ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?

 By Robert Jeffress, CP Guest Contributor Friday, January 12, , 2024, Unsplash/Shashank Sahay

In my capacity as a pastor, I can understand the opinions of some people when I talk about the end times. In the basement, they see wild-eyed fundamentalists huddled and working on newspaper fragments to determine when the world will end. Or they imagine someone shouting into a loudspeaker on a street corner while holding a sign that says the end is near!

History is full of charlatans and cult leaders who deceive others—and sometimes even themselves—to crack the code and find out when Jesus Christ will return. Over time, it has been proven that they are all wrong.

To be honest, we do not know when the world will end. "In that day and hour, no one will know," says Jesus in Matthew 24:36. Even when he rose, the apostles asked, "Lord, are you currently restoring the kingdom of Israel?It is not for you to know the times or ages which the father has set by his own authority," Jesus answered in Acts 1:6-7.

So, as I say in my new book, "Are We Living in the End Times?" what are my reasons for continuing to ask? And what reasons drive so many people to think that we might be like that? A recent study by Pew Research found that nearly 40% of Americans think the world will end soon. Everywhere we look, everything seems uncontrollable. I think this chaotic feeling is both a warning and a mercy from God. He warned us that we must be prepared for the end to come, and through his son, Jesus Christ, he invites us to make peace with him today.

Jesus does not want us to think about when he will come, but he gives us a way to know when his coming is near. The Bible compares the birth of a baby with the coming of the End Times. Although we do not know when the baby will be born, we do know that the pain caused by labor will become more intense as the birth approaches.

The "birth pangs" that will occur before the end of time, as Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24, include spiritual deception, natural disasters, international conflicts, persecution of Christians, and apostasy from the Christian faith. So that we can be "alert" and "ready," Jesus wants us to pay attention to these signs (verses 42–44). Moreover, the analysis of today's headlines shows that these events have intensified in recent days.

From the Bible, Christians also know that God still has a relationship with Israel. In Genesis 12:1–3, God made an eternal covenant with them about the land they would inhabit, the nation they would build, and the blessings they would receive. This covenant has not yet been fully realized, but we know that God is always faithful to do what he says.

The question of the end of history always arises whenever Israel faces an existential threat, as it does almost every generation, because Jesus and his apostles made it clear that Israel is the center of end-time events and purposes. The Apostle Paul, who was also Jewish, reminded the Romans that "the gift and calling of God cannot be undone" (11:29).

We can trust that God will do what he commands. He will keep those to whom he gave an irrevocable promise. As Christians, we support Israel because of their just cause and the hope of their salvation. We believe that many people will come to know Jesus as Lord through the events of The Last Days, even though they are currently experiencing "partial hardening" (V. 25).

Therefore, it should be so if you do not ask, "Are we living in the last days?" God draws our attention to these increasingly extreme events. This world does not last long. Your life is not long. Consider who Jesus is and how you relate to him.

Besides, if you want to know, are we living in the end times? I'm sure we can do it faster than you can imagine.

Dr. Robert Jeffress is the best-selling author of 24 books, national and international emcee, and senior pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas, which is one of America's largest and most influential churches. Broadcast Services Dr. Jeffress, Pathway to Victory is broadcast daily on over 900 radio stations nationwide and broadcast live to 195 countries. A Place Called Heaven: 10 Shocking Truths About Your Eternal Home is her latest book to be released in September 2017. Dr. Jeffress is a member of President Trump's Council of Religious Advisors.

News Sources: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/are-we-all-living-in-the-end-times-today.html