What Will You Do When the End Comes?

A long, long time ago lived a man by the name of Jeremiah. He was a prophet for God in and around 600 BC. He must have been a very special person because in Jeremiah 1:5 we are told that he was ordained to be a prophet even before he was born, in his case he was to be a prophet to the nations and as you read through his words, you know the “nations” refer to the nations that would stem from Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob and then through the Houses (or Nations) of Israel and Judah.

We all know that a prophet is someone who forecasts events that will take place sometime in the future. All through the Book of Jeremiah he wrote of events that are prophetic. This is not unusual because most knowledgeable Bible scholars believe that a huge percentage of the Bible is prophetic, some even think up to 70/80%. To those who study the Bible in this way, no subject is more fascinating than prophecy; but prophecy has not been given to make readers prophets. As Howard Rand wrote, “ It is for the purpose of confirming God’s Word and the Word of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to enable those who walk in faith to know and recognize the truth”. Jesus informed and still informs His disciples as to the purpose when following statements regarding things to come, He said: “Behold, I have told you before.” Matthew 24:25.

So, when you read a story in the Bible, you have to think to yourself, “Is this prophetic? Does it describe anything in the past or present that the words are attempting to describe. Is there something in the words that God is using to enable those of us of faith to understand events past and events now taking place?

Jeremiah posed the above question “What will you do in the end times?” These words are recorded in Jeremiah 5:31 but from verse 15 onward describe events taking place in his time. You are encouraged to read these verses before continuing with this article.

Once you have, you will realize they were meant for a blind, naive and disobedient Israel but in reading, you might also come to the realization they are a pattern for the conditions in the sorry state of our western nations today? Ask yourself, “Are we a blind, naive and disobedient people?” Did God use the conditions and the prophesied captivity of the Nation of Judah as a message to the western peoples who history tells us were formed by the banished lost tribes of Israel. Certainly, there are many, many similarities between Jeremiah’s time and those of today.

You might wonder how we got ourselves into such a mess, but God explained it very well when He said, “Because you have abandoned Him [God] and served foreign gods in your own country,” Well, look around and you will see the truth in this statement because very few are the Christians today who have not succumbed to a new watered-down interpretation of God’s Word. Christianity as it was in the days of true faith is just a memory in the minds of the few.

Let’s look just at America, I often read historian and author Alexis de Tocqueville’s words, written in 1831, “Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.” You see, at that time, we were still under the great feeling of the Protestant Reformation, although at the tail end of devoutness. America and its sister western nations were great, but Tocqueville added these last few words that are prophetic as well, “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” Sadly, there was a seed of disaster that was already being sown by the time of Tocqueville’s statement and it is this seed that has led us to the same state as Jeremiah described twenty-six centuries earlier for the Nation of Judah. It didn’t happen all at once of course, remember, a seed that is sown first breaks through the ground very quickly, remains static until the root system is fully developed, then continues its rapid growth toward the budding, flowering and fruit bearing stages. An evil seed, like the long, slow march of the satanic plan, must follow the same course.

There is a great expectation in some Christian quarters today that very soon the greatest event in history will take place, of course, I refer to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the signs are in place and if one is bold enough to look to prophecy, there is great encouragement. Still, one has to wonder why God hasn’t given up on us because of our naivety and our disobedient natures. He did once you know, that was in the days of our long-ago ancestors, which the prophet Hosea recorded in Chapter 5:15, when God said, “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face; in their affliction they will seek me early.” Earlier Hosea had recorded these words from God, “…. for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.” (Hosea 1:10) Fortunately, God then said the House of Israel would grow into great numbers and once again be His people. (Hosea 1:10) So, for centuries, our ancestors wandered throughout Asia and Europe until we were redeemed by the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then, centuries later, the Reformation took place and Jesus Christ became the focal point in our Protestant nations and we once again became “His People.”

Yet, we didn’t watch out for that bad seed, as slowly and progressively, it grew bolder and bolder and over that past couple of decades, affliction has leaped forward at an astounding pace.

What is it that through Jeremiah, God was so eager to get across to our early descendants and to those of us living in the very last days? Certainly, it was the chilling message that God imparted to Jeremiah and if the message was indeed intended to reflect a dual fulfillment, that is, as it was then, so it is now, then we should be able to compare the characteristics of Jeremiah’s time with our own western world. If we are honest with ourselves, we will compare and immediately go to our knees seeking help because it is an exact replay of those long-ago times.

Again, the root cause of our entire problem today is that we have abandoned God. Think on this! Where once the Bible held an honoured place in the home, if it is there at all today in most homes, it simply gathers dust. Consequently, as it was in Jeremiah’s day, we are facing similarities that have weakened the fabric of our society and effectively placed our people in bondage, as our dignity, our wealth, our Faith and our freedoms have been progressively stripped away. Many might wonder why God has permitted such adverse conditions for His People but effectively He has returned to His place until we acknowledge our offence and seek His Face. 2 Chronicles 7:14 words it similarly, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” We might wonder why God has left the field wide open for the evil seed but sadly, this is in fulfillment of a promise made centuries earlier and again, for an ancestry that simply doesn’t believe God.

