A Strange Persecution

He is Coming This blog is about Christianity and the Second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

Two hundred and forty human torches cast a horrifying light across the palace gardens. From his balcony emperor scene of death. The agonizing screams of the Christmas tore the air as they burned to death. There only crime: to believe in Jesus and obey His word.

Two years earlier (A.D. 303) Diocletian had come to power. At first he ordered every copy of scripture burned and churches torn down. Those who refused to renounce their faith where to be killed and their houses burnt. History records that the emperor ordered a monument built with inscription: "In honor of the extermination of the Christian superstition". It was one of the cruelest persecutions of history.

The events of the first centuries of the Christian era are sad fragments of a story that no one enjoys recalling. But they never be repeated, right? No, wrong! Persecution appeared again in the Middle Ages. This time the Christian Church itself persecuted groups of believers who insisted on studying and obeying the Bible as they only rule of faith and doctrine. Labeled as heretics, they faced judgement and death for their obedience to the Word of God.

That was hundred of years ago. Today it seems highly unlikely that someone would be persecuted for his or her religious convictions. Nevertheless, Jesus categorically declared that shortly before His return to earth a group of Christians would once again endure persecution because of their insistence on obeying the Bible and the Bible only.

When we looked at natural catastrophes, we saw that Jesus announced that extra ordinary signs would appear in the sun, moon, and the stars. "But in those days, after the tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken". The Master stated that such thing would happen "after the tribulation". He Himself explained: "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name".

Does it mean that before the coming of Christ the world will experience a renewal of persecution? What type of persecution will it be? And what will cause it? No one who loves the truth can remain indifferent on this matter. It is something that has to do with the eternal destiny of every human being.

Before we go on on this subject, we need to remember that throughout history God has always had an enemy who specialized in deception. He attempted to gain control of the human race through his lies. The book of Revelation identifies him as devil and Satan. John depicts him under the symbol of a dragon. The dragon uses seduction to achieve his ends. Through his lies he manages to deceived many, including, if it were possible, "the chosen ones", according to the words of Lord Jesus Himself. But although seduction and deceit give him good results, there remains a group of people who study the Bible and don't fall for his deceptions. What can the enemy do with them? Overcome with rage, he persecutes them. What he doesn't achieve one way, he will attempt to do by another.

The book of Revelation speaks of that persecution and Jesus mentions it as one of the last signs of His return to earth. John says that he saw in vision: "So the dragon was enraged with a woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus". Who is this woman persecuted by the dragon? Whom that she represent? In the Bible a woman often serves a symbol of a church. A pure woman, clothed in white, depicts the church of God. An impure woman, clothed with scarlet, stands for that part of the church that has become God's enemy.

The persecuted woman is the symbol of those in the church who remain loyal to God. John himself described her in this way: "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars".

This woman [church] has endured persecution from the dragon [Satan] throughout history. He attacked her with better hatred because she refused to fall for his lies. She held fast to the Word of God. John himself, exiled to the island of Patmos is one example. It was there that he wrote the book of Revelation: "I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus".

Notice two reasons for John's exile: The Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. In reality, we could summarize both causes as one: his love of Jesus. If you love the Lord, it is logical that you will be faithful to His Word. And if you respect His Word, there is no way that you will accept the deceptions and lies that the dragon may invent. This makes the enemy furious. It is why he persecutes those who insist on obeying the teachings of the Bible.

Such persecution is not against those who merely carry the name of Christians. If I am a Christian but I am ignorant of truth, and follow the false teachings of the enemy, he has no reason to trouble me. He leaves me alone. persecution is only for those who reject deception and insist on obeying what the Bible teaches.

The majority at the time will choose the path of least resistance. Meanwhile, those who cling to the teachings of the Bible will begin to be seen as radicals, stubborn, and politically incorrect. Could there be in our time anyone more worthy of rejection than a politically incorrect person? And whom could you call more politically incorrect than those who refuse to lower their values, who will not negotiate principles, who do not believe what the majority believes and refuse to accept what they accept?

The stubbornness of these persecuted people has do mainly with a matter that the great majority considers a foolish detail. In Revelation 12:17 the dragon persecutes the woman and also the "remnant of her seed", that is the last-day church, because they insist on obeying God according to His Word. Notice that the church at the time of the end has two characteristics: it keeps the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus. They are the same reasons that led to John's exile on the island of Patmos---loyalty and obedience to God and His Word.

Today many consider God's commandments to be of no use to Christians. Many assume that the law was nailed to the cross of Calvary and therefore the Christian should no longer be concerned about keeping it. Nevertheless, the remnant stands out from the crowd precisely because they insist on being faithful to Jesus and obeying the commandments. It may seem like a trivial detail, but obedience to the eternal principles of the Word of God is not negotiable.

In Revelation 13 the dragon appears once again. Here he hands over hi power to a strange new beast. In prophecy a "beast" symbolizes a kingdom or power. John says of this new beast: "It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him".

The new power begins to persecute God's people. Since people worship it, it is obviously a religious power. "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written...in the book of life of the Lamb".

According to the book of Revelation, during the last days a special religious power will acquire great authority. It will be loved and respected by multitudes, followed and praised by kings and princes. But at the same time will persecute those who do not accept its authority and submit themselves to it. Who will reject the authority of the beast? Those who insist on being faithful to Jesus and His Word.

But notice more: The prophecy also states that in the last days of our world there will arise a political power that will support the false religious one. It is the second beast of revelation 13, the one that received its authority from the dragon. The apostle John describe it: "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth.... and he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will able to buy or sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name".

People will not even be able to buy or sell unless they have "the mark of the beast". To understand this it is necessary to know first the identity of the "mark of God". If it is true that the dragon marks his followers, it is also true that God does the same with His faithful and obedient children, the ones that He calls "saints".

Earlier, John had declared: "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree". This refers to the final destruction of the earth at the second coming of Christ. Four angels hold back the winds of destruction. Why? The next verse give us the answer: "And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads'''. Notice that the angel tells the first four to "hold back the destruction until God's servants are sealed".

Today, as you read this, we are standing at one of the most important moments in the history of the world, a fact that sadly few realize. Those who receive the seal of God will escape the final destruction, whereas John says that "if anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God".

The book of Revelation depicts two great commanders. Both have their followers. And both identify their people. The dragon places the mark of the beast on his people. Jesus mark His with seal of God.

But what is the seal of God? If we discover that we can know the nature of the mark of the beast. A seal is an identifying mark. It carries the name or position of responsibility of the person and the extent of his or her authority.

