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The New World Order: Discerning “the Signs of the Times”

Image result for free images new world orderThe New World Order: Discerning “the Signs of the Times”

James R. Aist

“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and overcast.’ … you can discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:2-3)

Introduction

There seems to be a lot of confusion within the body of Christ concerning major current events, confusion that, I believe, could be cleared up by a better knowledge and understanding of biblical end times prophecies. For example, why are people rioting, looting and burning down homes and businesses during otherwise peaceful demonstrations, and why are governmental officials issuing draconian, unconstitutional orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? In this article, I will attempt to show how these and other world events, or “signs of the times”, are setting the stage for the appearance of a temporary, secular “New World Order” that will precede the everlasting, global Kingdom of God on the earth, as revealed in the Bible.

Before I get into the substance of what I have to say about these matters, it is necessary to review pertinent terminology. Perhaps the most commonly used term for the secular global government I want to discuss is “New World Order.” “Great Reset” is a more recent term for New World Order. “Globalism” is the ideology behind the push for a New World Order/Great Reset, and “Globalists” are those who support and/or actively labor for such an all-powerful, secular, global government.

The term “New World Order” refers to the fact that, if the globalists get their way, the present world order of sovereign nations that determine their own form of government, goals, values and policies would be replaced by one centralized government for the entire world, an oligarchy having supreme sovereignty and authority over all the people and all the nations of the world. Capitalism and democracy would be replaced by communism, everywhere.

Global Oligarchy vs. Global Theocracy

The overarching issue here is control; that is, who will eventually gain control of all the peoples and all the countries of the world. Let’s begin with globalism. The ideology of globalism can be summed up best, perhaps, in this way: Ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs; order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign. Now pause for a moment and ponder the meaning of those words. Then you will realize that they are the exact anti-thesis of our democracy, where government is of the people, by the people and for the people! The “all-powerful sovereign” spoken of here may be a reference a self-chosen group of globalist elites who deem themselves superior to common, ordinary men and women and, therefore, have both a right and a responsibility to rule and reign over the rest of us…for our own good, of course. However, it seems also to be an allusion to the coming anti-Christ, as implied by Paul-Henri Spaak, the first president of the European Parliament, when he said, “What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people, and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are all sinking. Send us such a man and be he god or devil, we will receive him (page 27 in The Book of Signs, by David Jeremiah, see below).” In any case, this is the gist of the globalist agenda: world domination by a handful of elitists, a communistic global oligarchy. Among the most prominent and influential of these globalists in the United States are George Soros, Bill Gates, Henry Kissinger and Barack Obama. Several years ago, George Soros opined that the United States was standing in the way of the New World Order. More recently, he said that Donald Trump has almost destroyed the New World Order, a clear reference to Trump’s undoing of much of the “progress” Barack Obama had made toward realization of the New World Order while he was President. This is the underlying reason why there is such an all-consuming hatred and radical opposition among so-called “progressives” to the Trump administration. President Trump is the only thing standing between us and a communist revolution that would be necessary for the New World Order to be implemented. Now that Trump has been removed from the Whitehouse in the 2020 presidential election, the door has swung wide open for the full manifestation of the New World Order.

But, there is another Who has declared His intention to be the One Who will rule and reign, with His followers, over the entire world, forever, anarchists and globalists notwithstanding. His name is Jesus. The fundamental issue here is who will succeed in gaining sovereign power and control over the peoples of this world. Which of these two contenders for global government will win and, thus, determine who is really “on the right side of history?” And, more to the point of this article, are there “signs of the times” in which we live to indicate that this contest may begin in earnest in the very near future? I will focus on apparent preparations going on now for the establishment of a New World Order in light of what the Bible has to say about it.

