ZION B-BC   NEWSLETTER.

 

 

[ A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja Nigeria. ]                                         

{ VOL. 2.  NO 50.  27-07-14.}

 

SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE!

FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS, was a Jewish historian and writer who lived up to the year AD 70 and witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the magnificent Temple as predicted by the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples before His crucifixion.

According to Matthew’s account in Chapter 24, verse 1-2, the disciples drew His attention to the very splendid structure of the Temple, acclaimed to be one of the best edifices in the Middle East, but the Lord retorted, saying, “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.”

When they eventually retired to the Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet, located in Central Israel, east of Jerusalem, the agitated disciples who presumed that the destruction of the Temple could be synonymous to the ‘end of the world’, went to Him privately and asked, “Tell us, when will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 

The three-pronged questions were carefully answered by the Lord as follows:

(1)Destruction of the Temple; [Matt.24:15-22; compare Luke. 21:20].

(2)Sign of His coming; [vv.23-31].

(3)End of the Age [vv.4-14].

The Lord Jesus in verse 15 said, “So when you see standing in the holy place, ‘the abomination that causes desolation’, spoken of through the Prophet Daniel – let the reader understand” – meaning that detestable things of idolatry, would pervade the atmosphere of the holy place, before its eventual destruction!

As predicted in verse 16, the Roman siege around Jerusalem in AD 70 forced  Christians to flee to the Transjordan mountains for safety. What remains of  this second Temple, renovated by King Herod in 20BC, are the tourists attraction outer walls (named ‘Wailing Walls’), that enclosed the Temple Area! There is not one stone cleaving to another according to the Lord’s prediction!

The first Temple built by King Solomon, [2Samuel.24:18-25; 1Kings.6-7; 2Chronicles.2-4]; was destroyed by the Babylonians whose King Nebuchadnezzar II, carried off its sacred vessels of silver and gold to Babylon!

Jesus Christ warned the disciples against the spirit of deception that would manifest through false ‘Christs’ and false prophets who would impersonate Him and display great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect –if that were possible – in respect of His second advent!

He warned that though they would hear of wars and rumours of wars, they should not despair because such occurrences would precede the end of the age and of His second-coming. He also predicted that international strife of great magnitude would characterize the all dispensations throughout the age!

 “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places…….” , He further predicted.

And how accurate were the Lord’s predictions? Every generation has been cursed with wars beginning with the FIRST WORLD WAR,(1914-1918), in which Britain, France, Russia, the United States and Italy fought against Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey and BULGARIA and the SECOND WORLD WAR (1939-1945), in which Britain,  the Soviet Union, the United States and France fought against Germany, Italy and Japan.  Many other inter-state wars were small and some great, but always increasing in destructiveness through the years and always followed in dreadful but regular sequence by FAMINES, PESTILENSES AND DEPRESSIONS!

Migration of war-displaced citizens as refugees to foreign land always created great famine, resulting from uncultivated or abandoned farmlands.

Since World War I, periods of great famine and mass starvation, food and water shortages, with the attendant diseases of various kinds, most of which have defied diagnosis, had become an unacceptable phenomenon world –wide.

 Statistics show that there are about 842 million under-nourished people in the world today! That means that one out of eight people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead active life. Hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to the health world-wide – greater than AIDS, MALARIA AND TUBERCULOSIS, combined!

PESTILENCE is fatal and infectious epidemic disease and like plague, is contagious and causes massive death.

 It affected an entire population in Europe and killed over 30 per cent of its population after the world wars!

On 8th March, 2014, a Malaysian Plane on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China and with 239 passengers on board, disappeared from the skies and there had been no trace of the aircraft since then! Airline investigators believe that the Jet ended its journey in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of  kilometres, North-West of the Australian city of Perth.

On 17^th July, 2014, a Malaysian Boeing 777 Jetliner, with 298 passengers on board, was allegedly shot down by pro-Russian rebels who occupied the eastern part of Ukraine. There were no survivors!

