The end of this age will come when this gospel of the Kingdom has been preached in the whole world as a witness to all nations. This is a very important statement. It means that the politicians, philosophers, or scientists don’t have the real initiative for the history of this world. The responsibility belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ.

The Church’s is the only group of people who  can bring about the closing of this age by preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom which is to proclaim that Jesus alone saves and that He is coming again. It won’t be a humanistic gospel that is so prevalent now, but it will be the preaching of the message that came from the lips of Christ the Messiah Himself, and by the apostles, that must be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations.

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,  and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10 NKJV)

The above scripture in the Book of Revelation tells us that a great multitude of people, all of whom received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ—the Lamb of God, will come from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues. In other words, before this age will come to a close there should be at least one representative from every nation, tribe, and tongue who has received the salvation offered through Jesus, the Son of God.

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. (Acts 17:26-27 NKJV)

Therefore after this gospel of the Kingdom is preached to all every group of people in the world, then will the end come. It is we, the followers of Christ and the citizens of God’s Kingdom who should bear the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel to the world. Unless we take this responsibility seriously the sufferings, sickness, hatred, wars and poverty that are increasing day by day may overtake us, plus the added strain of persecution.

So the question is: Are the things we are living for worth Christ dying for? We need to ask ourselves: Are we concerned primarily with worldly success- a career, material comfort, financial independence, status in the community? Or do we prefer the opportunity to be used by God to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom as a witness to all nations, wherever He opens a door for effectual service? D.L. Moody once said:

If I know my own heart today, I would rather die than live as I once did (in sin) a mere nominal Christian, and not used by God (who saved me) in building up His Kingdom. It seems a poor empty life to live for the sake of self.

Remember when God calls people, He enables them to fulfill their callings even in the most unlikely circumstances. When we stand before the judgement seat of Christ, one of the questions He is going to ask every one of us is this: “What did you to advance the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations?  That is what He told us when He commanded that:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:19-20 KJV)

When we look at when the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus which was about several miles from Jerusalem. Jesus Christ appeared to them through and opened their minds to understand the Holy Scriptures. When He was with them, He told them that everything written about Him in the Law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled. He then told them that:

Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:47-49 NKJV)

In the Book of Acts Luke records again that once again He was eating with them, and He commanded them to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. (Acts 1:4-5) The last question that Jesus was asked before He left the earth was, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”(Acts 1:6)

The disciples also continually wondered about His Kingdom. When it would come; what their role would be. They probably thought that the Messiah would be an earthly king who would free Israel from Roman power. But the Kingdom Jesus spoke about was, a spiritual Kingdom established in hearts and lives of believers. He replied that:

It is not for you to become acquainted with and know what time brings [the things and events of time and their definite periods] or fixed years and seasons (their critical niche in time), which the Father has appointed (fixed and reserved) by His own choice and authority and personal power. But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. (Acts 1:7-8 AMP)

Jesus is saying the Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times and they are not for us to know. He reiterated what He said in Matthew 24:36 that: But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

Our two main responsibilities are to preach the Gospel to all nations in the power of the Holy Spirit because God’s power and presence dwells in believers in the person of the Holy Spirit, and to pray that it would please the Lord to send out faithful laborers into His vineyard, for if they send themselves, they are good for nothing!

Then He said to His disciples, the harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into the His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37 AMP)The Kingdom of God is at hand! The King is coming and He is sending us before Him to prepare His way.

The kingdom of God is coming when all human governments will be put down and Jesus Christ will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now, that’s our hope. If you don’t like the way things are going in the world right now, just hang on a while, before long, all of these governments will be put aside.

We’ve seen that several different times in the prophecies. It happens over and over again, that the thrones are going to be cast down, that the governments are coming down, and will be replaced with the government of Almighty God Himself, with Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But the most critical question is:  What does it take to enter the kingdom of God? For the answer to that question again we have to turn to the words of Jesus Christ Himself:

Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (a leader, an authority) among the Jews, who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know and are certain that You have come from God [as] a Teacher; for no one can do these signs (these wonderworks, these miracles—and produce the proofs) that You do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God. (John 3:1-3 AMP)

So, the Bible teaches us that the plan of salvation was accomplished by Jesus Christ on Calvary, and we must accept what He did there. We accept the work of Jesus Christ by obeying the gospel. Now, the gospel of the kingdom is the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, resulting in entering the kingdom of God. But, how do we obey the gospel? Paul tells us in tells us there the consequences of not obeying the gospel.

