Times Of Swaziland: BIBLICALLY PROPHESIED SERIES OF EVENTS BIBLICALLY PROPHESIED SERIES OF EVENTS ================================================================================ BY Alex Nxumalo on 04/07/2020 23:19:00 “They will say, ‘What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created’...” 2nd Peter 3:4 We are living in a hopelessly and increasingly sinful and broken world that is fast approaching and hurtling towards what some regard as the unknown. To some of us, this ‘unknown’ is a real, biblically prophesied series of events which long began taking place, and not very long from now, will reach a frightening crescendo, culminating in the complete abolition of evil and its associated impact on humanity, after the triumphant return of the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ. As the above verse and numerous other verses in the Bible give us a clue as to where the world is heading to, Christ’s Second Coming is an irrevocably promised and imminent event that is largely scoffed at by many whom, Peter referred to as ‘scoffers’. derision A scoffer is defined as someone who, “jeers or mocks or treats something with contempt or calls out in derision”. Thus, we can call those who do not believe in, deride or mock God’s Word and its contents, (and who - most critically - despise what was prophesied concerning Christ’s Second Coming) scoffers - a very fatal stance to adopt. To those who religiously read their Bibles in ‘truth and in spirit”, and compare world events (as they unfold) to biblically prophesied last days events, most of whom were prophesied by the infallible Word of God, the Bible, that they will take place, occurring with increasing intensity as we approach what our Lord Jesus Christ in His Olivet prophecy (Mount Olive) called the ‘last days’, it is time to fervently intensify their spiritual relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. The stark reality, as we observe, hear of and learn about man’s ungodly ways these days, which - whether you are a believer or not – rarely fails to evoke a sense of trepidation to many of the world’s inhabitants, is that, not all is well...the days are increasingly becoming evil and dangerous. Perplexing, world events are taking place at a frenetic and frightening pace. Something is brewing over the horizon... Without sounding like a prophet of doom, it is spiritually obligatory, prudent and sage of me to point out that it does not need one to be a tarot-card reader or soothsayer, to discern that what is happening globally, including in our own, so-called pulpit of Africa - the Kingdom of Eswatini - is a serious cause for concern. In light of Jesus Christ’s disciples’ concerned questions on the Mount Olive, when they approached him, and worriedly asking Him three questions: “Tell us, when shall these things be?”; “What shall be the sign of thy coming?”; “What shall be a sign of the end of the world?”, Christ then prophesied about end-time events that will be a harbinger of and herald His Second Coming, inclusive of wars, famines, pestilences (pandemics). Please ponder for a time about the devastating effects of past pandemics like the Spanish influenza of 1918-1920, the deadly HIV and Aids virus which has taken millions of lives since its advent some years ago, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, etcetera, and now, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, with its deadly and devastating effects, globally. This should worry some, if not all of us, including those who are scoffers, that the universe is already deeply heading for cataclysmal and perilous times in the not-so-distant future. The signs just cannot be ignored any more…. millennium Looking back to, say, before the advent of the millennium and comparing things to what is happening now, a lot has drastically changed. For instance, consider the degeneration of morals in our society. Without any shadow of a doubt, our global society has turned into one that glorifies “evil as good, and good as evil” The generation of today is deeply immersed in frightening and perplexing indulgence in decadent and immoral acts like sexual promiscuity, rape, teenage pregnancies, blatant corruption from both individuals and governments, same-sex relations, drug abuse, idolatry, love of money more than love for God and a host of other despicable and noxious malfeasances. Christian and traditional values of moral etiquette our forefathers grew under, respected and cascaded down to subsequent and following generations, are a thing of the past. The world has become so broken and sinful such that some of us are very dreadful of how the unseen, powerful and avenging God, who created all mankind and the universe is viewing (and without any shadow of a doubt, orchestrating things behind the scenes) all the sins we are wallowing in without shame and commit with impunity, scoffing at His divine right of sovereignty over us. The million-Dollar question any sane-thinking human being should be constantly asking him/herself, is: Does our loving God look the other way and ignore our blatant transgression of His divine laws and statutes? Or, is what is happening globally in relation to, say, the devastating effects on human life by viruses which are without any lasting cure (like the HIV and Aids pandemic and others) as well as the now pandemic COVID-19, which is wreaking havoc, relentlessly taking hundreds of thousands of lives globally...are these not a direct result of the “you reap what you sow” type of cause and effect? degeneration Some of us, cannot help but think of questions like, “is the current, science-defying COVID-19 pandemic, not a direct and resultant effect of our grieving the God of the universe, by man’s degeneration of Godly morals? Are we reaping the fruits of forsaking our heavenly Father and trusting in our own, fallible might and/or power? Have we conveniently forgotten the curses (and blessings) in the book of Deuteronomy? Remember, God in His Word warns us that, ‘your sins will follow or find you´- Numbers 32:23. We cannot run away from the fact that people “are dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14–15) Ancient, prophet Moses, warned the children of Israel of what will befall them should they violate God’s commandments and statutes. Deuteronomy 28:22 states: “The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish...” Yes...granted, pandemics have been there before since the days of our forefathers, affecting and killing millions of the world’s population. Consider the global impact of the largest influenza in history, the 1918-1920 so-called, Spanish flu. It is said it was not only restricted in Spain but affected all parts of the globe. It began in the spring of 1918 and rapidly spread its tentacles globally, just like the current COVID-19. The global death toll is said to have been around 17.4 million or so. Before that, the globe was affected by other pandemics like the Asian and Russian flu. Scoffers, yes, may defiantly mock and point out that such calamities came and went, with no Jesus Christ landing on these shores. relations It is critical that we scrutinize the INTENSITY and FREQUENCY of the prophesied last day’s events in order to discern that all is not well. Consider, for instance, how same-sex relations were taboo in our country and around the globe. Proponents of such decadence are now openly flaunting their perverted relations and have even held gay pride marches - something unheard of half-a-century or so ago in this country! And we expect God to nod with approval? Consider the speed and swiftness at which the COVID-19 virus spread across the globe. It originated in China in 2019 and in a space of six months or so, the globe is in a vice-grip like stranglehold of this deadly pandemic. In our country, scoffers painted (and still are) the town red, telling whoever cared to listen that the coronavirus, “is an overseas disease affecting only belungu...” What is the situation now? Do not bother yourself about responding to my question. We now constantly wear masks like bank robbers; with the beauty of our facial features we flaunt and idolise so much, hidden and hardly recognizable; our love of money more than God, has been plugged off. The flourish and abuse of the economy by governments and corporate oligarchs, which they share among their corrupt cronies, disregarding vulnerable communities and have made it a tool to abuse their citizens, has been brought to a screeching halt. The question is: Siyaphi? Shalom! Alex Nxumalo 76058449