Coming Calamities: Does God Offer Protection?

An interesting article from www.gnmagazine.org about God's protection. This follows this post about the power of natural disasters. For more interesting stories like this click here to follow this blog.

Coming Calamities: Does God Offer Protection?
Where will you be when terror strikes the nations? Does God offer safety for anyone? Will He care about you when your fellow man doesn't?
by John Elliott
We can scarcely describe our state of affairs better than a recent article in Britain's Independent on Sunday: "If you go to the opera you risk being taken hostage. If you go on holiday you might be blown up. If you stop for petrol you could be shot by a sniper. Open a letter—does it contain anthrax? What's going on these days? Where will the next outrage be?" The message is clear: We live in a dangerous world.
Yet these aren't the worst possibilities. As more nations upgrade their stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, the likelihood of unfathomable terrors unleashed on Western countries continues to increase.
Religious fanaticism and extremist governments grow more threatening. In response, uneasy nations sense the need to build political, military and economic coalitions in an attempt to bring stability to an increasingly uncertain world.
It's no wonder people increasingly feel uncertainty and unease. In the post-Sept. 11 world, simpler and safer times seem to be gone forever.
Danger from those with little to lose
The 1,400-year struggle between Christianity and Islam is heating up in many places around the world, bringing armed conflict and civil war. Citizens in several European nations are increasingly favoring extreme-right political candidates who advocate action to alleviate their fear of foreigners. Solutions to ethnic rivalries are creeping back into politics at levels not seen since World War II.
Meanwhile, several smaller nations have attempted to expunge ethnic groups from within their borders—including Iraq, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia. In other countries the brewing confrontations between diverse populations are nearing flash points.
Historically, small underdog groups have shown that they will resort to desperate measures. Terror emanates from little groups more commonly than from larger nations because, in their view, they have so little to lose and potentially much to gain by unleashing destruction on civilization in unpredictable and inhumane ways.
Consider the potential of their exploiting the caches of thousands of chemical and biological munitions of the former Soviet Union that were warehoused near its perimeter. The breakup of the U.S.S.R. meant that small independent states inherited many of its deadly weapons. Exactly how many exist—and where they all are—is unknown. These often backward and impoverished countries are cash-poor, with many potential buyers lining up for their weapons of mass destruction. This concern doesn't even address the former Soviet Union's nuclear weapons.
Regional skirmishes and isolated outbreaks of terror may not seem to be high risks for the world's population at large. However, we're already seeing that these specific incidents may draw the larger powers into attempting radical solutions for the threats and other problems they face. Christ's end-time prophecy warns that a period of "great tribulation" will come suddenly on the whole world. The flash point will be an occurrence in the Middle East (Matthew 24:15-21).
The Bible teaches that events will mushroom into a global melee with several powers fighting for control. The loss of life from the resulting wars, famines and pestilence is forecast in the book of Revelation to include a great part of the world's population. (For more understanding of these endtime events, please request our free booklets Are We Living in the Time of the End? and The Book of Revelation Unveiled.)
Why is this happening?
The escalating collapse of ethics and morals in many countries is a symptom of a deeper sickness and out-of-control internal problems. Many in our self-centered world seem hell-bent on living any way they please. Our societies stifle anyone who opposes their self-serving appetite. People weigh in for a bigger slice of the pleasure pie. They seem willing to do anything in their lust for power, possessions and prestige. Meanwhile, traditions, customs, culture and laws based on the Bible are casually cast aside.
At almost every turn we see an escalation of brutality, violence, slander, theft and sexual perversion. In Western civilization this is matched with a determined effort to remove any mention of God and His standards from public life.
The apostle Paul warned of an age like ours when he wrote that "there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God . . ." (2 Timothy 3:1-4, New International Version, emphasis added throughout).
God's Word has forecast this slide into lawlessness and moral depravity since ancient times. Vivid descriptions of where it ultimately leads are mentioned widely throughout the Scriptures. More and more we live in societies that, the Bible forewarned, "parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves" (Isaiah 3:9, NIV).
Right on the heels of the prophesied degeneration of this era comes escalating worldwide violence and terror unlike anything we have ever seen. Jesus Christ warns that "it will be a time of great distress, such as there has never been before since the beginning of the world, and will never be again. If that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive . . ."
(Matthew 24:21-22, Revised English Bible). This devastating time will climax with the intervention of Christ's second coming- to save mankind from annihilation.
What about you?
If global turmoil escalates to such proportions in your lifetime,what will happen to you?
Don't think it couldn't happen. The last century saw two world wars that took the lives of tens of millions, not to mention countless smaller conflicts that killed and maimed millions more. Even now the seeds are being sown for the next worldwide inferno. Will you be swept away to suffer the same fate as the lawless and ungodly? Or will you summon the spiritual courage to swim upstream and uphold God's way of life?
Throughout the Bible this one theme is constant: God blesses the righteous and lets the sinners suffer the consequences of their rejection of Him. The reason involves the very purpose for which God created man in the first place. Each person, at some point, must choose one of two ways. Either we choose the way of selfishness, the mentality of Satan the devil (John 8:44; Galatians 5:19-21), or we choose and live a way of selflessness and concern for others that expresses God's mind and character (Galatians 5:22-23).
