Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
The Holy Bible has a lot to say about the end times. Nearly every book of the Bible contains prophecy that points us to the end time generation. The Holy Scriptures state a lot of examples of signs that should serve as a warning to us that we are now coming to the end of the age. Prophecy is being fulfilled daily and at a very fast pace than ever before. We can now see the beginning of birth pains through natural upheavals, distress among nations, pestilences, wars and rumours of war. Truly, end time events are beginning to take effect upon us all. It is increasingly obvious that the time of our Lord’s coming is drawing near. We are the last generation and we are seeing the symbolic prophecies of the past becoming a literal reality right now. The final elements of God’s judgment are taking shape with each passing season and year. And God has never failed to give us a warning of the approaching end of the age through many scriptural signs which have now come to pass and many of which will still be fulfilled in the near future.
SIGNS OF THE END
Matthew 24:5-8 gives us some important clues on how we can discern the approaching of the end times, "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these [are] the beginning of sorrows." An increase in false messiahs, an increase in warfare, and increases in famines, plagues, and natural disasters – all these are sure “signs” that the end time is here.
The seven signs given by Jesus to indicate His soon appearing and the end of the world are: (1) false christs and false prophets appearing, (2) wars and rumours of wars, (3) famines, (4) earthquakes in diverse places, (5) pestilences, (6) tribulations, and (7) the Gospel being preached throughout all the world.
Matthew 24:14 states, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come." There is no doubt that this prophecy of gospel propagation has already been fulfilled through television, radio, the translation of the Bible into many languages, and through the internet. Majority of the people all over the world today have already heard the Message of Christ from these media and through missionaries who have the means to travel around the globe via the latest means of transportation, and via technology that allows us to communicate with people on the other side of the world right from our very own homes, churches and offices.
LUKE 21:25-28 also states, "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
END-TIME DESTRUCTION
In Malachi 4 verse 1, the last chapter of the Old Testament, God warned us of the end time destruction that will take place upon the earth at the end time. "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
The same warning was spoken of by Apostle Peter in the New Testament. II Peter 3:10-12 states, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. [Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought ye to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"
The earth has been in existence for almost six thousand years, and every 2,000 years, destruction comes upon it. The first two thousand years was ended by flood waters in the time of Noah.
Genesis 6:5-8, "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Genesis 7:19-22 "And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that [were] under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils [was] the breath of life, of all that [was] in the dry [land], died."
The second two thousand years of the earth ended when Jesus Christ came and shed His blood at the Cross on Calvary. God, sending General Titus of Rome to destroy Jerusalem in 70 AD, scatterred the Israelites amongst all nations because of their rejection of the Messiah. "How did the Israelites condemn themselves? By blaspheming the Holy Ghost, and calling the Spirit of God an unclean thing. They made fun of Him when the Christians were dancing in the Spirit, and so forth, on the day of Pentecost. Titus killed them in there, and their blood run out the gatesway. They ate their own children and everything in that same century. One of the greatest nations of the world become the lowest, and scattered to the four winds of the earth. Because why? Unbelief." (WMB, LAODICEAN.CHURCH.AGE; 60-1211E) "Titus brought this great army of Romans and Greeks, and compassed the walls of Jerusalem, penned thosepeople in there, and they starved to death. They ate the bark from the trees, Josephus, the great historian, tells us. And they ate the grass off the ground. They even boiled one another's children and eat it (See?)" (WMB, UNITING.TIME.AND.SIGN; 63-0818)
