Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass".... 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 2 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
This passage of scripture aptly describes the conditions that would obtain during the last days of this earth's history, and from what we are are daily witnessing and experiencing, it is now obvious that the time here spoken of is already upon us. Since the turning of this century, we have been at war in some way or another, and with the threat of global terrorism looming large, we are indeed scheduled to be at war permanently, until the second coming of Jesus Christ brings it all to a sudden end. Also, since the dawn of the new millennium, we have seen the most devastating hurricanes, with hurricane Wilma being the strongest one ever to be recorded, coming in at 882 millibars on the Saffir-Simpson scale, or to put it plainly, at 185 mph. It was only the mercies of God that caused it to decrease in intensity before reaching Florida, for at that speed it would have wiped us off the map.
But all of these calamities and natural disasters are directly tied to the solemn fact that iniquity shall abound, for whenever the sacred law of God is trampled upon or violated, there the intensity of the curse will be felt, and sudden destruction of no ordinary character will occur, with unprecedented loss of life. For those who might still be doubting the truth of these statements, we only have to turn to the scriptures for answers, for there we will find instance after instance in which the deliberate sins of the multitudes resulted in catastrophic loss of life, and the weather systems were adversely affected when various nations pursued a wrong course of action. These calamities were sometimes the direct work of God, and at other times they occurred by divine permission, by which the devil was granted leave to cause mass destruction on account of national, cherished sins. Let's read:
Exodus 9:13 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him"... 18 Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. 19 Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. 20 He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: 21 And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.
Here we see both the judgment and mercy of God being displayed, for He gave pharaoh and his people ample time to repent of their stubborn ways, and even if they should choose not to confess and forsake their sin, God at least gave them instructions on how to avert personal loss, in the impending tragedy. But as usual, there were those who chose to continue in rebellion, who deliberately left their livestock in the open, and in direct defiance of the word of God. When God in His mercy warns nations or individuals of impending doom, it is not even necessary for them to believe His word, in order for it to be fulfilled, for if we continue in foolhardiness, His word will be fulfilled whether we believe it or not, as was the case with the Egyptians who chose not to believe. Let's read:
Exodus 9:22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. 23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
Psalm 78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost. 48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. 49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. 50 He".... "spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence.
Now, there is a very interesting and pertinent passage of scripture, relating to this incident, for it was discovered that in the land of Goshen where the Hebrew people dwelt, no such calamity or judgment took place, a sobering fact which causes us to ask the intelligent question "Why?" The answer is simple, for the Hebrews were at that time obeying the plain instructions of God, and therefore they were shielded in the day of calamity. Disobedience, and high-handed sin and rebellion exposes us to the judgments of God, whether directly or in permissive form, whereas obedience to His laws and statutes tend to bring His protecting care over and around us, two facts that are not usually brought into the equation, but which are nevertheless true. Let's read:
Exodus 9:26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
In our day there is a stoical disregard for the laws and institutions of God, as is being currently manifested in the fearful departures from righteousness in places high and low, and because iniquity is abounding, the love of many are is indeed growing cold. This is the reason why so many inhumane crimes and executions against members of the human family are taking place daily, and just as though we never read the history of pharaoh and his people, we are heading in the same direction, of deliberate rebellion against the plainest teachings of God's word. It is high time for us as a nation and as individuals to awake out of slumber, because the coming of Christ, with all the associated upheavals in nature is near, even at the doors, and thus it behooves every one of us to make His paths straight, and not harden our hearts in iniquity, just as pharaoh did.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which must be brought into the equation, when trying to decipher what is now taking place globally, in the incessant strife, bloodshed, and unnatural disasters that are plaguing the human family, and which have now become the norm. Let's read:
Deuteronomy 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: 28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!