Are We Living in the End Times?
Many are fascinated by ‘end times prophecy,” but as the Bible clearly states, no one knows the time or day of the Lord’s return. Instead of being too concerned with the end of this world, perhaps we should consider that each of us are now living in our end of times. Each of us will live only for a short season, as with a mist (James 4:14). You may or may not see Jesus in His Glory coming through the clouds, but more likely we will see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit before that happens.
While in Heaven with Jesus, I saw the Father and Son (Jesus) together in the ‘throne room,’ which was surrounded by angels and a floor of cobalt blue stones emitting a blue flame that did not burn. I knew being with Jesus who imparted to me an understanding of what I beheld that the Father, with His long flowing white hair, was waiting to declare “It is time” to Jesus. There was a sense of urgency I felt. And there was a reason why God the Father did not declare His final judgement upon this earth so that Jesus could execute the will of God.
That reason was this: God (both the Father and Son as one entity but separate in characteristics), were waiting for all who would be saved to be saved. Only the Lord God could understand the hearts of humankind as to whether a person might receive Jesus as his/her Lord, or not. Only God could determine the future inclination of a person to receive the Truth. And apparently there remained people in this world who would ultimately confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but who remained in the darkness of their fallen nature. Not everyone in this world who will come to know Jesus as their Messiah has yet to confess Him as their Lord.
There was another event that was required for God to pour forth His Holy Spirit in this world, only this event would not precede the Final Judgement of God, it would precede the salvation of souls not seen throughout all of history. We sometimes call this event a ‘revival,’ but revivals that we have seen from time to time in the course of history are rarely lasting, and most happen within the body of Christ’s followers. This next revival will be a revival of salvation, and it will happen first in Israel.
God’s promise to the Jews in Genesis 29:13 and in 12:1 started with Abraham who was called by God to leave Ur and to a place known as Canaan. The land of Canaan then became known as Israel. After the Jews were expelled from Canaan to Egypt, God once again called Moses to lead the Jews to God’s promised land, Canaan, Israel. After forty years struggling in the wilderness because of their unbelief, the next generation of Jews were finally led by Joshua into the land of Canaan. During this period in history, the Jews were called by God to build a temple in which the Presence of God would be housed in the Holy of Holies, a room sectioned off from all but the priests who needed to be sanctified in order to enter the Presence of God.
One May 14, 1948, after six days of warfare the Jews again inhabited the land of Canaan, Israel. Now until the end of times on this earth, the Jews will be in possession of the land promised by God. However, the Jews never reconstructed the temple to house the Presence of God, because Jesus the Messiah has sacrificed Himself in order to place God’s Spirit not in a man-made temple, but in the temple of God’s creation – the believer in Jesus, the Christ – the Messiah.
Today, most of the Jewish people in Israel and throughout the world do not accept Jesus as their Messiah. But that will change very soon – VERY SOON. God’s promises always hold true. They are unchanging, and even though time may pass before the fulfillment of God’s promises, the inevitability of God’s promise will not be halted by any power, principality, spirit of darkness or force of human nature. God promised the Jewish people that He would give them a place for His Spirit to reside, and that place today is not in a temple, it is in the temples of the Jewish people.
First, the Jews received Elohim, God the Father, as their Lord. As we know, many Jews (but not all – each of the early apostles were Jews, as was/is Jesus) rejected Jesus as the Messiah. But God’s promise was to the Jews first, and then the Gentiles. Today, God’s promise to Abraham which was to restore the Promise of God’s Presence (and a place for His Presence to reside) has yet to be fulfilled to completion. In order for the final fulfillment of God’s promise, the Jews in Israel must come to know Jesus as their Messiah. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit to convict and then save the lost will happen in Israel first, and then it will spread to the Gentiles, many of whom have drifted away from Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the only Way to the Father (John 14:6).
Before the end of times, which is the final judgment of God upon this earth, there will be a revival and outpouring of God’s Spirit never before realized upon this world. First, millions of Jews will come to know Jesus as their Messiah. Israel will become a nation of Jesus followers. Many in the Gentile world will grow jealous of the Jewish “conversions,” and then the outpouring of God’s Spirit will subsequently cause millions of Gentiles (and Jews) to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. There will be more saved during this time than during any other time in all of history. All that would be saved will be saved. And God’s Glory will be revealed to this world like never before.
This, beloved of the Lord, is about to happen. This must happen before the end of times. God’s promise to the Jews must be fulfilled by returning His Presence to His chosen people (the Jews) in the land of Canaan, Israel. This completion of God’s redemptive plan will happen before the end of times. But again, you are now living in your end of times. This means that it is imperative for each of us to draw closer to the God of Jesus Christ. We need to remain close to Him because no one knows the time or day of His return, but we do know the signs of His return – the return of the Jews in Israel to God in the person of Jesus the Messiah.
Once you see this happening, every believer will receive an increased gift of evangelism to share the love of Jesus to unbelievers. If you are alive during this time, you will be absolutely astounded by the outpouring of God’s Spirit. Israel will be one nation under God, the United States of America will be one nation under God, and there will be revival in all the continents in this world. And thereafter, God the Father will declare “it is time” to the Son, and Jesus will pour forth His judgment upon the world. The saved will have already been raptured or they will be declared “redeemed, worthy of God,” by Jesus, and the unsaved will be…well, I don’t want to go there.
Are we living in the end times? I believe the answer to be yes. All prophecies in the Bible foretelling of Jesus the Messiah’s second coming (in His glory) are in the process of being fulfilled. In Matthew 24, Jesus’ disciples asked him about signs of his coming, and he responded by speaking of “birth pains” that would precede his return. Jesus declared that there will be widespread famine and disease, as well as “earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7).
One of the most striking events in biblical eschatology happened when Israel was “reconstituted” as a nation in 1948. While some have used the re-formation of Israel to trigger an “end-times clock” leading up to the second coming of Christ, I do think it is a stretch to specifically state that Jesus will return before the generation alive in 1948 has passed away. This is due to an oftentimes misunderstood difference between The Rapture and the Second Coming which are two different events on God’s prophecy timeline.
First, the Rapture will be the moment when Christ takes every Christian to Heaven with Him. This is the event Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
Some believe that the Tribulation period will begin before the Rapture. However, Scripture says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1), and I believe true believers in Jesus as their Messiah will not experience the judgment that will occur during the Tribulation. After the end of the seven years, Jesus will return, known as the Second Coming. Unlike His first appearance, He will emerge as the glorious King of kings surrounded by angels and His beloved children. He will establish victory at Armageddon and a new Kingdom on earth. In summary, at the Rapture, Jesus comes for His saints. At the Second Coming, He comes with His saints.
Just before Jesus returns and even before the Rapture, there will be an expansion of hostility toward God’s people. Christians will experience persecution. Many will pay a high price for proclaiming the name of Jesus in our world. These signs routinely appear in the news today. While we cannot know the date or time of the Rapture, we know these issues will exponentially grow when it does happen.
The Bible has several potential signs of Jesus’ return, detailed in Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, Luke 21, and many include global sicknesses such as the Covid pandemic which happened in 2019. The Bible speaks of disturbances including earthquakes and wars as the most common events. Jesus also mentions plagues or pestilence in Luke 21. All of these prophecies have already been fulfilled.
Soon Jesus will rapture His children to Heaven, but there is much work to be done in advance. Beloved of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, it is time to get serious about your faith in Jesus. It is time to put Jesus first. It is time to replace fear with hope. It is time to rejoice, because God is about to fulfill His promise made to Abraham once and for all time. Pray for Israel!
With Love,
Randy Kay