The last two thousand years is upon us now. At the time of the writing of this book (year 2008), we have already exceeded 8 years from what is supposed to be the standard timeframe for God’s wrath outpouring. We have had two world wars already, and a third one is coming up. It will be the Battle of Armageddon which destroys all things. It will be when Israel is attacked by Russia and Iran (Gog and Magog) which will trigger a third world war. "We've had several wars, wars, and rumors of wars, and V-days. It will finally wind up into the great battle of Armageddon. That'll be the last of it. When she comes to the battle of Armageddon, that'll settles the whole thing. Just before the great millennium, Armageddon is to clean off the earth. She repurifies herself with this atomic blowing, and the volcanic ash, and thing sinks this soaked blood of men upon the earth, and sin, and crime. She sinks beneath the earth. The volcanic breaks out again, and renews, and cleans the earth for the great millennium." (VICTORY DAY; 63-0421)
"See, the world has now almost six thousand years old. See, and every two thousand year it's had a destruction. See? First two thousand, the flood came, and He baptized it with what? Water. Next two thousand, Jesus come to sanctify and claim it, dropped His Blood upon it, called it His. All right, "I'll come again," now, as King with His Queen. And the second two thousand years what does He do? He comes and gives His rest period and then burns her off and claims it for His own, puts His Own back on it. And notice, not the perfect world, this millennium is a type of the seventh day. Then comes the white throne judgment. See, we still have judgment; we're still in time in the millennium. It's a day, one thousand years. It's a time element." (FUTURE HOME; 64-0802)
END-TIME SCENARIO
Our age today is well-identified in the Bible as the Laodicean Age, the very last Gentile Church Age wherein God is calling out a Bride for Jesus Christ just before Jesus returns back again to earth and reveal Himself to the 144,000 elect Jews. In Revelation 3:15-17, God addresses our age:
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
"Our age claims to be "rich in goods", "spiritually wealthy", and had “need of nothing". Truly, we can see that the world church today in general is wealthy. There never has been such a show of wealth today as compared with other past generations. Our beautiful sanctuaries are multiplied in number as never before. The various denominations vie with each other to see who can build the biggest and the loveliest. They build education centers worth unestimated millions, yet those buildings are used only an hour or two a week. Money has poured into the church until different denominations own stocks and bonds, factories, oil wells, and insurance companies. They have poured money into welfare and retirement funds. But it has become a snare to the ministers, for if they decide to leave their group for more light or the love of God, their pensions are lost to them.
Religion today is known to be a big business. It is an absolute fact that they are placing business managers in the churches to take care of finances. There are radio programs, television programs, and numerous church endeavors that are costing millions and millions of dollars. Wealth pours and pours into the church, the membership increases along with the money, yet the work is not being done as it was done when there was no money, but men rested solely on the ability given them by the Holy Ghost. There are paid preachers, paid assistants, paid ministers of music and education, paid choirs, paid custodians, programs, and entertainment - all costing great sums, but for all that, the power is decreasing. Yes, the church is rich, but the power is not there. God moves by His Spirit, not by the amount of money or talent in the church.” (WMB, 342-5 LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE - CHURCH AGE BOOK CPT.9)
Yet God saw our age otherwise. He said, "You don't know this, but you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked." When a people are that way, especially naked and don't know it, there has to be something awfully wrong.
Reverend William Marrion Branham further described our age as follows:
"This age boasts of its tremendous stores of worldly goods, but the people are less happy than ever. This age boasts of its spiritual attainments, but the people are less sure of themselves than ever. This age boasts of better moral values and it is more corrupt than any age since the flood. It talks about its knowledge and science, but it is fighting a losing battle in all fields, for the human mind and soul and spirit cannot comprehend or keep abreast with all the changes that have come upon the earth. In one generation we have gone all the way from the horse and buggy age to the space age, and we are proud and boastful about it; but inside is a dark void cavern that is crying out in torment, and WITHOUT A KNOWN REASON men's hearts are failing for fear and the world is so darkened that this age could well be called the age of neurotics. It boasts, but it cannot back it up. It cries peace, and there is no peace. It cries that it has a great amplitude of all things, but it keeps burning with desire like an unsatisfied fire! "There is no peace," saith my God to the wicked. TWhat God saw was entirely different from what our age is proclaiming.
