Perilous Times and the Call to Preach the WordDear Friends, Jesus Said - 'I WILL Come Again'! From the earliest times Jesus' second coming has been believed and taught. Enoch (Jude 1:14,15.), Job (Job 19: 25), and Isaiah (Isaiah 25: 8 to 9 ) all made reference to the Messiah's coming, as the Godhead's plan to make all wrong right. It is claimed that Bible scholars tell us that in the Old Testament 1,500 plus references point forward to Jesus' second coming. Jesus himself refers to His return across several key discourses, like his Olivet discourse recorded in each of the four gospels. (Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, as well as John 14). The New Testament mentions His return hundreds of times. John 14: 3 records Jesus as saying, 'And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also'. He speaks of His return as one event, not multiple events where people are given multiple chances to be ready for His coming to take them to heaven. The New Testament mentions Christ's return approximately one out of every 30 verses. He also lets us know that the timing of His second coming is in God the Father's hands. Endtime Bible prophesies clearly indicate that God will put an end to sin and evil in this world. These prophesies have all been fulfilled. Jesus is recorded in Mark 13: 32 as saying to His disciples, 'But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father'. (Also, Matthew 24: 36) In the Bible the second coming of Jesus references out number the first coming of Jesus references by a ratio of eight to one. There are 17 Old Testament books and 23 of the 27 New Testament books which refer to the second coming of Jesus. At His trial before His crucifixion, Jesus said to the high priest who asked Him if He claimed to be the Son of God, '''' Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.' (Matthew 26: 64) Today, like never before, world conditions foretell Jesus' second coming. The social, moral, financial and political chaos is shouting with increasing volume that world conditions are similar, if not worse than just before the flood of Noah's time. Paul in 2 Timothy 3: 1 to 5 lists the prevalence of the sins preceding the return of Jesus. Think of the daily news over the last week and add in the news items that fit the following categories of sin that Paul was inspired to list. These categories include perilous times, lovers of self (egotists and self-focussed), covetous (obsessed with making money and wanting what others have), boasters (look at me and what I have done), proud (arrogant), blasphemers (taking God's and Jesus' names and using their names as swear words), disobedient to parents (perhaps Paul would include today parents who don't take responsibility for raising their children to be obedient), unthankful, unholy, without natural affection (LGBTQI +++, no love for parents, brothers and sisters, care for those in our communities that are doing it hard), trucebreakers (world governments are good at breaking their promises of no military action), false accusers (malicious gossips), incontinent (no self-control), despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady (reckless without considering the consequences of their actions), high-minded (conceited), lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God (people pay large amounts to buy tickets to sporting events, theatre, film, music concerts, etc.) and having a form of godliness (an outward display of religion on significant occasions or when it's to their advantage to be seen in some form of church gathering.). Paul tells Timothy to avoid such people and keep far away from them because of the influence they can have on your connection with God. Paul's advice to Timothy is good advice to us today - 'Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.' (2 Timothy 4: 2). 'Preaching' can take many forms. We are not all public speakers, but we can share our faith with family, friends and neighbours. We all have a personal testimony of God's care for us. We can share Ellen White's classic books and it is sometimes surprising who is happy to accept what we have to offer when we pray about it and ask for God's guidance. Kind regards and blessings. Brian Way, Director Tithes and Offerings (book of the month) $20 + postage 
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