Most of humanity has chosen the way that comes most naturally to us, the way that "is hostile to God" and "does not submit to God's law" (Romans 8:7, NIV). But, while many have been offered the opportunity to learn God's way and begin living it, only a few have embraced the godly way of thinking and living exemplified by Christ and followed by the apostles and the saints (Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
Meanwhile, a man-made religion bearing the name of Christianity has permeated Western civilization for millennia and successfully masked many fundamental biblical truths. In addition to fostering fables and unbiblical rules and traditions, it has spawned violence, bloodshed and wars since its inception. The Bible prophesies that at the time of the end a great false religious system, symbolized prophetically as a prostitute, will sit atop an alliance of nations that will bring the world to the brink of annihilation (see Revelation 17).
But amid the political, moral and religious confusion around us are people whom God has chosen to be different. They form an early crew of "fellow workers" and spiritual children that His Word refers to as "saints" and "firstfruits" (Philippians 4:3; Romans 16:15; James 1:18). Those who have received and are guided by God's Spirit have a spiritual Father; they are spiritual children of His divine family. They are coheirs with Christ of the Kingdom of God and will rule with Him over the people of earth after His return (Revelation 5:10; 20:4).
Regrettably, terrible times will come before that day arrives. During this ominous period all who choose to live selfish and ungodly lives will face head-on the disasters spelled out in the book of Revelation and in other biblical prophecies.
But what about those who follow the will of their heavenly Father? Will they fare any better during the perilous times ahead?
The honest answer is twofold. On the one hand, Jesus warned His followers they would suffer persecution (Matthew 10:17-18). But the type of persecution He spoke of is not that of being sucked along with humanity into a vortex of war to be lost along with the masses. Rather, He described a form of courageously serving God in the face of the world's animosity (John 15:20).
Martyrs down through the ages have been singled out for persecution—primarily by human leaders (religious and secular)—for their rejection of a society in moral and religious collapse (Matthew 24:9; Hebrews 11:35-40). Paradoxically, God also promises protection for His spiritual children.
God loves His own
Throughout the Scriptures those whom God has chosen to be "His own special people" (1 Peter 2:9) have had His eye and ear on them. God calls these people in advance of the rest of humanity to be the "firstfruits" of billions whom He will ultimately include in His plan and bring into His family (James 1:18).
An example of God's care even in the midst of martyrdom is found in the book of Acts, where Stephen proclaimed God's truth to a hostile crowd (Acts 6-7). His message incited a lethal reaction from his audience, which stoned him to death.
But a closer reading of the story shows that God was supporting Stephen throughout the ordeal, from inspiring his words and actions to miraculously making his face seem like that of an angel. As Stephen died, God reassured him with a dramatic vision showing the Father and Son in heaven. Clearly, Stephen would live again through the resurrection of the saints at Christ's return. In spite of his dire circumstances, how encouraging this whole event must have been to Stephen!
Jesus and the Father are partners with those They have called to be the firstfruits of the divine family. God is faithful to His people and promises He will be with them. "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'So we may boldly say: 'The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6).
In the Father's ultimate wisdom, some become martyrs for the sake of the Kingdom of God, to be resurrected later. Yet other believers' lives are miraculously spared now.
Either way the life of a saint is precious to God. He has a purpose for every true Christian.
Who will be spared?
Just as God warns of the consequences of unrighteous conduct, He promises blessings for those faithful to His commandments and teachings. Consider some specific prophecies of events that will happen in the coming time of the Great Tribulation:
"And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book [of life]" (Daniel 12:1).
"Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him" (Isaiah 3:10-11).
A passage in Revelation indicates that God plans to spare His people, granting them His protection during the 3 1/2 years of tribulation and wrath that will come on humanity (Revelation 12:14). This is affirmed in other prophecies (see Zephaniah 2:3; Revelation 3:10).
Jesus' dark prophecy about the climactic events that will rip the world apart just before His second coming is prefaced with a positive statement to His followers: "Pray that your flight [their escape] will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened" (Matthew 24:20-22, NIV).
Will you be spared?
At a time known only to God, this present society will complete its irreversible, selfdestructive path that will take it to the brink of annihilation. God's true followers will not be part of that process, not be part of that mentality and not be part of that society. Rather, they will identify with a different kingdom (Hebrews 11:13-16) and long for the setting up of the righteous government of Christ on earth. They are those God will be closely involved with, whatever their circumstances may be.
A passage in Luke's account of Christ's end-time prophecy highlights the primary hope of God's people: "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near" (Luke 21:28). In this context, that redemption means eternal spirit life in the Kingdom of God, the primary goal of every true Christian. (To learn more about that Kingdom, please request our free booklet The Gospel of the Kingdom.)
But will you be one of those God is using for His purpose? Will you repent of humanly devised religious beliefs and traditions purporting to please God while actually rejecting Him, His commands and His ways?
The times ahead are forecast to wake us up to the truth. We need to be deadly serious about our dedication to doing the will of God in our lives from here on!
Referring to God and His awesome power (Hebrews 12:29), Isaiah the prophet was inspired to ask: "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" (Isaiah 33:14).
These questions impact every person alive at the beginning of the prophesied Great Tribulation. The answer follows in the next verses: "He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil: He will dwell on high; his place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be given him, his water will be sure" (verses 15-16).
Shouldn't you follow Christ's instruction in Luke 21:34-36 and ask God to bring you to a right spiritual condition, striving to yield to His guidance, so that He will consider you worthy to escape these calamitous things that are coming on the world and to stand before Him at His return? GN

