by David Jeremiah
During the Cold War, Menwith Hill intercepted Communist messages, and it broke
codes from the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc nations. Now it’s thought that this RAF base is capable of the world’s most advanced global electronic surveillance,
including the interception and content inspection of telephone calls, faxes,
e-mails, and broadcasting signals. Project Echelon is the key link in a worldwide
eavesdropping network operated by America’s National Security Agency, and it is
linked to the spy agencies of several other nations.
Advocates claim that Echelon will help the West win the war against terrorism.
Critics warn that it represents a dangerous invasion of privacy and a grave threat to
personal liberties. Some alarmists claim that Echelon has the power to potentially
monitor the conversations of everyone anywhere on earth at any time. That may be
far fetched, but only a few super-secret souls know the true reach of Echelon, and
even fewer know what new technologies are just within the reach of specialists.
While Echelon may serve a vital role in our national security, think of this tool as one
day being in the hands of the Antichrist. Think of Echelon in terms of Eschatology
(the biblical study of the End Times).
And think of this. Project Echelon can never—regardless of technological
advances—eavesdrop on the secret counsels of the Trinity. It can never penetrate
God’s mind. But the Lord has already revealed to us vital secrets about the future,
and He has declassified and released important data about great events soon to
engulf the world. We have a source of secret intelligence that no spy agency on earth
can duplicate.
Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost wrote in his book, Things to Come: “God, the architect of
the ages, has seen fit to take us into His confidence concerning His plan for the
future, and has revealed His purpose and program in detail in the Word. A greater
body of Scripture is given to prophecy than any other one subject, for approximately
one-fourth of the Bible was prophetic at the time it was written.”
When we study biblical prophecy, we’re investigating the case of current events
with secret intelligence provided by the God of time and eternity.
“24”
Some of that data is contained in our Lord’s sermon in Matthew 24. In the final
week of His life, prior to His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus left the complex of
buildings on Temple Mount, hiked down the Kidron Valley and onto the slopes of
the Mount of Olives. As they paused to rest on Olivet, the disciples looked back
and the view was stunning—the sun setting on the temple. Jesus used the occasion
to preach His premier message relating to His return, and in Matthew 24, He gave
several signposts to watch for.
• False Prophets (verses 4-5): Watch out that no one deceives you.
For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Messiah,” and will
deceive many (NIV). Perhaps you’ve heard terrible statistics regarding
the number of sites on the internet devoted to pornography. But
did you know that according to a report some time ago on CNN,
there are more sites devoted to religion than to porn? With the click
of a mouse, you can suddenly summon up any one of thousands
of sects and cults and religions with millions upon millions of
electronic pages devoted to an ever growing number of false Christs.
Never in human history has there been such proliferation of
religious information.
• Wars and rumors of War (verse 6). Just since the year
2000, large portions of the world have been devastated by conflict.
America sustained more than 3,000 causalities in the attacks of
September 11, 2001. The 2003 War in Darfur has caused nearly
5
a half-million deaths. The death toll in Iraq amounts to many
thousands. Over 7,000 died in the 2006 war in Somalia. Over
22,000 have perished in the War in Afghanistan. There are
ongoing conflicts and insurgencies right now in a host of other
nations. As you read these words, someone’s home is being
shattered by wars and rumors of war.
• Famines and earthquakes (verse 7). If you’ve been listening
to the news recently, you’ve heard reports of food shortages in various
parts of the world. The price of food is rising, and severe famines are
forecast, especially for parts of Africa and portions of Asia. Regarding
earthquakes, I find it fascinating that there are internet sites devoted
to monitoring and reporting on the occurrences of earthquakes on
an hour-by-hour basis. For example, one website has a map detailing
208 earthquakes that rattled different parts of the globe over the
course of seven days.
• Persecution (verse 9). As false religions, wars, famines, and
earthquakes increase, so does the violence of persecution. “Then you
will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,” said Jesus,
“and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” It’s a marvel
to me that the news media can spend days talking about the latest
celebrity outrage while ignoring the plight of 600 million Christians
now suffering persecution and various forms of harassment because
of their faith. Advocacy groups estimate that the twentieth century
saw more Christians die (about 45 million) just for being believers
than in the first 19 centuries (25 billion) after the birth of Christ.
And there’s every reason to believe the twenty-first century will be
just as bad or worse. There is nonstop persecution against Christians
in many countries in the world. One expert, Nina Shea, wrote,
“Millions of American Christians pray in their churches each week,
oblivious to the fact that Christians in many parts of the world
suffer brutal torture, arrest, imprisonment, and even death—their
homes and communities laid waste—for no other reason than they
are Christians.”
• The Spread of the Gospel (verse 14). Nevertheless, Jesus
indicated that the spread of the Gospel would accelerate. According
to missionary experts, 74.5 percent of the world was unevangelized
in the year 1800. That percentage had reduced to 54.3 by the
year 1900. There was an explosion of evangelism in the twentieth
century, and by the year 2000, only 28.3 percent of the world
remained unreached.
As He continued His discourse on the Mount of Olives, Jesus went on to say that
other great and perilous events would take place—the Abomination of Desolation
described by Daniel the prophet (verse 15), the Great Tribulation (verse 21), and
the coming of the Son of Man (verse 27).
THE END TIMES
Other passages—especially in Daniel, Zechariah, 1 Thessalonians, and the book
of Revelation—add vivid and fascinating layers of information about the End
Times, and taken together present a reasonably clear outline of the last days. The
purpose of biblical prophecy, after all, isn’t to confuse us but to inform and
motivate us. In the process, it does even more. It reminds us that God was present
at the beginning of history, He is superintending the progress of human history, and He Himself will
be the great consummation of history.
The God of Scripture is eternal and omniscient. He encircles time and space,
and He knows the future as fully as the past. He possesses absolute and ultimate
power, and He has written the script of the ages. That script is called Scripture, and
studying biblical prophecy is nothing less than an investigation into God’s plan for
the future.
It appears to me that we could well be living in the last days. Alarming as this is, it
has always been part of God’s plan, and there’s great comfort in knowing that His
program is right on schedule. I’m excited about the future because I’m excited about
Christ. In Him, we’re safe and secure from all alarm. We’re hidden in the cleft of the
Rock. We’re engraved on the palm of His hand.
And His hand is at the helm of history
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. God bless you!