SIGNS OF THE END TIME                                            What does the Bible say?     

                                 By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.  - (1999)

Part 2: VIOLENCE: A SIGN OF END TIMES & SOON RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST

Jesus warned of the tremendous increase of violence which would identify the time just prior to His return in the second coming of Jesus Christ.  He made the comparison between that time and the Antediluvian age of Noah, as well as the days of Lot.

"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." (Luke 17:26-30)

   NO. 1 - THE DAYS OF NOAH

The Bible gives us a good description of the wickedness, violence and ungodliness which pervaded the antediluvian age. "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. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth..."

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." (Genesis  6:5-7, 11-13)

In verses 11 and 12, the Bible characterizes "the Days Before the Flood" as corrupt and violent! People in general had forsaken the Lord and were living only for themselves, filled with greed, lust, pride and unrighteousness.

THAT SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE THESE TIMES, with people turning their backs upon the teachings of God's Word, so that they can do their own things?

   NO. 2 - THE DAYS OF LOT

The Prophet Ezekiel pinpoints the sins of Sodom  Gomorrah as follows: "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." (Ezekiel 16:49-50)

Here is a list of their sins:

   PRIDE
   FULLNESS OF BREAD
   ABUNDANCE OF IDLENESS
   LACK OF COMPASSION
   PERVERTED SEX

Our world is guilty of all these five sins in this generation. Sin is the transgression of God’s law, a rebellious spirit against that which is godly!  Pride is the sin which caused Lucifer’s fall.

When there is too much wealth, people usually get spoiled and want more! Never satisfied, they strive for more and more!  Abundance of idleness - is the devil’s opportunity to fill the mind with nonsense. Shorter work weeks gives people more time to serve the lusts of the flesh, the world and the devil.

A lack of compassion for the poor and needy is always a sign of pride, arrogance and selfishness.

Sexual perversion is one of the final signs of a fast dying society! And when perverted sex is mandated by law as an alternate lifestyle and heralded by the media as healthy and normal, then you know we are in desperate straights.

That's where our world is today!  Oh, how badly we need a red-hot revival in our land and across the world! May God help us.

My prayer is that God will speed the day that Heaven will come down to us with abundant blessings for everyone! Will you join me in prayer?

 PERVERSION VYING FOR RESPECTABILITY

Jesus prophesied that the time will come, “that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service”. (John 16:2)

And the prophet stated, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes...Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!” (Is. 5:20-23)

St. Paul expounded, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-5)

That this WORLD IS EVIL AND PERVERTED is no secret! The world system that despises that which is good and glorifies that which is EVIL is a product of Satanic invention, since he is the “god of this world”.

Again Paul declares that Jesus Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world (age), according to the will of God and our Father”. (Galatians 1:4)

  SIGN #3  - THE SICK CONDITION OF ISRAEL

ISRAEL IS VULNERABLE FACING ATTACKS FROM EVERY  DIRECTION

At this moment in history, Israel is very vulnerable because of the pressure placed upon them by the nations of the world to give up land for peace.  And the United States - who traditionally has been their friend, is turning the screws the hardest of all.

Eventually, Israel will succumb to all this pressure and give away so much land that they will be unable to defend themselves. Sometime in the future, Israel will be deceived into accepting the Antichrist as their Messiah and will suffer terribly because of that. Referring to this, our Lord said to the Jewish leaders,

“I am come in My Father's name, and ye receive Me not: if another (the anti-Christ) shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.” (John 5:43

The Jewish leaders rejected Jesus Christ Who came to save them in His Father’s Name. When Antichrist comes in his own name, they will receive him!

GOD'S WORD STATES THAT RUSSIA WILL RISE UP AGAIN IN GREAT POWER AND LEAD THE MARCH AGAINST ISRAEL

Iran will then be the dominant power in the area, with the USA and Israel giving in to their demands! According to God’s Word, Russia will rise in great power again and lead the march against Israel!

The prophet Ezekiel declared that Iran (Persia) together with Ethiopia, Libya & Turkey will march against Israel in the great battle of ‘Gog and Magog’.

GOD WILL FIGHT FOR ISRAEL AND DEFEND HER

GOD WILL FIGHT FOR ISRAEL AND DEFEND HER! A great slaughter will unfortunately take place however, before God’s chosen people come to their senses. They will ultimately receive their long awaited Messiah Jesus Christ, when He returns in he Second Coming of Jesus Christ in power and great glory at the end of the age!

Jesus Christ will then rule and reign for 1000 years of peace upon planet earth, as King of kings and Lord of lords!

  SIGN #4  - THE SICK CONDITION OF THE CHURCH

Celebrated Canadian writer, Peter Newman exposes the weaknesses in our churches and outlines wherein and how we have failed to communicate the Gospel to our children, grandchildren and our neighbours.

In his recent book, ‘The Canadian Revolution’ Peter Newman chronicles the free-fall of the United Church of Canada’s membership as well as their influence in society during the past three decades.