Behind the seal of God lies His authority--- His law and the eternal principles of His divine government. Behind the mark of the beast you can also find a supposed authority---the decrees and deceitful principles of the enemy. Behind the seal of God is His desire to save. And behind the mark of the beast lurks the intention to destroy. Behind the seal of God are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, while behind the mark of the beast are the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. The seal of God is placed in the life of those who "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb". The mark of the beast gets placed in the life of those who worship of the deceiving power that claims to have divine authority without any right to do so.

The Bible contains a number of verses that explain the nature of the seal of God. One of them declares: "Sanctify my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God". According to this passage, the Sabbath is a sign of obedience for the Christian church. God did not give the Sabbath to Israel alone. He instituted it at Creation, and God's people observed it even before the Lord presented the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Jesus kept it. The apostles honored it both before the cross and then after Jesus was resurrected and returned to heaven. The author of the epistle to the Hebrews says "For he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works',... there remains before a Sabbath rest for the people of God".

The enemy knows the Bible. He recognizes what the Word of God says. But he is a liar from the beginning, the enemy of the truth. So what does he do? Camouflaging the truth, he mixes it with a lie and then presents it using his method, which is seduction. The result: multitudes follow him, obeying and believing what he teaches. But another group of people love Jesus and obey His commandments. They are not deceived.

The price of obedience to the Word of God and faithfulness to Jesus will be a very high one. The dragon will vent all his anger against them. Using religious and political coercion he will initiate the greatest religious persecution of all time. Because it has been prophesied, there is no way to avoid it. It will be yet another evidence of the nearness of Christ's return. The prophet Daniel said: "There will be a time distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time".

According to Jesus Himself, this persecution will take place before great natural phenomena that will be manifested in the sun, moon, and the stars. Luke tells it this way: "There will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you,... bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.... But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put you some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name". Notice the extent and cruelty of such persecution. Brothers and sisters will betray one another, as will parents and children, and friends will turn against friends.

It is true that, originally, Jesus was speaking of the persecution of Christians who would suffer under the Romans during the first century of the Christian era, but it is also true that the persecution will repeat itself in the last days of the world's history. Remember that the Master was responding to the questions that the disciples had asked with regard to the destruction of the Temple and the end of the world.

This last persecution will be worst and cruelest of all time. Innocent people will be humiliated and made victims because they refuse to obey the dominant religious power. Political authority will enforce the campaign. And behind both of them will be the dragon.

Let's again consider the seal of God. As we have seen, the Bibles says that it is the Sabbath, the day commonly called Saturday, the seventh day of the week. This brings us to the vital questions of the nature of the mark of the beast. To understand it we return to Revelation 13. Remember that it speaks here both religious power and political power that "deceives those who dwell on earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on earth to make an image to the beast".

Please notice that another symbolic figure now appears on the stage: an image of the beast. An image is a representation or symbols that stand for something else. When you think the colors of your country's flag, it reminds you of what country you belong to, because behind the flag there exist a country. In the same way, if the authority of God expresses itself in a seal and the seal of God is the Sabbath seal---another worship day.

First of all, we must keep in mind that the Bible does not contain a single text that says the seventh day is no longer the true day of rest. At some point in history something appeared that pretended to have divine authority and changed the observance of Sabbath for that of a different day---Sunday. Many people sincerely believe that they honor Sunday because Jesus rose on that day. It is true that Resurrection did take place on Sunday, But the Bible never says that because of that reason the Sabbath is no longer sacred and that now Sunday is the current day rest and worship.

A day of worship does not necessarily mean that particular days i better than any other. It is not simply a matter of days. What really at stake is what those days represent. The seventh day belong to Christ. It is a sign of His power and His authority. He Himself declared: "So the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath". Through the prophet Ezekiel He also said: "Sanctify My sabbaths;... that you may know that I am the Lord your God".

To honor the first day of the week as a day of rest is a human invention. It is an attack on the authority of Jesus. But to keep the seventh day is a sign of loyalty to Christ. Observing the first day of the week ultimately means disloyalty. If we will respect the Sabbath we must walk in the way that Jesus did. Whenever anyone substitutes Sunday for the day that God ordained they turn aside from the teaching of the Bible. The prophet Hosea reminds us: "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things. Who is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right. And the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them".

As you look at the world you may feel that persecution as a sign of the return of Christ will never be fulfilled. Who would dare persecute someone today for their faith. We live in a time of much religious freedom. The human race has never had greater respect for human rights. In much of the world countless social movements defend the rights of minorities. How would it be possible for someone to be persecuted only because they keep the Sabbath? From a human viewpoint it may seem impossible. Nevertheless, the Bibles says that such persecution will be almost the last sign that will happen just before the glorious return of Jesus. It will be something surprising and unexpected. But it will be real.

Are you fearful of the persecution the Scripture predicts? You don't need to be. The Lord Jesus will take care of His faithful children. read the marvelous promise regarding His infinite care for you: "Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary".

Do you know what God will do for you beside taking care of you and giving you strength? Read what He Himself says: "For then there will be  a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, God personally promises you that He will shorten the time of suffering in the last days for the sake of His people.

All the signs of the return of Christ that we have studied so far have been in the process of being fulfilled. So will this one also, even though to many it may seem at first glance incredible. When the persecution comes, where will you be? To which of the two groups will you belong? Will you be with the persecutors or the persecuted?

The answer is yours alone.

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When Will He Come?

He is Coming This blog is about Christianity and the Second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

A lot of people wonder that Jesus didn't tells us the exact day and hour of His return. I believe the reason lies in the nature of the human heart. If we knew the exact time, we would ignore His counsels about how we should live. Then a few hours before His scheduled appearance we would hurriedly try to get ready. He Himself said: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone".

Some time ago I spoke with a person who knew nothing about the Bible. As we rode together in an airplane the conversation turned to spiritual questions. We shared the concept each of us had about life. I told him I believed in the return of Christ and the establishment of His eternal kingdom.

"I prefer to live in the present reality", he told me. "Heaven is to abstract, and it's in a distant future. I don't know if I'll even be alive when that day comes".

A typical person of our time, the man thought only of the here and now. As far as he was concerned, it was not worth while trying to think about heaven while interesting things where constantly happening here on earth.

"Life is short", he told me in a conclusion", and we can't waste it on utopian dreams. We need to be realistic".

We need to be realistic? Then, borrowing an illustration from another writer, allow me to reason with you. Suppose we live 100 years and come to an end of our days. And we discover that the man who spoke with me that day was right. Heaven does not exist. The coming of Christ is a utopian dream. There is no eternal life. Nothing. Then what will I have lost if there is nothing. But let's suppose at the end of our days we discover that the Bible was right. Heaven is real, eternal life is a reality, and Christ does come back to take with Him those who are ready. Well, then, my friend in the plane will have lost everything. It's that simple. But it is also real and true.

