The Last Days and the World

As we bid farewell to another year that is past, and anticipate the beginning of a new one, there is one thing that remains constant and certain: The Lord Jesus Christ will soon come back to this world to end the wicked reign of defiant mankind, and to begin the most glorious reign that this world has ever seen or imagined. I feel today to just drive home the point of the manner of his second coming. He said it best himself, naturally: "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not... Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be... And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and THEY SHALL SEE the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Mat. 24:23,26,27,30). Jesus made it crystal clear that his coming back to this world will be a physical, visible, and miraculous coming from heaven. Not only so, but the scriptures are equally as clear that he will not be alone: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war... And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean" (Rev. 19:11,14). The scriptures also plainly tell us that his coming is not going to be a friendly endeavor toward those who have defied his first coming, and the suffering that he underwent for all mankind: "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (II Thess. 1:6-9). We are also told that the heavens themselves are going to undergo a miraculous and powerful transformation when Jesus and the armies of heaven come to this earth: "For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies... And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree" (Isa. 34:2,4).

There is so much scripture that can be put together to confirm these things that it would take a book to do that. Nonetheless it is certain that these few scriptural facts are not going to be contradicted by any other scriptures. My point for setting these biblical realities in order here is that there is going to be "another Jesus" who comes on the scene, who will claim to have come from heaven, and will be doing great signs and wonders to prove who he is. Look at some of what Jesus and the Bible have to say about this man: "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Mat. 24:24). "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders" (II Thess. 2:8,9). "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon... And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast" (Rev. 13:11,13,14). This "false prophet" will function as what amounts to a super publicist for the man known as "the beast," who will claim to be God and will be 'hell-bent' on destroying the Jews and those who believe in God's only begotten Son (Rev. 13:12; II Thess. 2:3,4; Zech. 14:1-4; Rev. 13:7; Rev. 20:4) This all brings me back to my opening scripture which was spoken by Jesus: "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not." This is so integral to understand and remember because this is EXACTLY what everyone is going to be saying about this man known as "the false prophet," when he mysteriously appears on the scene, claiming to be Jesus and showing forth great miracles that appear to prove it. I should point out that this man's miracles will NOT include miracles of God's goodness such as healing, etc. Contrary to what some have been taught, the devil cannot heal, and in fact would not do it even if he could. Satan's nature is as Jesus said, "to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." God's nature is what Jesus went on in that same verse to say: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (Jn. 10:10).

The false prophets miracles will be stupendous things like bringing fire down from heaven, but they will not be things that are inherently good in nature. This man will NOT come from heaven, and therefore he will NOT BE SEEN coming from heaven with an army on white horses. Neither will the heavens depart or the stars fall from the sky when this man appears on the scene. His very presence will defy all literal meaning of scripture, such as everything quoted and referenced in this article. It is the simplistic and basic things about the Gospel that we very much need to keep in memory and take heed to. The second coming of Jesus Christ to this world is going to be by far the most miraculous, and powerful, and cataclysmic thing that this world has ever seen or imagined. Only those who have endured and waited with a pure heart for his coming will be glad to see it, and that because they, along with the faithful dead, will be caught up to meet him and glorified bodily with the same eternal substance that he is glorified with (Mat. 5:8; I Jn. 3:3,4; Philip. 3:21; I Cor. 15:52-54; I Thess. 4:15-17). Everyone else will be horrified, and with very good reason, as we are told: "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Rev. 6:15-17) These things will not come about as the result of a man showing up and doing a lot of wow-factor miracles to lead everyone to worship another man in the earth. So as we usher in the new year we should soberly remember that the things that are written are the only things we can be utterly certain about, and the greatest thing that is written is the absoluteness that the Son of God will soon return to this world, and he will return in the exact manner that it is written of him to do. Amen, God bless, and Happy New Year!