 [It is a fair decision] since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with distress and affliction those who distress and afflict you, and to [recompense] you who are so distressed and afflicted [by granting you] relief and rest along with us [your fellow sufferers] when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in a flame of fire, to deal out retribution (chastisement and vengeance) upon those who do not know or perceive or become acquainted with God, and [upon those] who ignore and refuse to obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 AMP)

Not knowing God is equivalent to not obeying the gospel. We are told the gospel is “the good news.” The Bible does describes this for us. Again the apostle Paul wrote, concerning the gospel:

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV)

In his letter to Timothy Paul continued to assert to him to preach this Gospel of the Kingdom. It was noted that in Paul’s day many believed that Jesus Christ was divine but not human—God but not man. So Paul firmly instructs, encourages and strengthens Timothy to preach that Jesus Christ is fully man- a descendant of King David and was fully raised from the dead:

Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.(2 Timothy 2:8-10 KJV)

So, the gospel isn’t just “the good news.” The good news is more than that. The good news is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The good news is that we can have eternal life. The gospel not only tells us that we can have eternal life, but how to have eternal life. And that gospel is that we have been redeemed and can be born again through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This gospel contains a central core of revealed truth that has been accepted and upheld by the general church throughout all generations, which may be summed up as follows: Jesus Christ is the divine, eternal Son of God, who became a member of the human race by a virgin birth. He led a sinless life, died on the cross as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of humanity, was buried, and rose again in bodily form from the grave on the third day. He ascended into heaven, whence He will return to earth in person to judge the living and the dead.

Everyone who repents of sin and trusts in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ receives forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. If you are willing to repent of your sins and become a member of God’s family, following, knowing, and serving Him as your Lord and Savior, then pray with me:

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that You died for my sins, that You were buried, and that You rose again on the third day. I now repent of my sins and come to You for mercy and forgiveness. By faith in Your promise, I receive You personally as my Savior and confess You as my Lord. Come into my heart. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Give me eternal life and make me a child of God. Amen.

This is how we start the journey of entering the Kingdom of God.

Source of Image: Wikipedia

The second question that the disciples asked Jesus when He was giving His Olivet Discourse was: What will be the (one) sign of the end of the age? Matthew 24:14 tells us the answer:  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. Jesus said that before the end of this age, the gospel of the kingdom must be preached then shall the end come.

John the Baptist was sent to proclaim to the world that “The Kingdom of Heaven” was at hand, and to point out the King. When the Lord Jesus began His public ministry, He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. (Matthew 4:23 KJV). (See also Mark 1:14-15)

Therefore the Lord Jesus took up and continued the message of the kingdom and only adding to John the Baptist’s preaching of repentance the call to believe the Gospel—to have faith in the good tidings which He came to tell of the Kingdom of Heaven and of God. And from this time to the end of His ministry we find that the Gospel of the Kingdom was the continual subject of His teaching. Luke records that:

And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. (Luke 4:43 KJV) and after a few chapters we read that: Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. (Luke 8:1 NKJV)

We read that “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:1-2 KJV). And having thus spent the years of His public ministry in publishing the good news of the Kingdom, He declared towards the end of it, as He was foretelling to His disciples the signs of the end of the age and of His coming. 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.

What is this Gospel of the Kingdom?

 In Matthew 10 Jesus sends out His twelve disciples  for the first time to preach , saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 10:5-7) When Adam and Eve sinned, God the Father promised a Deliverer. The Bible says:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel. (Genesis 3:15 AMP)

Ages passed with a dim hope of a Savior, until God gave Abraham a promise that the Deliverer should arise from his posterity; saying, “And in your Seed [Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and [by Him] bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:18 AMP)

The promise pointed at the Messiah, and the grace of the gospel. Again time passed and David was raised up from amongst the descendants of Abraham, and of the predicted tribe of Judah, and to him the promise was made, “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. (2 Samuel 7:16 KJV)

David is saying in (Psalm 2:1-2 KJV) that the nations of the world are represented in rebellion against God and His Messiah. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed” i.e. Messiah—Christ. And then the decree of the universal sovereignty of Messiah is proclaimed: “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession” (Psalm 2:7-8 KJV)

Then in (Psalm 22:1) David gave an accurate description of the suffering the Messiah would endure hundreds of years later. Jesus, the Messiah quoted this verse while hanging on the Cross carrying our burden of sin (Matthew 27:46) His Kingdom is again proclaimed as universal: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee” (Psalm 22:27).

