In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus was seating on the Mount of Olives, and the disciples came to him, saying:
“Tell us, when will these things be? And WHAT WILL BE THE SIGN OF YOUR COMING, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3)
In this chapter, Jesus gives many signs and events that MUST happen BEFORE He will come back.
> Many will come in his name saying: “I am the Christ”; and shall deceive many.
> Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
> There will be famines, pestilences, earthquakes; all these are the beginning of sorrows.
> We the followers of Jesus will be hated by all nations for his name's sake.
> Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
> Because iniquity will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
> The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, and then the end will come.
> When we will see THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, SPOKEN BY DANIEL THE PROPHET, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then we will have to flee out of the cities and out of “civilization”.
Let us ask ourselves: What is the only HOLY PLACE in this date and age? Is it not our own BODY?
Jesus mentioned once about his own BODY being the TEMPLE of God:
"So the Jews answered and said to Him, 'What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this TEMPLE, and in three days I will raise it up.' Then the Jews said, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' But He was speaking of the TEMPLE of His BODY. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.” (John 2:18-22)
The apostle Paul exhorts us:
"Do you not know that you are the TEMPLE of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the TEMPLE of God, God will destroy him. For the TEMPLE of God is HOLY, which TEMPLE you are." (1Corinthians 3:16-17)
Will we not defile our temple, if we allow a microchip be implanted in our hand, to be able to buy or sell, and have access to all the technological benefits and gadgets available at our fingertips?
The apostle John wrote:
"Love not the world (man's system) neither the things that are in the world; if any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever." (1John 2:15-17)
But, what is the "Abomination of Desolation” spoken by Daniel the prophet? The apostle John received a prophecy in the book of Revelation chapter 13, about the appearing and worship by all humans of the Image of the Beast; and about the implanting of the Mark of the Beast in every human BODY, in the right hand or in the forehead, apparently a high-technology tracking device, without which no one will be able to BUY or SELL. (The Beast in the books of Daniel and Revelation is the person of the Antichrist or 'man of sin', in the Gospels and in the letters of the apostles.)
"He (the False Prophet) was granted power to give breath to the Image of the Beast, that the Image of the Beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a Mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may BUY or SELL except one who has the MARK or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666." (Revelation 13:15-18)
In Revelation chapter 14, John’s prophecy warns us about the serious consequences of worshipping the BEAST and his IMAGE, and receiving the MARK, saying:
“If anyone worships the BEAST and his IMAGE, and receives his MARK on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb (Jesus). And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the BEAST and his IMAGE, and whoever receives the MARK of his name. (Revelation 14:9-11)
> For there will be GREAT TRIBULATION like never before nor ever will be. Unless those days should be shortened, no one will be saved.
We can see that in the time of the apostles and right after, many true believers have been persecuted and killed as martyrs. They had great tribulations which kept them desperate and close to the Lord.
Jesus said:
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have PEACE. In this world you will have TRIBULATION; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
The apostle Paul wrote:
"For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to SUFFER for His sake." (Philippians 1:29)
> FALSE CHRISTS and FALSE PROPHETS will rise, who will show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even us the followers of Jesus Christ.
> We must not believe if someone tells us: “Christ is here or there”:
"For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will be the COMING OF THE SON OF MAN (Jesus Christ). AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will GATHER TOGETHER His elect (the saints in Christ) from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other (the Rapture).” (Matthew 24:27,29-31)
The apostle John wrote about Jesus:
"Behold, [Jesus Christ] is coming with clouds, and EVERY EYE will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him." (Revelation 1:7)
JESUS OUR LORD WILL NOT COME SECRETLY, as mainstream Christianity has been proclaiming until now. We will ALL see him! It will be spectacular! Hallelujah!
In Second Thessalonians chapter 2, the apostle Paul describes some events that must come before the return of Jesus and our gathering together to Him up in the air with our new glorious body (1Corinthians 15:50-53; 1Thessalonians 4:14-18):
"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (the day of gathering together to Jesus) will not come unless the FALLING AWAY [from the faith] comes first, and the MAN of SIN (the Antichrist) is revealed, the SON of PERDITION, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2Thessalonians 2:3-4,8-12)
THE FALLING AWAY of the faith will come first. We can see it already with the false prosperity doctrine, which is contrary to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. "Do not make treasures on earth" (Matthew 6:19). And also the current deceiving Ecumenism: the unity of all Christian denominations and world religions in the name of "Love", stating that Jesus is not the only way of salvation anymore, because "we are all children of God", which is completely opposite to what the Holy Scriptures say. (See John 1:12-13; 3:16-17; John 14:6.)
THE MAN OF SIN, the son of perdition, MUST BE REVEALED. We are still waiting for him to be revealed openly, as he will exalt himself as God and above all that is worshipped. The Antichrist the “Son” of Satan will come with power, signs and lying wonders to deceive those who reject the love of the truth of Jesus Christ. This LAWLESS ONE will be consumed with the breath of Jesus' mouth and destroyed at the brightness of his coming! This will happen at the battle of Armageddon when Jesus will throw the Antichrist and the False Prophet in the lake of fire for eternal punishment for all their wicked deeds (Revelation 19:19-20). Praise God!
We will end this writing with THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE in the gospel of Matthew chapter 24:
“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, WHEN YOU SEE ALL THESE THINGS, KNOW THAT THE SON OF MAN IS NEAR, AT THE DOORS! Assuredly, I say to you, THIS GENERATION WILL BY NO MEANS PASS AWAY, TILL ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My Words will by no means pass away.
“But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but My Father only. Therefore you also BE READY, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." (Matthew 24:32-36, 44)
(PRAYER:) Our Heavenly Father and God, in the name of your beloved Son Jesus our Lord, we thank you for instructing us more and more through your Word and Spirit, about the times we are living right now and the many signs unfolding before our eyes, indicating that the coming of our King and Lord Jesus is very near.
We can discern that we don't have so much time left of daylight, as the Antichrist is grouping his forces toward a one-world government, and soon he will put in place his despotic controlling system through his diabolical image and microchip (RFID 060606).
Help us, Lord God, to stay awake and alert and on the attack, working wholeheartedly to advance the Kingdom, as if today would be our last day, for the night approaches when no one can work or evangelise.
And no matter the circumstances, help us to keep our eyes on You. You promised us that you will never leave us nor forsake us, and that You will be with us always even unto the end. Thank You, Father, and thank You, Jesus our Saviour!
Help us, our Father and God, to be faithful each day to proclaim among the lost the Good News of salvation in union with Christ Jesus, so that many may come to repentance and salvation and reconciliation with You. Amen. (See Romans 5:8-11; 2Corinthians 5:14-21.)