All of my life I have witnessed the scorn of those who dared to talk about the end of the age as if it were an imminent reality. Interestingly, fictitious books and films that follow the lives of fictitious characters who face the cataclysmic events of the supposed last days of human life on earth, are accepted as palatable, if not praise worthy, productions by people of the arts. The only difference seems to be that one is a sincere warning of impending judgment while the other is the usual gory produce of the entertainment industry.
Acceptable or not, the reality of the end of the age is looking ominously close, to those of us who view the pages of prophetic Scripture as more reliable than the biased commentary hailed as “the news” of our day. The unrest in Israel and the Middle East, the vastness and strength of the military of Communist China, the unprecedented alliances being formed among world powers, the apostasy that is taking place in the Church, the acceptance of a new paradigm for governance that calls evil good and good evil, are all shadows of things to come. The list goes on, but these will suffice for now.
While the Bible clearly states that no man knows the day or the hour of the end of the age, it does give us a verbal snapshot of the prevailing conditions that will indicate the end is near. Paul paints a global picture of the the last days, for his young son in the faith, Timothy: “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… (2 Timothy 3:1–5)” The end of this age is coming and there is going to be a season of reckoning for those who inhabit this earth.
If you are obliged to consider God’s warning, “…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2) “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)”