And, to fast forward over other passages, in Psalm 72: 5,7, 11,17 again we look forward to the endless reign of the Messiah, who alone can rule with perfect justice and whose citizens will enjoy perfect peace.

They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. All kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him. His Name shall endure for ever; and men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed”

Many years passed; and then Isaiah proclaimed in prophecy, “Behold a King shall reign in righteousness” (Isaiah 32:1) And Jeremiah contrasted the present corrupt leaders with the coming Messiah, the perfect King, Who would come from David’s line to reign over Israel. “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His name whereby He shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:5-6)

In Daniel we see a description of the time when human governments will be put down and the kingdom of God will be established. And Daniel was directed to explain the king’s dream, as a vision of earthly kingdoms which will be destroyed.

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”(Daniel 2:44-45 KJV)

And Zechariah sang, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee” (Zechariah 9:9 KJV) Another Scripture says “And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be -The LORD is one,” And His name one. (Zechariah 14:9 NKJV) The Bible says that this salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation and kingdom prepared for us:

The prophets, who prophesied of the grace (divine blessing) which was intended for you, searched and inquired earnestly about this salvation. They sought [to find out] to whom or when this was to come which the Spirit of Christ working within them was indicating when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow [them].

It was then disclosed to them that the services they were rendering were not meant for themselves and their period of time, but for you. [It is these very] things which have now already been made known plainly to you by those who preached the good news (the Gospel) to you by the [same] Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Into these things [the very] angels long to look! (1 Peter 1:10-12 AMP)

Source of image: Wikipedia

One of the greatest intercessors in the Bible was the patriarch Abraham. Before the Lord decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, he interceded that those two cities would be spared. Because of his intimate friendship with the Lord, he wasn’t left in dark on what the Lord intended to do. The Bible tells us that God asked “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” (Genesis 18:7)

When God told Abraham that He planned to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked God if He planned to destroy the righteous people along with the wicked to the point that he lowered the number of people to be spared from fifty righteous people to only ten.  Abraham persisted to drive the numbers lower; knowing only Lot and his relatives could be saved. Who knows if Abraham had continued to beseech the Lord one more time, may be the city would have been spared even if one righteous person was found there (see Genesis 18: 24-33).

Because of Abraham’s intercession, God sent angels to protect, direct, guide and deliver him. In the desperate days that we are living in now, we can expect God in his faithfulness to send angels on our behalf because the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations…. (2 Peter 2:9). The Bible also tells us angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

As Christians we have to plead in intercession for other people and our relatives on the basis of God’s mercy and love. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not (Lamentation 3:22). All of us are recipients of God’s mercy. If God did not extend His mercy and grace on us, withholding judgment, some of us would have perished long time ago. Even today God is holding up His justice because of His mercy and because a Savior died.

It is only by grace that we are saved, and that is why Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8). No one was ever saved in any other way than by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone from the righteous Abel was saved looking forward to the cross, and everyone receives some degree of God’s grace, even the most sinful man like Hitler.

A.W Tozer wrote that “don’t imagine that when the Day of Judgment comes God will turn off His mercy.” It is the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, that leads us to repentance. (Romans 2:4) The apostle Peter reminds us:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)

The Lord said that the cities of Israel, Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom which were destroyed by God for their wickedness, would have repented of their sins long ago. The people of Bethsaida, Korazin, and Capernaum saw the Lord and experienced all these miracles but they didn’t believe, repent of their sins, and turn to God. So Jesus said that they would suffer even a greater judgment than Sodom because if these miracles were done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today. (See Matthew 11: 20-24 NKJV)

Which means to whom more is given more is required. The West has been given a greater level of spiritual authority over other nations, so there will be no excuse on judgment day if they don’t repent and believe when there is still time. Leonard Ravenhill was right when he said,

Sodom had no Bibles, we have millions, Sodom had no Churches, we have thousands, Sodom had no preachers, we have ten thousand plus thousands, Sodom had no Bible schools, we have at least two hundred and fifty, Sodom had no prayer meetings, we have thousands, Sodom had no gospel broadcasts, as a nation we are richly blessed with Christian broadcasts. Sodom had histories of God’s judgements to warn it of danger. We have volumes of them. Sodom perished in spite of all these disadvantages.