Recommended Reading
You need to understand where this world is headed- and where you will fit in the events that lie ahead. As this article shows, it's literally a matter of life and death! To learn what your Creator expects of you and to begin living in a way that will please Him, please request the free booklets Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion and The Road to Eternal Life.

Is 2012 the End of the World?

A very interesting analysis from www.wnponline.org about the movie 2012. You can subscribe to this blog here for more interesting commentary!!
See here for who WASN"T destroyed in the movie!!!

Is 2012 the End of the World?
An ancient Mayan calendar mysteriously ends at the winter solstice in the year 2012. Is this a sign that the Mayans knew that December 2012 is the end of human history? The History Channel, Newsweek magazine, major movie studios, booksellers and dozens of Web sites are fanning the 2012 craze. Should you be building a shelter and stowing away food for the coming disaster?
by Gary Petty

The predictions are of total devastation! According to some forecasts, entire cities will be destroyed by enormous tsunamis, earthquakes and Category 5 hurricanes; meteors will rain down fiery death from heaven; and human history will come to a violent end.
The hype is based on a mixture of speculation about Mayan calendars, the book The Bible Code, some ancient Eastern prophecies, the writings of Nostradamus and passages from the biblical book of Revelation.
Other 2012 scenarios picture a wonderful change in human consciousness and the ushering in of the New Age of Aquarius. John Major Jenkins, author of Maya Cosmogenesis, describes the coming New Age this way: "Around the year we call 2012 a large chapter in human history will be coming to an end. All the values and assumptions of the previous World Age will expire, and a new phase of human growth will commence."
While movie special effects of a tsunami crashing into the Himalayas can be visually spectacular, the answers to your future can't be found in speculations about Mayan calendars, or in the writings of Nostradamus or a New Age guru. The real answers to the questions about the end of the world are found in the only true source of prophecy—the Bible.
Many people believe that the Bible, specifically the book of Revelation, predicts a fiery destruction of humanity. A close study of the book shows that, although Revelation does contain descriptions of terrible future events, it is ultimately a book about hope.
Could you use some hope in your life?
If you are like the rest of us, you could probably use more hope in your life. You might be worried about the mortgage, the kids and the job. And with all the hype, you now have to worry that the end of the world is just around the corner. The book of Revelation shows us that there are reasons life is so hard, and there are keys to help you discover hope in your future.
Many 2012 scenarios predict the total destruction of humanity and leave you with no hope for your personal future. The book of Revelation is more than gloom and doom and predictions of the violent end of the world. Underneath all the graphic images of death and destruction is a message of hope for the future of humanity and for you personally.
A central theme of hope runs through the entire Bible and culminates in the book of Revelation. The message is why human societies fail and how the problems will eventually be solved. This message of hope centers around seven basic concepts that apply to you personally:
1. You have a special purpose in life, and there are solutions to your problems. You can keep applying the same old solutions to the same old problems, and you will keep arriving at the same old problems. You must turn to the Creator of life as the source of the solutions to life's problems.
2. God created you in His image, but is His purpose being fulfilled in your life? Most people today are not fully aware of God's plan and are not actively participating in it. This is why humanity suffers from anguish, war, hatred, greed, inequality and disease.
3. You can experience a relationship with God and live your purpose. God can heal you spiritually, emotionally and physically.
4. This change can only take place when you accept your need to change and believe change is possible through God's involvement in your life.
5. You must seek God's way of life that is outlined in the Bible. The Bible isn't just an ancient book of stories. It is relevant to your life as God's instruction book for how life works.
