He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)
Recently Wendy and I had the opportunity to get away for a rare vacation. It had been more than two decades since we were able to break away from family and ministry and enjoy a week of down time. We spent a week on the beach and watched the sunset every night for seven straight nights from various vantage points. Each one was gloriously different, depending on the clouds and the weather that day.
If you have ever watched a sunset, you know that at the very end it happens quickly. For several minutes it seems as though the sun has scarcely shifted its position. Then, in the final minute or two, you can almost see it moving as it darts beneath the horizon. One minute it is there, shining brightly across the ocean. The next, it is gone, leaving only a dim glow in the distance.
As I watched the sunset each night, I could not help but think of the church in America today. Is the sun setting on the church? Is our time in God’s plan of the ages drawing to a close? Is God’s work in and through the Church winding down? It is a difficult question to answer with certainty. Yet, there are many signs that indicate we may be entering the twilight of the church.
The Bible warns, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). More than ever before, deception has swept across this country. Satan is “blinding people’s hearts to the Gospel” and “deceiving the whole world” (2 Cor. 4:4; 2 John 7). According to a recent Gallup poll from June of 2022, only sixty-eight percent of Americans under age thirty believe in God.
This statistic is validated by a recent conversation I had with a woman who attended an event where I was speaking about the Great Satanic Reset. After my presentation, she came up to me and insisted that Jesus Christ is not the only way to heaven and that the Bible is filled with lies and errors. She is deceived.
We are also told in Scripture, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3–4). The great Satanic reset that is being thrust upon us by the Luciferians is a giant fable that is capturing the minds of many people. The “new normal” is rapidly setting in, and few seem to be aware of its dangers.
The evil powers behind the Satanic agenda in our world have told us bluntly that we will never return to “normal.” We must never forget, however, that although normal may not be coming back, Jesus is! He promised to rescue His bride, the church, from this present evil age (Gal. 1:4) prior to the great and terrible Day of the Lord’s wrath (1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9). This does not mean, of course, that believers in this church age will avoid suffering altogether. Indeed, there is more persecution and martyrdom of Christians today than at any other time in church history.
It does mean, however, that someday, in God’s perfect timing, the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven in the clouds and gather His church together for that great reunion in the sky (1 Thess. 4:17). The Bible calls this event the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). It will mark the end of the church age and a shift into the next phase in God’s plan of the ages. The “rapture,” as it is called in the Latin translation of the Bible, will mean the sun has finally set on the church age. And like a sunset, it will happen quickly.
The very last words of Jesus recorded in the Bible are, “Surely I am coming quickly” (Revelation 22:20). To those words, the Apostle John responded, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” The word “quickly” that Jesus used in this verse means “suddenly” or “rapidly.” It has been nearly two thousand years since John recorded those words of Christ in the book of Revelation, and throughout the church age we have been watching the sun slowly descend toward the horizon. Today, it has picked up speed.
As Wendy and I watched the sunset each night during our beach vacation, there were times when we were transfixed by the waves and distant glow and almost missed the chance to take a picture as the sun made its final, swift dash under the sea. Could it be that many people today are transfixed by the chaos around us and have failed to recognize the urgency of the hour? All signs point to the soon coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. When it happens, it will happen fast.
Are you ready? Have you placed your faith in Him as the only One who can save you from your sin and give you the free gift of eternal life?
