Are we living in the End Times before 
THE GREAT TRIBULATION?
What does Bible prophecy tell us about the end times?
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

Jesus warned:  "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places."  (Matthew 24:7)

PERILOUS TIMES SHALL COME

The Bible says, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse and his name that sat upon him was Death, and Hell followed with him.  And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword (war), and with hunger (famine), and with death (tsunamis, war, earthquakes, mudslides etc), and with the beasts of the earth (Mad Cow disease, Monkey Pox, West Nile Virus, Sars)."  (Revelation 6:8)

ARE THESE THE SIGNS PROPHESIED IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES?

The world is fearful.  Everyone is searching for answers.  Everything we hold dear is falling apart!  Are we living in the end times, the last days of which the Bible Scriptures states that perilous times shall come?  Are these signs of the end of time and the COMING Great Tribulation?

TERRORISM, WARS, FAMINES, PESTILENCE & EARTHQUAKES!

The world has become a very frightening place indeed!  People are afraid.  People are nervous and anxious and full of fear.  We are now living in a very unsafe world.  We are living in a world filled with violence, Islamic persecution against Christians, satanic terrorism, wars, frightening new diseases and viruses and startling weather disasters that are wiping out thousands of people in seconds.

On September 11, the world changed forever.  On September 11, Satan rejoiced.   On September 11, the Evil One had scored a victory.  On September 11, the Muslim world cheered. On September 11, hate-filled suicide bombers woke up in Hell. One day, Satan will join them there! He knows full-well that his victory will be short-lived. He has been eternally defeated by our Lord Jesus Christ. He knows it, God knows it, and believers in Jesus Christ know that the Devil will spend eternity with them in the Lake of Fire! And that is for sure.!!!

Yes, the world changed drastically on September 11.  What was a relatively safe, comfortable existence instantly turned into a world of terror.  The Islamist terrorist group al Qaeda and its demon inspired leader Osama bin Laden accomplished a HELLISH DEED on September 11.  The evil terrorists took away our freedom, the freedom to feel safe, the freedom to feel secure, the freedom to believe that there could be some good in every man.

 Most Western Christians attending Church and listening to sermons about the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for the sins of the world were shocked. Christians in the Middle East were not shocked, however, having been raped, persecuted, hunted, imprisoned and murdered by Mohammed's slaves for centuries! Definitely, a wake-up call and an expensive learning curve for naive, peace loving Christians!

The world is dealing with so many issues that its hard for people to cope. IS THE WORLD FALLING APART?  How long will it last?  What will happen next?  These are the questions that people are thinking and asking.  Are these the signs that Jesus Christ will return soon in the Rapture of the Church?.

EARTHQUAKES - TSUNAMIS - GLOBAL WARNING - DISEASES – VIRUSES!

The world is in crisis.  Our air is polluted and our water is polluted. We are experiencing many strong and destructive earthquakes in totally unexpected places and at the greatest magnitudes ever recorded. Great tidal waves and tsunamis and severe flooding is becoming common place.  All these together are threatening our very existence and the new diseases and viruses we are seeing in animals and food products are extremely alarming.

"WHAT COMES NEXT?" IS THE QUESTION ON PEOPLE'S MINDS!

The whole creation, including earth and all living creatures therein, the cosmos and all universes that our Lord has created, are groaning and travailing in pain and travail "together until now." WHY IS EVERYTHING GROANING? We are waiting for the Creator and our Saviour Jesus Christ to return to save the Planet from destruction and rapture His Church!

St. Paul wrote: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves als, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is the redemption of the body” (Romans 8: 18-23)

The earth is "running down:... Man has polluted the air, polluted the water and the earth.  The earth in polluting and destroying itself through earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. Nature, through solar storms, falling meteors, black holes, white holes and worm holes is doing damage to the universe. 

Tornados, cyclones, and severe electrical storms cause great bodily harm and death to people and animals, as well as destroying millions of acres of timber annually through forest fires.  The animals and wild life are themselves polluters, spreading disease amongst themselves, as well as being purveyors of many deadly diseases to the human population.

Aids, SARS, Mad Cow Disease, Bird Flu: Fulfilling Bible Prophecy!

What does the Bible have to say about plagues, diseases, disasters that appear in the end times before the Great Tribulation?

I believe that the outbreak of Aids, Sars, Ebola virus, Lyme disease, Mad Cow disease (BSE), Foot and Mouth disease (FDM), West Nile Virus, Hanta virus, Monkey Pox and the latent TB and drug resistant TB that is now rampant (2 billion world wide) is surely Bible prophecy being fulfilled.

There are also so many new viruses, bacteria and parasites spread by animals, rodents and pests to human being.  Are these viruses from animals also a precursor to the awful things which will happen during the Great Tribulation? I believe that they are!

NEW VIRUSES ARE APPEARING AT FASTER RATES, SCIENTISTS BELIEVE!

A headline that appeared (August 2003) in the Washington Post, must have sent shock waves through the Medical Community and the general population.  From a theological perspective, the connection between Bible eschatology and the phenomenal parade of new emerging viruses being passed from animals to humans, this new report is very significant.

Its hard to look at the state of our planet and not to see the correlation between all the new diseases in the animals and livestock that is our food supply, along with the wars and continuing unrest in the Middle East, the extreme weather changes and growing  and mounting hatred causing wars and nations to turn against other nations.

