WARNING(Copied material compiled and adapted from various sources)

SIGNS are a part of our everyday lives... They are all around us. Signs to give us direction. To show us

where to go. Signs to give us warning. To tell us a

bridge is out and we need to make a detour.

If you ignore the WARNING SIGN about the bridge out ahead and you drive on, you put yourself in danger.

You ignore the signs at your peril.

1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

One-third of the Bible is PROPHECY. Prophecy is history written in advance.

Bible prophecy shows SIGNS of coming events.Two thousand years ago, our Lord warned the Pharisees and the Sadducees who FAILED TO RECOGNISE THE SIGNS of His FIRST coming.

Matthew 16:2-4 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

(3) And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring.

Gloomy, overcast, threatening.

O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

(4) A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it,

but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

They who failed to discern... They did not recognise the signs of our Lord’s first coming ended up crucifying the Messiah, and 37 years later Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed, along with 1.1 million Jews.

Israel has been re-established as a nation which is the start of a chain reaction of events...

The Bible gives many WARNING SIGNS that SIGNAL our Lord’s returning. These SIGNS are MARKERS that show to us that WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS...

Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

God in His mercy has given us many signs to warn people about coming events, so we can get ready.

Matthew 24:3-8 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying,

Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

(4) And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

(5) For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

(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, but the end is not yet.

(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.

Our Lord tells of a time coming of widespread deception: A rise in false Christianity False teachers and false prophets.

There are many signs that we are seeing fulfilled in our own times.

We see plagues and pestilences are increasing each year – such things as AIDS, Venereal diseases, STD, Anthrax, Biological warfare...

God has said that He would restore the Jews to the land of Israel. This is happening.

Jerusalem is the centre of world attention. And the forgotten language of Hebrew is now spoken again, as prophesied. The Word says that the end times are the time of Jacob’s trouble.

The Lord Jesus foretells a time of moral decay before He comes back.

Matthew 23:37-39, As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man…

In Noah’s days the earth was filled with VIOLENCE.

Genesis 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

It seems like violence is erupting in the Middle East. And modern entertainment and video games seem to be increasingly corrupt and violent.

Since 1960, there has been a 590% increase in violent crime; a 419% increase in illegitimate births; the divorce rate has tripled; and teen suicide is up 200%.

We ignore the signs at our peril.

Basic morality is lacking. Immodesty and immorality prevails. Promiscuity and perversion are promoted within schools.

Matthew 24:9-14 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

(10) And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

There is an evident and growing hatred of true BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY.

The media is more and more hostile towards Christianity. Telling the truth is a hate crime today. The ultimate agenda is to silence dissent. Bible preachers will be branded as intolerant. We need dogs that are going to bark. We need watchmen on the walls. And I believe we have that in this church. Men who will sound an alarm and fight for what matters most.

Deception abounds, as humanistic education instils a foundation that is a-theist or even anti-theist. These are sad times, grievous times. I pray for my own children and grandchildren who are at risk of being swept along by this evil flood – the swelling tide of unbelief and the hatred towards Biblical Christianity that is being pumped out through many channels, including the contemporary entertainment trends and godless influences within education systems.

(11) And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. (12) And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Iniquity – or lawlessness – shall abound... Even governments can be guilty of lawlessness, because God’s law trumps man’s laws... There is an increase of rampant wickedness, and sometimes it is legislated.

We are witnessing the despising of authority, children are more defiant to parents, there’s a breakdown of family order, and a prevailing spirit of ungodliness, rebellion, and moral decay.

(13) But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (14) And

this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

The Gospel is wider spread than ever. Most of the world’s languages have the Bible written in their own language By 2025 it is anticipated that all of the world's 6,909 spoken languages will have a Bible.

Paul told Timothy of some further signs of the end times... He describes these times as perilous, fearsome times... Troublesome and savage...

2 Timothy 3:1-5 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

It’s been said that we are living in the ‘me’ generation.

(2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

(3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

(4) Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

(5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

It’s as if it’s a society out of control. Our Lord tells of these times... Lovers of pleasure... People vainly fill their empty lives with

worldly movies, vain entertainments, wasting time on many God-substitutes, while sparing little thought for the Lord.

We see cities filled with crime, brutality, and what is sinful gets paraded and praised, and is up in neon lights.

Self-love, self-esteem, self-reliance, self-gratification, are actively encouraged by the media, schools, psychologists, and preachers.

