HARD TIMES - Still To Come
Do you like being prepared? Remembering prophecies about the future is a way of being prepared.
Such a tricky episode to prepare fo - prophecies!
Do you like reading? So many books these days are fantasy and involve prophecies.
Learning the prophecies about the end times is important to be prepared.
What do you think?
Think these things through:
Would you like to know what your life will be like before it actually happens? Why/why not?
Would you want to know the exact time and details about your death, would you want to know? Why/why not?
Bible Passage: Matthew 24
Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him in private and asked, “When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?”
Jesus answered:
Don’t let anyone fool you. Many will come and claim to be me. They will say that they are the Messiah, and they will fool many people.
You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don’t be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn’t the end. Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes.But this is just the beginning of troubles.
You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations.Many will give up and will betray and hate each other.Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people.Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved. When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.
Someday you will see that “Horrible Thing” in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand! If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. If you are on the roof[a] of your house, don’t go inside to get anything. If you are out in the field, don’t go back for your coat. It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children. And pray that you won’t have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath. This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again. If God doesn’t make the time shorter, no one will be left alive. But because of God’s chosen ones, he will make the time shorter.
Someone may say, “Here is the Messiah!” or “There he is!” But don’t believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God’s chosen ones.But I have warned you ahead of time.If you are told that the Messiah is out in the desert, don’t go there! And if you are told that he is in some secret place, don’t believe it!The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west.
Story Time!
The apostle John:
John was a fisherman and was part of Jesus’ inner circle
John was there before Jesus died
John had a brother James, and was always mentioned first so we can assume that James was the older brother.
John wrote one of the gospels and referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” rather than saying me or I or John.
Jesus entrusted John to care for his mother after he was gone.
John also wrote 3 letters that are part of the bible today, titled 1 John, 2 John and 3 John. All his books are focussed on the topic of love and truth.
It is believed that John was the only apostle to die from old age - all the others were killed for their faith in Jesus. Traditional sources claim that John was the only apostle to live a long life and die of natural causes. That, however, doesn’t mean that he never faced persecution. The same sources claim that the Romans tried to poison John with a cup of wine. When that didn’t work, they threw him into a vat of boiling oil. When he still didn’t die, they exiled him to the island of Patmos. While there he received a huge vision from God and he wrote them down. They are all in the last book of the bible called Revelation.
Bible Passage: Revelation 13:1-8
I looked and saw a beast coming up from the sea. This one had ten horns and seven heads, and a crown was on each of its ten horns. On each of its heads were names that were an insult to God. The beast that I saw had the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. The dragon handed over its own power and throne and great authority to this beast. One of its heads seemed to have been fatally wounded, but now it was well. Everyone on earth marveled at this beast, and they worshiped the dragon who had given its authority to the beast. They also worshiped the beast and said, “No one is like this beast! No one can fight against it.”
The beast was allowed to brag and claim to be God, and for forty-two months it was allowed to rule. The beast cursed God, and it cursed the name of God. It even cursed the place where God lives, as well as everyone who lives in heaven with God.It was allowed to fight against God’s people and defeat them. It was also given authority over the people of every tribe, nation, language, and race.The beast was worshiped by everyone whose name wasn’t written before the time of creation in the book of the Lamb who was killed.
Bible Passage: Revelation 13:11:17
I now saw another beast. This one came out of the ground. It had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon.It worked for the beast whose fatal wound had been healed. And it used all its authority to force the earth and its people to worship that beast. It worked mighty miracles, and while people watched, it even made fire come down from the sky.
This second beast fooled people on earth by working miracles for the first one. Then it talked them into making an idol in the form of the beast that did not die after being wounded by a sword.It was allowed to put breath into the idol, so that it could speak. Everyone who refused to worship the idol of the beast was put to death. All people were forced to put a mark on their right hand or forehead. Whether they were powerful or weak, rich or poor, free people or slaves, they all had to have this mark, or else they could not buy or sell anything. This mark stood for the name of the beast and for the number of its name.
Question Time!
Do you want Jesus to come back and to see these things with your own eyes or would you rather live your life and die of old age and not see them?
When you feel scared, what facts can you remind yourself of that will be of comfort to you?