6. Jesus Christ is coming to save the world, and you need to be preparing for that day by becoming a disciple. Jesus Christ is coming to establish the Kingdom of God on this earth. It will be a Kingdom based on God's universal values and laws. His government will create a new agricultural system, pollution-free manufacturing, a universal educational system, one world religion and peace and prosperity.
7. Your ultimate destiny is to become a child of God, and you can have a child/Father relationship with Him now.
Nothing can bring more happiness, hope, love and power into your life than living by this basic biblical theme.
The end of the world?
So what does the book of Revelation reveal about the end of the world?
Revelation was written toward the end of the first century by the apostle John, apparently the last of Jesus' original 12 disciples. It is a divinely inspired prophecy predominantly concerned with the events preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ.
John's visions reveal that before Christ returns humanity will suffer devastating wars, disease pandemics, religious strife and famine on a global scale. Many of these happenings are trends we see announced in daily headlines and newscasts today.
Watching your world teeter on economic chaos can leave you anxious. Nightly news reports of possible pandemics, the ongoing crisis between Israelis and Palestinians, rogue nations developing nuclear weapons, religious and racial tensions, and predictions of environmental disasters can make you want to crawl into a hole and hide from all the bad news.
Don't despair! In the Olivet Prophecy Jesus declared that He will return to save humanity from total destruction (Matthew 24:22). Revelation tells us about the time of deliverance Jesus predicted.
In Revelation 19 John gives us a description of the return of Jesus Christ: "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
"And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
"Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
"Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, 'Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.'
"And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
"And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh" (Revelation 19:11-21).
John describes a terrible time when governments unite to fight what they see as an invasion from outer space. Many people believe that this is the end of the story, but this is not the scenario revealed by God to John. He writes that Jesus will establish God's Kingdom on the earth for a thousand years, bringing peace and prosperity (Revelation 20:1-7).
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah was inspired to predict what the earth will be like during the reign of Jesus Christ. One passage, in Isaiah 2:2-4, states: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.
"Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
"He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."
What should you do?
Humanity is not going to be annihilated in a great fireball caused by asteroids or exploding atomic weapons. The Bible clearly shows that humanity is not going to experience extinction in 2012. Sometime in the future, Jesus Christ will return to save humanity from destruction. Between now and then you can live in hopeful anticipation of that day by turning the control of your life over to your Creator.
Are you willing to give up your own ideas about how life works and turn to your Creator for the solutions? God wants more than a profession of faith from you. He wants you to become His child, live by His standards, accept His values as the Creator of the universe and serve with Jesus Christ at His return. The hope is in the believing—the hope is in the doing—and the hope is in living daily God's purpose for your life.
While humanity will not be destroyed in 2012, the Bible also reveals that the New Age scenario is not your destiny. The solutions to human problems will not come from mysticism but from the Creator of life.
Through the advanced newscast of Revelation, God tells us that there are some very bad times ahead; but this book also tells us that there is coming a unique and total change of society. Jesus Christ is returning, not as a baby in a barn, but as Lord of Lords and King of Kings to establish God's Kingdom on the earth. He is coming to save the world.
It will be the beginning of real life and prosperity without war, crime, disease epidemics and hopeless poverty. It will be a time when all people will know the Creator and live His ways. There is a fantastic future waiting for humanity.
Christians live in anticipation of that day. It is the foundation of our hope. WNP

