Fellow Believers,

We are living very close to the end of time. True, since Christ's Ascension, many have prematurely expected His return in their generation. But never in the past have conditions in and out of the church so matched the end-time scenario set forth by the Bible as they do today.

When the disciples asked the Lord about the sign of His coming and of the end of the age, He immediately said: "Watch out that no one deceives you" (Matt. 24:4). He gave a similar warning in verse 11 and then, in verses 15-26, He spoke at length of the abomination in the holy place, when false Christs would come and perform signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

That is precisely what's taking place in Christendom today. Throughout the world, the fastest growing congregations are those involved with signs and wonders. And while other churches have avoided such activities, their failure to warn of such false prophets as Jesus did is tantamount to a tacit approval.

Out in the world, meanwhile, more and more people are behaving just as II Timothy 3 prophesied. They are "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive" and so on. The global collapse in morality is something even fiction writers half a century ago would not have imagined.

I'm not trying to be judgmental. But for the grace of God, we ourselves would all be plunging headlong toward hell. But it behooves us to realize that the day of salvation is nearly over.

For one thing, it is more urgent now than ever to use earthly money to gain eternal friends. Before long, everything in our storehouse will be destroyed by fire anyway.

For another, we need to practice I Timothy 4:16 (quoted above). It's so easy for us to be tempted these days into wanting a little bit of the world's things and pleasures and to modify God's word to please man. But it is God's will that we watch our life and doctrine closely and to persevere in them.
 

Tom Holt, Editor

Second Quarter, 1991

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