The whole world's in neurotic condition. The world has become so neurotic that even the psychiatrists themselves are having nervous breakdowns. The great men of science don’t know what is taking place. They are staggering under the evil influences of war nerves that is taking place in the universe. Every city, every farm, every street, and every place, you encounter the same evil atmosphere of darkness that is relentlessly enveloping the earth. But the Spirit-filled child of God is aware of what is going on. He knows the answer - the Lord is coming soon. And the Word of God is fulfilling Itself with such rapidity that only the true born-again Spirit-filled, Spirit-led Christian can keep up and above board in this hour.
It is strange; but in this age of plenty and opportunity, when everyone has so much and there is so much more to be had, what with all the inventions to do our work and so many things to give us pleasure, SUDDENLY, we find mental illness taking such a toll as to alarm the nation. When everybody ought to be happy, with really nothing to be unhappy about, millions are taking sedatives at night, pep pills in the morning, rushing to doctors, entering institutions, and trying to drown out unknown fears by alcohol.
The world is dilly-dallying along, knowing something is wrong but seeing no solution because they have no light to lead them to a solution. So they rock and roll it out in one grand time in order to forget and to escape the nervous tensions that encumber them. Rather than praying to God to remove the evil that plagues the world and be free of it, they would rather endorse relaxing and watching TV, have suppers and sewing parties, run to swimming beaches and places of worldly gatherings, preach sermons on flowers and bluebirds, and totally lay aside the real issues and the blessings of God - that He can heal and perform miracles and raise the dead, and all other truths they have stopped preaching.” (SOURCE: As the Eagle Stirreth Her Nest & The Laodicean Church Age)
Our age is also described in Zechariah 14:6-7 as a gloomy and dismal day - "And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the light shall not be clear, [nor] dark: But it shall be one day that shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light."
"The prophet Zechariah promised that there'd be a day come, that it wouldn't be neither night nor day, be a dismal. But said, "In the evening time, it shall be Light." What happened? Geographically, the sun raises in the east and sets in the west. Civilization has traveled with the sun. And the Holy Spirit, the Son of God, His goodness fell on the Eastern people first. That's the rising of the sun. Now, there's been a day that's passed over, that it's not dark; it's dismal. We've had enough knowledge of the Word in God to get people saved, join the church, so forth. But it said, "In the evening time it shall be Light," on the Western people, just like it was on the Eastern people. The same sun that raises in the east, sets in the west. We're at the closing of the Gentile age. This is a Western people. And the same Holy Ghost that came in a Man called Jesus Christ, and performed miracles, promised that at the setting of the sun, that He would return back, and would do the very same things that He did when He was here with the Eastern people. And the same Son of God that manifested and appeared in the east is appearing in the west now at the evening time, evening Light to the Church that's called out and filled with the Holy Spirit. He's done come through justification, Luther Age, Sanctification, Wesley Age, Pentecostal Age, done placed His gifts into the church, and now, appeared to us in our flesh as Jesus said He would.” (AS THE EAGLE STIRRETH UP HER NEST;59-0815 / FORGOTTEN BEATITUDE; 61-0425E)
PERILOUS TIMES
The last days are also characterized by Apostle Paul as "perilous times" because of the increasingly evil character of men and people who actively "resist the truth". II Timothy 3:1-5 tells us, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
For anyone who has watched television or has read today’s newspapers, it is quite obvious that this prophecy has been truly fulfilled in our generation. Our leaders are often corrupt; our cities are filled with crimes of rape, kidnapping, murder, brutality, and our billboards and neon signs are proclaiming sinful and godless advertisements such as that of liquors, cigars, casinos and night clubs. We are truly living in Satan’s eden. Satan is the god of this evil age, the "prince of the power of the air".
ISRAEL AS A NATION
The most prominent sign of the end times, however, is the nation of Israel. All end time prophecies are centered around the nation of Israel. In 1948, Israel was recognized as a sovereign state for the first time since 70 A.D. The nation of Israel did not exist before except as a dispersed people throughout the nations. The soon return of the Lord could never happen if they will remain scattered throughout all the world. Since their founding, this last generation has seen the final restoration of Jacob, as her people begin to return to their promised land. This generation that sees Israel become a nation, according to the Bible, shall not pass away untill all things be fulfilled. The Bible points to Israel as the “fig tree”. Mark 13:28-30, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, [even] at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.” Isaiah spoke of a day when the nation of Israel would be born in one day.
