End Times

End Times

Do you ever think about the end times? End times being the end of the world. Does that ever cross your mind? Do you think that the end of the world could be during our generation? It certainly seems like a possibility. I think that it’s something we need to think about. You don’t have to have a negative attitude about it either. 

In Luke 21 there is an entire section of scripture about the destruction of the temple and signs of the end times. Verses 10-11: “Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.” When I read those verses, I feel like it’s a perfect description of our world today. There certainly isn’t world peace and nations always seem to be raging war against other nations. There are great earthquakes and natural disasters that seem to happen nearly every day. Does anybody remember back in the Fall where our country was hit by some of the strongest hurricanes in history? Hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, all works of the Lord and all things that seem to be happening more and more. Those disasters stink but do you think that God uses them for a purpose? I believe he uses it as a wake-up call. Back in the Fall I was getting scared that the world was going to end soon. Sure, that sounds a little weird but I seriously thought about it every single day. I am remembering attending Lifeworks on a Thursday during that time and one of the worship songs we sang was about how amazing God’s power is. In the moment of fearing the end of the world I couldn’t help but praise God for all the amazing things that he is doing every single day. Maybe you don’t view those things as a wake-up call, or think about them at all. But I encourage you to view it as that. 

Luke 21:12-19: “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all because my name. And so, you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by your parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win life.”

So, before all the battles among nations, earthquakes, and various signs from heaven, you will be persecuted. I don’t like learning that you will be persecuted by everyone, even your family. I am not the biggest fan of that. But, I guess that is just how it’s going to be. One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible is Luke 21:17: “Everyone will hate you because of me.” I don’t like it because of a prideful stand point or anything, but it’s always been a verse I can rely on for comfort. In my life, not everyone has always liked me, I am sure that is how it is with more people. Whenever it has been made known that someone doesn’t like me or someone won’t stop poking fun at me, I go back to this verse and rest in it. That verse means so much to me. It reminds me that I don’t have to have approval by other people, if I got God I’ll be alright. He is all I need.  What a great reason to be hated for right? It tells me that I must be doing something right. I am not saying this a great verse for everyone. I try to be as loving of everyone as possible, but I think if you don’t stand for anything in life and are a victim of this world, that you cannot really say that people hate you because of God. I hope that makes sense, and I hope I didn’t offend anybody by posting that. 

I am also a fan of Luke 21:19: “Stand firm, and you will win life.” That is such an encouraging verse. I like to win, I don’t know about you, but if all I must do to win is stand firm in my relationship with Christ than I am going to do that to the absolute best of my abilities. 

Back to end times. I think one of the reasons the rapture has happened yet is because not everyone has been reached. There are unreached people groups across the world. Unreached people groups are literally people who are unreached. You cannot get to them. They are people who have no idea that there is a God that exist. When I was in China in May, we met a Chinese missionary who travels to these unreached people groups. I will never forget that man saying that the only reason the rapture has happened is because there are millions of people who haven’t been reached yet. That motivates me like crazy. I can’t imagine living a life not knowing who the creator of everything is. It breaks my heart. 

I want to close with the last couple of verses in Luke 21. I hope that this post was encouraging for you. I know it was a lot, but I hope it encourages you to think about end times in a good way. If you can take away one thing from this post, I hope that you remember that if you stand firm, you will win this life. 

Luke 21:34-36: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” 

I hope that this post doesn’t sound negative either, about the world ending and all that. I feel that what I put may have made it sound that way. I want to remind you to not just get caught up in focusing on the negatives, rather think about the positives as well. Think about all the amazing things that God is doing in your life. God not only showers blessings in your life but also miracles. Your life is a miracle. Let that settle in. If you focus on all the negative things it’s easy to forget that God is our refuge and our strength. 

~ Be careful & Stand firm ~