Very soon the day is approaching when human beings will awake, just as they always have, to go about their daily round of activities. In factories employees will be carrying out their assigned duties. The clubs and entertainment centers will be filled. People will be doing good or evil, chasing as they always have after their dreams. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing different. Just as it was in the days of Noah.

Suddenly, in the midst of the sky, will appear a small  cloud. It will grow larger by the second. The earth will shake to the very foundations. John described the scene this way. "I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree cast its unripe figs when shaken by great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand'?

While some people running around terrified, those who believed in the Second Coming and prepared themselves for that day will raise their arms and exclaim: "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is our Lord for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation".

One cold morning in the concentration camp during 1942 a young man looked through the barbed-wire fence and saw a girl that he thought of as beautiful as the sunlight itself. The young woman spotted him, too, and her heart leaped up. Wanting to express her feelings, she threw a red apple over the fence. Somehow the apple brought him life, hope, and love. As the boy picked it up a ray of sunshine illuminated his dark world. The angelic face and the timid smile of that young woman lingered in his mind.

The next day he was eager to see her again. When he approached the fence, to his delight there she was. Waiting for the arrival of the young man who had touched her heart, she stood there with another red apple in her hand.

It was extremely cold and the freezing wind moaned sadly. Despite that, two hearts were warmed by love as the apple crossed the fence.

The incidence repeated itself for several days. Two young people , on opposites side of a fence, briefly looked for one another. Only for an instant each day. The encounter was a little more than a flickering flame.

One day the young man announced with a sad expression, "Don't bring me the apple tomorrow. I won't be here any more. They are sending me to another concentration camp".

That afternoon the boy left with a broken heart. From that day on the beautiful image of the girl would fill his mind during moments of sorrow. Her eyes, the few words they had exchanged, the red apple. For him it was a spark of joy in the midst of unending sadness. His family perished in the war and his life was nearly destroyed, but even in the darkest hours of the image of the girl with the timid smile brought him joy, courage, and hope.

Years passed. One day in the United States two adults met by chance in a restaurant and began to talk about their lives. "Where were you during the war"? the woman asked.

"I was in concentration camp in Germany", he answered.

"I remember throwing apples over the fence to a young man who was also in the concentration camp," she recalled.

With his heart in his throat, the man stammered: "And did that young man say to you one day: "Tomorrow don't bring me the apple, because they are sending me to another concentration camp""?

"Yes, but how could you have know that"?

Looking into her eyes, as if he was gazing at a star, he said, "I was that young man".

A moment of silence. So many memories, so much nostalgia, such joy at seeing her again. The words almost refused to come out, but he went on: "They separated me from you that day, but I never lost the hope of seeing you again. Will you marry me"?

As he held her close she whispered in his ear, "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes".

The world is a ripe fruit, ready to be harvested. Christ is coming back to put an end to the long sad history of sin. He is coming to take you home, coming to tell you that He never lost the hope of seeing you safe with Him for all eternity. There is a place in heaven for you, and it will never be the same without your presence. You are the most precious thing that Jesus has on earth. Just as you are, with your joys and sorrows, with your struggles and conflicts, with your good points and mistakes you are important to Jesus. So important that He came to die for you on the cross of Calvary, and is returning to take you home again with Him. Are you ready?

The answer is your alone.

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The Preaching of the Gospel

He is Coming This blog is about Christianity and the Second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

The voice of the flight attendant woke me up. Glancing at my watch, I saw that it was 6:05 a.m., London time. In half and hour more the plane would land at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. I was arriving in Russia to direct an evangelistic campaign.

A I looked out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the Russian capital, there came to my mind the difficulties that people had faced in the old Soviet Union when they had wanted to study the Bible and serve God. Whoever had dared to preach the good news of Jesus ran the risk of going to prison . But the fall of the Iron Curtain and the perestroika of Mikhail Gorbachev had opened the door for the message of the gospel.

In 1992 pastor and speaker Mark Finley with an evangelistic team from the television program It Is Written did something that would go down as a landmark in the history of preaching. He held an evangelistic series in the Kremlin, the place where the former government had passed laws attempting to make God disappear from the lives of the Russian people. During Pastor Finley's meeting almost 3,000 people accepted Jesus and were baptized. Today Russia is a fertile soil for the gospel seed. It is part of the fulfillment of another of the signs of the coming of Jesus: the preaching of the gospel of the world.

Enormous challenges still remain, however. A number of countries and areas have yet to hear the saving message of Jesus. From the human standpoint it seems that for now, at least, it impossible for the gospel to go to such regions. But as we look at the recent past and remember such places as Russia and elsewhere that were once apparently impenetrable and yet today are open, we have the assurance that one day there will be no place in the world where the gospel does not reach. The church is moving forward with strength in fulfilling its mission.

During the eight days I spent in Siberia, I saw spiritual hunger everywhere. People fervently wanted to hear God's message. Every night I witnessed dozens of them accepting Christ as their personal Savior. I saw them restored by the transforming power of Jesus.

The purpose of the gospel is to raise fallen men and women and return to them the lost image of the creator. Human beings of all times and in all places have always needed the gospel. But if there ever was a point in history when we should preach the good news of Jesus with force, it is today. Never before have people been  so desperate and lost in the shadows of their own reasoning. And never before have human beings so sought urgently to make sense of life.

Jesus loves such people and seeks to save them. He longs to show them the road to peace and joy. That is why one of the signs that tells us we are living in the time of the end is preaching of the gospel to everyone every where: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come".

Right now, while you read these words, millions of fervent Christians are going going one to one, preaching the good news of the gospels in both cities and towns and in remote areas of the planet. The word is going out through radio, television, and Internet as well as being printed in countless books and magazines. Millions of people invite friends and neighbors to their homes to share with them the world of hope. They direct evangelistic series of all sizes and give Bible studies in people's homes. The sign that Jesus mentioned as evidence of His return is being fulfilled in an extraordinary way.

In recent years I have traveled to different countries of the world to preach in stadiums, in the open air, and in churches, rented halls, cinemas, theaters, etc. I have seen how this prophecy has become reality as people have been baptized by thousands. They join the church of God and express their desire to prepare for the return of Jesus.

It was not only Jesus who mentioned the preaching of the gospel as a sign of the time of the end. We find the message in the prophetic book of revelation in which John records what he saw in symbolic vision: "I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live in the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said in a loud voice. 'Fear God, and give Him glory, because the Hour of His judgement has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters".

