I have been asked several times here lately about the catastrophic events happening around the world and are they signs of the end.
I think that they could be signs of the end times. The Bible predicts specifically that there will be earthquakes and physical catastrophes around the world to signal the return of Christ.
But, if you don’t believe the Bible or consider prophecy, then it is all a mute point.
However, one of the greatest confirmations of the reality, validity, inspiration, and authority of the Scripture is the magnitude and accuracy of prophecies or predictions about future events. It has been calculated that there are over 1,800 individual predictions. These prophecies comprise 27 percent of the total number of verses found in the Bible. Over three hundred of these verses in the Old Testament speak prophetically about the first coming of Jesus Christ.
A man by the name of Peter Stoner took 48 of the specific prophecies related to Jesus and calculated the odds for one man fulfilling just these 48 prophecies as 1 in 10157. The odds for the total of number of prophecies being fulfilled as predicted is staggering in numerical terms. The uniqueness of them is found in no other religious or secular writing.
Isaiah recorded God’s statement regarding prophecy,
“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them” (Isaiah 42:9, NKJV).
Again Isaiah writes,
“Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9,10, NKJV).
The Bible is about prophecy; fulfilled, being fulfilled, and yet to be fulfilled.
Too often we get lost and bogged down in the minutiae of prophetic details and miss the main flow. When observing the terrain from the window of an airplane we see things from an entirely different perspective. We can look down and see where a road begins and where it ends. We can see how it intersects with other roads. We can see what was avoided in the past and what danger lies ahead. Too often we miss the glorious forest because we are looking at an acorn. Too often we miss God’s glorious plan because we are caught up in the details of our life and our own little world.
God has a plan for mankind and His creation. His plan is unfolding at this very moment. It will unfold in the days ahead because His Word guarantees it. You are a part of God’s plan. You are a part of it either as a lost person apart from a relationship with God through Jesus or you are a blood-bought, born-again, Believer.
You need to digest this material if you are a lost person to awaken in you a need to come to Christ for salvation before it is eternally too late. You need to digest this material as a saved person so as to be comforted, confident, and ready to give to anyone a reason for the hope that lies within you.
Ignorance about God’s plan of the ages is prolific. I have heard Christians and ministers alike make statements like, “I am a ‘pan-millennialist’ – I just believe it will all pan out in the end!” This kind of response shows not only an ignorance of an important matter, but an arrogance in regard to our responsibility as Believers to proclaim the Lord’s return to a lost and dying world.
Most people want to know about prophecy and God’s unfolding plan. Some get confused and give up trying to understand. Some listen to inaccurate teachers or teachers who do not believe in or teach the Bible. Some get so engrossed in a detail here or there that they lose sight of the road map. The messages of Revelation are simple and straightforward. The basis is the Word of God.
It is our prayer that you get a grasp of God’s plan for His creation and for the ages of mankind by reading this material. Don’t resign yourself to ignorance or elevate yourself in arrogance. Study to show yourself approved, a worker and a witness, that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Jesus could very well be on His way from Heaven to planet earth. Will you be ready with anticipation? Will you be ashamed because you have not been a witness of His name? Or will you be fearful for the judgment that awaits you at His hand? I, for one, want to be on the welcoming and worship committee! How about you?
Jerry Smith
