-------Doomsday Prophecies-------

There was a lot of buzz about the date of Dec. 21, 2012 because the Mayan calendar ended on that date. This date was supposed to usher in the start of a new age and many predicted that the world would end on that day or at least some cataclysmic event would occur on that day. Nothing out of the ordinary happened on that day.

If some thought Christ would return on that day, Jesus stated no man would know the exact date of His return. He did say we would know when it was near and to be watching and waiting for His return.

This doomsday prophecy reminded me of the year 2000 when many predicted that the computers would crash because they would not know how to handle the switch from 1999 to 2000. Of course, nothing at all happened. People seem to have an obsession with "doomsday" for the planet but this planet is destined to be here forever. People should be more concerned about their own personal "doomsday".

Yes, Earth will undergo many changes and some major ones will happen in the next few years but it will not be destroyed. Even in the future when there is a new Heaven and a new Earth they are not destroyed. I like to think of it as Earth and Heaven undergoing a major overhaul. No sin, no death, no sorrow, and no sickness will exist then.

I have seen many comics which depict wild looking bearded men holding a sign that states, "Repent for the end is near." The public looks upon these type of people as harmless crazies. In one sense, these sign holders are right. Not of one us has been promised tomorrow. We could step into eternity at any second and without warning. The world doesn't have to end for that to happen.

The most important question anyone can ask themselves is "Where will I spend eternity?" According to the Bible, it will either be heaven or hell. Yet, most of the world lives each day giving that very little thought. John 14:6 states " Jesus answered him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me."

There are several "I am" statements made by Jesus in the book of John. The book of John was written to show the world that Jesus was both fully God and fully man. The "I am" statements should be read as "I, and I alone, am". The emphasis is on Jesus and who He really is.

The world system lives each day in spiritual blindness. They reject the Bible, Christ, and the Cross. The world system is doomed. The return of Christ guarantees that. He is coming back to establish a new world order in which He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

The antichrist has his own new world order being formed in the present time. There is going to be a world government ruled by one man. This man will honor no god because he will think he is god. Many Christian church leaders fear the Islamic threat of imposing Sharia law as the biggest danger we face today. I believe the threat is vastly overstated and Satan is using Sharia law as a red herring to divert the church's attention away from more important things. The antichrist cares nothing about Sharia law except as a tool to get what he wants. Islam and Communism are the greatest persecutors of Christians today but these philosophies and the ones who practice them are simply being used by Satan, the great deceiver, as pawns in a larger spiritual war.

To be fair to Muslims, Satan used the Catholic church during the crusades to persecute Muslims so you can understand the resentment Muslims may have for Christians. Instead of being a witness to Muslims by living out lives that show the love of Christ in us, the Crusades played a large part in the current belief that Christians are blood thirsty savages. All false religions are doomed. The antichrist will use the different religions of the world to help bring him to power. After the antichrist is in power, he will destroy all false religions because he wants to be worshiped as god. Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism, Wicca, Buddhism, and a host of other belief systems will be crushed. The Bible states all the world will worship the beast.

After the false religions are destroyed, Christ will come back and destroy the one who is pretending to be Him. The antichrist and his accomplice, the false prophet, will be the first human occupants of the lake of fire reserved for the devil and his angels.

Millions of people will suddenly disappear from the planet just before the antichrist comes to power. True believers in Christ are to spared from His wrath so they are removed before the time period called the tribulation begins. Jesus said in the book of Revelation Chapter 3 verse 10 "Because you have kept the word of my patient endurance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole inhabited world, to put to the test those who live on the earth." Jesus also said of this time of testing, "21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be ." Matthew 24

The tribulation will be the most turbulent time in the Earth's history. Over half of the world's population will die from various natural and man-made disasters. What is the purpose of the tribulation?

Christ is coming back. He is setting up a kingdom in which righteousness will prevail. Sin and sinful humanity have to be dealt with. The tribulation period is a time in which all men will be forced to make a choice. Worship Christ or worship the antichrist. Choose eternal life or eternal death but choose. All fence straddlers who can't make up their mind about whom to serve will be knocked off the fence. They will have to choose.

I conclude this article with a doomsday prophecy of my own. If you die having rejected Christ and His free gift of pardon, you are doomed and it will have been your choice.

Copyright 2012 by Gary Goodworth