Paul in Romans 11:25-27 states, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their
Having Israel as a nation in its own land, therefore, is of great significance in light of end-time prophecy since God’s timeline for the world’s kingdoms is based upon Israel’s seventy weeks of Daniel (Read “70 Weeks of Daniel” in Chapter 36). Other sure signs connected with the nation of Israel would include a rebuilding of a Jewish temple in Jerusalem, increased hostility towards Israel (Isaac’s lineage) by the Moslems and Arab nations (Ishmael’s lineage), and a soon coming Judeo-Vatican-American covenant for a one-world religion and a one-world government.
THE NEW WORLD ORDER
Witnessing the founding of the United Nations and the founding of the World Council of Churches in 1948, the same year when Israel became a nation, signalled the ending of the age. The creation of the World Trade Organization, International Criminal Court, UN peacekeeping/police force, numerous UN NGO’s, and other global agencies, are but preliminary steps to the formation of a new world order. We now have the communications technology, transportation, and the pro-globalization media necessary to usher in the one world government which, according to the Bible, will be headed by the antiChrist. The increasing terrorist threat and the Middle East conflict will only speed up the formation of these governing bodies as fear and promises of better security make more people more willing to give up their national sovereignty for global governance. There will be an economic sabotage for "No man can buy or sell except he that has the Mark of the beast". "Beast" signifies "power"; that will be the power of the ruling body of the soon coming one-world government.
The mission-vision of the New World Order is described by the Committee of 300 as follows: "Global governance aspires to provide to every person on earth security from threat of war, environmental degradation, and from the injustice of poverty, intolerance, and disease. The oppressed people of the world surely take great hope from such noble aspirations. The central theme of global governance is embodied in the concept of "sustainable development": the integration of economic activity with social justice and environmental protection."
KNOWLEDGE SHALL INCREASE
We can add three more other clues as stated in the Book of Daniel concerning this last generation. First, there would be a population boom. Secondly, this generation would be the most traveled generation due to the advancement in transportation sytems. And third, this generation would experience tremendous increase in knowledge due to the technological advancements in computers. Daniel 12:4 states, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
In October of 2011, the world passed the 7 Billion mark for the world population of people living in this planet. At that moment, we exceeded the number that no one has ever imagined. We now have more people alive on the earth at this time than any other age that has ever existed upon this earth. At this moment in the history of earth, more than 50% of the people that have ever lived on it are alive at this time. Clearly, this generation (like no other) has so many people in it.
This generation has also seen travel increase exceeding anything ever dreamed of in the past generations. In 1969, we have put men on the moon and brought them back. People have gone to the North and South Pole many times. Men have climbed the highest mountain Mt. Everest. We have traveled internationally from nation to nation on a daily basis in a matter of hours due to supersonic airplanes. No other past generation can even approach us by comparison in this field alone.
Finally, this generation has seen the volume of world knowledge double more than seven times in our own time. The knowledge of the world didn't double the first time until 1958. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, they can’t keep up with the ever increasing knowledge. They claim that the knowledge of the world is doubling every 22 months. Sociologists have characterized this generation alone as being the "Knowledge Age". Only one generation has experienced these so many changes due to increased knowledge. The Bible says that the last generation will be characterized by this phenomena.
COMMERCIALISM & MORAL DECAY
Our age can also be well-characterized by its booming trade and commerce, marriage and divorce cases, and an increase in moral decay. The Bible types our age with that of the days of Noah and Lot. Noah’s highly scientific age was finally destroyed by water. Lot’s generation of Sodomites was finally destroyed by fire and brimstone. LUKE 17:26-30 declares- "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."
Here is one latest American Statistics:
60% of marriages in the United States end up in divorce.
