IN THE LAST DAYS.

There are so many signs that tell us we are living in the last days of earth's history. Not only do we have the signs of the end times, and the 6000 year timeline plan of God, we also have the apostle Paul's description of the last days in 2 Timothy 3.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 .....'This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.'

Would you agree that we are living in "perilous times"? I believe we are. But how can we be in the last days when so many people around the world are living normal happy lives, without a care in the world? ...

Matthew 24:37-39 ...'But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.'

Do you see? The reason so many people are carrying on as normal is because they don't see the signs and they don't know what is about to happen to this world. So they blindly carry on living as if nothing is going to happen, and these people will continue to live normal lives right up untilthe second coming of Jesus, at which point their lives will come to an abrupt end.

Let's look at 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and compare what Paul says about the last days with where we are today in 2011.

Would you say that we are living in a world full of people who love themselves? In other words, people who put themselves first before God and everyone else? I believe we see that today, even in the churches. People are more concerned with how they look on the outside than how they are on the inside. This consumer age we live in is all about "Me Me Me!!" The tv, radio, internet and magazines are loaded with adverts to lure us into buying the newest thing, and we get sucked in every time.

The majority of people, even professing Christians, wouldn't look twice at a beggar or homeless person on the street, let alone help them. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of good people out there who are compassionate about helping others and putting Christ Jesus first in their lives, but the majority of people are really only interested in themselves. People's lives are so saturated with entertainment today that living a holy life of self denial for Christ is alien to them. Satan has deceived the world into thinking that spending more time watching tv, going to the cinema, playing games, socializing and reading novels than time with God is ok, "as long as you believe". See how to worship God for true worship and true faith.

Instead of seeking after heavenly riches, the majority of people today are seeking for material, worldly riches. We live in an age where people clamor for the latest things, and are always in want of more, whether it be money, cars, houses, clothes or holidays etc. And we have the prosperity gospel as an example of the covetous nature of even professing followers of Christ Jesus. So many people are lured into this false gospel with the promise of material wealth. It's nothing more than IDOLATRY.

Satan is the grand master at diverting people's attention away from God to themselves (and ultimately to Satan himself), and he has succeeded in luring the world into ungodly pleasures and desires.

Pride is the cause of Satan's fall because he wanted to be exalted above God, and the world today is full of proud and boastful people. This isn't Christian pride, boasting about Jesus, this is worldly pride. Do you like to be the center of attention? Do you like to be accepted by the world as one of them? Do you like to be exalted and lifted up by others? This is pride. One of the reasons people seek after material goods and wealth is because of pride. They want to be able to boast about the things they have and what they have achieved in a worldly sense. LOOK AT ME is the way of the world today.

Matthew 23:12 ...'And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.'

If you go back just 40 or 50 years you will find that children had far more respect for adults, but now we have a world full of children who have little or no respect for grown ups. Not only that, many children now have little respect for their parents. My job takes me around many schools and it is amazing to see how cheeky and disrespectful children are nowadays. And what makes it worse, governments are bringing in laws to stop parents punishing/disciplining their children, which causes the children to get away with a lot more.

Satan loves disobedience, and if he can get children to disobey at an early age, then they are going to find it more difficult to be obedient to God as they are growing up.

Just have a think about your daily life. Are you really thankful to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon you? Do you thank Him for waking you up in the morning? For feeding you? For providing you with a job and income? Do you thank Him for His wonderful creation? And most of all, do you thank God everyday for giving us His Son Christ Jesus? Do you contemplate that amazing sacrifice He made? Many of us are unthankful today because we have been conditioned by the world to HAVE things and just take it for granted. Now if Christians are like this, then what are those outside the faith like? We certainly live in a time of ungreatfulness. Spare a thought for those who DON'T have today!

The majority of professing Christians believe that because we are under grace we no longer need to keep the law (the ten commandments)and it doesn't matter if we continue in sin. This is NOT the gospel of Christ Jesus and it is certainly UNHOLY. Again, just go back 50 years and you would see Christians living much holier lives. But today in 2011 we have churches full of unconverted people who continue to live just like the rest of the world. So to fulfil this condition of the last days, we don't even need to step outside the church because there is so much unholiness inside it! Churches have become like theatres and concert halls rather than sanctified holy places of worship.

I love this one, because it alone shows us that we are in the last days. Just look at how homosexuality has become accepted by the world over the past 20 years, and not just by the world, but by professing Christians too! It's no longer regarded as "taboo" or forbidden, which God confirms in His Word, instead it is treated as just a normal thing.

Just last year (2010) President Obama said that one day soon, homosexual marriage would be regarded as just as honorable as a marriage between a man and woman. Now this is a professing Christian President of a supposed Christian nation. Not only that, we are now even seeing churches EMPLOY active homosexual leaders!! Do these people even read their Bibles anymore? In the last days people will be without NATURAL affection. We are IN that day!

These days people will not take rebuke or correction for the wrong things they do. If you warn a Christian about something wrong in their life, then they will just tell you to stop "judging" them. And those who do live good holy lives are seen as fanatical or are labled as "Pharisees".

Revelation 3:19 ...'As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.'

If we cannot take correction, then we are not going to learn and grow in Christ Jesus, and we are most likely not going to repent of the wrong we do. And where will that lead? ... Proverbs 15:10 ...'Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.'

Jeremiah 7:28 ...'But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.'

2 Timothy 3:16 ...'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.'

Here again we don't even need to look outside the professing church. So many professing Christians these days spend far more time on worldly pleasures than with God. Television, movies, sports, games, shopping and socializing are the pleasures of the day, and God gets little time even from professing Christians. Have a look at your own day to day life. Do you spend more time on these things each day than you do with Jesus? If so, then you are a lover of pleasure, not God.

How many Christian homes during the evening are studying God's Word or praying, rather than watching the tv? I would guess not many at all. Television has become the idol of so many lives today, and even the things that are watched by professing Christians would be abominable to God. These are the last days for sure!

There are so many professing Christians in the world today who think that they are saved by just "believing" in Jesus. And as a result they continue to live worldly sinful lives with no real conversion taking place in their heart. Even the devils believe, but are they saved? No. If you have no works or no fruit in your life, then your profession of faith is dead and useless. Not one person can be IN Christ Jesus and not be changed by Him, not one! Going to church once a week does not make you a Christian, because a true Christian will walk and grow with Jesus EVERYDAY. Where are the people living holy lives for God? Where are they? Yes, there maybe "revivals" going on around many churches today, but what kind of revivals are they? Are they revivals of holy living? If not then God is not in it.

Anyone can open a building, stick a good band on stage, draw many people through the doors and call it "revival". It's called a rock concert!

I am totally convinced from the above and the signs of the end times that we are living in the last days. As a people we desperately need to get right with God, because we are in the time of judgment and Jesus is going to return soon to give His reward to those who have truly served Him or destroy those who did not obey the gospel. Are you obeying the gospel of Christ Jesus? Do you have a love for the truth? Do you search and study the scriptures each day? Please heed the following warning.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 .....'And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.'

The deceptions that Satan is going to manifest during the very last days are going to be so strong, that if you don't have a love for the truth and are not grounded in the truth of God's Word, then you will leave yourself wide open to be deceived. Don't think that your mere "belief" in Jesus will save you, because if you do truly believe, then you will be living everyday for Him and searching the scriptures to find out the truth.

We are living in the last days, PLEASE get ready!

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