Are we living in ‘The last Days’?

Are we living in ‘The last Days’?

Are we living in the last days?

Well, last Monday night while I was watching the CNN news, what caught my attention was the report about the thousands blackbirds that fell from the Arkansas sky on New Year’s eve for still unknown reasons.

This is not a simple news since thousands of birds have died and some people have even expressed thoughts that this birds’ falling incident could be an apocalyptic sign—“ what if this is the beginning of the end of the world”.

The next day, while my wife and I were having breakfast at Tim Horton’s coffee shop near our home, I leafed through the pages of the 24H tabloid paper and came across a news item about Australia’s flooding with a headline “Disaster of biblical proportions”

Other news stories in the paper were: A 7. 1 magnitude earthquake hit Chile Sunday; a suicide car bomber attacked an office of the intelligence services in Baghdad, wounding 28 people. And watching the TV Patrol World later in the day, I was not surprised seeing reports on murders, graft and corruptions, human trafficking, terrorist attacks, floods, landslides and the onset of extreme changes in the country’s weather.

Let’s take a hard look at the deteriorating world condition and all these worrisome things we are seeing today-- more crimes, internecine wars, hunger, pestilence, loose moral conduct, frequent earthquakes and other natural calamities and the proliferation of nuclear warheads—have been causing fear and anxiety to millions of people.

We all feel at a loss on what do and whom to turn to for help. All these things have been weighing us down but despite this messy world of ours, still we can look forward to the future with optimism, knowing that the days of violence and wickedness are now numbered.

So in the midst of these problems, where can we find comfort and peace of mind?

My dear readers, certainly I won’t render any opinion on the matter because just like you and everybody else, I’m imperfect and my own point of view is both flawed and limited. In the matter of spirituality—and your salvation and mine-- the Bible is the only book that can provide us with the timely knowledge and wisdom we need to fully comprehend the fearsome things happening around us.

The Bible says, “ All scripture is inspired of God, beneficial for teaching, for reproving, setting things straight....” (2 Tim 3:16) It’s our guide or map in living this troubled world—it’s the only book that tells us where we came from, where we are now in the stream of time and where we are going.

While I was reading all these news stuffs, I could help myself reflecting on what Jesus Christ said that “ The conclusion of the system of things” would be identified by war, food shortages, pestilence and earthquakes” (Mat.24: 1-8:Luke 21:10-11)

This world seems heading to a complete doom but the Bible assures us that one of these days, God will intervene in mankind’s affairs because human governments have been proven to be incapable of addressing these gargantuan problems that we are facing today.

However, what the Bible promises is something better for the future because as far as God is concerned the “ end of the world” simply means the end of this loveless, violent and wicked system of things and not the end of the humankind or the destruction of the physical earth. God will surely wipe away all forms of badness, violence, sufferings and even death itself. (Rev.21: 4)

As regards the physical earth, the Bible says “ A generation is going, and a generation is coming, but the earth is standing even to time indefinite.” (Ecc.1: 4) At Isaiah 45:18, it says “ This is what Jehovah has said, the Creator of the heavens, He the true God, the former of the earth and the maker of it, He the One who firmly established it, who did not create it simply for nothing, who formed it even to be inhabited: I am Jehovah, and there is no one else”.

So those who will survive the end of this wicked system will live here on earth as God transforms this earth into a paradise where the people will have a chance to live forever—“For the evildoers themselves will be cut off. But those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth. The righteous themselves will possess the earth. And they will reside forever upon it”. (Ps. 37:9,29)

Do you still remember the famous prayer, Our Father, when Jesus asks his Father “ Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Mat. 6:10) In Daniel 2:44, it says that “And in the days of those kings, the God of the heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms and it itself will stand to times indefinite.” This is a real government to be led by Christ (Dan.7: 13-14) and this government will be used by Jehovah God to bring lasting solutions to problems of the humankind.

So before the destruction this loveless and wicked world, what’s needed now is for us to have some meaningful changes in our lives. We have been so preoccupied with our daily affairs and other concerns that we have forgotten to do something about our spirituality. Some questions we have to ask ourselves: Do we know God’s name? What are his purposes and qualities? What does God require of us?

In Psalms 83:18, it says that “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth”. (The Holy Bible, King James Version)

Why is God’s name that important? The Bible says, “ For everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved. However, how will they call on him in whom they have not put faith? How, in turn, will they put faith in him of whom they have not heard? How, in turn, will they hear without someone to preach?” (Rom. 10:13-14).

The Bible does not give any definite date on the end of this wicked world.

But those who continue to ignore the evidence that we are living very close to the last days might be caught off guard when the end comes. Jesus said, “ Pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare. For it will come in upon all those dwelling upon the face of all the earth. Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and in standing before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:34-36)