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Bible
students believe that these are the end times of this
present age. In particular Christadelphians believe
that the kingdoms of this world will soon be replaced
by one global government with its capital in
Jerusalem. The Kingdom of God on earth will be
ruled by the man God has chosen - the Lord Jesus
Christ. A sequence of events will put to an end
the powers that be, ie. NATO, the UN, USA, the EU, Russia,
etc. The authority of these organisations and governments
will be abolished after Armageddon, which is
the place where Israel will be saved from annihilation.This
will be a time of great upheavel and many, many millions
of people will die by earthquakes, lava flows, disease,
civil unrest and global war. The Gospel provides a
way of escape from this time of judgement and here
we will describe...
• what signs prove undoubtably that these things
will take place, and
• what you should do to safeguard your life.
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How
the Bible describes the last days
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For
then there will be great tribulation, such
as has not been from the beginning of the world
until now, no, and never will be. And if those
days had not been shortened, no human being
would be saved; but for the sake of the elect
those days will be shortened.
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Matthew
24 v21-22
(RSV)
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Jesus
tells us that the events of the last days have no comparison
in history, and that if God does not intervene then
all life would be destroyed. Two remnants will exist
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1. those who believe and serve God (the saints),
and
2. a small portion of the world who survive
these terrible happenings.
Death is an absolute certainty for the majority,
however life eternal is a certainty for those who answer
God's calling and follow the requirements He has laid
down.
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What
signs should we look out for?
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And when you hear of wars and tumults,
do not be terrified; for this must first take
place, but the end will not be at once."
Then Jesus said to them, "Nation will
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
there will be great earthquakes, and in
various places famines and pestilences;
and there will be terrors and great
signs from heaven."
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Luke
21v9-11 (RSV)
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•
Government upheavels and fractures, and
• Natural disasters
...these will be notable, distinct from past diplomatic
breakdowns and disasters, as the implications of such
will be extreme.
Are we seeing the beginning of these events?
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What
signs should we look out for?
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"And there will be signs in sun and moon
and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations
in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the
waves, men fainting with fear and with
foreboding of what is coming on the world; for
the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And
then they will see the Son of man coming in a
cloud with power and great glory. Now when
these things begin to take place, look up
and raise your heads, because your redemption
is drawing near."
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Luke
21v25-28 (RSV)
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•
There is (to be) great perplexity (confusion / bewilderment
/ complication) among the nations. Unresolvable issues,
crises without human solutions resulting in people becoming
anxious about what will happen as a consequence of the
decisions that are or aren't taken.
• Those who want to be delivered from death must
act quickly, as the redemption of the saints draws near
when these things begin to happen.
Is
this the state of the world now?
We
will now examine 4 case studies
1. The Flood
2. Babel
3. Sodom and Gomorrah
4. Ninevah
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