50 Reasons Why We Are Living In The End Times: Part 1

Lamb and Lion Ministries Blog ^ | 13 JULY 2009 | Dr. David R. Reagan

[Quix]

The Bible says we cannot know the time of the Lord's return (Matthew 25:13). But the Scriptures make it equally clear that we can know the season of the Lord's return (1 Thessalonians 5:2-6):

"You yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night... But you brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night or darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober."

This passage asserts that Jesus is coming like "a thief in the night." But then it proceeds to make it clear that this will be true only for the pagan world and not for believers. His return should be no surprise to those who know Him and His Word, for they have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to give them understanding of the nature of the times.

Furthermore, the Scriptures give us signs to watch for — signs that will signal that Jesus is ready to return. The writer of the Hebrew letter referred to these signs when he proclaimed that believers should encourage one another when they see the day of judgment drawing near (Hebrews 10:25-27). Jesus also referred to the end time signs in His Olivet Discourse, given during the last week of His life (Matthew 24 and Luke 21). Speaking of a whole series of signs which He had given to His disciples, He said, "When you see all these things, recognize that He [the Son of Man — that is, Jesus] is near, right at the door" (Matthew 24:33).

A Personal Experience

Every time I think of "Signs of the Times," I am reminded of a great man of God named Elbert Peak. I had the privilege of participating with him in a Bible prophecy conference held in Orlando, Florida in the early 1990's. Mr. Peak was about 80 years old at the time.

He had been assigned the topic, "The Signs of the Times." He began his presentation by observing, "Sixty years ago when I first started preaching, you had to scratch around like a chicken to find one sign of the Lord's soon return."

He paused for a moment, and then added, "But today there are so many signs I'm no longer looking for them. Instead, I'm listening for a sound — the sound of a trumpet!"

The First Sign

One hundred years ago in 1907 there was not one single, tangible, measurable sign that indicated we were living in the season of the Lord's return. The first to appear was the Balfour Declaration which was issued by the British government on November 2, 1917.

This Declaration was prompted by the fact that during World War I the Turks sided with the Germans. Thus, when Germany lost the war, so did the Turks, and the victorious Allies decided to divide up both the German and Turkish empires.

The Turkish territories, called the Ottoman Empire, contained the ancient homeland of the Jewish people — an area the Romans had named Palestine after the last Jewish revolt in 132-135 AD.

In 1917 Palestine included all of modern day Israel and Jordan. In the scheme the Allies concocted for dividing up the German and Turkish territories, Britain was allotted Palestine, and this is what prompted the Balfour Declaration. In that document, Lord Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, declared that it was the intention of the British government to establish in Palestine "a national home for the Jewish people."

The leading Evangelical in England at the time was F. B. Meyer. He immediately recognized the prophetic significance of the Declaration, for he was well aware that the Scriptures prophesy that the Jewish people will be regathered to their homeland in unbelief right before the return of the Messiah (Isaiah 11:11-12).

Meyer sent out a letter to the Evangelical leaders of England asking them to gather in London in December to discuss the prophetic implications of the Balfour Declaration. In that letter, he stated, "The signs of the times point toward the close of the time of the Gentiles... and the return of Jesus can be expected any moment."

Before Meyer's meeting could be convened, another momentous event occurred. On December 11, 1917 General Edmund Allenby liberated the city of Jerusalem from 400 years of Turkish rule.

There is no doubt that these events in 1917 marked the beginning of the end times because they led to the worldwide regathering of the Jewish people to their homeland and the reestablishment of their state.

Since 1917

Since the time of the Balfour Declaration, we have witnessed throughout the 20th Century the appearance of sign after sign pointing to the Lord's soon return. There are so many of these signs today, in fact, that one would have to be either biblically illiterate or spiritually blind not to realize that we are living on borrowed time.

I have personally been searching the Bible for years in an effort to identify all the signs, and it has not been an easy task to get a hold on them. That's because there are so many of them, both in the Old and New Testaments.