America (or the West in general) is living only by the mercy of God. The only reason we are not smoking in the fire-wrath of a holy God is mercy—m-e-r-c-y, prolonged mercy….. One thing that and one thing alone that keeps us from complete decay in this hour –the Church, the true Church, the blood washed remnant (that has not bowed its knees to the Baal of materialism and that cannot be intimidated by the threats and scorn of scientific humanism)

After Abraham left off interceding, Sodom perished. While Abraham “stood yet before the Lord,” men had a representative before God. While Lot abode in Sodom (backslidden though he was), God still had a feeble representative with men….When Lot went out of Sodom and when Abraham made his final appeal; for the ten righteous men and found them not—then the fire of the Lord fell (Genesis 19:24).

Sodom perished because it had not a remnant. America (and the West) still has a remnant. We should remember Israel’s events and lessons are types and shadows of things to come in the church. In regards to both Israel and the Church, God is working towards restoration. This is what Peter is saying:

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3:19-21).

We are to repent. God calls us to repent so that we can experience His presence. The only power to obey is in the presence of God and His voice speaking to us. And if we repent times of refreshing will come and God will restore all things, so that His name will be glorified 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).

Image credit: Abraham Sees Sodom in Flames: Wikipedia

When Jesus was teaching about His coming and the close of the age, He not only compared the close of this age with the days of Noah, but also with days of Lot.

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:26-30 NKJV)

In order to understand the time of Lot we may have to look in the Book of Genesis chapter 19 of get a clear picture of what the Lord Jesus was talking about:

That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.”“Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him.

Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. Look, I have two virgin daughters.

Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”“Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door. But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door.

Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside. Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking. (Genesis 19:1-14 NLT)

The city of Sodom derives from the English word sodomy which was applied to a particular form of sexual perversion. The story of this city reveals that Lot had to deal with the same kind of sins society faces today. The sinful practices of the people had influenced him to the point that he wasn’t able to take a stand.

When he finally decided to take stand against unrighteousness, it was almost impossible because he was no longer a true witness. This is evidenced by Lot’s compromise in giving up his two virgin daughters. “Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”

What did he think? Possibly Lot thought the men who wanted to have sex with the angels would become disinterested and leave. Although it was a custom during those days to protect the guests at any cost, his proposal reveals how deeply sin had affected Lot and the city. Men desired homosexual relationships to the point that they did it openly, aggressively and were willing to resort to physical violence to get it.

In addition it encompassed the entire population both and young old. These men totally lacked common sense and they ignored all accepted moral behavior. No wonder this wickedness was so great that God had to destroy the whole city. Now how did the time of Lot differ from the time of Noah? Both of these times were similar, but in Lot’s time a special men desired sexual relationships with other men.

Lot was a nephew of Abraham who had come into a personal relationship with the Lord after observing God’s dealing with Abraham. The time came when he had to separate with Abraham, for the land could not support both of them if they stayed together. (Genesis 13:6) Therefore Abraham allowed Lot to choose where he would go.

Abraham’s choice was not based on the things of this world, but for eternal things, for he was (waiting expectantly and confidently) looking forward to the city which has fixed and firm foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God. (Hebrews 11:10 AMP) Lot on the other hand, never looked beyond his present surroundings.

Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)  Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.  So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain.  (Genesis 13:10 NLT)

It is said of the men of Sodom that they were sinners exceedingly because they were sinners before the Lord. But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord. (Genesis 13:13) This was in spite of the kindness He had shown them, for the land of Sodom was “like the garden of the Lord” prior to its destruction. Perhaps this is why Lot was drawn towards the wealth and fertility of Sodom, and he became blind to the wickedness of the city’s inhabitants.

After some time, the Lord sent two angels to proclaim that He was going to destroy the city. Lot by this time was sitting at Sodom’s city gate. (Genesis 19:1) The city gate was considered to be the meeting place for city officials to transact business and discuss current events. This would indicate that Lot held an important position in the community which has been cited as one reason why he didn’t want to leave.

The angels then asked Lot if he had “anyone else son-in-law, sons, daughters, and whomever you have in the city”—to take them out of the city before it was destroyed. (Genesis 19:12) So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiances, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking. (Genesis 19:14) When Lot told his sons-in-law to run from the wrath to come, they thought he had lost his mind.

Then the angels became insistent because Lot was still hesitant and the angels had to literally seize his hand and the hands of his wife and two unmarried daughters, to a place of safety for the Lord had mercy on them. (Genesis 19:16) But why was Lot double minded when it came to leaving the city? We have to understand that Sodom was a very beautiful place– well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord.

Like many of us, Lot did not want to leave the wealth, comfort and his position of authority which he probably enjoyed so much. In comparing the days of Noah and Lot, Jesus mentioned how people went about their daily business in these activities: eating drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—all these activities are lawful but the problem was people were so attached to these activities that they did not recognize what was going on morally.

