Preparation of the Coming World Church
One
of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me,
“Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who
sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery,
and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her
adulteries.” Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a
wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was
covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The
woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious
stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable
things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead
was a mystery: Babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the
abominations of the earth. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of
God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I
saw her, I was greatly astonished. Then the angel said to me: “Why are you
astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the
beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns”
(Revelation 17:1-7).
This blasphemous, idolatrous, and apostate religion will be:
(1)
Glorious
in outward appearances but will on the inside be full of obscenities and
the impurities of her immorality (17:4 NLT). Severely persecuting God’s
people (17:6).
(2)
Characterized
by her unfaithfulness (17:5, 15-16).
(3)
A
global religion (17:15).
(4)
Extremely
powerful globally (17:12-13).
The great ecumenical movement has been gaining great momentum and wide
acceptance in many nations and among many people. The merging of church groups,
the minimizing of theological distinctives, the greater “understanding” between
religions, and the departure of main-line “Christendom” from the biblical,
orthodox and historical doctrines of the Church, are all the setting of the
stage for the one world religion that will show its ugly head after the rapture
of the church.
The Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Age
With the end of the cold war, that balance of power has completely
shifted. Before, there were only 2 nations in the arms race, today there seems
to be dozens. Countries with nuclear capabilities and arsenals are many now—the
U.S., China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, India, North
Korea, Pakistan, Israel, and NATO member nuclear weapons
sharing states (Belgium, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Turkey), with many other Arab nations (i.e. Iran) seeking to
develop them and buy the technology which would cost billions of dollars.
Biological and chemical weapons are already possessed by many and have
been used since they can be more easily developed and deployed.
The Rush towards Globalism (One World System)
Sometime in the future, the world will once again be ruled by one man
just as it was in the days of Genesis 10–11 when Nimrod ruled. This is Satan’s
goal. Ever since Genesis 10-11, power hungry men have been trying to conquer
and rule. History is replete with individuals who have subjugated peoples and
nations in their attempt to control and rule as much of the world as they could
conquer.
We now live in a day and world in which we can see this as not only
possible, but plausible, globalization is within man’s reach. The necessary
ingredients for a world government are present for the first time in human
history.
Think about it, we now live in a world that through its technological
developments and the formation of so many global organizations, has gone from
being extra-large to extra-small. The world has been reduced to a “village.”
Just consider the many organizations that have helped propel this
globalism: The United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the European
Union, NATO, the World Health Organization, etc. Think of the technological
advancements: the internet, global news networks, banking, currency (or lack
of), transportation, communication, advanced transcontinental weaponry, just to
mention a few. This globalism will one day, led by the antichrist, lead to a
global revolution (Revelation 13:3-18).
What was once inconceivable is now either conceivable or reality. The
world’s evolution has brought us to a point where we can now conceive of a
one-world government and economy, a world where the lines of demarcation are
either blurred or completely erased. Today, we can picture a strong, charismatic,
intelligent, powerful, savvy individual rising to a position of leadership and
eventually governing this new global “village.”
According to Revelation 13, the world order during the end times will
have three parts to it:
(1) It will have a global government –
He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he
was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.
And
it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It
was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation
(Revelation 13:7).
(2) There will be a global religion –
All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not
been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the
creation of the world.
All
those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not
written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the
Lamb who was slaughtered (Revelation 13:8).
(3) There will be a global economy – He
also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to
receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy
or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of
his name.
So
that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the
number of its name (Revelation
3:17).
Cash? What’s That!
This is one of those major steps towards globalism. Financial
institutions both nationally and globally have been and continue to merge at
incredible rates. Economies, currencies, and regulations continue to become
more and more centralized.
Revelation chapter 13 tells us
that when the antichrist—who will be embraced by the world— emerges on the
scene in the seven-year tribulation period, he will display great power and
wisdom and will offer “solutions” to many of the issues plaguing the world and
thus offering what the world perceives as order and stability. The truth is he
will rule with an iron fist making world dictators and ruthless rulers of the
past look like novices. Revelation 13:16-18 tells us that during the last three
years of the tribulation period people will not be able to buy or sell unless
they have “the mark.”
And
it makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a
mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one can buy or sell
unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name. This calls
for wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of
the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666.
The technology is already here and in
many respects in place that will make it possible for the antichrist to bring
about this cashless reality.
From Bad to Worse
Scoffing, Lust, and Unbelief
Above
all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and
following their own evil desires, saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he
promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue
as they have been since the beginning of creation”
(2 Peter 3:3-4).
Note that Peter is telling us that we should be aware of this
now. No doubt there were already false teachers and individuals being led
astray by greed, heresy, and lust, but the scoffers Peter has in mind
here are in a class of their own—contemptuous nonbelievers who abandon and even
scorn the faith and the church.
Some will flatly deny the doctrine of the second coming of Christ as
absurd or unreasonable while others will openly ridicule it as antiquated or
superstitious. This will demonstrate outright unbelief in the Bible by some and
ill-preparedness to welcome the Savior by others. The incredible spread of this
incredulity indicates that the Lord’s return draws near. Peter emphasized that
scoffers would abound in the last days. Jude wrote,
But
you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ. They told you, “In the end time there will be
scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” These people
create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit
(Jude 1:17-19).
