The question that keeps coming to my mind this week is this: What will it take? Most believers in America seem unaware of the many threats to their future wellbeing. Those apart from Christ have no idea of what’s coming.
The normality bias in the U.S. is strong; even as an avid watcher for Jesus’ appearing, I feel it. It doesn’t take long, however, for the news of the day to rouse me to the fact the U.S. is living on borrowed time. Will the devastation and death caused by hurricane Helene open their eyes? Or will they just chalk it up to global warming or natural causes?
The myriad of signs pointing to the soon arrival of the Tribulation tell me that the Rapture is ever so near.
The recent decisions at the UN, for example, put the world on a fast tract for the rise of the antichrist and the fulfillment of Revelation 13. With the world’s attention focused elsewhere, the nations of the worlds greatly enhanced the UN’s power to establish a one world government. With the agreed upon digital pack, they gave the antichrist everything he will need to control the buying and selling across the entire world. The technology is already in place for the coming mark of the beast, by the midpoint of the Tribulation the coming man of lawlessness will just flip the switch.
The complacency of those outside of Christ is what I might expect given the vast deception and overwhelming gaslighting that floods the airwaves in America. Sadly, most believers also live in a similar state of unawareness concerning the perils that threaten their wellbeing. They have fallen under the spell that all is well in spite of the great many signs that shout with the message that such is most definitely not the case. The Rapture and with it the start of the Day of the Lord are approaching faster than most believers can even imagine.
The Perils
Consider the nominees of the Democratic Party for the highest offices in the land. How is it possible that they have such incompetent people at the head of their ticket who support all that Scripture says is wrong? They wholeheartedly support the murder of children in the womb with Tim Waltz signing a bill that allows the killing of infants born alive after an attempted abortion? The high level of support they have garnered highlights the anti-biblical worldview that prevails across the U.S. and even in most churches.
What will it take for the church to wake up to this harbinger of danger as well as to the other perils that threaten the future of America?
The massive debt level in the U.S., which some claim is increasing by one trillion dollars every one hundred days, should by itself set off alarm bells across the land. The record setting numbers on Wall Street are a rouse; they disguise the woeful future this lies ahead for our economy. When it comes, the financial ruin will impact the entire world and hasten the digital future that the UN envisions for everyone.
With each passing day, the world moves closer to a nuclear World War III. I’m not sure where I read the following, but I wholeheartedly agree. The president of Ukraine, Zelenskyy, knows that he can’t prevail in his current war with Russia. His only hope is to goad Russian into attacking NATO whom he believes will defeat his enemy.
For the past several months, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and his officials have often warned of a nuclear response to NATO’s support of Ukraine’s attacks inside Russia. Putin made this point especially clear on September 25, 2024, when he announced a lower threshold for a nuclear response, which included a dire warning that U.S. cities would feel the impact of the coming war. But is anybody paying attention?
The Middle East is another flashpoint that could easily draw America into a deadly conflict. The Biden administration has sent one-third of the Navy to the region along with a total of 40,000 service members. A few days ago, they announced the sending the 101st Airborne division to the area. The response to the hurricane devastation in Tennessee has been hampered because President Biden has sent much of its National Guard to the Middle East.
The “what ifs” of this huge military buildup stagger the imagination. Are the U.S. forces there to defend Israel, or is there another purpose for the placing of so many soldiers in harm’s way?
The devastation and mounting death toll in the wake of Hurricane Helene stuns our senses. Is this not another wake-up call for America? It’s no accident that one of the cities most ravaged by Helene, Asheville, NC, was beset by demonism, witchcraft, and utter lawlessness. The estimates of the death toll in that city shocks us. Some say it will exceed the woeful toll of hurricane Katrina.
Each of these troubling realities aligns perfectly with what the Bible says the world will look like in the last days. The conditions depicted in Revelation 6:1-8 are not as far-fetched as some would have us believe. I believe nuclear war is coming to our world, and to the shores of the U.S., in the not-too-distant future. But another event will happen before this devastation happens.
Our Disappearance
What will it take for people to wake up to the perils on their doorstep? For most, it will be the Rapture. When Jesus appears, all of the redeemed, with absolutely no exception, with return with Him to Heaven. Watchfulness is a matter of obedience, but we are all saved “by grace through faith” and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). The idea of a partial Rapture contradicts what the Bible says about our status as redeemed saints and our sinless status in God’s sight.
For many church-goers, our disappearance will alert them to their need to trust Jesus alone for their salvation. I believe this group will account for many of the great multitude of Tribulation saints that we read about in Revelation 7:9-12. Many who currently don’t believe in Jesus will also awake to the reality that they need Him as they hear the Gospel proclaimed after our departure.
For the majority of those who miss the Rapture, this wakeup call will drive them further into their rebellion against the Lord. A great many people today fit with what the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 1:28-32 as possessing a “reprobate” or “debased” mind. They will refuse to repent despite all the judgments that the Lord will pour out on the earth during the Tribulation (see Revelation 9:20-21).
Our Hope
I have often written that apart from Jesus, I couldn’t even begin to cope with what I see happening in America. Yes, there are troubling realities in the picture that the Bible paints for the future of this world; we already see the beginning of these things. The Lord, however, calms our hearts with these two comforting truths:
The signs of the approaching Tribulation shout with the message that God is sovereign and totally in control of human history. Long, long ago, He said the world would look like this in the last days.
The worsening conditions of our world point to the imminent appearing of our Savior who will take us home to glory, to the place He’s preparing for us. Someday soon, perhaps today, He will take us home and release His restraining hand on world affairs, particularly in regard to the antichrist.
He is surely coming for us in the near future. Now is the time to remain awake and watch for His coming. Now is the time to look up for our redemption is truly at hand.
Maranatha!!
In The Triumph of the Redeemed – An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, I not only provide a compelling defense of our belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture, but explore its wonders for the redeemed. The glory ahead for us exceeds all our fanciful imaginations of what it might be. In the last section, I explore five amazing truths of the wonders that lie ahead for us as saints.
Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/. Thanks!