2012 Prophetic Year in Review--In November!

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). It has been my custom for several years to write an article at the end of the year summarizing events from a prophetic angle. Normally, this article finds its way to the blog, email subscribers, and the newspaper around the first of the year. However, I see no point in putting off what I surmise to be the biggest end-times stage-setting event of 2012. And this despite the fact terrorist are this very moment reigning rockets down on Israel from Gaza with Israel poised to respond with overwhelming force any moment. So what is this stage-setting event of which I speak? Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries (www.olivetreeviews.org) refers to it as, “A birth pang of biblical proportions!” The rest of us refer to it as the 2012 U.S. election. 

I am still flabbergasted at the election outcome. Beyond the candidates and political parties, what we really witnessed was a competition between worldviews. A worldview is defined as the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world. Although we see multiple worldviews throughout the world the Bible only recognizes two—life and death. “Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death” (Jer. 21:8). Amazingly, 51% of Americans, including 42% of self-identified Protestant Christians and 50% of Roman Catholics, voted for a brazenly anti-biblical worldview, which can only be described as a worldview of death.  The truth of the matter is worldviews are ideas and ideas have consequences and America has chosen ideas that lead to death—that unfettered abortion, homosexual marriage, hostility to religious freedom in general and Christianity in particular is preferable to a worldview that teaches humans are created in the image of God and of infinite worth and marriage is ordained by God from the beginning as the union between one man and one woman and is the foundation of society.  Furthermore, I believe we also witnessed God handing us over to ourselves in fulfillment of Romans 1:22-23, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man,” with the end result being that God has now given us over to judgment (see Rom. 1:24-32).  When we understand it is God who appoints rulers according to His purpose and we understand in the last days, just prior to the return of Christ, there is no nation in Bible prophecy remotely resembling the United States, things come into sharper focus. What we do find in Scripture is a revived form of the ancient Roman Empire—Europe. So if Europe is to become the power center for the last days then the present power center—the United States—must decrease to a point of insignificance. Any number of things could bring this about, not the least of which is God’s judgment upon the nation. And it is at this point that I believe we just witnessed what may very well prove to be the greatest event of prophetic significance of 2012—God giving us what we not only asked for, but also deserve as a nation. 

What amazes me most is that I am witnessing this in my lifetime. What I thought would take years to bring about—the decline of America—is happening quickly over the course of just a few years.  The “difficult times” to which Paul refers in 2 Timothy 3 are here and they are here to stay. Things will only get worse. The economies of the world will continue to get worse. The Middle East, which is poised to explode any moment, will only get worse. True Christianity will continue to be maligned as the hate-filled bigotry the world thinks it is. Politicians will clamor for position offering their deluded ideas that lead only to death. World leaders will continue to be intoxicated with the desire to solve the Middle East problem. And then one day soon—perhaps today—Christians the world over will hear a deafening shout followed by a piercing trumpet blast. In an instance they will be gone and those who have rejected the truth and embraced a lie will remain. The chaos and confusion, which follows, will result in the masses looking for a leader, one who will ascend to power on promises of peace and prosperity. Amazingly he will bring Peace to the Middle East, between Israel and her neighbors. But it will be a short-lived peace. “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly” (1 Thess. 5:3). The world will enter into a prophetic period which the Bible describes in great detail—Daniel’s 70th Week, popularly known as The Great Tribulation. So, Christians, don’t be discouraged. Our Savior is returning soon! Let me close this update with words from W.A. Fletcher’s hymn, Farther Along, “Soon we will see our dear, loving Savior, hear the last trumpet sound through the sky; then we will meet those gone on before us, then we shall know and understand why.”