Nine Sane Reasons to Believe the World Will End Soon

[ShofarSoGood]

Good blog, bad title - the world doesn't end; the Age of Grace does.  

Nine Sane Reasons to Believe the World Will End Soon

Saturday, April 16, 2016



Anyone who believes the world is coming to an end is a lunatic, or so they say. We certainly have seen our share of unhinged doomsday fanatics. Jim Jones claimed he was God in the flesh. He convinced nine hundred of his followers to leave San Francisco and follow him to the jungle of Guyana in South America. He ordered the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan who came to investigate and then led his flock in a mass suicide. David Koresh convinced his disciples that he was Jesus Christ who had come to establish his kingdom on earth. They all died in a battle with the FBI. Harold Camping proclaimed through his book 1994? that Christ would return on September 6th of that year. He held to this view even when nothing occurred that day. He went on to claim on his radio broadcast that the rapture would occur on May 21, 2011 and the world would end on October 21, 2011. He only admitted his mistake when these last predictions failed.





I want to assure you that I'm not so foolish. I challenge you to think outside the box. The scientific establishment accepts that the universe began with a Big Bang. It must therefore also have an end. They claim this will be billions of years in the future as they hold it began billions of years in the past. Are they right? You be the judge. There is a considerable slate of evidence to support the conclusion that the universe and the earth are not so old. You can find much of it at the two links below.



nwcreation.net/young.html


www.icr.org/recent-creation


You can find counter claims for the billions of years scenario at this link.



rationalwiki.org/wiki/Evidence_against_a_recent_creation


I don't expect you to abandon reason in order to accept my claims. On the contrary, I want you to see that the following is very rational
 and verifiable.





A similar debate rages concerning the origin of life. Science claims that life sprang from inanimate matter through chemical processes. The discovery of DNA and RNA revealed that even the most basic life requires complex biological structure. This refutes the notion of spontaneous origin. The only logical answer is that an outside intelligence directed this process.





There is reason to believe that our present civilization will not last much longer. The current rage being promoted by the powers that be is global warming. This may be a threat, but it is not imminent. It could be avoided for decades at the least and possibly avoided all together. There are other more pressing issues that appear much more dangerous. Let's consider nine of them.





Nuclear Proliferation - We saw films when I was in grammar school about the threat of nuclear war. We were taught to hide under our desks (as if that would save us). Many people had bomb shelters supplied with food and water. Now would be a good time to do this again. You had better add radiation protective clothing and masks. There were only five nations with nuclear weapons then - the five member nations of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, the Soviet Union (now Russia), the People's Republic of China, France, and Great Britain. Four more nations are believed to have gained nuclear weapons since - India, Israel, Pakistan, and North Korea. Four nations which previously had them - Belarus, Kazakistan, Ukraine, and South Africa - agreed to give them up. The first three had been part of the Soviet Union and were pressured by Russia and the world to surrender their arsenals to the Russians. For various reasons there are now many nations that desire to acquire them - Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Japan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Turkey. Some of these may already have them. The risk of their use is growing rapidly.


Terrorism - It has become a global and ever present threat. Bombings occur almost daily. The use of commercial airplanes to destroy the World Trade Center opened up new dangers. The threat of cyber terrorism has also been unleashed by both governments (the US and Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear program) and anti-government forces (Anonymous). The threat of nuclear terrorism is rapidly increasing. The Islamic State is reported to be seeking nuclear materials. Chemical and biological agents of mass destruction are also in play.


Genetic Engineering - Both China and Great Britain are attempting to genetically engineer human embryos. This startling development would open a Pandora's box into a potentially horrific new world.


Population Growth and Urbanization - The exponential growth of the world's population, and especially its increasing urbanization, is not sustainable. In the year 1800 a mere three percent of mankind lived in cities. Now more than half of humanity are city-dwellers. This growth has created most of the problems that beset us - crime, violence, gangs, drug addiction, alcohol abuse, domestic strife, juvenile delinquency, unemployment, homelessness, pandemic disease, social upheaval, and political chaos.





This evidence of impending disaster should be enough to cause alarm. A book by Dr. Richard A. Swenson called Hurtling Toward Oblivion gives much more detail about these dangers.



www.amazon.com/Hurtling-Toward-Oblivion-Logical-Argument/dp/1576830705


There is another book that has been sounding the alarm for thousands of years - the Bible. Prophecy warns of soon coming judgment by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob upon all who have rejected him. Here is a list of the work God is doing to prepare for his coming.