It is important to keep in mind that the Bible speaks mainly of the “world” of nations in the region surrounding Israel, not the entire world of nations as we now know it. According to the Bible, the New World Order will be established by a trio of individuals: Satan, a person referred to as the “Anti-Christ” and another person, referred to as the “False Prophet.” Satan will confer power and authority to the Anti-Christ, who will gain unlimited governmental control of the affairs of all the people of the world. The False Prophet will use the influence of religion and control of commerce to coerce the people to submit to the supreme authority of the Anti-Christ, or perish. Hatred for God’s chosen people, Israel, will be manifested more viciously and comprehensively than ever before. A “mark of the beast” will be imposed on all people as a means to force them to submit to the authority of the Anti-Christ. No one will be allowed to buy or sell unless they have the mark of the beast on their hand or forehead. At the end of seven years of “tribulation”, Jesus will return to set up His everlasting, world-wide theocracy. Huge armies from Russia, Iran and other Muslim nations in the Middle East and northern Africa will unite against their common enemy, the Jews, and converge on Israel to destroy Jesus and His followers, in a series of battles known as “Armageddon.” Jesus will destroy all of them easily and utterly, and then set up His kingdom on the renewed earth, where Christians – both Jews and Gentiles – will rule and reign with Him forever.

Some “Signs of the Times”

Next, I will give a brief overview of some “signs of the times”, that is, historical or current efforts that are preparing the way, or setting the stage, if you will, for the coming New World Order. If you are keeping up with current events, then you will recognize some of these signs at their mere mention. The three-stage approach for establishing the New World Order goes something like this: 1) create the impression of an imminent, catastrophic, global threat (crisis) that seems unavoidable; 2) with the aid of the predominantly liberal, main-stream media, stir up a reaction among the populace of overwhelming fear and panic (e.g., “Oh no, we’re all going to die!”), anxiety, pandemonium and anarchy; and then 3) promise to restore peace, overcome the global threat and “save the planet” through the establishment of a New World Order, an oligarchy employing the ideology, values, morality and methodology of communism. With that backdrop, here are some of the “signs of the times” that are signaling our march toward a New World Order:

Global Crises

  • World Wars: These world crises led to, firstly, the formation of the League of Nations, and, secondly, to the formation of the United Nations (whose 2030 plan would, in effect, put the entire world into subjugation to them within ten years!). The apparent and express purpose of these world organizations was to put an end to world-wide threats and international conflicts, replacing independent nations with a sovereign, global government led by benevolent world leaders who would achieve peace, justice and protection the world over.
  • The global warming hoax: This crisis, if real, would eventually result in worldwide, coastal flooding and climate changes that would wreak unimaginable destruction and human suffering, including severe famines. But the documented lack of the predicted global rise in temperatures for more than 25 years has shown this crisis to be nothing more than a mammoth effort to coerce the world’s nations into submitting to the supreme authority of the United Nations, which still pushes the global warming narrative.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic: This crisis, if materialized according to the original predictions of the alarmists, would result directly in tens of millions of deaths, and worldwide famine that would kill even more than that. But, based on current projections, this crisis seems now to be much less of a global threat than originally claimed, although this coronavirus is much more contagious and deadly than the average flu virus. However, the worldwide, devastating, economic disasters associated with illegal overreactions (e.g., business shutdowns) to the COVID-19 pandemic by governmental and health officials were a direct result of rampant fear-mongering perpetrated primarily by globalists and the liberal, main stream media, in an attempt to weaken and destroy the Trump presidency and help pave the way for the New World Order.

Fomenting Revolution (using Marxist tactics)

  • Gun Control: Following historical precedent for political revolutions, gun confiscation will render the masses powerless to defend themselves against agents of the New World Order. For decades, Democrat lawmakers have worked tirelessly and relentlessly to confiscate the guns of American citizens, which is an obvious portent of things to come if the globalists have their way.
  • Censorship: Besides controlling the guns, recent political revolutions typically involved controlling the speech of the masses. This gives the conquerors the power to control the thoughts and attitudes of the masses, thereby making overthrow of the government seem more palatable to the citizenry. In America, we are seeing increasing censorship of the speech of Christians and conservatives perpetrated by radical leftists, the main stream media, social networking companies, the Democrat party and globalists. A recent, glaring example of this censorship is the order given by a state governor that bans pharmacies from filling prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine for the early treatment of COVID-19. This order puts state government, instead of licensed medical doctors, in charge of medical prescriptions! Censorship is, at its core, a globalist campaign to facilitate the realization of the New World Order.
  • Cancelling History: Historically, violent revolutions replacing one governmental regime with another involve the removal and/or defacing of historical statuary and monuments. This is currently being done in America and other countries by domestic terrorist groups including Antifa and Black Lives Matter. The immediate purpose is to terrorize the populace and signify publicly the demise of capitalism and democratic government. But, here too, the ultimate agenda is to help create favorable conditions for the establishment of the New World Order.

