Break #70
WRITTEN STUDY NOTES
"Last Days" or
"Latter Times"
I hear this more and
more these days... "Oh, we are in the last days! We had better be
ready for some serious persecution!"
Does that mean we should
be storing up food while we still can? Do we need to purchase those
'end of the world' food packages so we can last a few months longer than
others? Do we need to shudder in fear and get back to loving the
law... and of course, that would mean 'walking the law,' too! Are
all ten of the commandments back into affect? Do we HAVE to get back
to church-going? Is my pastor my earthly lord again? Do we
need to throw out those doctrinal differences and get back to loving everyone
who calls themselves a Christian? Does charity take precedence over
the Scriptures again? Do we back off the KJB & Paul ONLY 'issues'
and just start loving everyone like they say Jesus did"
Is their no longer
a concern about 'another Jesus' that Paul always warned about? Is
the Jesus that the Adventists teach the same Jesus that Paul talks about?
How about the Mormon Jesus - the brother of Satan? How about the
average protestant Jesus - the one that saves you through water baptism
and gives you His Spirit through your first communion at confirmation?
How about the Jesus whose birthday is celebrated once a year by people
giving each other gifts and putting that pretty tree up in the house -
'of course' they really are not worshipping that tree when they sing all
those traditionally lovely and holy carols around the tree... right?
How about the Jesus
that wants us to celebrate his death and resurrection every year along
with Spring eggs and bunnies? How about the Jesus that died for 'most'
of your sins but reminds you that you must still continue to confess them
to make sure you are clean - just in case...? How about the Jesus
that died for 'most of your sins' but does tell you that there a few sins
He did not forgive - so you must shed your own blood for still! How
about the Jesus who needs His mother to complete His holiness?
How about that Jesus
that still produces miracles and healings - and still puts forth those
signs and wonders to get people to believe in him - or at least believe
the preacher preaching those things? How about the Jesus whom the
many different bibles talk about in so many different words and ways -
do those confusing, contradicting and corrupted bibles still speak of the
same Jesus that Paul talks about?
Is the Jesus that everyone
says is coming soon" the Jesus in Revelation 19
or the false one spoken of in Revelation 6?
Are we living in the
times just before Revelation 19 takes
place? You know, the one with the four horsemen, white horse. etc.
just around the corner that so many think of when they think of the "last
days." You know, the times that Paul talks about to Timothy?
You know, the times that Peter talks about when he speaks of scoffers,
etc.
Are we truly now living
in those perilous times of the 'last days?"
Well,
let's see what the Scriptures say, ok?
LAST DAYS
Sure, everyone seems
to know that the description of the 'last days' goes like this: II
Timothy 3:1 - This know also, that
in the last days perilous times shall come.
Unfortunately,
most of the 'hearers' today like to have their itching ears tickled with
all the stuff on the last days in Revelation
by their pastor - or from their favorite author or look at those fearful
renderings of the coming of Jesus by their favorite artist. However,
without rightly dividing the word of truth and the KJB, that information
from Revelation can be, will be, is being used to teach the last days are
upon us already.
First of all, has anyone
ever looked up the word "perilous"?
It means dangerous; hazardous' full of risk'.
So as we see our personal
lives today becoming more and more difficult, would we say times are actually
dangerous? Hazardous? Full of risk? Well, for some, that
may be very true, no doubt. But are we living in the times when it
is actually dangerous and hazardous for everyone who goes with the KJB
and Paul only, going against the powers that be? By the way, those
'powers that be' are not only governmental but could also be coming from
the pulpits of today's churches, etc. Or your sunday school teachers,
school teachers, social workers, family members, etc.
I realize that times
are tough and are tougher today than they were yesterday, no doubt.
But if one were to study our history, they would see that there have been
a lot harder times in our country than what we are experiencing today.
You remember learning about / experiencing the World Wars that changed
the American way of life; the droughts that destroyed so many farms, etc.;
the great depression; gangster days; 'natures' disasters, sicknesses and
deadly diseases; joblessness; poverty; etc.
As yet, even as I type
those things, I remind myself that many of us do realize that we do see
some depth to the problems we are seeing today. We can see the spiritual
enemy at work, no doubt. We do see what is coming - and hopefully,
we truly know what is going on today... and yet can maintain that peace,
understanding and endurance, etc.
No folks, we are not
in the last days - but I do believe we are living during the latter
times! We are seeing the falling away Paul talks about
in II Thessalonians 2:3 - ...for
that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first....
We are most definitely seeing an increase in hardness and persecutions
for us as perversions and Romans 1:21-32
increase like weeds growing in a drought; but we still aren't seeing what
will be taking place during the Tribulation.
I do believe the last
days could be in the 'very near' future, but probably not in our lifetime
future - at least not in mine. It could be that our lifetime could
be cut short, of course - there are those of us in our webfamily who don't
have many years left anyway. :-) But some of you will just
have to ride it out until Romans 22:11,
when the Gentiles will be cut off - the event which will change 'the gospel'
from that moment on - the event which many have come to call the 'rapture'.
At that moment, the greatest dispensation of all time will be over, completed,
ended, over and done with, kaput, complete, closed, concluded, settled,
stopped, accomplished, ceased, fulfilled, shut, terminated, come to an
end, in the past, over and done, sewn up, through, wrapped up!
Capisce? Savvy?
Verstehen? Entiendo? Nakasabot ko? Comprende? Ngiyaqonda?
Ok, enough of my personal comments: "Lets
get into the Scriptures" in Break #71.