I have found that the best way to deal with them is to put them in categories, and in doing that, I have come up with six categories of end time signs. We will explore these catetories beginning in Part 2 of this series.

[aimee5291]

I have affection for our separated brothers and sisters..my own DH is protestant...but the lack of understanding bothers me...especially when it becomes contentious. I think one of the issues is scripture hoping...

In any case, I will remember them in prayer...

God Bless

[wagglebee]

No. I think we have enough to worry about on planet earth without looking to the skies for anything but Christ.

So, you just figured that a thread about Pentecostals and their unbiblical theories was as good a place as any to launch into an anti-Catholic tirade?

[wagglebee]

And I have many friends who are Roman Catholic.

Really? Do you tell them what you think about Catholicism? Do you show them undocumented pictures and try to tell them what Catholics believe?

I only ask because I could NEVER be friends with a person if I knew they felt this way. I am civil to such people, I pray for such people, I even love such people, but being friends with such people would only cheapen the meaning of friendship.

[netmilsmom]

>>A Pope is only “infallable” in matters of dogma. He is dead now, in case you didn’t hear, and the current Pope said this...Wish you people could get the whole dogma thing straight.”

“Try publishing from the Vatican. Then we’ll have sound grounds.”

The great thing about circular arguments is that you can never be wrong. As long as we believe what the current pope claims we will never be lead astray. How convenient.<<

Dogma never changes. If a Pope says that something is ex cathedra it is forever. Whether he is dead or not. On anything else, a Pope is human. He can be right or wrong. Your statement is wrong.

A bit of education is a beautiful thing. Try it. I like Bing.

[Judith Anne]

You keep posting that photograph, with no location or verification, as though it were some Catholic icon. I do not believe you.

For one thing, look at the art work. The Christ on the cross on one side is a totally different, classic style and artist than the statue on the other that you claim represents the Madonna. It looks to me as though someone desecrated the crucifix, then photographed it. To claim that is an object of worship is not true. Even though you are told this repeatedly, you persist in telling Catholics what we think, what we worship.

Your error in this regard is unremitting, and appears intentional. I pray that Christ will forgive you.

[netmilsmom]

>>main Mary basilica in Rome.<<

What is the NAME?
There is no Main Mary basillica in Rome.

I call, nutter on that site made it up.

>>As we have seen time and again, Roman Catholic teaching supports this blasphemous view of Mary on the cross with Christ as a co-redeemer and a mediatrix.<<

Thank you Rick Sanchez. Rush Limbaugh said slavery was good.

You have given NO references except crazy anti-Catholic sites and expect any credence? LOLOL!!!!

Until you can come up with the name and location of the “Main Mary basillica in Rome” it’s a photoshop. Prove otherwise.

[hocndoc]

I still say “love one another.” You can’t change the other person, only how you react to him.

[netmilsmom]

>>I still say “love one another.” You can’t change the other person, only how you react to him.<<

I say, Amen.

I have been told that “ministering” to Catholics is part of the religion of some here. That posting misinformation is fine because some are “called” to do that.

Lurkers come here and see that misinformation. We are charged to “Love one another”. But also charged to defend our faith.

What kind of “Love” can be shown to a person who stubbornly lies about our faith? How do we teach and defend when one or two posters will not have that dialog? Posting the same lies over and over?

I’m Catholic, married a Protestant, have a Baptist sister, Charismatics, Evangelicals, Church of Christ, Lutherans and Presbyterians in my family. I have never seen as much bile thrown toward the Catholic Church as is “ministered” here.

The only blessing that I see is that on a normal basis, those who are searching see the misinformation and through the conversation, also see that those who are “ministering” to the Catholics remain stubbornly self-righteous. We are the FoxNews of these threads.

And that is a good thing.

[Judith Anne]

I have been told that “ministering” to Catholics is part of the religion of some here. That posting misinformation is fine because some are “called” to do that.

Who is doing that calling? Christ never calls anyone to post misinformation. I guess they can't handle the truth.

Anyway, that sounds like moslems, who are taught it's okay to lie to infidels.