Biblical Prophecy

  • Lawlessness: In 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8a, the Apostle Paul prophesied this, concerning the coming Anti-Christ, the Lawless One: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already working. Only He who is now restraining him will do so until He is taken out of the way. Then the lawless one will be revealed…” Thus, part and parcel with this diabolical scheme is an orchestrated campaign of violence, rioting, looting, killing and burning, designed to further create chaos, fear, panic and civil unrest. The real, underlying motivation of the globalist financiers of such lawlessness is to overthrow capitalism and democratic governments and replace them with the New World Order.
  • One World Religion: Revelation 13:11-15 says, concerning the False Prophet, “He causes the earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first beast. He deceives those who dwell on the earth by the signs which he was granted to do, and he will cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” Thus, the False Prophet will institute a One World Religion by deception and under penalty of death for those refusing to worship the Anti-Christ! This religion will be a perverted form of what we presently know as Unitarianism, the belief that all gods are one and the same god, including the God of the Bible. With that backdrop, here are three pertinent examples illustrating movement toward a One World Religion: firstly, there is the Universalist religion itself, which had its beginnings in the United States in the middle of the 18th century and is currently gaining in popularity, especially among so-called “progressives”; secondly, The New Age Movement, which was popular in the 1970s and still has devotees, is very inclusive of various belief systems; and thirdly, Pope Frances recently endorsed Islam, proclaiming that Allah is the same God as the God of the Bible, and calling for America to relinquish aspects of its national sovereignty to the United Nations. These are just three of the many contemporary examples of shadows of the One World Religion, empowered by Satan, that is prophesied in the Bible.
  • The “mark of the beast”: Revelation 13:16-17, says, concerning the False Prophet, “He causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one may buy or sell, except he who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.” Here we have a prophecy that describes the manner by which the Anti-Christ will extort unswerving allegiance from all unbelievers during the Great Tribulation. And we can see the stage being set at this very moment for this prophecy to be fulfilled in the near future: to wit, the coming “cashless society“, a “single currency“, and forced digital identification implants or marks, are recent technological advances that could easily be used to implement a method of commerce in which “no one may buy or sell, except he who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.” All transactions would be digital and electronic, requiring a government-issued, government-controlled digital implant or mark of some kind. The true believers will refuse to receive this mark of the beast (Revelation 13:8), thus maintaining their allegiance to Christ, not the beast. Consequently, they will undergo unthinkable suffering, and eventually, death, being unable to purchase even the bare necessities of life.
  • Trump’s ouster from the Whitehouse: If one studies, carefully and objectively, the end-times events as recorded in the Bible, one notices that the United States is not even alluded to at all as an important player nation during those days. In my view – as much as I hate to say it – this is because the United States must lose its role as a world leader and superpower in order to make way for the end-time events to proceed. With President Trump’s ouster from the Whitehouse, the path is now open for the globalists to oversee the demise of the United states as a world power and set the stage for the appearance of the anti-Christ at the start of the “beginning of sorrows” spoken of by Jesus. This view offers a plausible explanation of why God did not grant Trump a second term as President: we are now that much closer to the Rapture and the start of the seven-year Tribulation Period, as I see it.

Utopia or Dystopia?

