The Biblical signs point to it; God’s ministers speak and write about it; His saints look forward to it. What man has been anticipating for some 2000 years is just ahead of us. JESUS CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN. But before that time much will take place, most of which will not be pleasant. Man, including religious man, has made certain of that.

Following the global hostilities of the early 1940’s, atomic bombs having been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki bringing an end to the second world war, General Douglas MacArthur made a statement that should have shaken the world to its core: “We have had our last chance.” In His speech the general made note of man’s incredible potential for self-annihilation, stating that if the world’s masses did not find a way to solve their conflicts peacefully, civilization as we know it would eventually disappear. Knowing that MacArthur was right, a number of well-known authorities began voicing the same opinion from a variety of different perspectives. From U.S. President John Kennedy to Dr. Albert Einstein, from French President Charles de Gaulle to leaders within the United Nations–everyone knew that something had to be done to end mankind’s tendency toward warfare and conquest, that man could not continue to kill his fellow man and survive. But this state of affairs did not come as a surprise to Bible students who were aware of the Biblical God’s warning about this problem. Speaking about a future time just prior to His return to earth, Jesus said: “For then there will be great tribulation unlike anything the world has ever seen or ever will see again. And unless those days are shortened, no flesh will be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Mat. 24:21,22).

During His time on earth as a man (see Jesus Christ: God, Man or Godman?), Jesus prophesied today’s world conditions in language that anyone can understand. He warned about wars, famines, disease epidemics and natural disasters that, as prophesied, have become commonplace in today’s world. Even those who do not know the Bible, many of whom are atheists, are realizing that something unusual is happening. Mankind’s tendency toward self-destruction, combined with nature’s relentless assault on the earth, create a recipe for trouble, the kind of trouble man is not equipped to control. In spite of the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that has been witnessed by people around the world via television, man continues to prepare for war. In today’s deadly world several nations have munitions that are thousands of times more powerful than the bombs that brought an end to WWII. Along with those weapons of mass destruction are modern science’s chemical and biological agents that can kill within seconds. These agents make nuclear bombs seem like children’s toys. Added to these problems is what is being called the “population bomb”–a rapid increase in human population which threatens to overpower the earth’s ability to feed it.

Having fasted on numerous occasions, some for extended periods of time, I can assure you that when man’s stomach speaks, man acts. When a man watches his children wither away due to the lack of food he will do whatever is necessary to solve the problem. Famine is one of the plagues predicted by the Lord. When, not if, that happens we will see a time of civil warfare based on the human need for food.  Man will steal, and even kill, in order to satisfy the body’s command for nourishment. God promises that this will become commonplace in the latter days due to man’s rejection of Him. But His people–His “elect,” His church–are not concerned because He has promised to keep them safe from harm in a place prepared for them which He calls “her place” and “a place of safety” (Rev. 12:6,14). Then, just before humanity self-destructs, He will return to bring an end to the human tragedy. But not everyone believes His Words. As the prophets and apostles wrote time and again, many people do not believe Him. Let us believe God’s written Word, which Jesus called the Truth (Jn. 17:17). To be continued. L.J.