The passage makes it clear that the gospel that the world needs to hear during the time of the end is not a modified message or something altered or watered down. The gospel that Adam and Eve heard in Eden is the same as that announced at Sinai. The good new at Sinai was the same as in the time of Jesus. The Master of Galilee preached the same gospel as the apostle Paul. The gospel of the New Testament is identical to that of the Middle Ages and our postmodern era. The good news that Jesus Christ---what He did, does, and will do for the human race. It is news of forgiveness and restoration. Humanity needs to hear it. Therefore, God sends an angel flying in midheaven to preach this message to a suffering world now with more emphasis that ever.

Who is this angel? Whom does he represent? An angel symbolizes a messenger or a group of messengers. The prophecy of Revelations 14 means that before the return of Christ God will raise up a group of messengers to proclaim the eternal gospel to the whole world. Prophetically those messengers would begin their activity after the persecution of the obedient church, the period would last for 1,260 years.

The prophecy says that the group of messenger would preach "with a loud voice". It means that the message is to be clear and distinct, one might be startle or alarm or even be politically incorrect, going against the thinking of majority.

The message begins like this: "Fear God, and give Him glory". Why? Because the message has to be proclaimed at a time when the human being prefers to worship the creature rather than the Creator. It is for this reason that the angel points out the mighty works of God creation. He emphasizes the sovereignty of God as a Creator that He is infinitely greater than the things He created. He "made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters". Therefore, the creatures must not direct their attention to created things but to God Himself.

The messengers symbolized by this angel call on human beings to worship the Creator God. And they justify the demand by declaring that "the hour of His judgement has come". The world urgently needs to abandon the ways of idolatry and worship the only true God, because the judgement hour has come.

What judgement is it speaking about here? When Christian thinks of divine judgement, they generally look to the future. They relate the judgement to the coming of Christ and the destruction of the world. But the angel says that the hour of God's judgement has already come. Therefore, it cannot be a future matter, but one of the past and present.

The prophet Daniel describe the judgement in the following way: "I keep looking until thrones where set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool.... A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him. Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened". So you see, the "books" were opened to begin the judgement. A careful study of Bible prophecy indicates that it would commence in 1844. Otherwise, how could Jesus reward the just at His second coming if He had not already examine the case of every person.

Speaking of the judgement terrifies people. Even the thought of it makes them uncomfortable, because people equate the judgement with destruction. And if it is destruction, how it is part of the eternal gospel? The gospel is "good news", not unhappy news. Most of us need encouragement and not fear, don't you think?

How should we view the judgement? Consider this: suppose that someone was trying to steal possessions of your house. Both of you go to court about the problem. When the matter comes for the judgement, who needs to be afraid? You, who are going to get your house back, or the individual who has taken it away unjustly? Therefore, the judgement is news that brings fear and desperation.

According to Bible, the judgement is part of the gospel of salvation for a simple reason: the Lord Jesus, speaking of the Holy Spirit, said: "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin righteousness and judgement". Here we find the components of the message of the whole gospel. First, I am a sinner and I can do nothing in my own strength to free myself from the condemnation to which my sins have subjected me. Second, justice comes only from Jesus. Therefore, He died for me on the cross and offers me freely His grace. Third, if I fail to take advantage of the marvelous provisions of God's mercy and grace, I will have to give an account for my decision in the judicial process when I face the judgement bar of God.

Bible prophecy affirms that in 1844 two important things took place in the universe. The first took place in heaven. there the judgement began. The second happened on the earth. God raised a group of messengers to preach the eternal gospel, announcing that the judgement begun and calling on men and women everywhere to renew their worship of God as the Creator.

This group of messengers formed a remnant church, the descendant of the woman of the revelation. The prophecy announces that God has summoned a church to give the last message to human beings. Because the church's mission is urgent, Scripture symbolizes it by the angel flying through the heavens. And because its message is important, the angel speaks "with a loud voice".

Through them and many other communications other methods, the gospel is reaching people even in the remotest and distant places. The other day I received a letter from a man who said. "Pastor, I will never have an opportunity to meet you in person in this life. I just want to thank you because one day, over the radio, I heard the good news of the gospel as I listened to the message you were presenting. At the time my home was destroyed and I had just made two attempts at suicide. I had come to the point that life made no sense. I was suffering a strange anguish that had plunged me into desperation. I couldn't sleep. I would pass hours of the night awake. I had gone to many doctors and specialist in emotional problems, but no one had been able to help me.

"Early in the morning I turned on the radio and heard you preach. I had never believed in the gospel, Jesus, or the Bible. A rational man, I was agnostic and considered religion something for weak people. I had no need for such crutches. But suddenly I don't know what happened in my life. I began to lose the taste for everything. Nothing made sense anymore, and I was sinking deeper and deeper in a sea of despair until that early morning when I heard you speak on the radio, In its darkness and silence the Spirit of God spoke to my heart, showed me reality, and made me see my need for Jesus. I accepted Him, and today I rejoice in sharing the news that has filled my life with people who don't know Jesus. I am a happy man".

The preaching of the gospel is fulfilling its purpose: to rescue people from death. The sign of the return of Christ is being fulfilled and the world is being prepared for the final harvest.

Very soon, according to God's timetable, the day will come in which the Father will say to the Son: "Go and bring home My redeemed children, whose who believe in Me and are willing to obey Me even at the risk of losing their lives. I don't want see them suffering, and I don't want to live anymore without them. The table is ready, the banquet is prepared. Only the guest are lacking. Please, go and bring them".

When that day arrives, will you be ready to go with Jesus?

The answer is yours alone.

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Economic Recession

He is Coming This blog is about Christianity and the Second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

The city of Sao Paulo was dazzling that night as I stared across it from the balcony of the Italia Building. Entering the restaurant, I looked around. The receptionist, a tall blond young man with artificial manners, asked, as he knew me, "Mr Bulloon?"

I nodded with a smile and he took me to a private table in the rear. the person I was looking for was there, waiting for me. As he arose we exchanged greetings, and after a brief trivial conversation, he got to the point.

"You know I have money", he said, taking charge the situation at once. "I can buy whatever I want, travel in any place in the world, and make things happen that most people just dream about; but when night comes, I can't sleep. I feel as if I were in debt to someone. Some nights I remain awake until dawn. Tell me what I'm missing, but please don't ask me to become a member of your church and don't talk to me about Jesus".

His attitude surprised me. Although a giant in the world of business, he sat there almost begging for help, but he didn't want me to talk to him about Jesus.

"You know that I am a minister", I said.

"Yes, but can't ministers talk about anything else but religion"?