The New World Order globalists promise to restore peace, order, justice and security when they gain control of government worldwide. At first glance, this New World Order, with one centralized governing body having supreme and final authority worldwide, may seem logical and preferable to many. After all, who wouldn’t want to have all of their basic needs met by a benevolent, secular government in an atmosphere of peace and security? Sounds like a utopia, doesn’t it. But wait, what are they not telling us? They are not telling us that this will be a communistic, atheistic, elitist oligarchy that will seek to control virtually every significant aspect of our lives according to their worldview, their values, their goals and their morals, not ours. There will no longer be freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the right to bear arms. Taxpayer-funding of abortion and infanticide will be made available to everyone on demand. Sexual perversions of all sorts (including pedophilia) will be encouraged and protected by law. Homeschooling will be banned, our borders will be opened to any and all who wish to enter, there will be no states’ rights, and private property will be confiscated by the government. Businesses and healthcare will be taken over and run by the government. National sovereignty will become a thing of the past. Our travel, our speech and our purchases will be monitored and controlled by this global, man-made government.

What in the world would motivate the globalists to want to rule and reign over us with such an iron fist? Will these people be driven by an insatiable lust for power and control? Perhaps some will. But many will be driven by an elitist mindset that seems benevolent at its core. They really believe that they are superior human beings by nature and that it is, therefore, their right and responsibility to make the important life choices for the rest of us, for our own good! This will be the “Big Brother” syndrome on steroids. And, Satan will be the driving force to make it happen, secretly conferring power and authority to the Anti-Christ when he is revealed. But, here’s the “catch”: the ruling elitists will be subject to the same moral and ethical weaknesses and failures as are we inferior human beings. In their ranks, as in ours, such things as greed, jealously, dishonesty, lust and hatred will flourish without the acknowledgment of a higher moral power to which they are accountable. Thus, this man-made New World Order will fail to produce the utopia they promise, but will, instead, create unbearable conditions for the governance of mankind, a dystopia, because this New World Order will actually be diabolical and will become malevolent!

What on Earth is Really Going On?

In this section, I will try to reveal more explicitly the true end-game of the New World Order globalists, because, without that perspective, it will be impossible to read correctly the “signs of the times.” First, we must be aware that the globalists are implementing the New World Order gradually, step by step, in order to keep the masses from realizing what they are up to. We can see this strategy being played out currently in the governmental reactions to COVID-19. Governmental officials at the state, county and city levels are issuing unconstitutional orders to close businesses and churches under penalty of law, despite the First Amendment protections and the enormously devastating  economic impacts of such shutdowns. At the very least, these draconian measures are indicators to the globalists of how much and how readily Americans are willing to surrender their legal rights to governments in the face of a global crisis. At the worst, they may lull us into getting used to the idea of surrendering our basic rights to rogue governmental powers, which is precisely how the globalists plan to convince us to accept the New World Order when the time is right! Let me illustrate this point by means of a current, unmistakable and ominous example. One of our Democratic state governors recently issued an order requiring all businesses in the state to refuse doing business with anyone not wearing a face mask. Any business that does not comply is to be shut down. In other words, “no one can buy or sell” in that state unless they are wearing a face mask. This is exactly the same thing as the “mark of the beast” in Revelation 13:16-17, except here, it is a face mask instead of the “mark of the beast” (which will come later on)!” Despite the many documented mentions of the New World Order by national and world leaders for the past 100 years or more, globalists always try to dismiss and deny what they are up to by labeling it as “conspiracy theories.” But, do not be deceived: this is not “conspiracy theory”, its history in the making for those of us who are awake and try to keep up with current events!

Second, to help you better understand what on earth is really going on, allow me to illustrate with an analogy: puppeteers and their puppets. The globalists are the puppeteers, and those whom they are controlling are their puppets. Puppets would include the main stream, fake news media, some of the social networking companies, violent anarchists (such as Black Lives Matter and Antifa), the anti-Trump politicians, the liberal Supreme Court justices and the far-left leaning common citizens, to name a few. Apparently, many of these puppets are not even aware that they are being manipulated by the globalists into contributing to the march toward a New World Order, instead limiting their perspective to the individual issues or events as they unfold. In other words, they are not “seeing the forest for the trees.” For the globalists, its less about issues like racism, immigration, social justice, individual rights, environment or hatred, and more about how they can manipulate such issues to promote the implementation of their end-game, the New World Order.

