The Terrible Truth
Time will clearly write the history of the future looming before us. And, that
history will perplex and shock humanity for eternity. No period in human reality
has ever witnessed the world so delicately balanced on the precipice of social
upheaval and environmental disaster. Yet, all but a few of the travelers in the
"developed" countries on this tiny speck of universal real estate seem oblivious
to the calamity about to befall them. The majority, in the "undeveloped world",
already have their own personal "Hell on Earth"; experiencing starvation,
drought, disease, wars, filth, oppression, poverty, and rampant crime as a way
of life. The others, which are in the distinct minority, float in a matrix of
deception and confusion; lulled into a false sense of comfort and security, with
their heads shoved and held firmly into shifting sands of illusion.
The ministry of Jesus began after a 40 day
fast in the wilderness and that ministry is described this way: "From that time
Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand." (Matthew 4:17) This often repeated phrase, "Repent: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand", evokes visions of religious zealots parading in a public
forum, waving a Bible and harassing people trying to go about their business.
Let's analyze that phrase for its actual meaning.
"Repent"
Repent is taken from the Greek word 'metanoeo',
pronounced met-an-o-eh'-o, meaning; to think differently or afterwards, i.e.
reconsider. It is not simply professing your sins or mistakes and expressing
regret; it is changing your mind about how you view something. Since there is no
specific reference to what mankind should "reconsider", we can safely assume it
is generic and means the world in general. And, throughout his ministry, Jesus
emphasized the contradictions between his teachings and the accepted ways of the
world. Complete rejection of the world and its influences can be found in
scripture here: *Jesus and the Apostles on the World* Therefore, when Jesus says
to "repent", he is saying that mankind must reconsider the way it views life and
change the direction it is heading, not just regret its past.
"Kingdom"
The word "Kingdom” is
accepted as "Heaven", the place people, who meet certain criteria, such as,
accept Jesus Christ as their savior, or not being homosexual, go after death. It
is always considered a "place", separate from the Earth and reserved for the
"chosen". Yet, the Bible clearly says that those "chosen" will be "on" the
planet, ruling the nations with him: "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my
works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule
them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to
shivers: even as I received of my Father." (Revelation 2:26 -27) This is clearly
in the context of "terra firma" and the "nations" he rules over with a rod of
iron are nations on the planet Earth.
The reason for this
glaring contradiction is a misunderstanding of the word "kingdom" as it was
originally defined. Kingdom, is translated from the Greek word 'basileia',
pronounced bas-il-i'-ah, meaning; properly, royalty, i.e. (abstractly) rule, or
(concretely) a realm (literally or figuratively): It is not a place, it is the
station the Family of God: "Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is
named," (Ephesians 3:15), and power and dominion it possesses. It is not just a
physical place that is coming; it is the royal dominion and power of Jesus that
is approaching.
"Heaven"
Again, as with "kingdom",
heaven is considered a "place" good people go, after death. And, this belief is
also based on a misunderstanding of the word, as it was originally defined. The
word heaven is translated from the Greek word ouranos, pronounced oo-ran-os',
meaning; the sky. The word "heaven" or "heavens" is translated, in the Bible,
from words that mean "the sky" in all but 2, or 99.7%, of the 730 times it
appears in the Bible. It is not a place with "pearly gates", the "holy city", or
"new Jerusalem" John saw in the Revelation. In fact, a simple reading of the
coming of that city, so often portrayed as "Heaven", is actually coming down,
onto the Earth, from "heaven:
· "And
I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
(Revelation 21: 2). The "heaven" where God dwells, comes down "from", goes
"into", and rules "over" is the entire universe, not just some ethereal gated
community.
This is why we say that
"Change your view of the world you live in: the Royal Family of the Universe is
approaching." gives more clarity to the warning Jesus preached throughout his
ministry. And, this belief is echoed many times in the Bible. Here are a number of verses that clearly show the view of the world from the
perspective of Jesus and the Apostles he chose:
Jesus and the Apostles on
the World
Why do Jesus and the Apostles he directly
taught say to reject the world and its influences?
♦ The world is evil.
Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our
sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the
will of God and our Father:
♦
Dark and evil entities on the planet.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
♦ Philosophy and tradition hide the truth.
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil
you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
♦
Friendship with the world is against God.