IS BIBLE PROPHECY BEING FULFILLED WITH THE TERRORIST ATTACKS, WARS & UNREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

The continuing unrest in the Middle East is growing and becoming more volatile each day. Are all these world disasters, extreme weather changes and mounting hatred, with wars and nations turning against nations world wide a sign of the last days and Bible prophecy coming to pass?

For a very long time Bible scholars were unable to understand the following verse.  Everyone had serious questions about beasts being a source of so many people dying.  When S.A.R.S. struck the world with a vengeance some years ago,  the meaning of the Scripture became very evident.  St. John's prophecy was absolutely clear!

The Bible states, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse and his name that sat upon him was Death, and Hell followed with him.  And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword (war), and with hunger (famine), and with death (tsunamis, war, earthquakes, mudslides etc), and with the beasts of the earth (Mad Cow disease, Monkey Pox, West Nile Virus, Sars)."  (Revelation 6:8)

THE BIBLE SCHOLARS CONVENTIONAL WISDOM WAS WRONG

The prevalent thought was that when famine came, the wild beasts from the forests would enter the cities and towns and kill people for food.  Some translations of Revelation 6:8 place the words 'wild beasts' in their study notes.

Now we know how wrong that interpretation was.  God's Word is absolutely perfect and as we near the end of time, as one who has studied the Holy Bible Scriptures for over 50 years, I believe this to be preceding the rapture, as the truth is revealed through events that continue to happen round about us.

STRANGE & FRIGHTENING NEW VIRUSES AND INFECTIONS APPEARING!

In my research, I found that SARS, Lyme Disease, Foot & Mouth disease, Mad Cow disease, Hanta virus, Monkey pox, Ebola virus, Aids and West Nile Fever are DISEASES that have come from animals (beasts) or rodents and insects (pests).  Jesus warned in the Bible: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and PESTILENCES, and earthquakes, in divers places."  (Matthew 24:7)

ROB STEIN wrote: "It happens again and again.  Strange and frightening new infections seem to appear out of no where, such as Lyme disease, Ebola and of course Aids.  With Monkey pox coming on the heels of Sars, which emerged ot long after West Nile, it is a phenomenon that seems to be happening at an accelerating rate. Scientists agree that the trend is alarming and appears to be gathering speed.  In the coming years they see many dangerous and new pathogens emerging.”

THE WORLD HAS BECOME UNCERTAIN & FEAR IS RAMPANT!

On every hand, we see death and destruction.  People are full of fear and uncertain of the future.  The Bible states that, "the whole whole lieth in wickedness." (1 John 5:19); "And the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." (1 John 2:15-18)

SATAN IS HARD AT WORK AS SATAN KNOWS WE ARE NEAR THE END!

Satan's filth and stench can be seen, heard and felt across the world.  His evil, unholy and corrupting influence is everywhere present, in homes, communities and nations, as well as in academia, the government, commerce, judicial systems and even in the church. Satan knows he is running out of time, so he has increased his corrupting energy to full capacity.  Satan's influence is presently evident everywhere as he seeks to kill and to destroy.

The truth is that the whole world lies in wickedness and Satan is the "prince of the power of the air".  Satan is the author of the "spirit of disobedience" that pervades society today.  This "spirit of disobedience" is affecting millions of people across the earth." (Ephesians 2:2, Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:6)

Even though we as Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit and have fellowship with Jesus and each other, we live in a flesh and blood body.  We are constantly being bombarded with temptations.  We have Christ's promise of divine healing, but we are still subject to ageing. By His grace, however, we can age gracefully, living in peace and enjoying good health!

St. Paul states that we groan inwardly because of our limitations and desire to be clothed with a glorified body, knowing that one day we will be changed and receive a glorified body similar to Christ's.  The Bible says:"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we shall be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not."

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that; when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:1-2)

Death and corruption have been present on this earth and in the cosmos since the terrible 'fall of man' in the Garden of Eden.  Everything is subject to the 'Second Law of Thermodynamics' - that of ageing, deteriorating and corruption.  There is no escaping it.  Everyone that is born dies eventually and will go back to the dust of the earth.  All great men and their empires, small or great will deteriorate and go to ruin.  Now the universe is running out of steam and Bible prophecy is being fulfilled and will continue to be fulfilled as times goes by.

JESUS demanded: "...Whoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's the same shall save it."

"For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the Holy angels." (Mark 8:34-38)

Christ's victory however, holds true! Satan's defeat is forever, Eternal. Our Liberty is certain and sure for time and eternity.  Christ has died. Christ is Risen! And Christ will come again! Hallelujah and Amen.

NOTE: And September 11 was only the beginning. Since this writing in 2003, much has happened. The US got bogged down in Iraq and Afganistan, the Arab Spring has turned into the Christian's Winter, a Left-Wing Liberal Community Organizer from Chicago, Barack Obama, was elected US President and within 5 years had saddled the USA with a Seventeen Trillion Dollar Deficit, with 4 out of 5 Americans in financial trouble. Canada elected a Conservative Economist and Evangelical Christian, Steven Harper, as Prime Minister. He has stood up to the bullies at the UN and defended Israel's rights against all Jew haters. Consequently, Canada is respected and Prime Minister Harper is the most respected leader in the world today! M.S.