On Tuesday I posted this, giving you my thoughts about whether or not we are going the way of the Roman Empire.

The comments got sidetracked into a political discussion that seems to prove one of the points made by the Comptroller General of the United States.

I am a person who has had a keen interest in Bible prophecy for over thirty years now, when I first read Hal Lindsey’s The Late, Great Planet Earth.

Things that hadn’t come to pass at that time I see coming to pass now, and I do believe we are living in the End Times, although I cannot and will not speculate on how long it will take for the End Times to play out.

The same article that disturbed me has also caught the attention of Jack Kinsella, editor of The Omega Letter, a subscription-only publication.

He tells you better than I can why the Comptroller General’s assessment is so disturbing to me. (more…)

11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Revelation 13:11-18

3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

10And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

12And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:3-13

After reading the above passages from the New Testament is it any wonder that I am horrified by this story?

A man claims to be Jesus and he claims millions have tattooed the number of the Beast on their bodies.

Read the article and look at the slide presentation. Notice the young man with a tattooed “666″ on his neck and someone proudly showing the same mark on his or her wrist.

I honestly don’t know what to make of this because I have always believed the Tribulation and Great Tribulation would occur after the Church is removed from earth.

I have had earnest discussions with people who believe the Church will be taken from earth after the first half of the Tribulation, that part before the Great Tribulation, where the mark of the beast will be necessary for anyone to buy or sell anything.

I do not believe this man to be the anti-Christ, but I do believe it is a sign of the end times as mentioned by Jesus Himself in Matthew 24.

From Friday’s issue of the Omega Letter (subscription required.)

Trust me on this one and read it. It has meaning at the second half.

What’s the Buzz — Or Lack of It?

A mystery malady known as ‘colony collapse disorder’ has destroyed from fifty to ninety percent of honeybee colonies in the United States and Europe.

In Great Britain, London beekeepers said this week that up to three-quarters of their bees have either died or simply ‘vanished’. John Chapple, head of the London Beekeepers’ Association, said that when he opened his 40 hives after the winter, only 10 were unaffected by a mystery plague. Twenty-three of the hives were empty and seven contained dead bees.

In North America, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has been reported in Canada, and in at least 24 US states.

In a legislative hearing before the House Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture in March, Gene Brandi, a Merced County (California) beekeeper and chairman of the California State Beekeepers Association, told lawmakers that while bee losses are not uncommon, the current ailment plaguing bee colonies is much more serious.

He says about 40 percent of his colonies died over the winter, his greatest loss in 30 years of business. That equates to a loss of nearly $60,000 in pollination income and another $20,000 in bulk bee sales, plus a cost of $48,000 to restock the 800 dead hives.

“Even though my loss is substantial, other beekeepers throughout the country have suffered much great losses,” he says. “Beekeepers who lost over 50 percent of their colonies will have difficulty making up their losses from their own colonies as I plan to do.”

The cause of colony collapse disorder is unknown, although poor nutrition, mites, diseases and pesticides have all been suspect. There is also concern that some genetically modified crops may be responsible. But nobody knows for sure.

The only thing that is seems certain is that, as Speigel Online reported last month, “the phenomenon is gradually assuming catastrophic proportions.”

This is a much more important story than the mainstream media yet realizes. CCD is not simply a case of entire colonies of bees just dying in the hive. If that were the case, then the cause could be determined and dealt with.

There are lots of diseases and parasitic mites than can wipe out a bee colony. But Colony Collapse Disorder refers to the total disappearance of whole bee colonies — the BBC calls it VBS, or “Vanishing Bee Syndrome”.

According to Wikipedia, “a colony which has collapsed from CCD is generally characterized by all of these conditions occurring simultaneously:

Complete absence of adult bees in colonies, with no or little build-up of dead bees in or in front of the colonies.

Presence of capped brood in colonies. Bees normally will not abandon a hive until the capped brood have all hatched.

Presence of food stores, both honey and bee pollen:

i. which is not immediately robbed by other bees

ii. when attacked by hive pests such as wax moth and small hive beetle, the attack is noticeably delayed.”

Normally, a weakened bee colony would be immediately overrun by bees from other colonies or by pests going after the hive’s honey. That’s not the case with the stricken colonies, which might not be touched for at least two weeks, said Diana Cox-Foster, a Penn State entomology professor investigating the problem.

To summarize, for reasons unknown, millions of bees just pack up and abandon their hive, leaving everything behind. Nobody knows where they go. They just disappear.

Sounds like the kind of story one tells to kids over a campfire, but it’s true. (more…)

Many years ago I heard Johnny Cash sing a song on a Billy Graham Crusade. I had never heard the song before nor have I heard it since, but the title was “Matthew 24 Is Knocking on My Door”.

I want to quote a bit of that chapter from the New American Standard Bible. (I like that version because it’s easier to understand and is the one my pastor uses so it makes it easier for me to follow him when he’s reading.)

3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.

6 “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

You can read the entire chapter here.

This is not another story about the war, but I had to include that part to put into context what Jesus was telling the disciples.

The part I’m interested in particularly right now is the part about earthquakes.

Remember the big tsunami that hit at Christmas a couple of years ago, and now another one that hit in the Solomons just recently? These are only two, but I have been reading an interesting article about the huge earthquake in the Solomons.

Check this out:

RANONGGA, Solomon Islands (AFP) - The seismic jolt that unleashed the deadly Solomons tsunami this week lifted an entire island metres out of the sea, destroying some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs. [my emphasis]

In an instant, the grinding of the Earth’s tectonic plates in the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Monday forced the island of Ranongga up three metres (10 foot).

Submerged reefs that once attracted scuba divers from around the globe lie exposed and dying after the quake raised the mountainous landmass, which is 32-kilometres (20-miles) long and 8-kilometres (5-miles) wide.

Corals that used to form an underwater wonderland of iridescent blues, greens and reds now bleach under the sun, transforming into a barren moonscape surrounding the island.

The stench of rotting fish and other marine life stranded on the reefs when the seas receded is overwhelming and the once vibrant coral is dry and crunches underfoot.

Dazed villagers stand on the shoreline, still coming to terms with the cataclysmic shift that changed the geography of their island forever, pushing the shoreline out to sea by up to 70 metres. [my emphasis.]

I read and hear of these natural disasters happening more and more frequently, along with the wars and rumors of wars, nation rising up against nation, people claiming to be the Christ, and I can’t help but believe we are witnessing Matthew 24 happening before our very eyes.

42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

44 “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

I just wonder how many of us believe the Second Coming of Jesus could be very soon based on what we are told in the Bible. Judging by the way we are living, I would say not many of us are watching for that “thief in the night” but are out enjoying life as we’ve always known it.

I don’t know the day or the hour either, but the Lord Himself gave us the signs of the end times. We would be wise to heed His words and be prepared.