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Selling the Apocalypse - 2012 as the end of the world?

An interesting article about 2012 End of the World scenarios from www.wnponline.org.


Selling the Apocalypse

Dear World News and Prophecy Reader,

Hollywood continues to cash in on the end of the world. This November in the movie 2012 the world will come apart in fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. This will mark Roland Emmerich's fourth such movie of dire disaster for our planet. This new film, the director says, reflects a darker world view. "I'm really very pessimistic these days," he says.
Hold on, more will follow. In January The Book of Eli is scheduled to appear, telling a story about a book that reveals the way to mankind's redemption years after a cataclysmic war. Other shows such as Day One and The Colony weave together stories about human survival after apocalyptic wars. Why all the fascination with end-time entertainment?

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal says most of these filmmakers are "reacting to anxiety over real threats in uncertain times: the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, two U.S. wars abroad, multiple pandemics, a global financial crisis and new attention to environmental perils" ("Hollywood Destroys the World," July 31, 2009). One movie coming out called The Road uses actual footage from disasters like Hurricane Katrina to add to the realism.

This article quotes a writer for NBC's Day One saying, "For me, I feel like I live in an apocalyptic world with global warfare, a recession, and resource scarcity."
Pretty pessimistic, if you ask me. Shows like these and others from the past usually depict a bleak future for mankind. Nuclear war destroys nearly all life, and those who survive struggle to move forward. Not exactly a popcorn and Coke movie in my book.

You know what irritates me? That society has the whole thing backwards. In World News and Prophecy we write a great deal about Bible prophecy, showing the true picture of what lies ahead for this world and human life. It is true some horrific episodes are coming as the age of man's kingdoms comes to a close. But the Bible does not paint the bleak picture that modern movies do. Read your Bible closely and you will see that God intervenes and spares human life and then begins a period of restoration in His Kingdom that brings peace to the earth.
The Bible is a book of hope when it comes to the future of mankind. Yet it, and those who proclaim its truths, are often portrayed as "gloom and doomers," offering only a message of pessimism. Well, here is a test for you. Look at any of the upcoming movies and shows mentioned here and see how much hope and vision for a positive future is proclaimed. Then go and read your Bible and see what God says to the world about its bright future. You will see a stark contrast. I guarantee it.

Check out our Frequently Asked Question about 2012, and stay tuned for an article about the movie in a future World News and Prophecy.

Darris McNeely
Managing editor
World News & Prophecy