Newman writes, “The United Church, formed in 1925 through a union of Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists, suffered the steepest decline. Three million Canadians declared their United Church affiliation to the latest census takers but less than 380,000 bothered going to church. Although the most liberal of the mainstream congregations, allowing for the ordination of gay priests and promoting the social gospel, the United Church found itself paradoxically unable to attract the young.”

A footnote says, “An increasingly typical event was the closing, during the fall of 1994, of Chalmers United Church in downtown Vancouver. There wasn’t a single member left on its congregational rolls who was less than 80 years old.”

For years, University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby has tracked the religious life of Canadians. In his book ‘Unknown Gods’ , Bibby states: “Tragically, religious groups are failing in what appear to be spiritually prosperous times. The churches are inept religious companies that cannot get the faith out of the ware house …The news is that interest and intrigue persist, in spite of the problems of organized religion. The result may be a very sizable, ongoing spiritual vacuum.”

The Anglican Church, according to the census has 2.2 million members with 784,000 active adherents. Addressing the church synod in 1994, Archbishop Peter O’Driscoll warned: “In the next ten to fifteen years the largest age group in the present Anglican Church of Canada will be dead. At the end of two generations, there won’t be enough people to say there’s still an Anglican Church alive in this country.”

HOW SAD AND TRAGIC!

While the Anglican Church lost 250,000 members from 1981 to 1991, and the United Church lost 665,000 members during that same period - that’s 10 % and 20 % respectively - the Pentecostal Church grew by 100,000 adherents and the Christian & Missionary Alliance doubled in size!

The November,1965 issue of Canada’s Revival Magazine, ‘Cry of His Coming’ carried the following prophetic headline: 1965 UNITED CHURCH NEW CURRICULUM SETS STAGE FOR MORE APOSTACY! MODERATOR REV. HOWSE DENIES PHYSICAL RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST !

In that article, this author wrote under the by-line, ‘THE GREAT FALLING AWAY’ - St. Paul warns: “Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” (2 Thess. 2:3)

The ‘Great Falling Away’ is Here Now- with entire denominations of Christian Churches turning their backs on the Holy Scriptures, declaring them fallible and contradictory. They despise the great truths of the Bible, and exchange them for their own humanistic, man-made philosophies!

As strange as this may seem, these reprobate preachers actually play-out the exact role of ‘backsliding Israel’ in Old Testament times.

“For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)

HERE IS A LIST OF THEIR BACKSLIDINGS!

 They have violated the sanctity of the Holy Bible, discarding the eternal truths of God’s Word. Man-made philosophies, secular humanism and blatantly spurious doctrines have filled the void!

 They rely almost totally on man’s wisdom and carnal knowledge, having rejected the wisdom that comes solely from the Holy Scriptures. This leaves them incapable of making sound spiritual decisions!

 They have rejected the counsel of the Holy Spirit- Divine Paraclete- and draw their inspiration from the teachings of others similarly deceived. Serious decision making regarding spiritual matters and doctrine is therefore prejudiced, flawed and compromised!

 Their emphasis is on good works, rather than the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. The ‘social gospel’ they preach is devoid of the grace of God and faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. Their ‘good works’ message offers only secular and political rhetoric to undo social injustices, without a sound spiritual foundation.

 They have desecrated the Holy Scriptures by substituting their own verbiage instead of the correct translation of the original Hebrew and Greek, in reference to God Himself. These literary counterfeiters have unilaterally -without any jurisdiction- decided to change the gender of Almighty God from masculine (Father) to Mother.  Instead of addressing God as He, they refer to Him as She and the Lord Jesus is not the Son of God, but the Child of God!

The Word of God conclusively states: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (1 Timothy 4:1-2, 16)

AN URGENT WARNING ISSUED TO THOSE TAMPERING WITH GOD’S WORD

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

“Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God... Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1 John 2:22-23; 4:1-3; 5:1, 4-5, 9-12)

 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? SIMPLY THIS:

Anyone who denies that Jesus Christ is God is a false teacher and an enemy of God.

Every spirit that confesses that ‘Jesus Christ is come in the flesh’ is of God. Those who do not are of Satan and the Antichrist spirit!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN: “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh”?

There are millions of babies born daily across the world. They are all born of flesh & blood. They have all “come in the flesh”. That is no miracle, but when God is incarnated in human flesh, that is a miracle. It simply means that Jesus Christ was God in human flesh! God the Son came down from Heaven, through the very miraculous and complex process of the virgin birth!

God the Holy Spirit placed within the virgin Mary’s womb a specially created body for the Lord Jesus. He was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin woman without the aid of a human father. Jesus Christ - true God & true man, in order to suffer and die for our sins and rise again for our justification. ( )

“The new United Church curriculum - now taught to thousands of children - denies the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, leaving the inference that Joseph or some other man was Jesus’ father. This would indicate that His mother Mary was sinful and promiscuous, instead of a chaste virgin and that Jesus Christ was not divine!

Have you heard of such SACRILEGE? And this - not from an atheistic journal - but from the official organ and pulpits of Canada’s largest Protestant denomination!

