The State of the World today....

Some time ago, I stopped reading the newspaper and watching the news. I guess you could say I was pretending to be an ostrich. Recently though, my DH (dear husband) subscribed to an area paper and because I can't resist reading anything that is printed, I've glanced through it. To save myself from sliding into a pit of depression, I've limited myself to the "fun" sections of the paper, with quick glances at the main news section. My DH was reading it and told me that Russia has basically told America to back off or else, which set my mind to spinning. Now I know that this world will not be destroyed by man, no matter how hard we try, but I wondered, what would the world be like if we found ourselves slapped with WWIII? With Rememberance Day so close upon us, it's hard not to think about it. Let's face it, my generation has lived a pretty cushy existence. (I was born in the 70s)Yes there have been some wars in my lifetime, (two Gulf wars, etc) but nothing that has really effected my little life. I don't know what I would do if any of the men in my life were drafted to fight or if they volunteered. I currently do have one cousin in Afganistan and I pray for him all the time. I know that if it is God's will for him to be returned safely, it will happen. But I can't imagine having to say goodbye to my husband and be praying for him to come home. So where am I going with this... well, I guess I should tell you that I am a born-again Christian and that I am a Bible believing one at that. One of the things that really intrigues me about the Bible is it's prophetic accuracy. I won't go into that right now but to be more precise, I am interested in what the Bible tells us about the future of our world. I love reading about all of the prophesies that have been fullfilled but I am more intrigued by what is yet to come. Typical human I am! We always want to know the future and people will pay big bucks to have someone tell them. (I used to be one of those people, except for the big bucks part) Anyway, I know that I should not be surprised by what is going on in the world, as the Bible has told us a little bit about what it is going to be like. Matthew 24: 3-14 says :
3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,^[a]' and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Does any of this ring a bell?

Wars and rumours of wars - check

Nation will rise against nation, Kingdom against kingdom- check

Famines and earthquakes in various places - check

Ok, so you can say that the above four have been going on since the beginning of time and I wouldn't argue with you. The next one is a real humdinger though:

"You will be handed over to be persecuted, put to death and hated... because of me." Now, I am sure that this was happening also but right now, all over the world, there are Christians being persecuted and killed because of their faith in Jesus Christ. It's even happening in North America, which historically is predominantly Christian. We aren't seeing people killed here for their faith but time and time again, we hear about the faith being attacked. No more swearing on the bible in court, no more praying in schools, Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, people getting upset over a nativity scene in a public park, etc.

The rest is happening too, it's just a little less noticeable... I'll finish up later.