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By Jack Kinsella

"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." (Luke 21:25-26)


Depending upon whom one asks the question, mankind has been on this planet for somewhere between six thousand and six million years. The six million year figure is the extreme end of the evolutionist's estimates, where the six thousand year period is the time frame generally accepted by creationists.

Allow yourself to dwell, for a minute, on just how long six thousand years really is. Not in abstract, cosmic terms, but rather, in terms of human society. It was only six hundred years ago that conventional wisdom said the earth was flat. Mankind had been on the earth for more than five thousand five hundred years before we learned otherwise.

America, the greatest nation the world has ever known, is only two-hundred and twenty-nine years old. It was just one hundred and forty-five years ago that Americans were willing to kill each other over the right to own other human beings as property.

Only sixty years ago, human beings were being shoveled into ovens in their millions or shot down into mass graves at the hands of citizens of the oldest and most cultured civilizations in Europe.

Even at six thousand years, man has been here a long, long time, when you think about it.

Bible prophecy indicates that mankind's time on this earth is limited and predetermined. Scripture tells us that God created the earth in six days, and on the seventh, He rested.

According to Psalms 90:4, "For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night."

2nd Peter 3:8 tells "that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."

The prophet Hosea, speaking to the Jews who survived the Babylonian exile, prophesied,

"After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight." And approximately two thousand years later (after two 'days') the Jews of Israel resumed their place among the nations of the world on May 15, 1948.

Hosea's reference to the third day, in which 'He will raise them up and they shall live in His sight,' takes place a day AFTER their 'revival'.

Ezekiel saw a vision of a 'valley of dry bones' in which the bones come together, revived as "an exceedingly great army" but, "when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them." (Ezekiel 37:8)

Israel is revived, but not yet 'alive' in His sight until their national redemption at the conclusion of the time of 'Jacob's Trouble' that ushers in the Millennial Kingdom.

So, it is safe to infer from Scripture that time, from our perspective, is predetermined, and is running down like a stopwatch that was started ticking at the fall of Adam and Eve.

There is a day already determined, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." (Matthew 24:36)

Scripture deals with time in a way that is difficult for us to grasp; we lack the perspective of the One knowing "the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done." (Isaiah 46:10)

Viewed from a perspective outside of the dimensions of space and time, time would be a constant state of 'now'.

It makes following the Scripture's timeline difficult, which is why God promised there would be signs -- or 'mile markers' -- to let us know when time, as we understand it, is running out.

"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." (Revelation 6:8)

The approaching hoofbeats of the Pale Rider, by whatever name, are getting too loud to ignore. Evidently, after six thousand years, the human race has used up our host planet.

A new scientific study -- prepared in Washington under the supervision of a board chaired by Robert Watson, the British-born chief scientist at the World Bank and a former scientific adviser to the White House -- warns that very thing.

According to the study, human civilization has consumed two-thirds of the world's resources, most of it in just the last sixty years. Among the study's findings:

• Because of human demand for food, fresh water, timber, fiber and fuel, more land has been claimed for agriculture in the last 60 years than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined.

• An estimated 24% of the Earth's land surface is now cultivated.

• Water withdrawals from lakes and rivers has doubled in the last 40 years. Humans now use between 40% and 50% of all available freshwater running off the land.

• At least a quarter of all fish stocks are overharvested. In some areas, the catch is now less than a hundredth of that before industrial fishing.

• Since 1980, about 35% of mangroves have been lost, 20% of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed and another 20% badly degraded.

• Deforestation and other changes could increase the risks of malaria and cholera, and open the way for new and so far unknown disease to emerge.

•Flow from rivers has been reduced dramatically. For parts of the year, the Yellow River in China, the Nile in Africa and the Colorado in North America dry up before they reach the ocean.

•An estimated 90% of the total weight of the ocean's large predators - tuna, swordfish and sharks - has disappeared in recent years.

•An estimated 12% of bird species, 25% of mammals and more than 30% of all amphibians are threatened with extinction within the next century.

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Let's revisit the fact we've been on this planet for six thousand years. Or even, for the sake of argument, some indeterminite period of millions of years, which makes it even more amazing.

Which ever time frame fits your comfort zone, it is nonetheless this generation that is alleged to have used it all up and begun the process of planetary doom.

It is THIS generation in which men's hearts have begun to fail them 'for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.'

Signs in the sun, moon and stars have astronomers baffled; fears of a catastrophic collision with giant space rocks have us scanning the heavens and planning our defense from a threat that a generation ago, we didn't even know existed.

The 'distress of nations' is palpable; the United Nations has a whole bureaucracy exclusively devoted to saving the planet from extinction.

The study says that we are running out of food sources, out of fresh water, we face the threat of killer plagues and epidemics; we've overfished the oceans and destroyed the seabed.

And the study concludes all this damage took place -- not gradually over six thousand years of human existence -- but within a single generation!

"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." (Mark 13:29-30)

Consider the facts carefully. If the science is correct, then the irreversible process of planetary doom has begun. Undoubtedly, the science will be disputed by other scientists endlessly, but there is a discernible escalation of distress with each new environmental study.

This raises several possibilities; 1) a significant and rising segment of the scientific community don't know what they are talking about; 2) a conspiracy of environmentalistsa are propagating a unknown hidden agenda; or, 3) the data is correct and our planet is winding down like a clock.

In any case, this is exactly how Jesus described the situation as it would exist just before His return; A pervasive and growing sense of impending doom -- "upon the earth distress of nations. . . Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:" is how He described it.

There are those who scoff, and deny the literal fulfillment of Bible prophecy as it unfolds before their eyes, but if this is nothing more than coincidence, every third lottery ticket should win the jackpot.

I like to think that I am a reasonable guy, but I can't buy the coincidence argument. It is too big a stretch for me to get my head around -- like picking the winners of the World Series for 2147 -- first you have to know if we'll even still play baseball.

Bible prophecy has, to the extent it can be proved, been accurate 100% of the time so far -- and there is therefore no logical reason to assume that God has suddenly lost His place and the plan -- as outlined -- won't continue to be fulfilled with equal precision.

Like science, Bible prophecy also foretells the impending ecological judgment of the planet, saying that it will come upon a single generation, somewhere in time.

Logic demands an explanation, and coincidence won't do. The only other explanation is that it is true. That time is running out. That the Lord is about to return, exactly as the Bible says He will.

It is time to choose Whom you will serve. There isn't time to put it off. There really isn't.

It doesn't matter how good you are -- or how bad you are -- the same Jesus that knows the future of nations paid the price of your redemption. He has secured a pardon with your name on it, and eliminated any barrier between you and eternal life with Him, if you will but claim it.

He is willing to accept you the way you are -- all you need do is ask Him to forgive you of your sins and to change you according to His will.

Trust Him. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Ephesians 2:8) It's just that simple.

He is coming!


Grace and Peace!

Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

ATA!!

Good one Evangelist.  That verse did not come to mind when I was reading Jacks commentary.

Grace and Peace!

2nd Timothy,

Brother, thanks for sharing a great article. YES!, JESUS is coming - soon I hope. There are simply too many signs to ignore. I'm ready and I pray that the lost will accept JESUS as Lord and Saviour before it's too late.


Love In Christ,
Tom

1 Corinthians 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.