How to Know The End is Here

When brothers and sisters in Christ begin to speak about the end times, and eschatology in general, there seems to be a shudder. So many doomsday predictors have claimed that on October the 18th or some other clandestine date, Christ would come and rapture His church. Many have pointed to the signs found in the eschatological chapters of the Bible, particularly Revelation, and Matthew Chapter 24. They cite verses, "there will be wars, and rumors of wars," (Matthew 24:6) and so the current rise of tension in North Korea, China, Syria, and America seem to fufill this, but so did the days of World War II and World War I. It is easy to take passages out of the end times chapters and books of the Holy Bible and create some kinda of timeline, numerology, and in some cases (and sadly) a kaballa. Believers want to know, when is Christ going to return, and this earnest desire is not wrong, the Second Coming of Christ should compel a sense of urgency and excitement inside us, for the Apostle Paul said, "And now the prize awaits me--the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing," (2 Timothy 4:8), and Christ Jesus himself said, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:42).

The question that lurks in the minds and hearts of us believers is this, "are there any definitive signs that can assure us we are in Last Days, the End Times, and Final Era of this planet?" The wars and rumors of wars could have been applied in any age from Apostles to now, so it is not a good marker for knowing we are in Last Days for sure. The earthquakes and many castrophies promised (Matthew, Revelation 6) are not much help because there have always been tectonic plates shifting and major castrophies since Original Sin, granted I do concur the frequency of the earthquakes and other natural disasters are signs we are in the end times, but still they do not give us definitive marker that we know we are in the Last Days, and that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming on clouds. Upon some searching of scripture, we do find not only definitive marker and signs to tell us we are at End, but the Apostle Paul spells out for us clearly that there are in fact two signs and events that will transpire that signal you are in the end verbatim. He recalls these events as follows, "Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. ⁵ Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;  that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,  in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). The Apostle Paul mentions two distinctive signs, the Apostasy (2  Thessaloanins 2:3) and the coming of the Man of Lawlessness, "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed." (1 Thesslaonians 2:3). Apostasy is otherwise translated, "The falling away from the faith," or "ἀποστασία, ας, ἡ, apostasia, defection, apostasy, revolt, Feminine of the same as apostasion; defection from truth (properly, the state) ("apostasy") -- falling away, forsake. a falling away, defection, apostasy; in the Bible namely, from the true religion, apostasía (from 868 /aphístēmi, "leave, depart," which is derived from 575 /apó, "away from" and 2476 /histémi, "stand") – properly, departure (implying desertion); apostasy – literally, "a leaving, from a previous standing." It means where people fall away, and draw back from Jesus Christ who is the Truth (John 14:6) and the spirit of Truth (John 16:13) who is Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ himself mentions apostasy, "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other," (Matthew 24:10), and the Apostle Paul spoke more of it, "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons." (1 Timothy 4:1). This is the great apostasy, the falling away from the faith (fide) which is trust, belief, and knowing Christ (Romans 10:9-10, John 6:40, John 17:3). This can happen in a very major way when a Christian apostasies, that is fall away by telling people publicly they no longer believe in Christ, "For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,  who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame," (Hebrews 6:4-6), Secondly it can be when someone distorted the True Gospel of Jesus Christ and creates a cult and false Christian church like the Mormons (see 2 Corinthians 11:2-17, Galatians 1:8-9), or it can be more subtle when for instance the Bible Muesum that just opened in Washington D.C. United States hides Jesus and does not make Him easy to find Him for those visiting, thus impending evangelism, and coping and appeasing other religions in the process. For Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33). This is exacrly what owners of the Bible Muesum have done, they are denying Christ publicly and hiding knowledge of Him from the masses or in very least making Him obscure when they could proclaim Him in this great opportunity to witnesses in Washington D.C.! 

