Many thanks to Bud Hancock for a most timely article about the era in which you now find yourselves. May I suggest that you be like the Bereans and search out whether these things be so. Acts 17:11.

Gibber! Gibber!

Chugley

Matthew 24:1-14 – The Signs of the End of the Age

By Bud Hancock

The BIG Question

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. ² And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. ³ And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? ⁴ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. ⁵ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. ⁶ And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows. ⁹ Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ¹² And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ¹³ But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Jesus Answers their Question With TRUTH

In response to the disciples question, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” The first words of Jesus’s answer to His disciples were “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Jesus surely knew that deception would be multiplied as the end of the current age drew closer, so He warned His disciples about that deception.

His warning was directed to them and them alone at that time.  Since they would be the people through whom Jesus would establish the Church, His Body on earth after His departure, it was critical that they understood about deception and how, if accepted, it can steal, kill and destroy.

• The stones of the temple will all be thrown down – done
• Many will claim to be The Anointed, or to be anointed – Occurring NOW
• Wars and Rumors of Wars (reports of, the hearing of)– Occurring NOW
• Nation will rise against nation – Occurring NOW
• Kingdom will rise against kingdom – Occurring NOW
• Famines, Pestilences and earthquakes in various places – Occurring NOW
• Persecution and killing of the saints – Occurring NOW

The next three statements by Jesus indicate a growing apostasy among believers which was mentioned by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3. In verse three of that passage, Paul also warned believers that they should not allow themselves to be deceived “by any means” because that deception would lead to a “falling away” (Strong’s 646, from the Greek apostasia, pronounced “ap-os-tas-ee’-ah”, means defection from truth).

• Offense and betrayal and hatred among the Church – Occurring NOW
• Many false prophets will arise and deceive many in the Church – Occurring NOW
• Due to waxing (increasing) iniquity the love of many will grow cold – Occurring NOW

There is not one word in that passage predicting that any nation will grow more spiritual, more loving, more kind, more moral or righteous or become “great again”;

in fact, such a statement contradicts the words of Jesus who clearly stated that the wars on earth will be due to nations and kingdoms rising against each other, not because they will be getting ‘better’. He also states that “iniquity will abound” and that the growing iniquity, NOT any increase in the ‘goodness of any nation’, will affect the Church, causing many to believe the deception, commonly known as propaganda, whether from any government or from any “Religious officials”.

Every statement of Jesus in this passage is occurring NOW, all over the planet. Earthquakes are definitely increasing in both frequency and intensity, in many cases in conjunction with volcanic eruptions, in many different places around the earth. The earth itself is groaning, awaiting its own redemption from the curse placed on it by God in response to Adam’s sin. The current predictions of a coming massive famine with millions of people starving are totally in accordance with what Jesus said in Matthew 24:7. We are also seeing pestilence in new forms, but in addition, the return of many which were thought to have been eradicated from the earth. Any true believer who has studied the word of God MUST be aware that we ae seeing ALL the signs Jesus told us about. Jesus also declared that the signs are only “the beginning of sorrows”.

Anyone who ignores them, or refuses to see them, is denying the truth of Jesus’ words and in effect is placing his or her trust in the words of false prophets who would have us believe that man is capable of fixing the problems plaguing this planet and all the people dwelling on it. Since man in his fallen state is responsible for those problems, the chance that he can fix them in nil. What is the likelihood that Donald J Trump, or any other politician, most of whom are lying, cheating and corrupt snakes, can “Make America Great Again”? An apparition, a fleeting ghost of false hope that will lead astray anyone who accepts it’s possibility. For that to occur would bring ‘glory’ to the one, or the many, through whom it would be accomplished and that would also be contrary to scripture wherein God declared: “I am the Lord: that is My Name: and my GLORY will I NOT GIVE ANOTHER, neither My praise to graven images”. (Isaiah 42:8 KJV)

I have wondered how easily Satan can deceive so many, especially those who claim to be followers of Christ, and convince them of something that, while it might ‘seem good’, is totally contradictory to God’s word.

Could it be that we have come to see this world as a place so desirable, a place we should love so much, that we cannot let go of it, all the while knowing in our hearts that it will not last much longer? Have we decided to cling to this world, forgetting that Jesus promised He was going away to prepare a place for  us, one of the many mansions in His Father’s house?

Abraham ”saw” it by faith and longed to be in it.

As clean and untouched as the earth was in Abraham’s day, the Patriarch declared that “…he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10 KJV). Abraham’s vision, seen by faith, was his view of one of those many mansions that are likely now prepared and waiting for the arrival of the Church, the Body of Christ. I have never seen that place but it must be beautiful, a place we should all have our hearts and eyes looking toward as our eternal dwelling place where we will never again experience the sadness and sorrows we have endured in our lives on this earth.

Conclusion

While it would be wonderful to write that the world is becoming a better place, that America will be “made great again”, that she will rise again as the moral, religious and political leader of the world, it would not be the truth, and anything that is not the truth is deception, designed to mislead and bring destruction and misery.

The plain simple truth is that we ARE seeing ALL the signs of the end of this age, the Church age; all those who believe on, and accept Jesus as Lord, are closer to the joyous realization of all the promises made to us by the Lord: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 KJV) 

The signs we are witnessing should cause shouting and joy as we watch for the approaching of the Lord as He is even now preparing to come for us. We will leave this cursed earth behind and begin our new eternal lives in bodies that are just like His immortal, perfect body!

The most wonderful part of the passage in Matthew 24 is : “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end (of the Church age) come.”

I will close with this fervent admonition: ENDURE UNTO THE END!

Blessings and Maranatha!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!

budaroo@twc.com

Born and raised in a small textile town in North Carolina, Bud Hancock’s family moved to Michigan in the hope of finding better employment with General Motors.  After graduating from high school, Bud began an apprenticeship with General Motors to become a Metal Modelmaker.  Retiring after a 30 year career, which included an eight year stint as a Meteorologist, he and his wife moved back to North Carolina to be near his elderly parents.  Shortly thereafter, with both of his parents having passed, he started a new career in the bank security/ATM business, advancing from an entry level technician to one of two North Carolina customer service managers for his employer.  Retiring again after 13 years, he and his wife of 51 years relocated to Tennessee where Bud began writing articles specializing in Bible teaching and geopolitical issues.  At age 75, he and his wife relocated to South Carolina with their Miniature Schnauzer, Baxter.  Bud continues to study God’s word and write articles on Christian living and geopolitical issues from the Biblical end times perspective