We reserve a few minutes to discuss current trends that you’d expect from reading Bible prophecy.
J. Dwight Pentecost said, “The Bible is different from every other religious book. There is no other book upon which a religion has been founded which includes prophecy within it. These books upon which false religions or false cults are founded seek to interpret the past or the present, but they are entirely silent upon the future. And yet the Word of God, from the opening chapters of Genesis right through the closing chapters of the Book of Revelation, contain countless prophecies.”
There are hundreds of unfulfilled prophecies. We are futurists. We interpret all unfulfilled prophetic passages as future events that will occur in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context.
After the church has been resurrected and raptured, a strong world leader will gain totalitarian control of his citizens. He will require they swear allegiance to him. Anyone who refuses will be executed.
The pandemic COVID19 is not an End Times plague. It has accelerated an acceptance of totalitarian control by governments around the globe.
The methods being mandated by governments with regard to masks, distancing, quarantine, lock-downs, and vaccinations, give us a preview of how easy it will be in the Great Tribulation to hold sway over the world.
I read an article titled, Australia Falls Back Into Arbitrary Restrictions as Omicron Emerges.
Excerpts:
In Western Australia, life seems to go on as normal in a lovely zero-COVID bubble, but like The Truman Show, no matter how hard they try, Western Australians can never leave. Their premier has refused to even provide a date for when the borders will open.
The health department for Queensland has confirmed that those seeking organ transplants will be denied surgery if they refuse to get the vaccine. The rules do not make exceptions for those who choose not to get the vaccine for legitimate health concerns.
In the state of Victoria, the Pandemic Management Bill replaces the premier’s emergency powers with permanent powers to deal with “long COVID.” Premier Daniel Andrews and the state health minister can now unilaterally declare a lockdown for the whole state of 6.7 million people even if there are no cases. With little to no judicial oversight, the police can enter private homes and detain people. Additionally, specific pandemic rules can be created for groups or classes of people based on their “characteristics, attributes or circumstances.”
The people of Melbourne, Victoria, spent 262 days combined under one of the world’s strictest lockdowns, and they are struggling as a result. The state government recognizes the harm lockdowns have had on mental health, but state leaders refuse to give individuals the certainty they need by ending lockdowns for good. Instead, the government is simply building dedicated mental health hospitals.
Most controversially, the Northern Territory has set up a quarantine facility at Howard Springs for those traveling from abroad and close contacts in need of a safe place to isolate. But social media has been infected with overreactions to these facilities, with non-Australians claiming they are reminiscent of concentration camps.
https://reason.com/2021/12/10/australia-falls-back-into-arbitrary-restrictions-as-omicron-emerges/
The governor of Washington state recently said, “34% of Washingtonians are walking around with a time bomb in their backpack because they’re not vaccinated. We’ve been fortunate to date with declining numbers, but that’s not a certainty, particularly with this new variant, so it is possible that we would have to take measures to increase that vaccination rate.”
A time bomb in your backpack? Words are powerful. Unvaccinated citizens are terrorists by that description.
There is not a Christian position we must hold on COVID19, masks, distancing, and the rest. Our interest is in prophetic trends.
I think you can see that the world is headed toward the future the Bible predicts.
We believe the resurrection and rapture of the church are imminent. It could happen at any moment; nothing needs to happen before it. It will occur before the Great Tribulation.
Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up.
Ready or not, Jesus is coming!