Day 16: Are you ready for the Final Crisis?

Day 16: Preparation for the Last Crisis

Some Christians like to be scared. They like to hear about the “time of Jacob’s trouble”, about a “time of persecution” such as never was before or ever will be, or a National Sunday Law where they will not be able to buy or sell. They shout and scream in fear yet say “Aaaahhhhh, tell me more, tell me more.” They like to hear, “We’re all going to suffer and die”, and say “Aaaaahhhh tell me more, tell me more.” They like to do drama’s in church about “The End Time” and scare all of our youth away! Some Christians are spiritually schizophrenic. They think the Devil, the Antichrist, and the agents of the Antichirst are behind every rock and every current event in the news and in politics, and in the church. We need to be ready today for the Last Crisis, rest assured. However, our preparation must not be based out of fear, but instead out of love for God and love for others.

 There is a book called “Preparation for the Last Crisis” by Fernando Chai. I’ve never read it all, but I hear it is a book about preparing for the end time prophecies of the Bible. It’s about getting your life ready for Jesus to come. With the author’s permission, I would like to borrow the title of his book to help us prepare today for the “Last Crisis” ahead, but not out of fear or torment. Instead, let’s discover what is the true last crisis ahead, and let’s keep our eyes on Our Loving Savior who will lead us safely throught the Last Crisis and into the New Jerusalem and the New Heaven and the New Earth. Are you ready to embark on a journey of faith, love, and adventure? If so, let’s go!

The Center of All Bible Prophecy

I need to let you know right up front that the Bible is no ordinary book or ordinary object. You may have grown up in a Christian home or going to church all of your life, and maybe the Bible is just any other old book. You might have even caught yourself saying, “Ahh, the Bible is so ancient and out of date and boring, I don’t care to read it at all.” If so, BEWARE! The Bible is no ordinary book (2 Timothy 3:16 and 1 Peter 1:21). It is God’s LOVE LETTER to you and has the dynamic Power to fully transform your life today! In it, God has revealed His will for your life and for mine. Read it today and be Blessed!

 Everything in the Bible centers around God’s marvelous plan of salvation. Everything centers around God coming in the form of a man, named Jesus Christ, to rescue men and women from sin and eternal death. Every page of the Bible tells us about the love of God and tells us about a Savior named Jesus Christ. Here is where Bible prophecy comes in. Bible prophecy begins, centers, and climaxes in the Second Coming of Jesus. (See Daniel 2 and 7). In fact, the purpose of Bible prophecy is not mean to make us smarter, but to help us realize that time is short, and to recognize our desperate need of God. Bible prophecy is meant to assist us in growing in our relationship with God and with each other. If Bible prophecy just makes us smarter thieves, smarter adulterers, smarter liars, smarter sinners, we have missed the point. Everything in the Bible is meant to help us experience not just information, but transformation. Everything in the Bible is meant to help us experience not only knowledge, but a new life in Christ Jesus!

The Last Crisis Ahead

What is the Last Crisis Ahead? Many people believe it is the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble”, which you can read about in Genesis and in Jeremiah. It’s the story of when the patriarch Jacob wrestles with God all of the night, wins the wrestling match, and receives a new name, “Israel.”

“²⁴And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

 ²⁵And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

 ²⁶And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

 ²⁷And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

 ²⁸And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

 ²⁹And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

 ³⁰And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

 The prophet Jeremiah referred to a similar situation in the experience of God’ people in Jeremiah 30:6-7.

“⁶Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

 ⁷Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. 

Some Christians believe this is the last Crisis, the time of Jacob’s trouble, when God’s people will go through a similar experience like Jacob did in his spiritual journey and his faith in God.

Others However, believe that the Last Crisis is going to be the enforcement of a Universal Day of Worship. You can read about it in Revelation 13:11-18.

“¹¹And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

 ¹²And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

 ¹³And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

 ¹⁴And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

 ¹⁵And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

 ¹⁶And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

 ¹⁷And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

 ¹⁸Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

Some people really believe that there is a Sunday Law ready to passed by the U.S. Government as a law that will be binding for all citizens. The issue in the last days is worship, and the Great Controversy centers around the commandments of God (Rev. 12:17 and 14:7) between those who follow God and His Commandments and those who follow the Beast and His image. 