The spirit of materialism was so strong that they no longer had any eternal consciousness. The Bible says that the real sin of Sodom was not homosexuality, but pride, abundance of food and indifference to the poor and the needy. Selfishness is the root cause of all other abominations. They tell us we are in a recession yet the rich are getting richer and richer and the poor are getting poorer, yet wealth is not destroyed but it is just transferred to the richest.

Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom; Pride, overabundance of food, prosperous ease, and idleness were hers and her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” (Ezekiel 16:49 AMP)

Jesus said that “Beware!  Watch out. Be on guard against every kind of greed. Why? Because a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. (See Luke 12:15-21) Greed, over abundance of food, and pride will always lead to perversion and then destruction.

The problem everywhere, whether in the West or in Africa is that we are putting our confidence in earthly things and not in God. We multiply increase, and hoard stuff but we are still unsatisfied. Why? Because nothing under the sun will satisfy us. We store up earthly treasures but we don’t work on our relationship with the Lord yet genuine rest is found in Him.

Compared to eternity we physically on this earth are only given a very brief moment of time to get our priorities in line. How tragic that most of us don’t grasp the importance of eternity. You wonder why so much our time is spent (if not all) on those things that are temporary! Most of our thoughts about life revolve around what we plan to do tomorrow or the day after.

About the only area in which there is any long range planning is the field of financial investments. However, we should look at life with eternity’s values in view! 100 years from now it will not matter whether you had a nice bank account, a portfolio of stocks or mutual funds, a savings account or a retirement account!

What will count for an eternity is: Did you develop a personal walk with Jesus Christ and secondly what motivated you to serve Him? If you are a Christian…. having accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and Lord… just honestly ask yourself this question: How much time do I devote to those things that are eternal?

The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it. Historians tell us that when Alexander the Great, discovered there were no more lands to conquer, he sat down and wept.

Continuing with His discourse as recorded by Matthew in chapter 24, Jesus said that as the age draws to a close, society will be like it was in the days of Noah. The fact that Jesus prophesied that,“As the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be,” it is important to understand what these days included. But before that we need to ask ourselves some important questions:

What were the distinctive features of these societies? How do we compare those days with the days of this modern world? Why did God send the judgment of the Flood in the days of Noah?

More than a historical narrative of what really happened, the events that led to the Flood are essential to understanding the prophetic implications of what the Lord Jesus says about His Second Coming.

For a description of those days, we have to look at the Book of Genesis. The sons of God described in this verse are the angels. These angelic beings came down and had sexual relations with the daughters of men and they bore children with them.

The Bible tells us that when this began to happen, God’s Spirit was grieved and He could not put up with humans for such a long time, so He set a definite lifespan of man for which is not more than 120 years (see Genesis 6:1-4). In verse 4 of Genesis 6, the New Living Translation says:

In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women; they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.

The word Nephilim derives from a Hebrew root- which means to fall. So Nephilim means the fallen ones or fallen apostates. The apostle Peter also tells us that:

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; (2 Peter 2:4-5 NKJV).

In the time of Noah there was this unnatural procreation between the occult realm and the human race and this is one of the main reasons that led to judgment of the Flood. In verse 5 of Genesis 6, The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

The entire civilized world at that time had become totally evil  to the point that every imagination and intention of all human thinking was only evil continually. The heart of man was exceedingly perverse and corrupt, and people had become unresponsive to the offer of God’s salvation through Enoch and then Noah.

Sexual immorality was rampart which resulted in sexual degradation and perversion.

Other distinctive features which we can’t discuss in detail were: the earth was full of corruption. “The earth was depraved and putrid in God’s sight, and the land was filled with violence (desecration, infringement, outrage, assault, and lust for power) (Genesis 6:11 AMP). The earth was filled with violence “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence (Genesis 6:12 NKJV).

Noah must have managed one of the earliest recorded projects in the Bible – the building of the ark. He may not have completed  it to budget, but he certainly had to finish it by a specified time – before the flood and it must have met his performance criteria, as it successfully accommodated a pair of all the animals.

The Scriptures tell us that the purpose of the Flood was to judge and destroy the world by water on account of the evil wickedness of the world. This included all the cities and all the infrastructures (see Genesis 6:17-21).

Maybe when Noah was building the ark, some of his relatives might have said, “What are you going to do with the old homestead?” Noah says, “I don’t want it. The storm is coming.” He tells them the day of grace is closing, that worldly wealth is of no value, and that the ark is the only place of safety.

