Page 153 - God's Church through the Ages - Student Textbook

Never before in history, no matter how decadent mankind has been, have we seen the lot of mankind better
described by these verses. As we watch the news, daily we see these descriptions lived out in the lives of our
politicians and even our spiritual leaders.

I read this recently on Facebook:

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following
statistics:
• 29 have been accused of spousal abuse
• 7 have been arrested for fraud
• 19 have been accused of writing bad checks
• 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 business
• 3 have done time for assault
• 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
• 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
• 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
• 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
• 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year…

These people and these statistics represent the 535 members of the United State Congress – those men and
women to lead the USA.

The casual reading of the daily news clearly indicates that most of the world has rejected God. The world’s
greatest scientists can even figure out the difference between a boy and a girl. The gay and lesbian voice
proudly taunts and insists that their debased morality be respected and protected as a fundamental human
right. Since Row vs. Wade (just over 50 years) over 60 MILLION babies have been murdered in the wombs of
women in the US. To make this even more frightening, over 56 million abortions occurred worldwide each year
in 2010 to 2014 and the rate has been static since then. Many, if not most, of these unwanted children is a
result of promiscuous behavior. Currently it is estimated that over 30 million women and girls are slaves within
the human marketing industry in the world. The “forced labor” statistics indicate that over $150 BILLION is
made in illegal profits per year. 125

Can you see that 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is as true today, and more so, than any time in history?

The Next Biblical Event in History

While we don’t know all the events that will take place shortly, we do know that the next unfulfilled event to
take place with the church is the Rapture. We do not know when it will happen. The expectation of Paul was
that it could happen at any time.

We believe that this event will take place preceding the revelation of the Antichrist and the events of the
tribulation as described in the book of Revelation.

What we know about the rapture is that it will happen very quickly and unexpectedly. I Thessalonians 4:13-18
are probably the most clear and complete presentation of this event in all of Scripture.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (NIV84)13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall
asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again

125 https://www.safehorizon.org/get-informed/human-trafficking-statistics-facts/#statistics-and-facts/
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