Last night as I struggled to find sleep, God took me through several passages of Scripture concerning “The End Times!” After reading most of the night, I came to 2 Timothy Chapter 3. In his prophesy concerning end times, Paul hit it on the Mark! Just let us read this chapter first, and then expound on it.

2 Tim 3:1-9

3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth — men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.  NIV

When I look at these signs, I am seeing ALL of these things when I look at this world of today. Think about this, before sin and evil gained a foot-hold on mankind, the creation of earth and everything was under Eternal Conditions. How does one time eternity? Scientist today can use their methods and claim billions of years, and also date things found in their digs. Remember, God talks about eternal things, and mankind it limited to time. When mankind sinned, time began, before that the rims of eternity were in control.

  2 Peter 3:8

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years , and a thousand years as one day. KJV

Who, but God, knows the answers to time, and how much time is left before the return of Christ to rule the world forever. The enlightening thing is this, Earth went from an Eternity to time, and when Christ comes back it will go from time back into eternity. Theologians can only trace time for approximately 6 thousand years. From the time of Adam in The Garden of Eden, through those years before Christ, up to Christ’s first coming to earth as a man, which was around 4 thousand years. Then there is approximately 2 thousand years now since Christ’s first coming. This is now 2012, so do the math, if there is only about 6 thousand years of traceable time, the last times are upon us.

If we go back and read in God’s Word the things that must first come to pass before the 2nd coming of the Lord, we find that all prophecy concerning this has come to pass. Anyone can see that everything Paul spoke of here in 2 Tim chapter 3 is going on today. In Daniel chapters 7 and 12 were visions Daniel had of these times, but God made him seal these things up until the last days. Beginning in Revelation Chapter 6, Christ takes the scrolls God ordered sealed until these last days, and He is the only one WORTHY enough to break these seals and pronounce judgments on the wickedness of this world. Before He sets foot on this Earth for the 2nd time, His followers that were and are faithful to Him are taken up in an episode that we Christians today call “The Rapture.”

1 Thess 4:15-18
15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.  NIV

After God’s people (His Saints) are gone, nothing is left but wickedness. Then begins the opening of the seals of judgment upon the wicked in a period called “The Tribulation.” I believe it is a 7 year period where the Dragon, the Beast, and the Antichrist impose their power over the whole world, and the Antichrist will rule the last three and a half years, imposing “The Mark of The Beast” upon any of God’s people left. For many years seminaries in my faith (Southern Baptist) taught that only Jews would be left, but that has been somewhat reworked, and now it is taught that any person who will not take the Mark of the Beast, and accepts the faith of Christ will also be saved. Either way, Jew or even Jews and Gentiles will have a MOST difficult time during the last three and a half years referred to as “The Great Tribulation.” As Jesus opens the seals, the 7 powerful Arch Angels impose Judgments on the wickedness of the earth.

 Rev 16:15-21

15 "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."  

16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible. NIV

This battle of Armageddon is where the Kings of the East converge on Jerusalem to once and for all destroy God’s people, the Jews, but this is when our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ comes back down to earth with a mighty Heavenly Army (We His Saints that He came and got at the Rapture). But all we do is become His Cheerleaders, because all He has to do is SPEAK the Judgments upon the kings of the east and their armies, and they are TOTALLY destroyed.

Then the dragon (Satan), and the Beast, and Antichrist are cast into the pit for the thousand year reign of Christ here on this earth, just before the final casting of them and all that died that LAST DAY, into the lake of fire in what the Bible calls “The Second Death.” This is preceded by “The Great White Thrown Judgment.”

There is a lot of things that happen during these last days that Revelation explains in detail, but to be READY is the thing. Expect Christ’s coming any-day now, and live your life with your FAITH in the Lord Jesus, and be READY!! I sing a song that is a mini story about these Last Days entitled, “The Warning.” It is a grim reminders of these times. Here is the link to it. 

http://indiegospel.org/video/the-warning0002

A Fellow Prayer Warrior For Christ,

Rev. Zack Martin Sr.