Finally, let me suggest that the “signs of the times” happening now are just the birth pangs, or shadows, of the coming tribulation that will be orchestrated by Satan through the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet. These current events are, in my opinion, setting the stage for the early end-time events described in the Bible, those tribulations that Jesus referred to as “the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8). They are preparing the peoples and nations of the world to be willing to subject themselves to the supreme authority of the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet, when the time comes.

“The Right Side of History”: Are You Ready?

In Genesis 11:1-9, we have revealed to us God’s response to mankind’s first attempt at global governance. At that time, all of the people of the earth had the same language. They said to each other, “Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top will reach to heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves…” When the Lord saw what they were up to, He said, “The people are one and they have one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do; now nothing that they propose to do will be impossible for them.” So, to put and end to their rebellious plans to rule over all the earth, He confused their language so that they couldn’t understand one another’s speech and scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth. This is how God opposed mankind’s first attempt at global government. Even so today, mankind is trying to set up a global government that will eliminate national identity and sovereignty and individual rights and freedoms, but God will intercede to quash that plan as well, and establish His rightful rule, as Creator, over the nations of the earth through the God-given power and authority of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, all of the people who let God save them, by accepting His gift of saving faith in Jesus Christ, will actually end up on the “right side of history”, the futile babbling of unbelievers notwithstanding. Have you let God save you yet? God invites you to “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call you upon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6).” Don’t wait until it is too late and end up on the wrong side of history!

Key References:

“The Book of Signs”, Dr. David Jeremiah. 2019. W Publishing, an Imprint of Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN.

“The Last Hour”, Amir Tsarfati. 2018. Chosen Books, 11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Bloomington, MN.

One-World Government (click HERE)

Nationalism vs. Globalism (click HERE)

Davos and the NWO globalist’s summits (Click HERE)

I have provided (above) hyperlinks to a few of the many articles and videos I have accessed in preparation for writing this article. But I urge you to take the time and make the effort to look into these matters more thoroughly for yourself. You can discover other pertinent articles by performing internet searches on keywords found in this article. Then decide for yourself what is really going on. (Warning: Beware of fake news articles and videos that will present false narratives concerning the New World Order that are based on mere rumor or wild speculations. Their authors are nothing more than puppets serving the interests of the globalists to discredit reports of what is really going on.)

(To read more of my articles on biblical topics, click HERE)

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The “Knowledge of Good and Evil” Ruined Everything!

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The “Knowledge of Good and Evil” Ruined Everything!

James R. Aist

“…you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)

For the longest time, I read right through Genesis 3:1-7 not really understanding what the tree of knowledge of good and evil was about. After all, isn’t it essential for us to know what is good and what is evil in order to obey God?  So what is it about us knowing good and evil that upset God so much that He cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden for it? Then one day, I read in a book an explanation of it that made all kinds of sense to me. And, it truly does explain a lot!

Let’s begin by reproducing Genesis 3:1-7 here: Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the garden; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You will not eat of it, nor will you touch it, or else you will die.’ ” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasing to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Next, let’s unpack this passage, point by point, and “Fact Check” each claim:

Claim # 1: Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. True. This claim that Satan uses subtlety to entice his victims is confirmed elsewhere in the Bible (e.g., 2 Corinthians 11:14, Ephesians 6:11 and Revelation 12:9);

Claim # 2: And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the garden; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You will not eat of it, nor will you touch it, or else you will die.’ ” True. In Genesis 2: 16-17, God gives this very same instruction to Adam, before Eve was created. They have no excuse;

Claim # 3: “You surely will not die! False. Satan is lying here, in order to set Eve up for the accusation against God that follows;

Claim # 4: “…God knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened…” True. Satan begins with the truth, in order to make the lie that follows more easy for Eve to accept as being also true, but he doesn’t tell her the whole truth;