That same ‘curriculum’ calls the first eleven chapters of Genesis - which deal with God’s marvelous creation, Noah and the flood - a fable or myth! It denies the miracles in the Bible, rejects the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and ridicules His ascension and second coming!

Read the blasphemous statements made by Rev. Ben Smilie- United Church chaplain at the University of Saskatchewan, as chronicled by Regina Leader Post’s Tom Jarvis in an article titled, ‘A MASSIVE IRRELEVANCY’:

“The Toronto Telegram printed it in full with the somewhat shocking passage in large type which speaks of fundamentalist belief in “clay-made man, a floating zoo, an amphibious-footed Jesus, a son of God who was a home brew artist, and an ascension that looks like a Cape Kennedy blast-off”.

Have you heard of anything more blasphemous and anti-Christian, coming from the pen of an ordained Protestant clergyman!

We’ll let the moderator of the United Church speak for himself. The following was carried by the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, June 5, 1965. ‘HOWSE SAYS LITERAL BELIEVER IN BIBLE LACKS UNDERSTANDING’.

“The moderator of the United Church of Canada says Christians who believe literally in all of the ‘metaphors and imageries’ of the Bible exhibit ‘lack of understanding’.

“The Rt. Rev. Ernest Howse of Toronto, in an interview Thursday said that one of the most significant religious trends today is the movement away from ‘medieval imagery and hypocrisy’.

“Dr. Howse, who had been in Banff for a meeting of the United Church’s Alberta Conference, said people should not take literally such events as Christ’s physical resurrection and the virginity of Mary. The moderator said the United Church’s new curriculum which allows for liberal interpretation of the Bible, is ‘really nothing new at all’.

“There is nothing in the curriculum which was not accepted when I was in College thirty years ago. If people are shocked by it, then it is evident our ministers have not been adequately teaching their congregations”.

 NEW MODERATOR: SAME OLD APOSTASY IN UNITED CHURCH!

Bill Phipps probably learned ‘APOSTACY’ from professors, who were themselves corrupted while in College! The new moderator of the United Church is Rev. Bill Phipps - a little known Calgary pastor - who is making big waves with his outspoken, irreverent and blasphemous remarks. It appears that he has excelled in unlearning the basic, fundamental doctrines of Christianity, in the tradition of the Rev. Howse and the liberal theological College to which he referred!

‘AN ACTIVIST MODERATOR IS ROCKING THE UNITED CHURCH’               -Edmonton Journal

In a major news story carried across Canada in the Southam Press, Nov.1, 1997, Rev. Phipps made these statements: “I don’t believe Jesus is the only way to God. I don’t believe he rose from the dead as a scientific fact. I don’t know whether those thing happened. It’s an irrelevant question.”

In a follow-up article, the ‘Ottawa Citizen’ wrote: ‘CHURCH MODERATOR A HERETIC, PROFESSOR SAYS’ - “The moderator of the United Church of Canada is a heretic, says a professor of modern Christian history.

“A heretic is defined as someone who chooses a doctrinal path other than that of the church to which he belongs”, says John Stackhouse, of the University of Manitoba.

“By that standard, Rev. Bill Phipps “is a heretic according to the United Church of Canada’s own standard of doctrine. He’s also a heretic in generic Christian terms, because he denies the creeds that all Christians have subscribed to, whether they’re Catholic, Protestant or Eastern Orthodox.”

“In interviews with media organizations, Phipps denied the divinity of Christ, denied the reality of the resurrection as a historical fact, and said he was unclear ‘The historic Church says there are such realities, which are crucially important to human life,’ said Stackhouse, a former president of the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association.”

 THE WHOLESALE BACKSLIDING OF CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS DURING THESE PAST THIRTY YEARS, AND ESPECIALLY THE LAST DECADE, SIGNALS THE SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT THIS VERY CRUCIAL MOMENT IN HISTORY - THE TURN OF THE CENTURY AND THE MILLENNIUM!

A very sad commentary on the Church is found in Christ’s message to the Church where He states:

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” (Rev. 3:14-18)

Again He said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits...

“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

“...Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven...And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt. 7:15-23)

Jesus asked a very pertinent question: “...Nevertheless. When the son of man cometh will He find faith on the earth?” The answer is “not very much”! That is why He stated, “Strive to enter in at the straight gate, for many, I say unto you will seek to enter and shall not be able”. (Luke 13:24)

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

 HOW MUST WE PREPARE FOR THE END TIMES AND TO BE SURE WE ARE READY FOR JESUS CHRIST'S SOON RETURN IN THE SECOND COMING?

St. Peter warned, “Make your calling and election sure...” (2 Peter 1:10) It behooves each one to do a reality check to be absolutely certain that you know Jesus Christ personally as your Lord & Saviour.

Remember that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again from the dead for our justification. Only He has the power to save you because He is the Redeemer of the world.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me”. (John 14:6) “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9-10)

The Bible says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Tim. 2:5) “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)

St. Paul declared, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:5-11)

Jesus Christ invites us to receive Him as personal Saviour and Lord with the promise: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) And, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37)

We are warned: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28)   Amen.