How Close Are We to the End?

Published: April 26, 2021, 10 a.m.

WINNING WITH THE WORD “Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life. AN INVITATION TO YOU: To subscribe to this blog, click here.  To subscribe to this podcast, click here. If this blog and podcast have blessed you, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe as well. Thank you! Be sure to check out our Featured Book of the Week at the end of this post. ______________________________________ t  Do you prefer listening instead of reading? Then click below to listen to today’s blog post on podcast. https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/WWW_04_26_How_Close_Are_We_to_the_End_.mp3 ______________________________________ Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, novelist and life coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is April 26, 2021, and this is Episode #12 of Series 2021. This episode is titled “How Close Are We to the End?" _______________________________ Any thinking person realizes that things are not what they used to be in this world. We not only sense that something isn't right, but we wonder if things will ever return to normal. Well, let me encourage you today. Not by promising you that things will return to normal, because I personally do not believe they will. But let me encourage you with the wonderful news that, no matter what happens in the world, if you follow Jesus Christ, you have a great future ahead of you! You might be asking, "Dr. MaryAnn, how can you say such a thing? Is your head in the sand?" No! Not at all. My head is very much above the sand. I'm continually looking around, observing current events, and comparing them with what the Bible says about our day. And, yes! The Bible has a lot to say about the day we're living in.  Yes, the Bible. That ancient book that most people have never read. That ancient book that God gave us as our life manual. That ancient book that provides the answer to every situation we will ever face in life. So, what does the Bible say about the days we are living in? The Bible says that when certain things begin to happen in our world, we can know that the return of Jesus Christ is near. For those of you who do not know, Jesus Christ came to earth the first time two thousand years ago as a man in order to die for our sins, to rise again from the dead, and to restore man to God's original intent for man. After Jesus accomplished His amazing victory over sin and death, He returned to Heaven for a time, promising that He would one day return for those who follow Him. That return will take place in a cataclysmic event called the Rapture, which means an instantaneous "catching away" or removal from the earth of all of His true disciples. At the Rapture, Jesus will appear in the sky and take from the earth all those who are born again and follow Him. Only those who know Him will see Him. All others will be left behind to endure the most horrific period in human history known as the Tribulation. In the past year, since Covid came on the scene, the world has had a small taste of what it will be like during the Tribulation. Our freedoms will be increasingly taken from us as the New World Order takes over the world. Here are some signs predicted in the Bible of what we would witness in the earth shortly before the Rapture: 1. Talk of "peace and security." Hardly a single day goes by that we don't hear or read the phrase "peace and security" or "peace and safety."  Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 3, says this: "For when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape."  Pay particular attention to how many times you hear or read the phrase "peace and security" or "peace and safety" during your ...