The World Buckling Under Pressure "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Genesis 6:5
"In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." Judges 17:6
"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."
Romans 13:11-12
"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20
In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will examine the events of our time which undeniably show that we are moving ever closer to our world's final day. Students of the Bible know that when our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, left this world in bodily form He made a promise that He would return the same way He left. As the disciples of Jesus watched Him ascend into heaven, two angels appeared and told them in Acts 1:11, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Since that day there have always been a people looking, waiting, and watching for our Saviour's return. However, far more people over the course of the last two thousand years have refused to believe this core tenet of the Bible. This controversy was addressed by the Apostle Peter in II Peter 3:3-4 which tells us, "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." Peter then goes on to remind us in verse 8 "that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." Finally, he emphatically informs in verse 10, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."
In this strange period of time in which we now live, the masses are still reluctant to believe that Jesus Christ is going to return. Yet, in a peculiar twist, a growing number of scientists, politicians, and even celebrities have expressed a belief that this world is growing closer to reaching its end. Earlier this year, reports surfaced indicating that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is a Democrat from New York, issued a statement declaring that there were only twelve years remaining to save the earth from climate change. In response, the Washington Post published an article on January 24, 2019, with the headline "Ocasio-Cortez says the world will end in 12 years. She is absolutely right." (1) Remarkably, the timeline for the earth's demise was moved up considerably in July 2019 when BBC News published an even bolder headline stating, "Climate Change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months." The piece quotes Charles, Prince of Wales, who said, "I am firmly of the view that the next 18 months will decide our ability to keep climate change to survivable levels and to restore nature to the equilibrium we need for our survival." (2) The article also cites Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, who is the founder of the Potsdam Climate Institute. He was quoted as saying, "The climate math is brutally clear: While the world can't be healed within the next few years, it may be fatally wounded by negligence until 2020." (3) In other words, it is believed that if drastic steps are not taken by the end of the year 2020 to curb climate change, it will be too late and the planet will be beyond the point of no return. These warnings, which are plastered all over the mainstream news, sound rather bleak and hopeless. Scripture reveals to us, however, that our great hope is not in this world, but our faith is in God that He will get us to our home with Him. It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul write in I Corinthians 15:19, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."
When we read today's news headlines, it is no wonder that so many people are concerned about climate change and are, in fact, miserable. Last winter brought a polar vortex that chilled the Midwestern United States. Springtime brought massive flooding and a barrage of tornadoes. The summer season we are presently in has brought heatwaves, earthquakes, wildfires, and storms. Yet, what most people see as signs of irreversible manmade climate change, I see as signs that we are drawing ever closer to the return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. As such, we continue to watch. For as Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:13, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
