" wars and rumors of wars" - Matthew 24:6
Endless war seem to rage in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terrorism is spreading to nearly every corner of the globe. Since 2000 alone, America has been mired in conflict in Sierra Leone, Yemen, East Timor, Afghanistan, Philippines, Cote d'Ivoire, Iraq, Liberia, Georgia, Haïti, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Somalia.
We have elevated war today to include even unspecified enemies. The war on terror has no particular enemy and not directed towards any specific country. It has been generalized to include just about anybody that disagrees with the ruling power. As such, it almost guarantees perpetual war.
...but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
As Jesus points out, war is not necessarily a "sign" of the end of days, rather something that must happen as people continually slide into the chaos that results from their rebellion against God.
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." - Matthew 24:7
Other conflicts are raging in Darfur, Saudi Arabia, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand, Chad, Gaza Strip and the West Bank in Israel, Niger and Mali, Kenya, and Sri Lanka.
"There will be famines and earthquakes in various places." - Matthew 24:7
Every year, earthquakes cause thousands of deaths, either directly or due to the resulting tsunamis, landslides, fires, and famines.
•3,000 people died in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
•Around 110,000 were killed in the 1948 earthquake in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
•More than 5,700 deaths were reported following the strongest earthquake ever recorded in 1960 in Southern Chile.
•While only 15 people died in the 1964 Prince William Sound in Alaska quake itself, 110 more people were killed in the resulting tsunami.
•66,000 were killed off the western coast of South America in the 1970 Peru earthquake.
•Between 250,000 and 655,000 died in the 1976 China earthquake that struck Tangshan, then a city of one million people.
•63 people were killed in the 1989 Loma Prieta quake -- which struck the San Francisco area.
•60 people were killed in the 1994 Northridge quake in Southern California.
•More than 5,000 were killed the 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake.
•230,000 (and perhaps as many as 290,000) people in 12 countries -- including about 168,000 in Indonesia alone were killed in the 2004 earthquake just off the west coast of the island of Sumatra, and the tsunami that followed.
•More than 80,000 people were killed in the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.
•More than 69,000 people died in the 2008 Sichuan China earthquake.
We're hearing of an increasing scarcity of food on a worldwide scale, due to increased consumption in growing countries such as China and India and rising fuel costs. These shortages have caused riots in some places and some predict the future outbreak of wars fought over increasing food scarcities.
Change
The twentieth century was an unprecedented period of change and the twenty-first century is proving to be even more dramatic. At no time in history have more changes occurred in science and in the political structure of the world.
More changes occur in science in a single year than formerly occurred in a century. The breathtaking pace of technological advancements insures that few of us can keep up with the rapid change and perhaps more important, the inability of society to keep pace with the ethics or morality behind many of these changes.
The crumbling of the Eastern Bloc of Europe and the Communist Empire.
The opening of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of a divided Germany.
The world's brightest beacon of liberty has been corrupted by immoral bankers and is now quickly becoming one of the greatest forces of evil in the world.
With Israel restored as a nation in 1948, the panorama of end-time prophecy came into a focus in which Israel will be a prominent player. This event has been at the core of political instability in the Middle East, triggering the growing Islamic vs Zionist jihad.
The introduction of the concept of a world government, made real by the United Nations paints a scenario that is in harmony with Bible prophecy concerning a future world government.
The wholesale collapse of ethical and moral values throughout society and government. Children are killing their classmates, employees are killing fellow employees, and government leaders are promising change.
The weakening influence of our churches and their leaders.
The world has entered a time of dramatic and ominous change. At the present moment of history, the planet Earth is in grave crises. This celestial ball is on a collision course with its Creator. We have reached the day which the prophet had in mind when he wrote,
"Woe unto them who call evil, good, and good, evil" [Isaiah 5:20]
Man has pushed the self-destruct button. Foundations of godliness have crumbled; things sacred have come unzipped. We have embraced the pagan teachings of Al Gore while rejecting the time proven commandments of God. We are trying to build a peaceful world, but there is no peace within people's hearts.
We must have an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Somehow God must reveal himself to this lost generation. Everything else has failed. Education has failed our youth. For the most part, parents have failed them. Government has failed to reach them. Dead religion has turned them off.
Billy Graham quoted John Walvoord in his book, "Storm Warning":
"The present world crisis is not a result of any one factor, but a concurrence of causes and effects which combine to set the world stage for a conflict which may quickly bring an end to hundreds of years of progress in western civilization and establish new centers of international power. Whatever the future holds, it is going to be dramatically different than the past. In this dark picture only the Scriptures chart a sure course and give us an intelligent explanation of worldwide confusion as it exists today."
In the Year 2525
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMr3bK1NyQc&feature=related
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