[wagglebee]

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome is dedicated to the Blessed Mother. Here are exterior photos, NOWHERE can you see ANYTHING that looks like the pathetic photo that Dr. E has grown so fond of.

Here are some of the interior, it's even less likely that one will find anything like Dr. E's photo there:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Judith Anne]

What a beautiful place!

Thank you for posting those. Quite a difference from that strange desecrated crucifix.

[Judith Anne]

I have seen that “madonna” somewhere, the one with the hair sticking up like that; I don’t think it’s a madonna, either. That makes me more sure than ever that it’s photoshopped.

Some artist, of the Mapplethorpe school did it. I wish I could remember where I saw it....it’ll come to me.

[wagglebee]

I also noted that in the bizarro phote, there are fluer di lis on the poles and while the fluer di lis is often associated with the Blessed Mother, the motif does not seem to appear anywhere else at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.

Though the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore has had some reconstruction done, parts of it are very old (St. Jerome is buried there) and the anti-Catholic photo doesn’t even fit with it from an artistic point of view. Moreover, IF someone was going to portray the Blessed Mother on the Cross with Christ (and I’ve never seen that done), she WOULD NOT also be holding the Child My guess is that some bigot bought a Crucifix and a statuette of the Blessed Mother holding the Christ Child, put them on a street poll and took a picture.

[TradicalRC]

One of the saddest surprises on this forum has been to watch so many "conservative" Roman Catholics lining up behind Ratzinger's foul encyclical urging a "global authority" over this nation's economy, defense systems, immigration policies, education, and sovereignty.

The more imminent threat comes from your own government which sees fit to throw billions at the UN, involve us in foreign conflicts, looks the other way when illegals steal our identities and sees itself as the policemen of the world. Ain't no Pope doing that to you, heck, with one exception they were all Protestants.

[Judith Anne]

I’ve been looking through collections of modern primitive madonnas, and haven’t found it yet. But I will.

[TradicalRC]

After seeing the way “conservative” Roman Catholics lined up to cheer Ratzinger’s foul encyclical calling for a “global authority,” I’m not surprised by their ability to defend the indefensible.

Please. The United Nations would not exist except for the money thrown at it by your government, if that's not real support for global authority then I don't know what is.

[hocndoc]

What kind of love? The love of a child of God for another child of God. 70 x 7.

I know I’m preachy, but it hurts to see these fights grow on FR.

Defend your faith without rancor or accusations. And ask forgiveness when you are human enough to lose your temper.

After all, our faith is the Gospel: that while we were sinners, Jesus Christ, the Son of God the Creator, the Word Who was there in the beginning with God and Who was God, Who is the First and the Last, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, was resurrected and lives and saves.

And Who, somehow, puts up with our constant bickering and endless repetition of the very things He condemned the Pharisees for.

Love one another.

[Judith Anne]

We all hate to see these fights grow on FR, except those who start them. They appear to feel triumphant, yelling, posting untruths, deliberately misunderstanding, etc.

70 x 7, to forgive them? Sure.

[netmilsmom]

>>Defend your faith without rancor or accusations.<<

So those who slander should be allowed to slander? That is not quite defending is it?

Sorry FRiend, but putting up “facts” from Anti-Catholic sites is a bit more than having a discussion. Christ said 70X7 for a reason. There is a limit, or He would have said always turn the other cheek. Maybe you haven’t seen the same slander going on for years, by the same people. I have. And telling people to prove their accusations is NOT rancor or accusation. That’s the Chicago style politics in action.

I have to say that some of the people who come here and slander the Catholic Faith are truly righteous people. I’ve had some fine conversations off board with them. Some others, I feel would recoil from me wearing my crucifix if they saw me bleeding on the street. That’s not attributing emotions, that is just the way I feel.

I’m not pushing my beliefs on anyone, just defending my own. I’m not going to be so bold as to tell someone his/her faith is wrong, because I am not God.

[netmilsmom]

Fine work there, my FRiend!