We are seeing this sign, the Falling Away, the Apostasy take place as we speak. All over the world the Church is being persecuted at levels not seen since the time of evil emperors Caligula, Nero, and Domitian. Even then Christianity was expanding, and not hated by all nations as Christ foretells (). Today, the apostasy is growing, with America, once a bastion and light unto nations for Jesus is falling into despotism, anarchy, and antichrist. Even churches and Evangelical leaders are proving they are falling away, Franklin Graham refusing to correct Pres. Donald Trump turning National Day of Prayer (which only Christians attended) into an Interfaith Ecumenical Day of Prayer. The Bible Museum in D.C. that just opened hiding Jesus in obscure plagues, while giving full disclosure to other heroes of the Bible. Half of all denominations of the Church giving into homosexuality and other defilements that Peter says are grounds for falling away, "If they have escaped the defilements of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them." (2 Peter 2:20-21). Half of all Denominations of Church refusing to claim Christ Jesus is the Only Way to the Father, Heaven, Eternal Life, and Truth as written in Scripture (John 14:6, John 6:40, John 3:16, John 17:20-23). Half of Churches refusing to confess Jesus is God or Christos Kyrion (Christ Lord God) and instead settling for Christos Kurios (Christ Master Teacher) which is accepted by Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and even Atheists. The Zionist Movement in Church which has made people believe in Darby's Dispensationalism, and causing organizations like Jews for Jesus to hide Christ and emphasize the Law and Torah, something the Jerusalem Church was confronted for (see Acts 15:1-3, 10-11). The Pope of Roman Catholic Church, Francis I on more than one occasion claiming atheists, Hindus, and Muslims, and those of other faiths are saved without believing and knowing Jesus, preaching another false gospel (Galatians 1:8-9, 2 Corinthians 11:2-7), and going against the Truth that Jesus Christ is the One True God and only way eternal life through believing in Him and knowing Him (John 3:16-18, John 14:6, Acts 4:10-12, Acts 15:10-11,  John 6:40, Romans 10:9-10, John 17:3, Matthew 25:51). In addition to all this record losses in attendance of church services, 68% of Millennials abandoning the church, and all the antichrist propaganda from Victoria and Abdul (2017) film, and beyond. The world is becoming hostile towards Christians, and hand shaking other religions from Eastern Mysticisms such as Hinduism and Buddhism to Islam and Baha'ism. 

The Great Apostasy is in full swing, as many are falling away from the True Faith. The second sign Paul mentions is the rise of Man of Lawlessness, the Man of Sin, and the Antichrist or Beast of the Sea. The Man of Lawlessness comes after the Great Apostasy, which makes sense, probably hoping that because so many of the  non-Elect in Church have fallen away, he can become their new god. The rise to power of Antichrist is one of most definitive signs, because it has never happened. He wasn't Hitler, Stalin, or any figure in history such as Nimrod, Caligula, Nero, and etc; all of these are as John said, "Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour." (1 John 2:18, it does help to understand the Last Days began when Jesus died on cross and rose from dead and will continue until He comes on clouds, this is why prophets said in last days Christ would come Isaiah 2:2-4, in fact some translation of Hebrews say, "He came at end of ages, to die for us," Hebrews 9:28). The reason we can be sure the Man of Lawlessness has not risen to power, is no one man has yet gained control over all trade on earth, and conquered all peoples, "" (), and we know for certain Jesus Christ our Lord, God, Savior, and Object of Devotion has not come on clouds of heaven yet (Matthew 24:29-33, Revelation 1:7, Revelation 19:11-16). The Antichrist must first come because Christ Jesus comes, and we are told in some great detail what the reign of this Man of Lawlessness will be like, "Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God. ² This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.
³ I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. ⁴ They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”
⁵ Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. ⁶ And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven.^{[a] 7} And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. ⁸ And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.^[b]

⁹ Anyone with ears to hear
    should listen and understand.
¹⁰ Anyone who is destined for prison
    will be taken to prison.
Anyone destined to die by the sword
    will die by the sword.

This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.

¹¹ Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. ¹² He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. ¹³ He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. ¹⁴ And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. ¹⁵ He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.

¹⁶ He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. ¹⁷ And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. ¹⁸ Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666 (616)." (). It is evident that there has never in history been anyone who required everyone to take a mark, no has anyone been able to control all currency which is now only possible because of technology, in fact, recently Ex Google CEO, has filed with IRS the right to start his new religion of Technology, because he believes A.I. to be a god, perhaps this will seqway into the Beast Regime, and be part of that talking statue of Satan. 

The Final and Third for sure sign we are in Last Days is Jesus Christ coming on clouds of heaven, "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of ^[s]the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His ^[t]elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other," (Matthew 24:29-31), "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. ¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words," (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS," (Revelation 19:11-16), and "Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him--even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!," (Revelation 1:7), and "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. ¹¹ They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into ^[i]the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11). The final sign that we are in End Times is that Jesus Christ will catch us up in clouds at His coming on the clouds, Genrally this isn't what most eschatologists want to consider a sign, because most people want ot know what isgns lead up to this event we Christians are waiting for. Thus it returns to that the most significant and irrefutable signs that Jesus is coming soon is, "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed." (1 Thessalonians 2:3). We are seeing the apostasy and falling away from faith now, all that must happen next for us to be certain that this is the End of Age, the Last Days, is the Man of Lawlessness being revealed. When that happens we will know for certain that our Lord Jesus Christ's Return is near (Revelation 22:20), but we should expect Him any day because we know neither the hour or day, and He will come like thief in the night. So let us be ready any moment to receive our beloved Jesus in love, not out of fear, but love and passion (zeal). Amen. 

thus impending evangelism, and coping and appeasing other religions in the process. For Jesus said, "if you confess me before men." ()