I am a builder. I have always enjoyed planning and working on new building projects and seeing them come together step by step. I learned early on that in reading blueprints, if I wanted to get the entire picture, I had to view each individual overlay of the master plan – an overlay for the foundation, one for the infrastructure, another for the plumbing and wiring, another for the interior walls, roofing, exterior surfaces, even an overlay for the landscaping and parking lots – and then lay them on top of each other. Only after studying the individual overlays together could I get an accurate picture of what ws going to come into existence.
To truly understand the book of Revelation, you must review the prophecies of Daniel, ponder the words of Jesus from the Gospels, and then consider Paul’s writings to the Thessalonians. As you add each of these layers to the book of Revelation, you can begin to see the entire picture as the Lord intended it to be seen.
One of the most important overlays to understanding Revelation is the Second Coming discourse given by Jesus to His disciples and recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. Many of the “signs of the times” mentioned by Jesus are similar to those in the vision John received and recorded in Revelation 6.
John Kilpatrick is the former pastor of Brownsville Assembly of God Church in Pensacola, Florida, a place where a genuine revival broke out on Father’s Day 1995 and continued unabated with spontaneous services every night for five years, with more than four and a half million people going through the doors during that time. For years John studied the passages relating to the Second Coming. In regard to the words of the prophets and the predictions of Jesus, he said, “These days are not coming they are here.” John added, “Every major sign of the Second Coming is in motion right now.”
You don’t need to be a Bible scholar to know that the planet is groaning. Populations are increasing while the resources needed to sustain them are decreasing. The oceans are dying, clean air and water are becoming scarce, natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, floods, crop failures, bacterial mutations, and shifting weather patterns), conflicts (terrorism and wars), false religions (cults and pseudo religions), and a worldwide economic meltdown are reported daily in the news.
Something big is about to happen. We need to prepare to see Jesus! Knowledge that we are living in what the Bible refers to as the “last days” should motivate Christians to live closer to Jesus than ever before and to more actively seek out opportunities to share the gospel with people who don’t yet know the Lord. The clock is ticking and time is running out. Yes, difficult days are upon us, but do not lose hope. Jesus Christ will return, and He will take you to live with Him eternally. Right now, however, we need to brace ourselves for some shocks.
How do I know this? Because Jesus Himself said so in Matthew 24.
(Excerpt from “Time Has Come”)