"Of course we can. I could discuss the stock market or the present exchange rate for dollars. I could talk to you about sports or about the culture of the different countries I have visited, but you have just asked me a specific question. You want to know what you are lacking and I am sure it is not stocks and bonds, travel, or culture. What you need is a spiritual sense for your life, but you don't want me to talk to you about Jesus. What can I do? If I were to tell you the solution to your problem is in India and that it would cost you a million dollars, you wouldn't hesitate a minute. You would get your private jet ready and go there immediately to look for the solution. Am I mistaken"? The man blinked several times, took a sip of water, and didn't know what to say. He was aware of the emptiness of his life. Something was seriously wrong. At the beginning of his career, when he was still young and filled with dreams and ambition, he believed that he needed money to be happy. he concentrated all his efforts on getting it and had achieved his objective. By now he was a multimillionaire and, according to his original plan, should have been satisfied but he wasn't. Instead, he felt constant anguish and couldn't identify the cause. Although looking for help, he didn't want to hear anything about God.

We talked a bit more, then said without coming to any conclusion. The classic portrait of a modern man, he had made money his god. But in spite of all his money he was empty and distraught.

"Money is a powerful horse", says the proverb. And people have always given themselves body and soul to getting as much as possible of it. "Money is the lever that moves the world", repeated the gold seekers as they risked their lives in the Amazon jungles searching for the precious metal.

The mad race for money dominates today's culture. it destroys lives, corrupts consciences, and leads to the overthrowing of governments. Yet people think that if they only had more money they would be happy, and therefore spare no effort or time to get it.

The man who spoke with me that night had discovered that money failed to bring happiness. But many, in their desperate attempt to fill the void that money cannot, fall into greed: the idolatry of money.

Greedy people live just for the getting. They accumulate riches they can't use. Afraid to spend and terrified of being poor, they never had enough. They care about no one but themselves. The apostle Paul describes this kind of people as one of the signs of the last days: "In the last days... men will be lovers of self, lovers of money".

The desire to accumulate riches makes human beings lose their sense of values. Things come to be more important than people. Always wanting to be richer, the wealthy will lie, exploit, extort, corrupt and be corrupted without caring about others. Such individuals exist in every field of human endeavor: in business, in the government, and even in churches.

It is the poor and weak who is especially suffer the consequences of the greed of others. Every day they have fewer opportunities and more poverty and misery. One evidence that the return of Christ is near is the increasing wealth for a few and extreme poverty so many.

According to the report of the UN Hunger Project, every second someone dies on the planet because of hunger. Seventy percent of them are children under 5.

November 13-17, 1996, the World Food Summit convened in Rome. one hundred eighty-five nations sent their representatives. They proposed to end hunger by 2015. Since then hunger has instead dramatically increased.

most of the deaths caused by hunger result from chronic malnutrition. Families simply don't get the food they need to survive. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that at least 820 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

The Bible says that in the last days the outcry of the impoverished would lead to terrible conflicts between capital and labor. The Apostle James says: "Come now, you rich, weep, and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and you silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you.... it is in the last days that you have stored up you treasures! behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you".

Exploitation will turn those without God into loaded weapons, and time will pull the trigger. hunger is the incubator of war everywhere in the world. Constant poverty and prolonged oppression drive people into aggression and terrorism.

The struggle to survive particularly affects those living in rural areas and the edges of the great cities. Seven out of every 10 poor people, some of whom earn less than a dollar a day, dwell in such places and are especially vulnerable to being recruited for revolutionary guerrilla movements that claim to promote social justice but, unfortunately, too often end up destroying what remains of the already impoverished economy of under classes. Other victims of poverty slide into drug trafficking, and organized crime.

Careful studies of the most critical social conflicts of our time reveal that in the poorest and neediest countries revolutionary convulsions and delinquency reflect a lack of economic programs to meet the needs of growing populations. People who for decades have been without any way to improve their lives reach the place where they can't stand any more, and they end up challenging all established authority.

The majority of the modern world's social conflicts have their roots in the sense of frustration, injustice, and desperation that more and more people feel. mix in the widespread inequality and discrimination prevalent in many cultures and desperation that more and discrimination prevalent in many cultures and you have the class struggle foretold in the Bible as one of the signs of the return of the Christ.

To make matters even worse, people today are more aware of inequality and injustice than ever before. Almost everyone has access to radio, television, and other forms of communication. The media stimulate consumerism among those who have the resources to buy while at the same time flaunting an ostentatious life style beyond the reach of the great majority. The globalization of information feeds the growing anger of the neediest social classes.

No longer does most of the world just passively accept the old argument that most are destined to be poor and that they have no choice in the matter. Today, people want to change the order of things. Unfortunately, they don't realize that armed struggle is not the remedy for the problem.

The social struggle continues. It is the result of injustice, avarice, and collective selfishness. But it doesn't stop there. When the apostle James said that the wages of the workers would cry out for what they had not been paid, he was also referring to strikes and labors militancy.

As I write these lines strikes have swept the nation of Spain. The country is nearly paralyzed because public transportation workers are demanding better wages. The strikes has extended to other sectors, including funeral services and the employees of the Ministry of Justice.

Germany recently went through a chaos in which the German labor union Verdi announced that it would continue definitely its service strike in airports and railways.

In the United States General Motors announced the closing of a number of its plants and a cutback of production at others, because of a strike at one of its principal suppliers.

The same thing happened in Brazil. The Rio de Janeiro police stopped work to demand better working conditions, while in Peru to protest economic conditions. In Bolivia strikers armed with sticks were stopping traffic in five states.

Strikes constantly fill world news. The Bible long ago foretold the struggle between capital and labor. It is one of the signs of the return of Jesus Christ.

However, the Bible does not say that rich people will howl only because of the strikes. Economic turmoil keeps sweeping around the world. The United States has been going through one of the most critical times in its financial history. The stock market has gone through repeated ups and downs. Unemployment has risen, and families are losing their homes to foreclosure. In an emergency attempt to reduce the crisis, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank repeatedly lowered interest rates until inflation became a threat, because of rising oil prices.

many people in the United States keep asking: What is happening? Few know the greater dangers that could be looming on the horizon. According to Isaac Joshua, director of Conference on Economics at the University of Paris, the uncertain situation of the three strongest economies of the world is one of the most frightening aspects of the present outlook. Japan and the United States have been struggling with sluggish economies, and the outlook for Europe is gloomy. Under such conditions one cannot automatically dismiss the possibility of a worldwide economic recession. it is a financial tsunami that threatens to destroy everything in its path.

According to the specialist, the present alternatives are either a violent crisis or one that is less intense but more prolonged. And  if this is a reality for the three greatest economies of the world, imagine what would happen to the developing nations that directly or indirectly depend on the stronger financial powers.

