In case you haven’t heard, a man was trampled to death Friday at a Wal-Mart in NY by the crowd outside as he opened the door to let them in. Although tragedies like this are becoming more and more common, it still amazes me to see this type of reprobate action on the part of people in this country and others as well. This is the height of self-centered greed and we are seeing more of it each day. The article which I read was on AOL. It was reported that some of the people had been waiting since Thursday (Thanksgiving) morning for the store to open. Evidently getting their little toys was more important than the Thanksgiving holiday. Then when the people were asked to leave, because of the investigation prompted by the death, they refused. They yelled that they had been waiting in line since the previous morning and they continued to shop.
Here is what I say about it. If they think bargains and toys are that important, just wait until the Tribulation starts and there is global famine. They won’t be so concerned about toys then. The incident at Wal-Mart won’t hold a candle to what will be happening during that time. And according to the signs we are seeing today, that period of time is not far in the future…

Lately I have been studying the book of Revelation. I know of no better way for a Christian to get his or her priorities straight than to study this book. Incidentally, the tribulation starts in chapter 6. You can take the description of the judgments pretty much literally although there is some symbolism used in the book such as the Antichrist being described as the beast, etc. What amazes me is that toward the end of the period, when most of the plagues and judgments have been poured out, many people will still not repent and turn to God. It is true that there will be many who are saved, but many won’t be. They will still refuse to give up their sins, idolatry, and sexual immorality. Such is the nature of the sin nature everyone has.

I have also been reading books by Grant R. Jeffrey. He does a good job of explaining biblical prophecy and also how current events relate to Bible prophecies. Most conservative evangelical scholars firmly believe we are the generation which will see the Rapture and the Return of Christ. (The Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus Christ are actually two separate events.) Although the Rapture has always been possible at any time since Christ ascended into Heaven, we are seeing events happen and come together like no previous generation. In Matthew, Christ said that the generation which sees the budding of the fig tree would be the generation which sees the Return of Christ. In the Bible, the fig tree is used as a symbol for Israel. When Israel became an established nation again in 1948, that was the budding of the fig tree. Christ said this generation which witnessed this rebirth of the nation would not pass away until all these things were fulfilled, meaning the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Jesus to rule the earth. The Bible also teaches that a version of the Roman Empire will be revived in the last days. It will be a ten- nation confederacy. We now have this in the form of the Western European Union of which Rome, Italy is a part. The signs are all around us. The Rapture can happen at any time and the rest of the needed elements for the Tribulation to take place can fall into place shortly thereafter. The Tribulation is referred to in Scripture as the “time of Jacob’s trouble”. It has a dual purpose. One is to purify the Jewish nation and prepare them to realize that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and to accept Him. The other purpose is to pour out God’s wrath on the unsaved who have rejected Christ during this period of grace in which we are now living. You might say it is to give them a taste of Hell while there is still time to repent, although to wait until the Tribulation to be saved will almost surely result in martyrdom. During the Tribulation, Israel will have a restored Temple according to the prophecies. They have now determined that the Muslim Dome of the Rock would not prevent the Temple from being rebuilt, since it is not on the original site of the Jewish Temple. Israel has already been in the process of creating the utensils and artifacts necessary for the Temple worship. They re-formed the Sanhedrin a few years ago. They have been in the process of drawing up the Temple plans for some time now. One Jewish leader has stated that it could be build within one or two years of whenever it is started. This does not need to happen necessarily before the Rapture takes place.

What does all this mean? It means I hope you are ready to meet Christ. If you are not saved when the Rapture occurs, you will be left to face the Tribulation with all of its horrors. For those who are left behind and become Christians during the Tribulation, it will almost certainly mean martyrdom according to Revelation. If you have never repented of your sins and trusted Jesus Christ to be your personal Savior, I suggest you do it now. Then you will have nothing to fear. You can look forward to meeting Christ in the air when He comes to deliver us from the wrath which is soon coming upon the earth.