Humanity has become increasingly materialistic – certainly lovers of pleasure. These are dark days. No generation in history has had so many means to entertain and arouse the senses.

Our nation is become spiritually sick and has lost all sense of decency and honour. Many have rejected God; they will not have Him reign over them.

Paul tells of further signs, on the church front...

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

(4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

These SIGNS are also all too event. The Bible’s authority is being undermined. The Bible is becoming a banned book.

The true church is under an assault. It has been marginalised and disarmed... What is popular Christianity itself these

days is being redefined. The ecumenical movement is striving for

unity at the expense of truth. There is much push on for a uniformity

and a conforming based on compromise.

We’re seeing the rise of ‘experience-based’ "Christianity" – which is replacing the Bible as the standard for saving faith.

There is also much evident mixture of the world in the church...

The Antichrist has power also in lying signs and wonders, and so such claims of these are no guarantee of truth, but rather the opposite. Satan’s agent will be able to mimic and counterfeit what seem signs from God.

The eroding of truth brings deception.

As the church goes astray from the Bible it will fall prey to delusion and falsehoods.

It will all be about pleasing the crowd, rather than the faithful proclamation of Bible truth...

Jeremiah 5:30-31 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;

(31) The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

In days such as these we need WATCHMEN.

Ezekiel 3:17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

How we desperately need men and women of character in such times as these. How we desperately need men and women of God to rise up, and pray, and be salt and light. To be examples to their children. To be godly role models. We are meant to be the salt of the earth.

Furthermore, these latter days are foretold to be days of financial woes...

James 5:3Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Our nation is in trouble. The deepening financial crisis is getting more serious than most people realise. A culture of debt has ensnared the nation. The system is fragile and unstable. Many are warning of a coming financial collapse... A financial disaster...

A great crisis is facing humanity. We are seeing uprisings and rioting.

It is prophesied that a man of sin, of lawlessness, will one day take charge...

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

There are forces pushing for globalisation and a global control... God’s Word foreshadows such a time, such a power, and such a control... of global governance...

Revelation 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and

to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

This will be a government with satanically empowered control...

I am informed that ‘The Commission for Global Governance, created by the United Nations, released a report: Our Global Neighbourhood, which affirms a world court, a global tax, and global police force.’

On feature of these coming last days, amongst other things, will be sorceries.

Revelation 9:21 Neither repented they of ... their sorceries...

There is a worsening drug culture, which is allied with sorceries... We see a growing interest in the occult and spiritual counterfeits like the new age. The rise of the occult and the New age is very evident.

God’s Word foretells also a rise of persecution for Christians.

2 Timothy 3:12-13 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

(13) But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Many Christians are suffering today: brutality, crucifixion, slavery...

Our Lord Jesus has said that we can expect to be hated for His name's sake:

Luke 21:17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

There’s an intensifying attack on Christians around the globe – every year 100 million Christians suffer persecution, imprisonment and even death. It’s been reckoned that 150,000 Christians are martyred every year in these present times.

Christians and Biblical truths and values are increasingly derided and mocked...

Another sign of the end times is such mockery. We see mockers in the last time...

Jude 1:17-18 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

(18) How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.

Peter writes of this mocking of Christian teaching, in the context of a disbelief in creation, and unbelief in the second coming...

2 Peter 3:3-4 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, (4) And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?...

There were also fleshly mockers in Noah’s day and in Lot’s days, but they were destroyed...

Luke 17:28-30 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

(29) But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

(30) Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Our Lord warned that the last days would be alike to these days of Lot who lived in wicked Sodom (Luke 17:28-30). The sin of Sodom was especially homosexual sin. Today, the homosexual agenda is flaunted and forced upon our entire society.

These are days of ungodliness, where seeds of deception are being sown in hearts.

We ignore the warning signs at our peril.

Many seem unaware of the serious days in which we live. There is a lack of discernment and a lack of the fear of God.

God’s unchanging truths seems to have become neglected in favour of what is crowd pleasing.

It seems that many have an overwhelming ignorance of the enemy’s devices and have retreated from the battle against compromise and just go with the flow.

I think the signs are very evident, as we have touched on.

One end times observer has commented that we are ‘drowning in a sea of signs’...

And how easily mankind can become desensitised... It’s been said that ‘during prolonged warfare, frontline soldiers can get so accustomed to the thundering sound of incoming artillery shells that they become able to sleep through the heaviest bombardments. It doesn't matter to them that a shell directly aimed at their location would end their life. That danger is muted by the fact that the experienced soldier has heard the sound of artillery thousands of times. In contrast, a GI who has just arrived on the battlefield would be very alert to even the most distant enemy fire.’