As is so often the case it is the poor who suffer the most. At least they know what it means to suffer. Remember that nearly 800 million people go to bed hungry every night. But think about the rich, who have never known want and who cling to money as a source of security. No wonder the prophecy says they will howl because their riches will be useless to them.

When the U.S. stock market crashed in 1929 a number millionaires lost everything in a flash, and a few ended up taking their own lives. It took years for the country to overcome the trauma.

Money is important, but when human beings find themselves far from God they live permanently dissatisfied. then wealth becomes an obsession. They cling to it as if it were the only source of security. But it is nothing but unstable sand.

Jesus said: "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and burst against that house; and it fell and great was its fall".

Dangerous times are coming. Financial winds are starting to blow across the earth. The Bible said that it would be so. When these times arrive, where will you have built your house?

The answer is your alone.

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A Sex-Obsessed Generation

He is Coming This blog is about Christianity and the Second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

Sunday in Amsterdam. The sun is like a ball of fire, resplendent in the infinite blue of the sky. Bright tulips nod in the garden and adorn the party. Throngs of people converse and celebrate. In the center of all excitement, holding hands and  exchanging caresses, the happy couple tells journalist details of their recent wedding. The newlyweds say they plan to adopt a child. from time to time they give each other passionate glances and smiles. The cameras of the international press record it all and send the news around the world by satellite.

Such an event would attract little journalistic interest if the focus of such attention had been an ordinary couple. But they were two men who had just come out of the church after receiving a "nuptial blessing".

The event happened in Holland in 2001. Similar incidents would later occur in Belgium, Canada, and the United States. At first, people in many countries protested them in defense of the family values and morality. To many people in it seemed like the end of the world. Today, a few years later, "gay" marriages and legally recognized civil unions of homosexual couples are common in Argentina, Denmark, Germany, France and Portugal. And, as often happens, the newest fad soon become the custom and the custom becomes part of the culture.

A recent parade of homosexuals and lesbians in Brazil brought two and a half million individuals into the streets. The city of Sao Paulo had never seen such a large mobilization of people. It seemed like a carnival, happy and colorful with floats, and banners displaying slogans. The same thing is happening every year in other great capitals of the world. Homosexuals who formerly hid their lifestyle today don't hesitate to take to the streets to advocate their position. They have rights, they say, just like everyone else. What is interesting and significant about this is dramatic way in which it fulfills Bible prophecy. The Lord Jesus had said that in the last days such behavior would be part of the popular culture.

If the matter just involved people who have nothing to do with Christianity, it would be easier to understand. After all, someone who doesn't believe in the Judeo-Christian God has no biblical conduct to adhere to.

But even in Christian circles voices such as that of Mario Ribas defend the idea that "a sensible analysis of the Bible shows that all people, regardless of race, gender and sexual orientation were received by Jesus, and therefore, I don't see why homosexuals and lesbians are wrong in their way of being". Ribas, a theologian, graduated from Princeton University in New England and is pastor of a large evangelical church.

What is happening in the christian world? Why has something that the Bible classifies as "sin" suddenly become normal? Why have some started referring to the acceptance of homosexuality as "an expression of the grace of Christ"? The words of Jesus recorded in the Bible announce that in the last days it would be like this: "It was the same as happened in the last days of Lot. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed".

How were the "days of Lot"? We find the record in the book of Genesis. The inhabitants of Sodom tried to break down Lot's door to seize two men who were his guest in his home to have sex with them. That is why the word "sodomy" is sometimes used as a synonym for homosexuality was acceptable. In the days of Lot homosexuality is acceptable, and God showed His disagreement with that kind of human behavior.

Jesus foretold that the last days would be like the days of Lot.

The Bible teaches that God loves everyone. Homosexuals like every other human being are objects of His love and mercy. But Jesus came to our world not only to forgive sinners but also to transform them and make them new creatures. The apostle Paul explains it simply that God gave life to you "when you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world,... indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were "darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn in Christ in the way,... In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,... and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Here the apostle speaks of transformation. Every human being, no matter what their sin is, needs to undergo the miracle of conversion. Conversion involves repentance, forgiveness, and putting off the old way living. In the light of what the apostle Paul says, it is impossible to accept the politically correct idea that because of God is love He will accept any and all deviations of human conduct.

God described His character to Moses: "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished".

The word guilty in the original language does not refer to people who sometimes do what is evil, but those who insist on living that way.

Evidently, social pressure to accept something that the Bible condemns is another fulfillment of the signs of the end. The open proliferation of homosexuality and the argument that it is just "a different type of sexual orientation" is an evidence that we live in the last days.

Some years ago the Natural Museum of Oslo presented an exhibit on homosexuality in the animal world. It argued that if homosexuality exist among the animals, and seems perfectly natural among them, then sexual deviation is also natural among human beings and if it's natural, then it can't be sin.

The dictionary defines the word "natural" as something done according to the property of things. The key word here is "property". What are the natural properties of things? It is natural to eat through my ears I am perfectly free to do so, but I cannot expect people to accept my idea, as something natural, normal and proper.

Our generation has lost touch with it's own nature. It lives almost entirely for physical pleasure. In the United States alone it spends every year the fabulous sum of $13 billion on pornography. You can hardly turn on your computer anymore without receiving an invitation to look at pornography. Most of the music and movies written, composed and produced now have sex as the central theme. You seldom find an advertisement that does not use sex appeal to sell the product.

What is the problem with this? Humans are physical, mental and spiritual beings. They cannot be split into separate segments. In order for what people do in life to make sense they need to do it with a complete unity of their being. To divide or fragment is fatal. If they try it they will open deep wounds in their unconscious world. Wounds that their rationalism cannot cure. No matter how often we tell ourselves that it's OK, that it's good as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, and that your private life is a matter of personal choice or preference, the reality is different. Your nature as a human being, with physical, mental and spiritual faculties, cannot cope with this. It maybe that, swept along by uncontrolled instinct, it can tolerate a distortion and perversion of its physical dimension; and perhaps our mental aspect can be convince by its own arguments that this is acceptable, but the spiritual nature rejects it.

"I am not spiritual", a man said to me one day when I visited him in prison.

he was there because he had tried to live a life without restrictions. Although unwilling to recognize it, he was still a spiritual being. If not, he would not have insisted so much on having me visit him.

Humanity's problem in our time is that we do not recognize our spiritual nature. Nevertheless, the fact that we attempt to ignore it does not change reality, Spirituality is not something we choose to be or not to be. It is beyond our control, because it came from the hands of the Creator. Our life will only be complete as we live in harmony with Him and respect the integrity and unity of how He made us.