James 4:4 Ye adulterers and
adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
♦
Don't love the world.
I John 2:15 Love not the world, neither
the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of
the world.
♦
Hate from the world should be expected.
I John 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if
the world hate you.
♦
The world does not know God or his followers.
I John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:
therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
♦
Overcome the world.
I John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of
God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith.
♦
The whole world is evil.
I John 5:19 And we know that we are of
God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
♦
Satan deceives the whole world.
Revelation 12:9 And the
great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were
cast out with him.
Why Does Mankind Need to Change?
What is the connection
between our modern era and
the end-times conditions Jesus spoke about?
When Jesus returns the
world will be in upheaval with several devastating events occurring before his
arrival, and several after. After a period of resistance and complete
environmental upheaval the armies of the world gather to fight against the
returning Christ and are defeated. This occurs, despite the direct presence of
two witnesses sent from God openly declaring the return of Jesus and warning the
world that it must change and accept the reality that, with the deception of
Satan using greed to push it forward, humanity has brought its own world to the
brink of destruction.
Those witnesses are
clearly identified in the Bible as God's representatives, they are described as
having great power, and the warning is given that they will be killed for their
efforts and their deaths will be celebrated, yet, such a travesty will occur.
"And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and
shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that
dwelt on the earth." (Revelation 11:10)
This, alone, should make
anyone reading these words realize that the world will be completely deceived
about the end times. Such a worldwide deception could and would never occur if
the mainstream sources of information were telling the truth about the return of
Jesus now. But, not only are the powers that be ignoring the truth about the
events surrounding the return of the Christ, they are hiding the very reason he
must return to save mankind. Here is how Jesus describes the state of the world
before he has to step in and rescue it from certain destruction:
The World on the Brink
of Annihilation
· "And
except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for
the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:22)
Religious Deception
Will Abound
· "And
Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many
shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." (Matthew
24:4-5)
Crime and Corruption
Will Thrive
· "And
because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that
shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Matthew 24:12-13)
The word "iniquity" was translated from the
Greek word 'anomia', pronounced an-om-ee'-ah; illegality, i.e. violation of law
or wickedness.
Unprecedented Stress on
the World
· "For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew 24:21)
· "For
in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the
creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be." (Mark 13:19)
The words "affliction" and "tribulation",
in these two verses, were both translated from the Greek word 'thlipsis',
pronounced thlip'-sis; pressure, literally or figuratively.
Military Conflict and
Instability
· "But
when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things
must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by." (Luke 21:9)
The word "commotions" was translated from
the Greek word 'akatastasia', pronounced ak-at-as-tah-see'-ah, meaning;
instability, i.e. disorder.
Environmental
Devastation
· Luke
21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and
pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
The World Will Be
Distracted with the Burdens of Life
· Luke
21:34. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged
with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come
upon you unawares.
The word "surfeiting" was translated from
the Greek word 'kraipale', pronounced krahee-pal'-ay; properly, a headache from
drunkenness, i.e. by implication, a debauch, by analogy, a glut. The word
"overcharged" was translated from the Greek word baruno, pronounced bar-oo'-no;
to burden (figuratively). The word "cares" was translated from the Greek word 'merimna',
pronounced mer'-im-nah, (through the idea of distraction); solicitude:
Mankind Will Be
Completely Deceived
· "For
as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth."
(Luke 21:35)
The word "snare" was translated from the
Greek word 'pagis', pronounced pag-ece'; a trap (as fastened by a noose or
notch); figuratively, a trick or statagem (temptation).
False Teachers Will
Mock the Truth
· "Knowing
this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their
own lusts." (2 Peter 3:3)
The word "scoffers" was translated from the
Greek word 'empaiktes', pronounced emp-aheek-tace'scoffers; a derider, i.e. (by
implication) a false teacher.
Dangerous Times with
Evil Men
· "This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Timothy
3:1-5)
Vast Knowledge; Void of
the Truth
· "Ever
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7)
Corrupt Deceivers Will
Increase
· "But
evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived."
(2 Timothy 3:13)
Mankind Will Mourn the
Coming of Jesus
· "And
then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:30)
Humanity Will Not
Change, Even Facing Annihilation
· "And
the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of
the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of
gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor
hear, nor walk:" (Revelation 9:20)