It’s like when the neighbour’s burglar alarm going off, again...

This source goes on to say that ‘Most believers are totally apathetic about how close we get to the tribulation hour.

‘Overfamiliarity appears to be one of the many reasons for the lack of vigilance. Many key prophetic indicators are reported so frequently by the media that they've lost their luster. When they were breaking news years ago, everyone was excited about their connection to prophecy. As time dragged on, people's interest in them faded, even as they continue to edge closer to the point of reaching fulfillment.’ (http://www.raptureready.com/rr-think-not.html0

In times of deception, now more than ever we need to hold fast the Word of Truth.

We need to set this as a priority for our lives.

In such end days we need more than ever to be strongly anchored and grounded...

Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Our one and only source of truth is God’s Holy Bible. Grab yourself a real Bible and take it seriously.

1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

We have much need of vigilance, and soberness.

Don’t neglect to pray.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-8 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

(2) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

(3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

(4) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

(5) Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

(6) Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

(7) For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

(8) But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

“What should Christians be doing?”

In these days we need to resist the world’s seductions.

Recognise spiritual laziness and resist it. It’s a spirit. The spirit of apathy. Use your time and resources wisely, for God’s glory. Go the extra mile. Put yourself out. Study to show yourself approved unto God. Read and study your Bible.

We need true champions of the faith, true warrior, who will depend upon God’s empowerment. And by God’s grace we will make an impact.

We have a mandate – to spread the Gospel. Our Lord said, Go. He hasn’t revoked that command. Go and be His witnesses.

Are you ready?

This world is becoming ever more a battlefield for genuine Christians. We face many growing threats.

Yet the Lord is in control and we need not fear.

(Source: Prophezine)History shows that there are five general steps for harassing a group like Christians.

These steps then lead to outright persecution which then leads to imprisonment, torture and eventually martyrdom - death.

The steps are as follows…1. Identifying: This involves finger-pointing by the ruling authority for the purpose of placing the blame for the nation’s troubles on one particular group. In 1 Kings 18:17, King Ahab identifies the prophet Elijah as being the one responsible for the drought

that took place in the land of Israel. He accused Elijah by asking the question, "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" The true body of Christ and Biblical Christianity in America today are blamed for being the greatest obstacles to the liberal establishment’s plans for a totally humanistic "utopian" society.

2. Marginalizing: By this means, the "politically incorrect" portion of the Church is looked upon as not being part of the mainstream of society. This is done by an organized smear campaign conducted by the ruling authorities through the national news media. They do this by the use of such trigger words as radical, extremists, separatists, and fringe.

3. Vilifying: By this means, the persecutors employ such methods as uttering slanderous and abusive statements against targeted groups as to cheapen and debase their worth and significance in society. The accusers need no factual evidence for their accusations, but innuendoes, insinuations, hints and making associations with other previously known undesirables of society.

4. Criminalising: In implementing this step of persecution, it gives the state "legal"

justification for arresting and incarcerating the accused. Here the state charges the persecuted with accusations of alleged criminal wrong-doing. The state naturally picks on the most vulnerable segment of the Church in order to send their threatening message to all the rest who adhere to similar views and practices. Incarceration of a few means intimidation of the many. Victimization of a government- protected group is a direct result of the incrimination of the accused. This gives the state "legal" authority to take a heavy-handed control in "protecting" its citizens. Presently, our federal government has several groups which they deem as "victims" for whom they feel responsibility to protect.

5. Terrorizing. This is the blatant and outright acts of terrorism carried out by the police powers of the state against the persecuted. These are acts of coercion by threat or by violence and are intended to create anxiety and fear in the hearts of its victims, with the purpose of silencing and neutralizing the opponents of the tyrannical government in power.

We ignore the signs at our peril.

It is reaching a tipping point.

Christian, get ready for persecution.

Read your Bible. Discern the signs.It is crucial that we get ready...

Many will be caught off guard. They will not be ready for what faces us.

These are days when we need to be sober.For us His returning is truly the Blessed Hope...

It is our joyful expectation.Now, more than ever we need to immerse ourselves in the Word of God and be equipped with strong Biblical grounding. Meditate on the Bible. Memorise the Bible.

The tempest is coming.A time of trouble.We need a wake up call.

We need to get ready.