Here is an illustration: Take a bird and put in a golden cage covered with diamonds. Put plenty of food and water in the cage, and if you like, give it air conditioning adapted to its needs. Do you think it will someday be happy? Never! it has a bird's nature and was born to be free---to fly. it is true that it needs water and food, but what makes it happy is freedom.

People think that they are free because they can do whatever they want, but they are prisoners of pleasure. Mario Veloso, poet, author, and personal friend states that formal freedom is not enough to be truly happy. A country or government can guarantee the freedom of the body, but not of the soul.

Those who live under totalitarian regimes suffer no more than those who live in societies with full freedom. Why? Because human being are prisoners of their complexes, tendencies, selfishness, ambitions, envies, and everything that constitutes the dark side of human psychology.

Such captives can never be truly happy. In their frustration many of them turn a life of pleasures and give free rein to immorality. Those who attempt to leave out the spiritual dimension of live are welding the bars of their own prison. As incredible as it may seem, the factors the imprison modern people are, according to Veloso, obscenity, pornography, violence, and homosexuality.

David Levy published a book titled Love and Sex wit Robots. After investigating the possibility of relationships between humans and robots, the author concluded that people unable to establish satisfactory relationships with other humans should substitute relationships with machines. He was not joking.

Levy's intention may be all right: but for sex to be fully satisfying and make a person happy, it has to be physical, mental, and spiritual act. I sex is only physical, it is frustrating and leads to emptiness and dissatisfaction.

So what do people do to respond to the cry of the needy heart? They plunge into all kinds of perversions and depravity. As the Bible says: "God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error".

What is the "penalty of their error" That the apostle here speaks about? he refers to all the plagues and illnesses that strike the modern world. A study carried out by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows the 19 million people in the United States become infected every year with Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and 65 million live permanently with such diseases in their bodies. AIDS is decimating humanity. At present, 43 million people live with AIDS. Last year alone it infected and additional 4.8 million. Worse yet, 2,000 babies acquire the disease in their mothers wombs.

The Bible foretold that all of this would be an indication that we are living at the end of time. Jesus declared: "Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts its forth its leaves, you know the summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door".

It was late afternoon of a sad day as her life seemed to have come to it's end. Her dreams had killed her, Men had condemned her as flagrant sinner. Mistakes had filled her life, and she had loved in the wrong way. Although she had longed to be loved in return, she had only been used, leaving her with open wounds that no one could heal.

What can a person do or say when she knows that she has made mistakes and deserved to be punished for it? She can repeat what she was already doing, so that the pain she believes she deserves will be even worse. The woman had chosen this way---one that plunged her to the bottom of the pit and made her feel like trash. Although she knew that she ought to change her way of life, she didn't have the strength.

It was then that the men had caught her in the very act of sin and dragged her to the presence of Jesus. She knew she deserved to be stoned. The implacable law offered neither mercy or forgiveness. There she was. Her past was ugly. Her present, horrible. And her future non existent. Then there appeared the wonderful person of Jesus. thank God He always shows up just when we need Him most. That's how God is: he always looks for you, calls, and waits for your response.

The teacher from Galilee silently began t write in the sand, and the accusers of the poor woman disappeared one by one. Then the voice of Jesus broke the sudden silence. "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her".

No one dared, and soon the street was deserted.

"Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you"? Jesus asked.

"They're all gone", she replied, not daring even to look up.

"Neither do I condemn you" the Lord told her. "Go your way. From now on sin no more".

Twenty centuries have come and gone since the day. the voice of the Master is still heard coming down to us. His promise is "Give me your heart, and I will make it new".

What a wonderful invitation! Do you believe it? What will you do about it?

The answer is your alone.

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A Heartless Society

He is Coming This blog is about Christianity and the Second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

Scene one. Midnight. The couple is resting, unaware of any danger. A young woman enters their room on tiptoes and checks to make sure the owners of the house are asleep. Then she shuts off the alarm system and turns on the light of the outside passage way to make it easier for two young men to enter. As they come in, the young woman looks for plastic gloves to protect their hands and panty hose to hide their faces. Minutes late, the men slip into the bedroom and beat the husband and wife to death. The girl watches calmly. After the couple are dead, she and one of the young men, who is her boyfriend, go to a motel to celebrate.

At 3:00 in the morning, the oldest daughter of the murdered couple arrives at home. She has been out, and before going home, she stops to pick up her little brother, who has been at an electronic game room. When they get home they confront the scene of horror and blood. The daughter looses control and curses the people who have done such horrendous deed. At the funeral in the cemetery she weeps hysterically and someone has to catch here as he starts to faint.

Some days later the police arrest the murderers. they confess and reveal that the one who thought up their evil plan helped them carry it out was the very daughter of the murdered couple. Yes, the girl who at the cemetery who wept so bitterly the day her parents were buried!.

What could happen in the mind of an 18-year-old girl that would lead her to commit such horrifying act? How can anyone explain it? Nevertheless, the Bible says that in the last days of people will be "disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good".

Scene two. While the whole world awakens from the nightmare and together turn its attention to the people affected by the devastating tsunami of 2004, the police discover and organized group who look for orphan children to be used in prostitution or to remove and sell their organs. Human hyenas taking advantage of the suffering of others to benefit themselves? But, again, it is the truth.

One day as I had lunch with a friend we discussed the incident. His eyes filled with tears, and almost instinctively, he said to me, "I'd kill those savages. They are animals and don't deserve to live".

An instant later he blushed and said, "Sorry, I forgot that I am a Christian; of course, I should never think like that".

Without realizing it, he was fulfilling another prophecy of the last days. Jesus said: "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold".

Scene three. A harmless city in the interior. The night is darker than usual. The rain pours in torrents. Joaquin and his wife are returning home from a wedding. Having been the godparents at it and still are wearing their food clothes, they happily remember their own wedding. The years have passed and they are more in love than ever. God has given them two children. That night the children stayed home with a babysitter. Then something unexpected interrupts the husband and wife's animated conversations. By the side of the road they see a couple in trouble. Apparently there vehicle was broken down. in spite of the rain Joaquin and his wife decide to help. A terrible mistake. A few minutes later he is dead, his face disfigured by a shotgun blast. The wife has been raped and at the point of death. It will take her years to recover, and the two little children, robbed of their father at an early age, never can understand how death could be the reward for an act of kindness. Would you have the courage to stop along the highway to help someone after hearing the story?