We must bear in mind that these railroads that we think so much of will soon go down. They only run for a time, not for eternity. The heavens will be on fire, and then what will property, honor, and position in society be worth?

All these animals entering the ark, two by two from the desert, the mountains and from the entire world guided by some unseen hand must have been a strange sight to the people. They might have asked their statesmen and wise men what it all meant.

Well the wise men might have told them there was no sign of a Flood, God is not going to destroy the world. Business is booming, people have a very good life, they are marrying, partying. Life is so good! Do you think if God was going to destroy the world, He would let us go on prospering as He has? There is no sign of a coming storm!

The Bible says God gave the world another seven days of grace.  “And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. (Genesis 7:10) Probably if people had repented during those seven days, God would have heard their cry. But there was no cry for repentance.

At long last, the last day, the last hour, the last minute, and the last second! God Almighty came down and shut the door Himself.

Once the Master of the house has risen and shut the door, the doom of the world is sealed, and the doom of that old world was sealed. A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them (Genesis 7:16).

When the door of salvation was shut, there was no hope. Their cry for mercy was too late. The day of grace was closed. The last day, hour, and minute had come and God had pleaded and invited them to come in, but they laughed and mocked. No one heeded the Lord’s clear warning to repent. Now it was too late. This is a very frightening scenario.

How would we compare Noah’s day with what is going on in our society today? People are drinking, they are marrying wives and being given in marriage not that these things are bad in themselves but we should not be occupied with only these activities that we forget to put our children in the ark.

Jesus said that when the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. Noah escaped not because he was blameless, he was justified by faith as we are, and he was saved because he responded to God’s mercy and grace.

Tell us, when will these things be? Jesus gives us another sense of progression regarding the last days, He says that one of the signs of the last days would be the love of God growing cold in the hearts of Christians because of multiplied lawlessness (Matthew 24:12) This is kind of love comes from the Greek word agape which is a word for Christian love. So the love Jesus refers to is agape love.

It is only the Holy Spirit that can bring God’s love into our lives. This infilling of the Holy Spirit is not a one-time experience. It does not matter how well you know the Scriptures or how well you speak in tongues. If you are not living an obedient life before God, your love will grow cold. God’s kind of love requires discipline and self control. True love is not selfish or self-seeking. Paul talks about this kind of love in 1 Corinthians 13: 1-8 and he considers it the greatest gift.

When lawlessness abounds, the love of many will be squeezed out of people’s hearts. As Christians we must maintain our love for the Lord and for one another if we are to avoid being hardened in our hearts.  Paul also described the kind of behavior that will be prevalent in society in the last days—even, unfortunately, the behavior of many Christians. We should all check our lives against Paul’s list.

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.(2 Timothy 1-4 NKJV)

Why would it be so tempting to ‘‘love pleasure rather than God’’? Because pleasure is something that can be controlled; God cannot be controlled. Most pleasures are obtained easily; love for God is a choice and requires effort, sacrifice and obedience. Notice again that this prophecy predicts that the society of the last days will love three things: self, money and pleasure. These are the three main things that cause all the other negative features that are affecting our world today. A. W. Tozer said that:

Our break with the world will be the direct outcome of our changed relation to God. For the world of fallen men does not honor God. Millions call themselves by His name, it is true, and pay some token respect to Him, but a simple test will show how little He is really honored among Christians. Let the average Christian be put to the test of who or what is above, and his or her true positionwill be exposed. Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, between God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human life,  and God will take second place every time. Those other things will be exalted above Him. However the man or woman may protest, the proof is in the choices he makes day after day throughout his life.

You don’t need to look very far to see how this love has been lost even in the Church. The Amplified Version in Verse 3 says it much better: they will be without natural human affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); they will be slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.

In other words, even the normal love that we expect from parents for their children, for brothers and sisters in a home is being lost at a very fast pace. What is causing all this? It is the love of self and expression of self-fulfillment- serving the trinity of the flesh—me I and myself.

When you love money more than you love God and others, you will be frustrated, because money cannot buy peace or love or joy. This selfishness that Paul talks about is the number one cause of the breakup of our marriages, and when marriages break up, the family is destroyed, and when the family is broken, society follows and in the end society will be filled with violence and hatred, very frightening scenario, but the root cause is self-love.

