Implosion by Joel C. Rosenberg Read Free Book Online Page A

found in the Bible, though it is a powerful and pervasive concept in the Scriptures.
    The prophet Malachi refers to “the great and terrible day of the L ORD ” (Malachi 4:5). The prophet Joel refers to “the great and dreadful day of the L ORD ” (Joel 2:31, NIV). Why does each prophecy use such divergent terms to describe the same event? Why would the coming of the Lord be “great” on the one hand and “terrible” or “dreadful” on the other? In one sense, the Second Coming will be great in terms of its enormous scope and magnitude. Yet in another sense, the Day of the Lord will be great for those who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord and thus are excited about his return and his loving and benevolent rule over the earth that will follow. However, the Scriptures also indicate that the Day of the Lord will be terrible and dreadful for those who have rejected Jesus as Messiah because the time for accepting him will have expired. Those who are not at that moment born again (as explained in John chapter 3) will go to hell. That’s how high the stakes are. This is why the Scriptures put such a heavy emphasis on the importance of believers sharing the good news of Christ’s love and forgiveness with the whole world and urging them to receive Christ as Savior before it is too late.
    It should be noted here that all truly born-again followers of Jesus Christ believe that the second coming of Jesus Christ will occur at some point in the future. All the major Christian denominations around the world—and all independent Bible-believing and Bible-teaching congregations—hold the second coming of Christ as a fundamental, essential, and nonnegotiable element of orthodox Christian doctrine. To deny the second coming of Christ, which is taught clearly and unapologetically in the Bible, is heresy. The return of Jesus Christ to earth to be reunited with his followers is, therefore, an event that should unite all sincere Christians as something very much to look forward to.
    That said, while all faithful Christians believe Jesus Christ is coming back, not all sincere Christians agree on all aspects of biblical eschatology, or End Times theology. There are differences of opinion on how to correctly interpret the Scriptures that describe what will happen in the last days and in what order these events will take place. These are important debates, and it is worth familiarizing yourself with these concepts from the Bible, but my purpose here is not to painstakingly go through every element of End Times prophecy. I do, however, recommend that you undertake your own study of these critical concepts. Why? Because these events are coming, and people need to know what’s ahead and be prepared. This is why we were given these prophecies: to offer us advance warning of the storms that are approaching so we can be ready and prepare others to be safe and secure through faith in Christ Jesus.
    As I have pointed out, my intention here is not to attempt to settle disputes among Christians with regard to the specifics of the last days. It is, rather, first to acknowledge to those who have never seriously studied Bible prophecy that there are disagreements among men and women of goodwill. And second, I want to encourage you to study the Scriptures very carefully for yourself, pray and ask the Lord to reveal the truth to you, discuss these prophecies with family and friends, and seek to honestly discover their meaning.
    What Are the Signs of the Last Days?
    The good news is that the Bible provides a list of geopolitical, spiritual, and environmental signs that will be visible in the last days as we get closer to the return of Christ. The most famous and detailed explanation of these signs was given by the Lord Jesus himself on the Mount of Olives, just outside the city of Jerusalem. Shortly before his arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, Jesus was asked by his disciples, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and