We live in dangerous times. The apostle Paul said that in the last days people would be "brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited". Everyone would be afraid of everyone else. No one would trust anyone. Gangs on every corner would fill cities of every size. The strong would take advantage of the weak. Large cities have turned into jungles in which the wild beast are the humans who live there. The love of many has indeed, grown cold. Perhaps you see on the street corner a crippled child begging, and a short distance away you spot those who exploit of the child, waiting for daily earnings. feeling mocked and wounded in your heart, you decide never again to let anyone play you for fool.

The doorbell rings and you answer the door. A tire woman with child in her arms asks for a glass of water. Your heart moved to help, you go to the kitchen to get the water. When you return, the woman has vanished---taking with her sound system from your living room.

Do you still feel like helping? Your Christian spirit motivates to continue despite the frustrations and the deception, but the majority of people today will think long and hard before they aid others. The love of many has grown cold. Jesus had said it would. Evil will increase more and more as people who care will be fewer and fewer.

Why do people do such things? Not even they understand why. They only know that they are seeking for something and, in their headlong race to find it they hurt and wound others, even if the "others" are the people they love most.

The day I wrote this page the police, tipped off by the informer, knocked down the door of an apartment located in the most expensive part of a great city and found a scene that would disturb even the hardest heart. A 12-year-old girl had been tied up in the servant's quarter. As she hung by her arms from iron stairway, her feet almost didn't touch the floor. A piece of gauze soaked in pepper covered her mouth, and eight of her fingers had been broken. most of her nails and been torn out. "I began to shake so much i could hardly untie her", said a policeman accustomed to seeing scenes of horror. What makes the incidents especially barbaric was that the one responsible was the child's adoptive mother.

Every day, in every country, one encounters violence and abuse---even one's own home.

Alan Weisman, in his new book The World Without Us imagines how our planet would be without people. Some might think that it would be better off, but I personally don't think so. I believe that the real problem is that the human race is lost the shadows of it's distance from God.  There is no other explanation.

One early Thursday morning in June, Sirlei, a poor and struggling domestic employee who lived on a salary of $200  per month, was waiting for the bus that would take her to a medical appointment. Needing to arrive in time to get a place in line, she kept glancing impatiently at the clock. The bus was late. A few meters away the waves were breaking noisily against the beach. Sirlei kept thinking about her 3-year-old son at home. He was the reason for her every effort.

Suddenly a blow to her neck knocked her down. Next she felt a kick in her face. Instinctively tried to protect herself with her arms, but it is useless. A rain of blows and kicks on her from all sides. Her maternal instinct instantly makes her think of her child. She doesn't understand what was happening. No one could. Even today society struggles to understand why five middle-class university students felt pleasure in mutilating a defenseless woman.

The police caught them later. Their parents argued the they were just having fun. Sirlei escaped death only because a prostitute, who happened out of the time of the morning, began to scream for help.

What is it that people are looking for and can't find? Human being today seem permanently hopeless and desperate. they may deny it, argue discuss, cry out that it's not true, but they are dissatisfied. No matter what they get it's not enough. Lost in the tangled webs of their own desires, they slide into chaos that may destroy not only themselves but others.

Every year addicts consume $150 billion worth of illegal drugs. It is one of the most profitable businesses in the world after oil. if we were to add the $104 billion spent on tobacco and $525 billion on alcohol, we can understand and realize the complete inversion of values in our society.

Some believe we need to consider the legalization of drugs and other crimes associated wickedness as a sign of the last days, He was not pretending the people to be this way. He was simply describing the reality HE could foresee. The teenagers who attacked the young mother in the incident we mentioned earlier, voluntarily chose to behave the way they did. They decided to be violent and treat a fellow human being worse than an animal on their act. They weren't trying to rob her, they had money. One of them had just spent six months in Australia practicing surfing on the pretext of learning English.

A sociologist try to explain their behavior as a product of the present-day culture of impunity. but the truth is something else. the Prophet Jeremiah wrote: "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it"?

The problem of human beings is their twisted and evil heart. Violent by nature, it is evil deceitful, untrustworthy, perverse, and cruel. Education can teach people how to disguise their evil intentions but it can never transform their hearts. They will still  be dishonest and selfish no matter how sophisticated they become. For example, those who present passionate speeches in favor of peace may at the same time actively promote war. Five of the countries that earn most from the sale of arms are in the U.N. Security Council.

Only Jesus can change or transform the heart. he doesn't work from the outside. His transformation begins deep inside, reaching the roots of human behavior. "And i will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart  of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh".

I have seen the transformation that Jesus can bring to the lives of people who accept Him as their personal Savior. Nothing is impossible for Jesus. There is no one who cannot be helped and turned around.

One day He came to Bethany and found that His friend Lazarus had been dead for four days. His flesh had already started to decompose. no one could ever imagine the remedy for a problem like that. Science can do nothing and money is useless. So is technology and everything else. But Jesus came, and when He did, life came too, Because He is life.

When Jesus said, "Lazarus, come forth!" the dead man sprang back to life. I have seen Jesus do the same miracle today. i see it every day in the countries where I conduct evangelistic crusades. People who were spiritually dead come back to life, destroyed homes are made new, and broken dreams are converted into reality. Jesus life, and wherever He comes in, there is fullness of life.

I met Andres in the one of the most violent cities of the world. He had spent years in prison paying in for his crimes. But Jesus found him there. One cold winter night Andres was dying. Shaking violently with cold, nearly frozen, he expected to die. It was in that condition that he heard me on the radio of a cellmate. That night the spirit of God touched his heart. Although he had heard about Jesus many times, he thought religion was for weaklings and had always considered himself to be tough. Heartless and cruel, he had chosen a life of crime when he was scarcely an adolescent, and he blamed society for not having given him any alternative.

That night he felt himself a few minutes from death, and the thought terrified him. Yet in the dark shadows of that night he began to understand that God loved him and wanted to give him a new heart. After crying out to Jesus for a second chance, he fell asleep.

The next morning the sun streamed in his window, breaking through the clouds in spite of the thick fog. He was in the sick ward of the prison.

"I was alive", he told me, unable to hide his emotions. "I hadn't died. God was giving me a second chance".

It has been 30 years since that cold night in the freezing prison cell. Andres is today a living testimony of the transforming power of Christ. Now free, he is doing an outstanding work for an NGO dedicated to reaching delinquent children and youth.

The marvelous Christ who touched the life of Andres as he was dying can also enter to your heart if you will let Him. Read what Jesus says to you: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest".

Life without Christ is, indeed, a heavy burden. The weariness of spirit that some people call depression become the illness that destroys many lives without killing the bodies. In the last days we have given it a more sophisticated name, but it is still the weariness of being alive. But Jesus urges: "Come to me". He wants to give you rest and peace. Isn't that what you've been longing for?

The answer is yours alone.

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