The list that Paul gives tells us the reason why the Church has become weak.  After Paul had described in detail how the times will be of great stress and hard to bear, he adds that the main reason will be due to people having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Timothy 3:5)

Paul says there will be no lack of religion, but people will deny the true power. What power? The presence and power of the Holy Spirit. There will be no room for this power that can transform lives, produce peace, love, righteousness and justice. In other words, there will be no sensitivity to spiritual things; no conviction of sin, righteousness or judgment.

We need to ask the Lord to baptize us with the Spirit of love, and this love will burn through every trial and lawlessness. We cannot learn to love until the Spirit of God fills our hearts with God’s love. The fruit of the Spirit is love because nothing but this love can overcome our selfishness in these last days.

Continuing with Matthew 24 discourse, Jesus Christ further warned three times about the spiritual deception in the last days: The Bible teaches us that in the last days false apostles and prophets will become worse as we get closer to the end.

Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand (Matthew 24:4-5, 11,24-25 NKJV).

Peter also predicted:

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping (2 Peter 2:1-3 NIV).

Paul also called them false apostles and wolves:

…False apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13 NLT).

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves (Acts 20: 29-30 NKJV).

Prophets Preach Repentance

True prophets must preach Repentance. True repentance is a firm, inward decision and a change of mind. Repentance is an inner change of mind resulting in an outward action of moving in a complete new direction. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19 NKJV).

When we read the story of a prodigal son coming home after wasting his life in sin and other pleasures, this gives us a true picture of what repentance really means (see Luke 15:11-32). The prodigal son came to himself, when he was lonely, in rags, and hungry, filling his belly with the husks that the swine ate. At this point he a made an intelligent rational decision:

He said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father; I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son (Luke 15:17:21 KJV).

The Scriptures clearly indicate that he immediately carried out his decision. This is true repentance; which is the inward decision; then the outward act of that decision-he turned back to his father and headed home. The Bible teaches that true repentance must always go before true faith. John the Baptist in his ministry begins with preaching a baptism of repentance:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:3-4 KJV).

John’s call to repentance was a necessary preparation for the revelation of the Messiah to Israel. In order for the Messiah to be revealed to Israel, they had to turn back to God in repentance. That is why the first message that Christ Himself preached after John had prepared the way before Him was to repent and believe in the gospel. First repent and then believe. That was the first command.

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:14-15 KJV).

After His death and resurrection, Jesus told His disciples to go out to all nations preaching the gospel and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:46-47 KJV).

Then after the resurrection, Peter quoted from (Psalm 16:8-11) and explained that David was not writing about himself because David had died and was buried (Acts 2:29) instead he (David) was writing prophetically (Acts 2:30) of the Messiah who would be resurrected. Again the emphasis is that Jesus’ body was not left to rot in the grave but was, in fact resurrected and glorified. So after Peter’s powerful Spirit filled message, the people were deeply convicted (though they were still unconverted) and they asked:

 Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (Acts 2:37)

To this inquiry, Peter replied and gave a definite answer:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38).

Here again it is repentance first; after that, baptism and remission of sins. Fast forward when Paul was speaking to the elders of the church at Ephesus, he also outlines the gospel message which he had preached to them.

And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:20-21 KJV).

The order of the Paul’s preaching message was the same: first repentance, then faith. When you read and study the basic foundation doctrines of the Christian faith in (Hebrews 6:1-2), the order is repentance from dead works, then faith, baptisms and the rest.

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (Hebrews 6:1-2 KJV).

Throughout the New Testament, repentance is the first response to the gospel, and true repentance must always follow true faith. The Gospel contains a central core of revealed truth that has been accepted and upheld by the general Church throughout all generations which may be summed up as follows:

Jesus Christ is the divine, eternal Son of God, who became a member of the human race by virgin birth. He led a sinless life, died on the cross as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of humanity, was buried and rose again in bodily form from the grave on the third day. He ascended into heaven, whence He will return to earth in person; to judge the living and the dead. Everyone who repents of sin and trusts in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ receives forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life.

There are three main weapons that the Christian has been given to defeat Satan and temptation. The Holy Spirit, the Word of God and Prayer. We take the sword in faith, and the Holy Spirit gives us the power and the wisdom to use it. It is the Holy Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness for a long and difficult time of testing and He may also lead us and allow difficult situations.

The Holy Spirit is the source of power and strength in times of persecution. Without out Him no Christian can stand. Christians who have experienced persecution testify to the absolute necessity of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Before Pentecost the disciples were afraid of the Jews. After they had been filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the disciples were changed from being fearful to being fearless and full of courage.