Consequently, apostasy has picked up speed. A victim has been the Israel Truth, which was almost stopped in its tracks when the modern Israeli State adopted the name of Israel in 1948. So too, has been the companion body of true Christians who have joined the march over the decades, but are walking in the apostasy dark themselves. This satanic march has been beset by false messages, adopted by theologians and the great body of Christians, and actively promoted by the False Prophet itself, that is, the Media. I don’t totally understand why the descendants of Jacob Israel would shut their eyes to truth, but we have and I suppose somewhere this is just a plank in God’s plan. One thing the apostasy has achieved is the condition of the world that the Prophets, the Apostles and Jesus Christ Himself spoke about and as mentioned earlier, it does mirror the condition God conveyed to Jeremiah long, long ago.

So, let’s now examine some of those things Jeremiah declared to the House of Jacob [all of Israel] and to those Christians who follow the Christian God.

Verse 19 – Our long-ago ancestors served strange gods. Think about this in context of today. We have imported tens of millions of non-Christian peoples into our lands and in the spirit of fairness have permitted them to erect centres for their gods. At the same time, the Bible was being discarded as the guiding force of our nations and this led the way for the subduing of true Christian beliefs in favour of a watered-down version, and growth of such things as new ageism, humanism or one of the eastern faiths.

Verse 20 – Our ancestors served strangers in a land no longer theirs – This is easy to understand when looking at the Nation or House of Judah because they were conquered shortly after and taken captive to Babylon where they served the Babylonians. Of course, The House or Nation of Israel, along with much of Judah, were captured by the Assyrians and shipped to Northern Assyria a hundred years earlier than Jeremiah’s warning but they eventually found their way to western lands. Yet, this is a puzzling statement as we apply it today, until we recognize that corporations and people not of our founding race are in control of our destiny, both financial and moral. And each year, regulations overtake our freedoms and governments become more autocratic and less of “for the people.”

Verse 21 – Our ancestors were foolish people, people who are without understanding, blind and incapable of hearing. Today, it is no different; we see only the surface of things, hear only what we are told and accept the views of media and others rather than studying to understand truths. So, is it any mystery why debt has overtaken us and why we have lost our standard of living compared to emerging nations? We have just sat back and let it happen.

Verse 22 – Israelites in Jeremiah’s day lost their fear of the Lord. Ironically, the non-Christian people who have come into our lands are more devout than the majority of our people. Sadly, if you go one step further, it has even reached the point where our people stand back as our Lord Jesus Christ is ridiculed and mocked. Some time ago, I recall a Fox television debate between a religion hater and a Fox analyst. Fifty years ago, a blasphemer would never be permitted to spout his views on a national television program but whenever this man appears on a program, he is sadly applauded by a mostly apostolic audience. This debate wasn’t much because the Fox analyst seemed to lack understanding. That seems to be the way in today’s world.

Verse 23 – God accused our descendants in Jeremiah’s time as having a revolting and a rebellious heart. Today, with the exception of a small minority, there is an outright rebellion against anything that smacks of God and the lifestyles promoted throughout our lands, primarily through movies, the media, even schools, is nothing less than disgusting.

Verse 25 – Iniquities and sins have kept the blessings back. Well, you don’t go from the most prosperous nations in the world to the most indebted, the highest standard of living in the world to well down the rankings, the most respected nations in the world to the most hated, from high moral standards to filth, all reasons why God has withheld His blessings.

Now, next, God points out a major thorn in the side of the Israelites in Jeremiah’s day. One would have to be blind not to see the same thorn in today’s western nations.

Verse 26 – Godless men (and women) are among the people that lie and wait to catch people

Verse 27 – Their houses are full of swindling gains and they have become known, should we say, idolized, as great men and women, prosperous as they grow rich, and right in front of our eyes, they go to any length in crime.

Verse 28 -They will not make any move for justice, or champion a cause or rally to a poor man’s rights.”

So, God warns, “Shall I not punish them; shall I not make them pay?” He is talking about the wicked, of course, but also to the whole Christian body. Have we, as Christian nations been punished? I certainly think so and if one looks at the description from the prophet Ezekiel, it is frightening. In Ezekiel 7 he also told us that God would turn His face from His people. He prophesied that we Israelites would pollute God’s secret place, that robbers would enter into it, that the land would be full of bloody crimes, the cities full of violence, that the worst of the heathen would be brought to our shores, that they would possess our houses, deplete our strength, defile our holy places, that destruction would come, we would not find peace and the law would perish. A pretty good description of today’s western world, don’t you think?

No wonder God sums it up by having Jeremiah write “a horrible thing, an appalling thing has happened in the land.” You can’t deny it. Of course, there is little doubt that it is the governmental, economic and religious leaders who are the ringleaders, because God said, “Here are prophets that utter a lying message, priests that clap their hands in applause.” Still, ringleaders must have followers and as God points out, “yet, this people of mine are well content, they love to have it so.” You know, we can sit and quote Hosea 4:6 till the cows come home and try to reason that God’s words, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” are somehow an excuse for our predicament or we can say that people today have been so moulded into this new reality, they don’t know the difference. But God says, you are being destroyed because “you have rejected knowledge.” Is it any wonder then that God cries out, “What will you do when the end comes?”