The End of the Age

We have entered into the end of the age. Jesus prophesied to His followers when He was on earth that specific signs would take place before His return. One of the end of the age Biblical signs Jesus warned us about was the great falling away which He mentioned in Matt. 24:10-11. “ And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.”

The great falling away is occurring now (2 Thess. 2:1-3). Christianity has taken a turn for the worst. The faith pool is shrinking. Fewer and fewer people are interested in the salvation of Jesus Christ.  Nobody cares about Jesus anymore. As a believer, I live for the day that Jesus returns and takes me home (Heb. 13:14).

Another end of the age sign of the Bible that has come to pass is the Gospel being spread all over the world (Matt. 24:14). Most people have heard the good news of Jesus Christ thanks to dedicated believers. Jesus will ensure nobody misses out. Rev. 14:6 confirms this “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.”

The churches are not warning people of the end of the age. We are in the latter days and Christians are not prepared because most churches are preaching a false Gospel and not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many churches are afraid they will lose their congregation if they preach about the end of the age that the Bible has prophesied.

Matt 24:11 warns that many false prophets will be active during the end of the age who will mislead and deceive many, including Christians. These false teachers are spreading a Gospel of prosperity which scripture doesn’t support.

Being a true Christian is tough because it requires sacrifice and you are certainly not guaranteed of health, wealth and happiness. What you are offered is the peace in knowing that Jesus Christ is your saviour and will never abandon you in this life or the next (Deut. 31:6; Heb. 13:5; Isa. 43:2). He promises He will be with us to the very end of the age (Matt. 28:20).

Jesus also tells us in Matt. 24:12 that the love of people will grow cold because of lawlessness and inequity. Violence is rampant in our society, and it’s only growing. Jesus prophesied that the breaking of His commandments would increase as we enter the end of the age.

The worship of false gods and idols, blaspheming and committing adultery is on the rise. And sadly, people are losing their compassion for others. Love grows cold when Jesus Christ is not our God because He is the God of love.

Jesus promises that those who endure to the end will be saved (Matt. 24:13). This is a very telling verse in the Gospel of Matthew. It indicates that life for the Christian during the end of the age will be difficult. And difficult it is. Christians are being persecuted all over the world just like Scripture forewarned (2 Tim. 3:12; John 15:18; Luke 6:22).

But there is hope, Jesus reassures His people that the kingdom of heaven is waiting for the righteous, those who have suffered because of the name of Jesus Christ (Matt 5:10).

Jesus is the way the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). He wants a relationship with you. The time is short. Don’t deny Him. He loves you and wants you to be with Him in eternity. Scripture tells us Christians will rule alongside Jesus in 2 Tim. 2:12.  “If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.”

The apostle Paul lived His life for the Lord which he displayed through his ministry. His letter written to the church of Corinth outlines His concern that false teachers and a false Jesus were being accepted by the church 2 Cor. 11:4.  ^“For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”

The situation that affected the Corinth church is being played out again today. A false Jesus is offered to the modern world through many churches. The Jesus of the Bible is no longer visible. He is overshadowed by the lies of the false gospel being taught to followers that don’t study the Bible (Acts 17:11; Ezra 7:10).

The deception is that Jesus is weak and Christianity is a fairy tale. The sheep in wolves clothing teach that the God of the Bible doesn’t exist (Matt. 7:15). That He’s a god of restriction and a god of lack. He will only hinder you in this life.

Sometimes Jesus will take you through a valley (Psa. 23:4). In the valley, it looks like there is no way out. But you weren’t meant to stay there. He’ll bring you out if you stay in faith (1 Cor. 16:13). The valley symbolises death. It was meant to harm you. But Jesus uses it for your good (Rom. 8:28). Jesus takes you through the valley so he can use your testimony to give glory to God and give hope to broken people.

Scripture tells us that the coming of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah (Matt. 24:37). It describes life before the flood. People were involved in ordinary activities like eating and drinking. And pursuits such as getting married. All these things occurred right up until Noah and his family entered the ark.

It’s fairly clear according to Scripture that people won’t foresee the return of Jesus Christ, just like in the days of Noah. Everything that took place before the flood, is coming to pass again. The corruptness and evil that was present before the flood, is present in the world today.

But what transpired in the days of Noah that grieved God’s heart? What filled the Lord with so much regret in making mankind that He decided to destroy him? The answers lie in the Genesis 6:11 “The earth was depraved and putrid in God’s sight, and the land was filled with violence (desecration, infringement, outrage, assault, and lust for power).

This scripture describes humanity before the flood. Evil ruled and it corrupted all flesh. The commandments of God were violated and were continually being broken. Lust was the driving force of a man’s heart.  Violence dominated the earth.

God saved Noah and his family because Noah was the only righteous man on earth living amongst a polluted generation (Gen. 6:9; Gen. 7:1). Noah had a clean heart and he was honourable in the eyes of God. He was a man of obedience, he listened to God (Gen. 6:22). And Noah was a man of faith (Heb. 11:7).

God didn’t forget about the animals. He made sure that Noah took two of every kind of animal, male and female, on the ark so they could repopulate the earth after the flood (Gen. 6:19)

People thought Noah was a madman for building the ark. They ridiculed him and laughed at him (Luke 6:22). But when the appointed day came for the flood to fill the earth, God sealed the door of the ark shut and let nobody else in (Gen. 7:16).

God promised that a flood wouldn’t affect the earth ever again (Gen. 9:11). The rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant with the earth. Scripture says when God looks at a rainbow, He is reminded of the promise He made with earth and all the living creatures (Gen. 9:13-16).

The fear of God has been driven out of our modern-day living. And when God is removed, lawlessness takes over the land. Fearing the Lord is hating evil (Pro. 8:13). At the end of the age, as prophesied in the Bible, we are seeing good being called evil and evil as good (Isa. 5:20).

Nobody knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man will return, not even the angels. Only the Father knows (Matt. 24:36).

Now is the time to get right with God. Are you ready (Matt. 24:44)?