurance.
---Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4
► to purify the Church
This is God’s perfect process of refining and purifying the church to become overcomers in Christ.
..."be in holy conduct and godliness"
---2 Peter 3:11
"spotless and blameless"
--- 2 Peter 3:14
►Test our Faith: The end times will force us to become totally dependant upon God and this is a good thing.
--- 1 Peter 1:6-7, 1 Peter 4:12-13, Philippians 4:19, Psalm 118:8, Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 Chronicles 16:11, Isaiah 41:10
►To bring in the fullness of Israel’s salvation
and restore Israel
--- Jeremiah 30:1-38, Hosea 3:4-5
To save Israel
--- Romans 11:26
Fulfill prophecy: by making them first fruits
--- Revelation 14:4, Matthew 20:16
►separating wheat from chaff;
---Matthew 3:12
► Persecution is also used for spreading the gospel. Historically, this has always been true as evident in Iran and China.
Persecution is part of our testimony and an opportunity to witness to those around us.
We are called to evangelize.
Acts 14:22, 2 Corinthians 1:6-7, 2 Timothy 2:10, Luke 21:12–13, Matthew 28:19, 1 Peter 3:15, Acts 1:8, 2 Timothy 1:8
--- Luke 21:12-13
►Increased tribulation to bring a great harvest
Acts 2:47, Acts 16:5
►Fulfill prophecy:
final fulfillment of the Exodus
these things must take place
►End of God's patience
--- Romans 9:22-24, Ezekiel 18:23, 2 Peter 3:9-10
►To make the Lord's enemies a footstool for His feet.
--- Psalms 110:1, Hebrews 1:13, Hebrews 10:12-13, Acts 2:35
►Demonstrate God's power and supreme authority.
--- Romans 9:17
The plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of His heart through all generations.
- Psalm 33:11 NIV