If we are surrendered to the Lord and experience His power while we are still free, the Holy Spirit will guide our lives now and also in the future. In times of persecution the Holy Spirit is the Comforter.He does not prevent all problems which might come our way, but gives strength despite problems, so that we may endure.

The power of the Holy Spirit as promised in Acts 1:8 will be needed to provide courage. Whoever is ashamed of the Lord in times when Christians are not threatened is more likely to deny Him in a situation that may end with loss of freedom or life. That is why the Lord said …..Then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. (Matthew 24:10) In his book, Persecution: It Will Never Happen Here? Jan Pit says:

Only Christians who draw their strength from the Holy Spirit will be prepared to live and suffer for God and will remain steadfast. They will refuse to serve the world government and world religion; even though they know that their obedience to God will mean persecution, suffering, and perhaps even death.

If a person’s pastor or spiritual leader is taken and that person becomes a leader of a group, he will need the discernment and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to lead others. Wisdom will also be necessary just to make decisions day by day which could have life or death implications. Individuals should ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the gifts and strengths that they can contribute to a group of believers who are meeting without an official leader. Jan Pit wrote that:

Leaders in Laos said, “we made the mistake which is so often made: We appointed capable leaders as elders instead of spiritual people. We accepted people who could read and write. (In Laos eighty percent of the nation is illiterate.) When the communists took over Laos, many “capable” leaders denied the Lord. The spiritual people (who were grounded) are the ones who remained faithful.

David Wilkerson received a vision in 1973 regarding the future of the United States. He said that there will be….

Worldwide recession caused by economic confusion”; Nature having labor pains”; “A flood of filth and a baptism of dirt in America”; “Rebellion in the home”; and “A persecution madness against truly Spirit filled Christians who love Jesus Christ.”

His last blog post stated the following:

To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark awful nights,” he wrote, “and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident.

It’s been rightly said that a courageous person dies only once but a coward dies a thousand times. In fact Jesus Christ says “…the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”(Revelation 21:8)

Richard Wumbrand once wrote: “A man really believes not what he recites in his creed, but only the things he is ready to die for.” In other words Christ should be obeyed no matter the cost. We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5: 29) The Lord will help us to stand for truth, with courage, consistence, grace, and humility against the gathering darkness and persecution like the disciples did when they were filled with the love and power of the Holy Ghost. That is His promise. He said He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Jesus tells us that every Christian has to carry his own cross. Each must endure his allotted share of suffering and rejection. But each has a different share: some God deems worthy of the highest form of suffering, and gives them the grace of martyrdom, while others He does not allow to be tempted above that which they are able to bear. (see 1 Corinthians 10:13) But it is the one and the same cross in every case.

Another decision may be how visible we are in a persecution scenario. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and hanged and his close friend Eberhard Bethge was very secretive about his faith and actually ended up serving in the army of the Third Reich. Yet God used them both, as Bethge was the recipient of Bonhoeffer’s letters from prison, which have been published and benefited millions of believers.

We have to make up our minds whether we openly stand up for Christ, with potentially harsh and painful consequences, or do we work underground to further God’s Kingdom in that fashion? Some will be called to the former, some to the latter. Having searched our heart ahead of time may be valuable. In his book The Oak and the Calf Alexander Solzhenitsyn who sustained long years of imprisonment and exile in Russia writes that:

I could have enjoyed myself so much, breathing the fresh air, resting, stretching my cramped limbs, but my duty to the dead permitted no such self-indulgence. They are dead. You are alive: Do your duty. The world must know all about it…There is only one way I shall ever be able to rid myself of this stain: and that is if my words someday start something else, this time in our own country…The [KGB] could take my children hostage—posing as “gangsters,” of course. (They did not know that we had thought of this and made a superhuman decision: our children were no dearer to us than the memory of the millions done to death, and nothing could make us stop that book)…

Yes some of us might make be called to make superhuman decisions as the time grows more urgent. Of course some of us will run for our lives. The believers of the Jerusalem church began fleeing the city due to the waves of persecution they faced because of their testimony for Jesus Christ. But what the enemy meant for evil, God used for good as the scattering of the apostles led to the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria.

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles…..Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. (Acts 8:1-5 KJV)

It has been said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Thousands of Christians have stood in persecution, but tens of thousands have fallen. Even in the days of great Roman persecutions only a small fraction of those who had professed Christ stood true to the end.

More Christians have suffered for their faith in twentieth century than in any other time in church history. Why are some able to stand? They have learned how to sink their roots of faith deeply into the Rock, Jesus Christ—to take unto you the whole armour of God that may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13)