Claim # 5: “…you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Patently False and not really True! Herein lies (pun intended) the subtle deception. Satan himself was driven by his ambition to be like God (Isaiah 14:14), so he tempts Eve with the same ambition. But, in reality, no created thing can ever be like its creator; not Satan, not Eve. (I doubt that Eve was aware of that fact.) Then, he says she will become aware of good and evil, like God is, and she did (Genesis 3:22). Well, sort of. God’s awareness of good and evil included His authoritative determination of what actually is good and what actually is evil, whereas Eve’s awareness of good and evil was nothing more than her personal opinion, without any authority to actually determine what is right and what is wrong. In other words, her believing that she had been given the last say as to what is right and what is wrong was nothing more than a subtle delusion. Moreover, now that she was aware of good and evil, she was responsible to God for honoring His moral code. Ouch!

To summarize: Satan lured Eve into the delusion that, if she would eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, she would not only become aware that there is good and evil in the world, but that she would also, by the same act, commandeer from God the right and the authority to determine what actually is right and what actually is wrong. That is the delusion that ruined everything!

So, “How has that delusion ruined everything?”, you might ask. Well, in a nutshell, this delusion is at the heart of every manifestation of mankind’s rebellion against God (i.e., sin), from the Garden of Eden until now; this delusion that it is OK for every man to do what is right in his own eyes (cf., Judges 21:25); this delusion that there is no “higher moral authority” to which we will be held accountable; this delusion with which every human being is born, the “sin nature” that we all have inherited, somehow, from Adam; this delusion that has caused the whole creation to groan and travail in pain together until now (Romans 8:22).

All was “very good”  between God and man in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1:31) until Adam and Eve believed a lie of the devil; namely, that they could usurp God’s moral authority to determine what is good and what is evil. That’s when the trouble began. But, “Whatever the Lord pleases, He does in heaven and on earth…” (Psalm 135:6). In the fullness of time, He will end all rebellion against His absolute moral authority and reign on the earth in righteousness and peace, forever. The good news for mankind is that all who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will rule and reign with Him. Will you be there?

(To read more of my articles with a biblical theme, click HERE)

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The Bible Answers the “Big Questions”

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The Bible Answers the “Big Questions”

James R. Aist

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

There are a number of “big questions” that mankind has been struggling with since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden for sinning against God. All too often, the answers to these questions seem unknowable, especially when God is left out of consideration. This article focuses on answers to some of these “big questions” that I have discovered through careful study of the Bible. You may or may not find these answers to be as convincing and satisfying as I do, but the Bible does have answers nonetheless.

The article is structured so as to first introduce you to each of the questions I am addressing here, and then to provide hyperlinks that will connect you to the pertinent article(s) that will provide the answer(s). Let’s get started, shall we?

  1. What is man? This may seem at first to be a silly question with an obvious answer, but, for our purposes, it’s a good place to start. All of the other “big questions” arise because of our unique nature and existence. For a biblical answer to this question, click HERE.
  2. For what purpose did God create us? Before God created Adam, He had already created the earth, with all of its plants and animals, and the angels. Something must have motivated Him to conclude His works of creation with…us. But what was it? For a biblical answer to this question, click HERE.
  3. What is the righteousness that God requires? Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden for sinning against God, and this separation from God continues to this day in all who are born into this world. But God has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Himself by becoming righteous ourselves, despite our sins. How can this be? For a biblical answer to this question, click HERE.
  4. Who goes to hell? All of mankind have sinned and fallen short of the righteousness that God requires. God has provided a way for mankind to be reconciled to Himself, but what happens to those who do not follow this way? For a biblical answer to this question, click HERE.
  5. Why is evil and suffering so pervasive in this present world? The Garden of Eden into which Adam was originally placed was an environment free of evil and suffering. Why isn’t our world still like that? For a biblical answer to this question, click HERE.
  6. Why is God allowing Satan to tempt us during this Age of Grace? Those of us who have been “born again” are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, so why hasn’t God already put an end to Satan’s permission to tempt us to sin? For a biblical answer to this question, click HERE.
  7. What is Jesus waiting for? Jesus promised that He would come again to the earth to destroy His enemies and rule the earth with His saints. That was about 2,000 years ago, and He still hasn’t come back. So, what exactly is He waiting for? For a biblical answer to this question, click HERE.

