Based on 2 Timothy 3 (New King James Version)
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
There should be no doubt that we are living in the last days. We have been seeing the fulfillment of these prophecies announcing these last days for some time now. One of the main things that tells us we have been in this for some time is the people of Israel, ever since the unthinkable happened when God brought His people back and reestablished them in 1948, as these passages tell us: “It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea.” Isaiah 11:11. “Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’ ‘For thus says the Lord: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.’” Jeremiah 32:37-42. As a note, whoever supports Israel’s destruction brings upon themselves God’s curse.
And then, many of us have witnessed and enjoyed the prophecy that the Lord said the Gospel would be preached to the ends of the earth, as it is written: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14. In 1950, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association began, where Dr. Billy Graham initiated large crusades, which later became worldwide. For example, in Seoul, South Korea, from May 30 to June 3, 1973, it is estimated that more than 3.2 million people came to hear the sermon. And in the final service, it is estimated that there were more than 1.1 million people, where the sermon had to be held outdoors on an airplane runway (Yoi-do Plaza) to accommodate such a large group. Along with this, millions of people were reached through various media such as television and radio. In March 1995, based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the message of salvation was transmitted via satellite to 185 countries, translated into 116 languages (more than 1 billion people), all hearing the path to the Christian life (the Gospel) in their own language: 1) Confession and repentance by admitting sin and turning away from it; 2) Receiving Christ by faith, inviting him to become the Lord and Savior who lives in the heart through the Holy Spirit; and 3) Obeying and growing, which involves a lifetime of following Christ, a commitment to prayer and a study of God's word, and exhibiting the fruit of the spirit in one's life. And this is what God did through one man, with the help of a multitude of people (of course). There are many more of us who have dedicated our lives to helping fulfill this worldwide prophecy.
And now, what do we see? The fulfillment of the passage we read at the beginning. The world has been evangelized, and now, very unfortunately, we are witnessing the decline of that great era of preaching, just as the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, inspired by the Holy Spirit. These sins we saw earlier are not only found in unbelievers, but even worse, they are very present in the vast majority of those who call themselves people of God or believers in God. Today we see that they love themselves more than others, where the vast majority think very selfishly, without caring about the problems of others. And what can we say about the following: “…lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…? And we don't just see this within our churches, but even worse, in the leadership of many churches around the world. This is one of the main reasons why many resist attending church, because they fear finding even worse things in places where God's presence and goodness should be. Instead of finding peace, they find arrogance and hardness of heart. Instead of finding help, they find evil intentions. We are living in evil times that will only get worse. And if we want to attain what was promised, we cannot allow ourselves to be carried away by the lies preached in many places. We must keep our eyes on the Lord and faithfully follow His Word. We cannot take anything for granted, neither what we hear nor what we do personally, no matter what happens, no matter what it costs us (because following Christ does have a price). This is what the Word says: “Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Mark 13:12-13. I'm not going to lie to you, much less preach a false gospel of peace and prosperity, because I fear God. More difficult times are coming, but we must persevere to the end to be saved, just as it is written. The global situation is written and will be fulfilled, but our lives are still being written before God, and everything will be judged by Him in the end. So, which side of the fulfillment of prophecies are you on; those who will find favor with God or for those who will be lost by following the enemy's lead? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!