The so called fuel crisis seems to be pushing the political leaders of this world to the brink with events that are so fast that in the blink of an eye it’s happened and it seems to be nothing more than a flash in the pan

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

March 2006 article by Chris Butler

Just recently I was talking to a colleague at work and I said to him ‘Nothing but bad news. That’s all we ever hear about’. His reply was ‘It’s the signs of the times’. Everyone’s saying it and we are not surprised about any news these days – nothing shocks us any more because that’s how life is at this present time.

I then happened to mention that the Bible tells us what will happen in the last days. He quickly went on his way! What about today’s world? Let’s open our Bible and find out the truth. Read the 2^nd book of Timothy, chapter 3, verses 1-5, and Matthew 24 vs 1-13.

We read of war, terror, earthquakes, violence, muggings, murders, drugs, robbers, rapists, blasphemers, lovers of themselves, arrogant, disrespectful, no manners, just doing their own thing. Does this sound like today’s world?

Recent events include the mud slide in the Philippines which killed up to 2,000 people, destroying a whole village of men, women and children – just nothing left. In Iraq there seems no end to the trouble. Iran makes moves to deploy nuclear weapons which could be a serious threat to everyone. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, remains seriously ill while the Palestinians have elected a new parliament with Hamas, the Islamic militant group in control. We wait to see developments there. Times are changing, mostly for the worse.

If we go to our Bibles we see that there is an answer to the world’s troubles - the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 24 vs 29-31 tells us:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not giver her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other”.

Mark’s gospel, chapter 13 vs 19-37 tell a similar story. The Bible tell us why God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ into the world and that salvation is for everyone who will listen to what God says.

Mark 16 v 16 says “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned” while Romans 6 vs 3-5 says “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.

So we can be saved, but we have to do something about it. Romans 6 v 23 tells us that “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” A good start is to begin reading the Bible and find out about God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the future of us all. Visitors are most welcome at our meetings at any Sunday evening address. Come along and let us help you find salvation for yourselves.