Some people can’t seem to wait for a National Sunday Law to be enforced in the United States of America, because they see this as the last sign of Jesus’ Soon Coming! Some have even printed billboards calling the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church the Antichrist and offering people a number they can call to receive a free copy of the The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G. White. For these Christians, they see the enforcement of a National Sunday Law that forces everyone to worship on Sunday, and prevents people from worshiping and going to church on Saturday as the Last Great Crisis on planet earth.

Which do you think is the last great crisis? Could there be another? Read on.

Present Truth for Our Generation

God never uses fear or coercion, but always uses love and the deep moving of the Spirit of God. Never forget that. If you and I are ever going to be saved, it will be because we recognize that God loves us, and we want to reciprocate that love back to Him. Fear, Torment, and perplexity will never compel us to make a true surrender and seeking after God. It’s like hearing a moving sermon on the dangers of smoking, or drinking alcohol, premarital sex, or eating certain types of fried and fatty foods. You might stop for a day because you are afraid, but if you love alcohol, tobacco, premarital sex, and fried foods more than you love God and yourself, you will eventually go back and do the same things as before, because you love them more than you love yourself. Only love can compel you to do the right thing. 

The focus of Bible prophecy is Jesus Christ. If you are more interested in National Sunday Laws, Beasts, or the Antichrist, than you about Jesus Christ, you have missed the point of Bible Prophecy. We can not belittle Bible prophecy, for it is God’s means of arousing and awaking people to realize that time is short! However, the awaking up is meant to get us to believe, trust, and grow in a faith relationship with Jesus Christ. We just can’t be paranoia or schizophrenic Christians, but we must be surrendered, committed, and dedicated Christians because God is indeed coming soon!

God has always had a present truth for every generation. In Noah’s time it was the truth about the coming flood and getting on board the ark. In John the Baptist time it was to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Those who did experienced a great blessing in their lives, not to say that in Noah’s day, they also survived the flood. What is the great present truth of God for our generation? Could this in fact be the real last crisis we are facing?

In John 14:6 Jesus says, 

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Jesus has always been God’s Present Truth for every generation. The Bible says that He has a never changing priesthood. In fact, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) While God’s present truth is contained the Three Angel’s Messages of Revelation 14:6-13 for our final generation, God’s Present Truth has always been Jesus Christ, the “one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). 

While there are many real Final Crisis that we may face before Jesus returns a second time, I believe the greatest Final Crisis on which all others hinge are on whether we have accepted Jesus as Our Lord and Savior. Jesus asks, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) The Great Final Crisis that we are facing today is whether we will accept, follow, and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. John 20:30-31 tells us the purpose of the apostle John’s gospel letter.

“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

I believe we can be ready for whatever lies ahead, if we make Jesus the front and center of our life. Believe in Him! Trust in Him! Grow in Him! And Get ready! We are going home soon! Be blessed!

Practical steps

1. Ask God to give you wisdom as you study the prophetic books of the Bible. James 1:5. You can start by reading Matthew 24, Luke 21, or Mark 13. Then go and ready the Book of Daniel and Revelation.

2. Remember that prophecy culminates in the Second Coming of Jesus. Daniel 2 and 7. Jesus is the center of every prophecy. If you are missing Jesus, you are not interpreting or understanding the prophecies correctly. Luke 24:27.

3. Faith in Jesus is an anchor in these days of uncertainty and fear. Faith in Jesus will give you peace and assurance to know that God is with you and can bring you out of anything for His Glory! Philippians 4:6-7; Isaiah 40:28-31. Grow in your faith with Jesus Every day!

4. Live for Eternity. John 3:16. Live as a pilgrim on planet earth. Soon Jesus will come back. Plan as though God were not coming back until 50 years from now, but live as though He is coming today and now!

~ Pastor Sal Garcia