Spiritual Unconcern
As
the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For in
those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. They didn’t know until
the flood came and swept them all away. This is the way the coming of the Son
of Man will be (Matthew 24:37-39).
Callousness and carelessness concerning Christ and His things have
always been present, but they will increase in the last days. An instructive
parallel can be found in this passage, in Noah’s day, people were concerned
with only two things: eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage. Propagation and preservation of the race was the
concern of the people while all along, the race was about to perish. Today, we
see an increasing lack of concern for the repeated warnings; instead, there is
a prevalent attitude of “business as usual.” Today, like in the days of Noah,
the focus is on man (propagation, preservation, advancement, independence,
etc.) and not on God or the things of God.
Apostasy within the Church
Now
the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from
the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of
demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are
seared. They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods
that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and
know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is
to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 since
it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer
(1 Timothy 4:1-5).
For
the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but
according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because
they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from
hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths
(2 Timothy 4:3-4).
The truth in God’s Word is accurate and reliable. Yet people have long
questioned, doubted and impugned the authority of the Bible. We see this trend
increasing at alarming rates particularly within “Christendom.” Entire
communities and denominations have departed and now attack what for centuries
have been the orthodox, historical doctrines of the church. Commitment to God
and His truth has gone out the window while the spirit of compromise and the
embracing of postmodern philosophies are in.
Just consider the incredible explosion of false religions,
pseudo-Christian cults, new age philosophies, atheism, liberal Christianity,
and the secularization of society. The true saving Gospel is now widely spurned
and considered by many as intolerant and politically incorrect to the extent
that even among many so-called Christians, preaching it should be something we
should stop doing all together.
The Rise of Wickedness
But
know this: Hard times will come in the last days. For people will be
lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning,
disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable,
slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is
good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness
but denying its power. Avoid these people
(2 Timothy 3:1-5).
The world will experience societal degeneration; this will be
characterized by moral decay, in part as a result of the denial of objective,
absolute truth, for where there is no objective, absolute truth, chaos reigns,
sin is rampant, and the value of things such as life itself is reduced to
something that is worthless and meaningless.
It is true that these characteristics have been present in virtually
every generation from the fall on, what Paul is simply saying is that in the last
days, these characteristics will intensify.
Outward Religiosity
Holding
to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people
(2 Timothy 3:5).
We will see an increasing phenomenon in the latter days, unbelief
cloaked in outward ritualism. Ceremonialism conceals faithlessness. Since faith
is missing, they will concentrate on form. Faith in Christ begins from the
inside and in time shows itself outwardly, but what will be characteristic in
the last days is an outward religion that falls apart because the inward
transformation is non-existent. People will be religious outwardly but lost
inwardly.
Wars and Rumors of Wars, Rising of Nations against Nations,
Natural Disturbances
Jesus
replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many
will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive
many. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are
not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For
nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be
famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the
beginning of labor pains” (Matthew
24:4-8).
We are told that we will see greater frequency and intensity of these
things as we approach the last days. Though many believed that with the
collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War we would experience
greater peace, yet the opposite has occurred. Many others are racing to fill
the vacuum it left in its wake, particularly the Islamic nations. With the
threat of the Soviets to the north of the Arab world, we are seeing the rise of
rouge militant Islamic nations take center stage in world events. In addition,
we are finding that there is not a region in the world where there is not some
conflict going on. Nations in every major region of the world are in conflict
either with themselves or somebody else. Africans thought they would experience
peace and freedom as they escaped their colonial oppressors. The opposite occurred;
almost every African nation is engaged in civil war or in disputes with other
African nations. Rwanda is a classic illustration; nearly a million people were
killed in a 1994 fury of genocide that lasted 3 months. At the height of the
slaughter, Hutus were killing Tutsis at a rate of 400 and hour.
There have always been natural disasters but let us look at the trend
today: in 1940, there were 51 earthquakes measuring above 6.0 on the Richter
scale. In the 1990’s, there was more than 1500 earthquakes measuring above 6.0
on the Richter scale. There have been
more severe earthquakes in the last 200 years than in the preceding 1000 years.
For
nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be
famines and earthquakes in various places
(Matthew 24:7).
There
will be violent earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places,
and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven
(Luke 21:11).
Despite our modern technology and the incredible wealth around the
world, millions die every year in famine-stricken nations. In a recent article
published online by CNBC, Chloe Taylor wrote,
“Famines
of “biblical proportions” are becoming a serious risk as the coronavirus crisis
threatens to double the number of people nearing starvation, a U.N. body has
warned.
In
projections released Tuesday, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) predicted
that the number of people facing “acute food insecurity” stood to rise to 265
million by the end of this year, up from 135 million in 2019.”[1]
Pestilences (diseases) are on the rise as well despite miraculous
breakthroughs in medical technology. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has claimed the
lives of over 32 million people.[2] As I pen
these words, in a span of about 5 months, more than 362,000 people have died
due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with almost 6 million confirmed cases.
[1] Chloe Taylor,
“‘Biblical’ famines could double global hunger as a result of the coronavirus
crisis, UN warns,” CNBC, April 22, 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/coronavirus-biblical-famines-could-double-global-hunger-un-warns.html.
[2] Source: World
Health Organization, https://www.who.int/gho/hiv/en/.
All
Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from The Christian Standard
Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.
Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of
Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright
© 2020 by Miguel J Gonzalez Th.D.
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