As you can see, I have not tried to answer all of the “big questions”, but I hope that you have been blessed by what the Bible says about these seven. Perhaps you can discover on your own what the Bible has to say about your “big questions.” Happy hunting!

(To read more of my articles on biblical topics, click HERE)

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What Is Jesus Waiting For?

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What Is Jesus Waiting For?

 James R. Aist

“Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were since the beginning of the creation.” – 2 Peter 3:4

Jesus promised that, one day, He would return, do away with evil deeds, punish evildoers forever, and establish His righteous and everlasting Kingdom on earth (Revelation 21:1-8). But, it’s been more than 2,000 years since He ascended into heaven, and still, He hasn’t come again as He promised. So, you may ask, as many others have (e.g., 2 Peter 3:3-4), “What in the world is He waiting for?” In this article I will try to shed some light on the answer to that question. As you read further, please bear in mind that the Bible mentions many things that will happen before the Second Coming, but most of these things do not relate directly to the purpose, or the “end game,” of His waiting. So, please bear in mind that here, I am focusing specifically on what it is that God is accomplishing by having Jesus wait.

To do that, I want to begin at the beginning. The evil that we witness or experience today has its origins in the original sin of Adam, which is commonly referred to as The Fall of Man (Genesis 3). As a result of The Fall, mankind has been separated from God, born with a sinful nature and living in a cursed creation ever since. At some level, all of the evil in the present world can be traced back, directly or indirectly, to this entry of sin into the world. This means that mankind, not God, is the root cause of evil in this fallen world, so, let’s be careful to not blame God for it. God will eradicate evil and restore righteousness to the earth some day.

But that begs the question, doesn’t it? Why does God continue to allow evil to continue when He has been planning to end it all along? My response to that question would be that He will end it when the time comes. So now we have arrived at the topic of this article: What is Jesus waiting for, anyway? I believe the Bible provides an answer, and I will try to explain it, but I can’t promise that it will satisfy you.

About the Second Coming, Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness. But He is patient with us, because He does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). In context (2 Peter 1 and 3), “any”, “all” and “us”, refer specifically to born-again believers (2 Peter 1:1), the elect of God (2 Peter 1:10), so that a fuller exposition of the meaning of 2 Peter 3:9 would be, “…He does not want any (of His elect) to perish, but all (of His elect) to come to repentance.” Peter is saying that Jesus will not come again until all of His elect have repented and have been saved.

And Paul struck a similar note when he wrote, “For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, lest you be wise in your own estimation, for a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and so all Israel will be saved…” (Romans 11:25-26a). The phrase “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” is rendered a little differently in the various English translations, but I believe that the New Living Translation captures most clearly the full intent and meaning of the phrase thusly: …”until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.” Thus, when the full number of Gentiles has been saved, then the partial hardening of Israel will be lifted, all Israel will be saved and end times events can proceed to completion, including the Second Coming.

Taken together, then, these two verses tell us that what Jesus is waiting for is the salvation of all God’s Gentile elect. And, from God’s perspective, this is, indeed, a very good reason for Jesus to wait, don’t you think?

There are a couple of related and supporting verses that also  should be noted here. One is Matthew 24:14, where Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” How does this relate to the topic at hand? Here’s how: It is the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world that will result in the salvation of all God’s Gentile elect, so that end times events can proceed to completion, including the Second Coming. The other verse is Romans 8:19-21, where Paul wrote, “The eager expectation of the creation waits for the appearance of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but by the will of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The “appearance of the sons of God” will not be completed until the salvation of all God’s elect is accomplished, because these are “the sons of God”. Thus, the creation also is eagerly waiting for the same thing that Jesus is waiting for. Following that, there will be “a new heaven and a new earth”, and “the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption.”

(To read more of my articles with a biblical theme, click HERE)