Christians are encouraged to look for to “the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). We are encouraged to look forward to tomorrow, living with the awareness Jesus could come today.

One of the ways we look forward to tomorrow is to consider the hundreds of unfulfilled prophecies in the Bible. We can expect the world to be moving in the direction predicted for the End Times.

We reserve a few minutes Sunday morning to suggest news, or trends, that seem to be predicted by our futurist reading of the Bible.

To avoid sensationalism, we are careful to use recognized, reliable sources for news.

We’re not saying the things we report are the fulfillment of prophecy. We’re saying that they are the things you’d expect to be happening in the build-up to the future seven year Great Tribulation.

There are unfulfilled prophecies about a global government led by the charismatic man we commonly call the antichrist. He will be supernaturally energized by Satan. He will come on the scene sometime after the church is resurrected and raptured. In the very middle of the future Great Tribulation, he will demand to be worshipped as God.

Don Stewart writes, “Satan has always wanted worship. He began his career by wishing to change places with God. That did not work. He will finally get his chance as he energizes the antichrist.”

Jesus said of Satan, “He was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Murder is one of Satan’s most prevalent activities.

Since Satan is a murderer, when he rules the New World Order through the antichrist, we can expect him to go on a killing spree. We know that he will murder anyone who refuses to worship the antichrist (Revelation 13:12).
It makes sense to me that since Satan will murder so freely in the future, we should see an increase in murders before the Great Tribulation, and a change in how the world thinks about murder.

Chicago is at or above 700 murders for 2022. Mexico reported more than 31,000 violent homicides in 2022, 86 per day.

More troubling, however, is how the world’s thinking about murder is changing. For one, it isn’t called murder. It’s called assisted death or euthanasia.

Euthanasia is the act of intentionally ending a life to relieve suffering. It is further described as voluntary, involuntary, active, or passive.
Intentionally helping another person to kill themselves is known as assisted death, or physician-assisted death.

Canada is all about assisted death. They call it, MAiD – Medical Assistance in Dying. According to one source:

It has recommended veterans kill themselves instead of waiting for a wheelchair lift.
It has expanded the program to the mentally ill.
Companies are advertising for assisted suicide.
Churches are even having assisted suicide ceremonies.

Over 30,000 people have been assisted in dying since it was first legalized in 2016.

This next one you won’t believe, but it’s true. Health Canada financed a children’s activity book explaining doctor-assisted suicide. “Canadian Virtual Hospice first published the booklet in July in order to prepare children who have someone in their life who may have chosen Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). Topics in the booklet include defining MAiD, who is eligible, and how it is administered to a patient.”

Said the reporter, sarcastically, “It’s just a fun little book about killing yourself.” We would put it in the column, ‘Indoctrination.’ Can you imagine what these kids brought up in a culture of assisted death is going to think about the elderly, the infirm, the mentally ill?” ^[1]

I saw the original Soylent Green. A catastrophically polluted and over-populated future society not only made suicide legal, but encouraged and facilitated by the state.

An all-expenses-paid, voluntary euthanasia is posited as Japan’s solution in the critically acclaimed film titled Plan 75. Japanese film director Chie Hayakawa had an idea for a screenplay when she decided to test out her premise on elderly friends of her mother and other acquaintances. Her question: If the government sponsored a euthanasia program for people 75 and over, would you consent to it?

“Most people were very positive about it,” Ms. Hayakawa said. “They didn’t want to be a burden on other people or their children.”

A 2021 journal article said: “Assisted dying practices, which include euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS), have expanded significantly around the world over the past 20 years. The growing global aging population accompanied by higher levels of chronic disease and protracted illnesses have sharpened the focus on end of life issues.” ^[2]

We are witnessing the stage-setting for the seven-year Great Tribulation that is described in the last book of the Bible.

We will not be on Earth during that terrible Time of Jacob’s Trouble. The resurrection and rapture of the church are imminent. It could happen any moment; nothing needs to happen before it.

Jesus will come, in the clouds, and raise the dead believers of the Church Age. He will transform the bodies of living believers to glorified, resurrection bodies.

We will join Him in Heaven while the earth endures one final seven-year campaign of severe evangelism.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up.

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!