 We are all witnesses to the fulfilment of these prophesies as Nigeria, (in spite of a 30-month civil war from 1967-70, is still embroiled in an ongoing insurgency which began in 2009!

 Presently, wars are going on in Kenya, Uganda, DR Congo, Libya, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Tunisia, Ukraine and many other parts of the world, but according to prophecy, all these calamities and phenomenon are just ‘a tip of the iceberg’, for worse tragedies would still come!

There would be persecutions, bitter and cruel in the extreme as the Lord said, “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he that stands firm to the end, will be saved. And this gospel o f the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” [Matt.24:7-14].

The trials and tribulations of children of God have been commonplace over the centuries since these predictions; they have been thrown to the lions, tortured on the rack, burned at the stakes, buried alive, sawn asunder, abused, tormented, massacred, slaughtered and bombed out of existence during congregational worship!

In spite of all the tragedies that would precede His second advent, children of God have the Lord’s assurance that He would come to their rescue provided they would ENDURE TO THE END!

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the world will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” [vv.30-31].

All other predictions of the Lord had been fulfilled; “….the darkening of the sun and the moon…” ,(Matt.24:29); occurred seven years after the persecutions of Christians stopped in Europe on May 19,1780. It was referred to as, ‘famous dark day’, on account of a remarkable darkness which extended over all New England…..birds sang their evening songs, disappeared and became silent, fowls went to roost, cattle sought the barnyard; and candles were lighted in the houses.[Noah Webster Dictionary, Edition of 1869].

Another fulfilment was a celestial phenomenon on the night of November 12-13, 1833, when a tempest of falling stars broke over the earth. In North America, from the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until daylight. The sky was awash with in every direction with shinning meteors which illuminated the heavens with majestic fireballs.[ Agnes M. Clerke, History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century, page 328.].

 The Lord also said, “there would come upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s heart failing them for fear. And for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” [Luke. 21:25, 26].

How appropriate are the Lord’s predictions in our days. The past few decades have seen the destruction of many of man’s greatest works through self destructive weapons of warfare in the likes of the hydrogen-atomic bombs, inter-continental ballistic missiles and most recently, lethal nuclear devices that can even wipe off the existence of life in a matter of minutes! In consequence, we see “men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world”. [Lk.21:26].

Up to this point Christ’s revelation of the future had been taken for granted but He also said that all these tragic happenings would be signs of HIS RETURN; “they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and glory”![Lk.21:27].

 But someday, in the midst of all global chaos, confusion and disintegration, the climax of history would burst upon mankind! It is time for us to re-organise our priorities as the Lord could return any moment from now to JUDGE THE WORLD!

Nigerians are having an unfair share of  trials and tribulations because of many unrighteous leaders who are in position of power. It is high time we galvanize efforts to show them the way out through the ballot boxes in 2015 general elections. We must sanitize our nation from the ELITIST CORRUPTION VIRUSES that have polluted the polity for too long! [Read, Daniel. 4:17; Habakkuk.2:14; Matt.24:33; and be blessed.] Naked we came to this world and naked, we shall return!  

JESUS CHRIST IS AT THE DOOR AND IT IS OUR DUTY TO OPEN TO HIM THAT HE MAY DINE WITH US FOR ETERNITY. AMEN.

If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, don’t miss this great opportunity as you pray this prayer:      

Lord Jesus; I confess that I am a sinner who needs to be saved through the grace of the New Testament of your Blood, shed on the Cross at Calvary; I renounce every sin in my life and accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, you have been admitted into the family of sons and daughters of God, who are born-again. Congratulations.  Please look forward to more divine revelation in the next edition of Zion B-BC Newsletter as you share this with friends and remain blessed in the Lord.

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 I am, Yours sincerely,Dr. David B.A. Olufon, Resident Pastor and Editor.08058436756 08098194390.g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com .