The beginning of the last days of the world began in 31 A.D. in an upper room in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. When asked what was going on, the Apostle Peter replied: “THIS IS THAT which was spoken by the Prophet Joel, ‘It shall come IN THE LAST DAYS, says God, I will POUR OUT MY SPIRIT on all flesh ….” (Acts 1:16-21). What must be understood is that the “last days” or “end or the world,” as it is usually referred to, has two distinct parts. The first part came to be on that day some 2000 years ago when the Holy Spirit baptized the 120 or so disciples of Christ as they met to celebrate Pentecost. From that day until modern times (beginning at 1900–my calculations) God has fulfilled His promise to enable His people to prophesy, see visions and dream dreams of things that only His people will understand (vss 17,18).

In verses 19 and 20 Joel changed time elements and began speaking about a short period of time between the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord during which many heavenly signs will be observed. Notice that in verse 20 Joel said that what He had just described would take place BEFORE THAT GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY OF THE LORD COMES. The Day of the Lord is the final year of the 3 1/2 year Tribulation Period. The first 2 1/2 years are called the Great Tribulation. We will be studying the Tribulation Period (3 1/2 years of hell on earth) later. At this point we will focus on the period between 1900 and today to get a glimpse of what Jesus called, “the beginning of sorrows.” As we will see, those sorrows began on a relatively manageable level, then gradually developed into an all-out attack on mankind as God tried to turn men, including churchmen, to Himself and away from Satan. Recall that at one point the whole of mankind had rejected the Lord, prompting Him to drown every human being on earth except Noah and his family. In my opinion, America is rapidly approaching that level of sin. God, being “no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34), He is obligated to do to her what He did to her ancestors–defeat, enslavement and death. This He has promised to do to any nation that turns away from Him as has this once greatly-blessed nation.

At one point God came to Abraham and told him that He would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their obsession with sexual deviance. Recall that Abraham beseeched God to promise that if He could find just 10 righteous people in Sodom He would not kill everyone in that spiritual cesspool (vss 18-21). Search though He did, the Lord could not find ten righteous people. The rest is both history and a harbinger of things to come for Abraham’s descendants. Which brings us to where we are today.

In the history of the United States, no phenomenon has swept the nation so completely and so rapidly as has the sexual deviance plague. America has suffered through wars, influenza, Ebola, AIDS, polio, flooding, drought, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, unusual weather patterns, etc. But those curses were of limited duration. The spiritual leaven that has infected America appears to be here to stay, unless there is a national turning to the Lord. Another “Great Awakening” or “Jesus Movement” will not get the job done. There will have to be a true national about-face for God to spare America. The chances of that happening are, in my opinion, two-fold: slim and none.

Jesus warned salvation seekers that there would come a time when the sin-soaked world would watch the four horsemen of the apocalypse ride across her lands. In Matthew 24:1-12 and Revelation 6:1-8 we find Jesus warning His followers about the “horsemen” who would “ride” throughout the world with the opening of the first four seals of the Book of the Lamb (Rev. 5:1). Read these references carefully and you will see these prophesies played out in the history of America, as well as the rest of the God-rejecting world. Once a “horseman” began to ride he would continue riding until the end. They continue their assaults at full gallup today.

Everything Jesus warned about in Matthew 24:1-12 has happened to America. Recall that Jesus said these horrors were merely the “beginning of sorrows.” Before Christ takes his Very Elect saints to their place of safety, which I believe will be a mountain range called Petra in Jordan, we will all suffer as Satan’s forces take over the world. Just before the Great Tribulation begins God’s church will be taken to “her place” where she will be nourished for 3 1/2 years as the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord ravage the world. Satan will afflict Law-rejecters for 2 1/2 years. This time period will be horrendous, but not as horrible as the final year when God Himself will pour out His wrath on those who despise His Word and therefore despise Him and His Son (Lk. 10:16). The God of the Old Testament (the Word who became Jesus of Nazareth) said in Deuteronomy 5:9 that those who do not obey His Law prove that they HATE HIM. Read that passage along with Psalm 5:5 for two Truths which few believe. Read The God of the Old Testament and Jesus of Nazareth: God, Man or God-man? Key words–Old and God-man respectively.

In my estimation, based on the Scriptures as I understand them, America is in the introductory phase of the “beginning of sorrows” era where God’s curses for her sins are coming at an ever faster rate and carrying ever larger payloads. God has promised to make a “short work” of this present evil age once the Tribulation begins in earnest.

Why has America been promised the worst of what is coming? The Scriptures tell us that “Unto whom much is given, much is required.” (Lk. 12:48). America, unlike any other nation except ancient Israel, has been given blessings upon blessings, only to find herself being continually cursed because she repeatedly fails to meet God’s standards, just as did her ancestors. Based on God’s treatment of America, I believe that she is in the pre-tribulation era known as the “beginning of sorrows” when she is raising her ugly, sin-saturated, Satan-serving head. As her Law-hating population continues its rapid descent into the lower echelons of sin and degradation, God is “loading His spiritual guns.” Even the nonchurched are beginning to notice that something strange is happening. For those who know their God, what they see happening is not strange at all. It was prophesied thousands of years ago. L.J.