Israel - No other people have had their nation destroyed, been aliens in foreign lands for two thousand years, and then been able to reclaim their land and revive their sovereignty. This is exactly what the Bible said thirty-five hundred years ago would happen. (Deuteronomy 28:36&37, 30:3-5) Psalm 83:2-5 says, "For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult; and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent; they are confederate against thee." The Arab League was formed in 1945, three years before Israel was reborn in 1948. The league immediately attacked Israel the day after in declared its sovereignty. The Arab League still does not recognize Israel's existence and have sworn to destroy it.


The European Union - Never before have governments voluntarily surrendered their sovereignty to a higher authority. Marks, lira, and francs are all in the dustbin of history replaced by the euro. Europe is peacefully united for the first time since the Roman Empire. God gave Daniel visions of world empires which showed that Rome would be the last. The first vision was a statue and Rome was revealed as two legs of iron. Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire in two in the third century - eight hundred years after Daniel. The western empire fell into pieces in the fifth century. However, the eastern Byzantine Empire lasted until the sacking of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. It was shortly thereafter that Columbus sailed to the New World. This began the European colonial period. The former Roman nations (Spain, Portugal, France, and Great Britain) built empires which spanned the globe. The EU began as a trade agreement between three nations (Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg) shortly after the end of the Second World War. Now it stretches from Ireland in the west to Cyprus in the east and from Sweden's arctic coast in the north to the Mediterranean Sea. It will be the model for the global union that will soon appear. (Daniel 7:23)


Globalization - It is the mantra of our time. We already have the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the World Court, and the United Nations. Multinational corporations are pushing to break down international economic and trade barriers. Issues like terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and global warming are destroying the political obstacles. A global union will soon unite all the nations of the world under a single government. (Revelation 13:7) It was said during the Roman Empire that the world was a small place for anyone who rebelled against Caesar. This will also be true for anyone who defies the coming world government. There will be very few places to hide.


The Internet - This technological marvel is breaking down the geographical and language barriers that God erected at the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9) It has become a global community that is unprecedented in human history. It is a marketplace where anything under the sun can be purchased. (Revelation 18:11-13) It is the framework that will allow the complete control of world commerce. Revelation 13:16&17 say, "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." This mark is a number. Every financial transaction besides cash sales or transfers depend on numbers. Over ninety-five percent of them are already done electronically. Everything will be done by numbers when cash is abolished. There is a book by Mark Hitchcock entitled Cashless which explains how this will unfold. We are at the doorstep of international economic integration. www.markhitchcock.com/books


Russia and Iran - These two nations have been historical rivals for influence in Central Asia. They fought five wars dating from 1651 to 1828. No one thought that Christian Russia and Muslim Persia could become allies. This is exactly what the Bible prophesied .(Ezekiel 38:1-5) The ancient nation of Persia has become the modern Islamic Republic of Iran. The prophet Ezekiel was shown a vision of an invasion of Israel by Russia (known in the Bible as Magog) and Iran. Russia and Iran have been brought together by their shared animosity for the United States and its European allies. Russian and Iranian military forces are now fighting side by side for the first time ever in Syria. Israel has also made several air strikes in Syria to prevent Iranian weapons shipments from reaching Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The Iranian government has repeatedly declared its intention to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. The Russo Iranian invasion appears to be imminent.





How will this affect you? Is there any hope for survival? The Bible gives both good news and bad. Let's start with the bad news. The prophet Daniel wrote that the last days of God's judgment would "be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation." (Daniel 12:2) Jesus Christ repeated this warning stating that it shall be a time of "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:21) Isaiah warned that God "will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold." (Isaiah 13:11&12) World War Two was the most devastating disaster that has ever befallen humanity. Fifty million people died. The Bible declares that this soon coming catastrophe will be far worse and kill hundreds of millions and probably billions of people.





Yet there also is hope. Daniel says that "at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." (Daniel 12:2) What book is this? In Revelation 3:5 Jesus Christ says "he that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." What is this book of life? It is the book that contains the names of every one who has received God's gift of eternal life. Jesus also said, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) This everlasting life is the spiritual life that begins when one is born again through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It begins during our physical life when we believe "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3&4) It continues after our physical death. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the most thoroughly detailed event recorded in ancient history. The accounts written in the Bible were recorded by men who witnessed it (Matthew, Peter, and John) or men who wrote down the words of other witnesses. (Mark and Luke) The Bible says that Christ defeated death so that we can live forever. (1 Corinthians 15:50-58) You can receive this gift by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13) "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) God will save you if you believe and ask. Get a Bible and read it. Ask God to lead you to a faithful church and join it. Ask them to teach you how to walk with Christ in the light of his word. Ask God to give you faith, hope, and love. Share it by giving to others who need help both physically and spiritually. Tell them all that you have learned about the love of God and the end of this age. God bless you.





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