40 million abortions have taken place in the U.S. since 1973.
Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes
Homosexuality was once a crime, now taking a stand against it, is considered the crime.
It is currently estimated that about 10% of the population is homosexual.
The U.S. Census 2000 reveals Households headed by unmarried partners grew 72%
Sex is the number one reason adult Americans use the Internet. One-third of all visits are to sexually oriented Web sites, chat rooms and news groups 21 million Americans visit one of the more than 60,000 sex sites on the Web at least once a month.
More than 4 out of 10 young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20—nearly one million a year.
Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 80 percent are to unmarried teens. Nationwide, 40% of our ninth graders, 48% of our tenth graders, 57% of our eleventh graders and 72% of our twelfth graders have had sex.
The average age at which American children first engage in sexual activity is currently 15 for American girls and 14 for American boys.
Lotteries have become a multi-billion dollar industry throughout the U.S.
Canada and California has approved marriages between homosexuals.
END-TIME APOSTASY
Aside from the seven major signs that Jesus made mention in the Books of Matthew 24 and Luke 21, the Apostle Paul also warned us that the last days would bring a marked increase in false teaching. He wrote in 1 Timothy 4:1, "In the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils". “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" ( II Timothy 4:3-4).
In II Thessalonians 2:3-4 Paul gives a stern warning, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."
"Falling away" in the above verses simply mean putting the Word of God aside in exchange for creed, dogmas and traditions. "Falling away" simply means having the Holy Spirit deposed for popes, bishops, presidents, and counselors, and the Saviour set aside for a works program, or church joining, or some type of conformity to a church system. This is what the word "apostasy" signifies. This kind of scenario in the end time has opened the door to the antiChrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition.
Reverend William Branham describes apostasy in the religious realms:
"The Roman Catholic Church calls herself today as the Mother church. She calls herself the first or original church. That is absolutely correct. She was the original First Church of Rome that backslid and went into sin. She was the first that organized. In her was found the deeds and then the doctrine of Nicolaitanism. No one will deny that she is a mother. She is a mother and has produced daughters. Now a daughter comes out of a woman. A woman robed in scarlet is sitting on the seven hills of Rome. She is a harlot and has borne daughters. Those daughters are the Protestant churches that came out of her and then went right back into organization and Nicolaitanism. This Mother of the daughterchurches is called a whore (Revelation 17). That is a woman who was untrue to her marriage vows. She was married to God and then went off fornicating with the devil and in her fornications she has brought forth daughters that are just like her. This mother and daughter combination is anti-Word, anti-Spirit and consequently anti-Christ. Yes, ANTICHRIST." (200-5 PERGAMEAN CHURCH.AGE - CHURCH AGE BOOK CPT.5)
You know we are living in the end time. It is in this age that the churches are going to come together. And as they are even now controlling world politics, they will soon control the finances of the world. Then, if you don't belong to the world organization of churches, you won't be able to buy or to sell.” (314-1 PHILADELPHIAN CHURCH AGE - CHURCH AGE BOOK CPT.8)
And they're going to bring a persecution on pretty soon and shut up all the churches. In the next few years, all organization religions will be forced to take a stand. And they will have a union of churches, and a great boycott will follow this union of churches. All denominations will be forced into it: all of them. If they don't, there'll be a horrible boycott. Nearly every one of them today has not knowingly joined that World Council of Churches, selling their birthrights: Protestant brethren with the mother Catholic of Rome. The Bible said that the tares would be bound, bundled first. They're bundling all in one great group now. And the Bible said they'd make an image unto the beast.
The ecumenical move that has started on what seems such a beautiful and blessed principle (fulfilling Christ's prayer that we all might be "one") becomes so strong politically that she will bear pressure upon the government to cause all to join with her either directly or through adherence to principles enacted into law so that no people will be recognized as actual churches unless under direct or indirect domination of this council. Little groups will lose charters, privileges, etc., until they lose all property and spiritual rights with
