Topic: End of the Age
In his fictional best-selling book, Blood Moon, Hal Lindsey explains in great detail what would happen on the final day of Lord’s second coming. Although there might be some discrepancies between his book and the Bible, he describes great detail on the religious movement that could produce the antichrist to the world. For example, Lindsey describes that the antichrist would appear on the world scene through the hatred of Islam. Although the word Islam means peace in the Arabic world, we see and hear about the Islamic people attacking Christians. Is that possible? (It seems ironic!) What does the Word of God say about the end of the world?
We need to first understand that God’s Word is always true. The Bible says that His Word never fails. We can try to change His Word around, but His Word always stays the same. Apostle John writes, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19.)
One of books in the Old Testament that deal with the end time is Daniel. The Book of Daniel is like the Book of Revelation, giving detailed prophecies on the end time (Chap. 7-12). God chose Daniel to be His messenger to the Gentile and Jewish world to warn them of the judgment that God would bring to their current and future world. We see that Daniel was in Babylon, training as a royal servant to King Nebuchadnezzar. During the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Balshazzar, God was with Daniel and showed him some prophetic events that would take place.
Daniel describes his visions in Daniel 7. The visions that he had seen were not just personal nightmares but were God-given dreams with purpose. God has a plan to end this world that He created and create a new one, so that the devil can’t enter the new location to destroy His creation. We are part of His creation.
Living in this very age, we have seen and heard rumors of wars in various places, people committing suicide and murdering each other in the community, government promoting partial-birth abortions, and voting in favor of gay marriage in the United States of America. We have seen the birth of the final days, and there will be more events to come before the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Although there will be more world tragedies, God will not leave us in the midst of terrifying events; instead, He will save us if we are truly born again into His family and have fellowship with Him throughout our lives. For example, God saved Daniel and his friends from the midst of their tribulations. God saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego from the fiery trial of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3). In the fiery furnace, God was with them because He knew that they refused to worship the useless statue that Nebuchadnezzar made, and they trusted their God faithfully. Daniel himself was saved by God in the lion’s den, due to his faithfulness (Daniel 6).
We might ask ourselves what Daniel 2 and 6 have to do with the final judgment of the earth in Daniel 7-12. In Matthew 24:43-44, Jesus says, “But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh..” We need to be ready to meet the Lord’s coming. Although we do not know the final hour that Jesus would return to judge the world, we must always be prepared to meet our Holy Father. Otherwise, we might miss the opportunity to be with Him for eternity.
Matthew 24:44 applies to end time prophecy and urges us to be ready to face the new challenges in our daily lives as well. We do not know when problems might hit us. Follow the example that Daniel and his friends did when they faced the challenge. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).”
In the last days of the earth, there will also be a lot of cries around the globe, because many people will be left behind on this planet and few of them will be caught up with the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds (I Thessalonians 4:17). Those who are left behind, they will face many sufferings on the earth before the white throne of judgment. (According to some experts, there will be a second Rapture of the Church during the seven-year tribulation, which will be after the first three and one-half and before the second three and one-half years of the tribulation. Although there is no 100 percent guarantee of a second rapture, there will be a lot of cries, murders, suicide, and global disaster throughout the whole world.)
Daniel also writes about the ten horns and a little horn on the fourth beast (7:7-8). He speaks about the appearance of the antichrist to the world scene. Before the appearance of the antichrist, there will be ten nations, which are ten horns, among the earth to prepare the road for the antichrist, the eleventh horn, to destroy one-third of a portion of the earth, mainly to attack the land of the Israel. Then, in Daniel 7:9-10, he talks about the judgment that God will have for each of us. He will judge by the books that were written down, recording what we did while we lived on the earth. Unfortunately, He will not judge us by our works; instead, He will judge us according to what we did on the earth with the gift of the salvation that He gave us. On the other side of the judgment seat, God will judge those who didn’t accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. In that day, they will have no choice rather than to accept their punishment from God.
Our chance to meet God in the last days of earth depends on our decisions. Nobody makes the decision for us to meet Jesus Christ. It is our own choice to accept and follow or reject Him. Consider what Daniel and his friends did when King Nebuchadnezzar made everybody worship him. They chose to worship the one true God rather than a king of fame. When the antichrist comes onto the world scene, he will declare himself lord of all lords and try to make us worship him. It is up to us to choose whom we will worship and serve eternally.
