One of the common threads of Cult's theology is their insistence of making "end time predictions." The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, reported that a third of the world's cults predicted the world would come to an end in the year 2000.

Matthew 24:36 KJV "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

"The Secretary General of the UN recently said that man has perhaps ten years to solve the problems of survival. He pointed out the three great crises which are unique to our generation - the problem of nuclear weapons, the problems of over-population, the problem of pollution of air and water. And he said that if we don't solve these problems in this decade, we are approaching the time when they will be beyond our capacity to control."

These words of dire warning are now thirty years old, taken from the preface to Hal Lindsey's "Late Great Planet Earth." Lindsey believed the end of the world was imminent in 1970.

2 Thes. 2:1 "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed"

SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

“’The future is impossible to predict,’ said Jonah Lehrer, and the track record of people who make predictions for a living confirms it.” He was talking about political, economic, and social predictions. In a study of 284 prominent economists, foreign-policy specialists, and journalists, Lehrer discovered their predictions were less that 50% accurate. “In other words,” he said, “our political discourse is driven in large part by people whose opinions are less accurate than a coin toss.”

--The week, November 12, 2010, p. 16 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

As haphazard as their results seem to be, they are remarkably more accurate than all the “theologians” who have attempted to predict the date of the second coming of Christ. Their percentage is a big fat zero. Yet, there are those who continue to take a stab at guessing the date. --see http://www.thepropheticyears.com/comments/countdown_to_second_coming.htm for an example.

Matthew 24:36 (NIV) "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

As Christmas approached, billboards began popping up in major US cities in 2010. The Christmas themed ads featured images of the wise men and the Star of Bethlehem along with a message proclaiming, “He is coming again.”The billboards go further by proclaiming that Jesus will return May 21, 2011, and directing people to a website for more information. The website contains information based on a controversial Bible teacher who claims his calculations point to the date in May 2011 because it is exactly 7,000 years after the biblical flood of Noah began. The same teacher had previously predicted Jesus’ return in 1994, but says the new calculations are more accurate.

Response to the billboards have been mixed, but Dr. Thomas Slater, professor of New Testament at Mercer University School of Theology says he thinks the ads are a bad idea because they could turn people away from the important message of Jesus. Slater says predicting the end of the world is unbiblical. He said, “I think the people are sincere but they also are making a grave mistake. They are attempting to replace living by faith with living by knowledge. But knowledge of when the world ends cannot replace the power of living by faith. He adds, “The end of times is something that we all expect and hope for and look forward to but most Christians aren’t in the business of trying to predict that date. They are working toward that date.”

--Billboards Marking Jesus’ Return in May ‘Misguided,’ Says NT Scholar,

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20101216/billboards-marking-jesus-return-in-may-misguided-says-nt-scholar ; December 16, 2010. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Mark 13:32-33 (CEV) (32) No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know. Only the Father knows. (33) So watch out and be ready! You don't know when the time will come.

The recent unrest in Egypt and other areas of concern have prompted many Bible teachers to make statements about the end times. Pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie recently spoke to thousands at a church in Riverside, California, titled his message, “What every last days believer needs to know.” Laurie said the unrest in Egypt, the emergence of China as a superpower, the growing aggression of Russia, and the diminishing of the United States are important signs to be aware of. He also warned that imposters within the church are a vital concern.

Laurie said the solution is for believers to live like they really believe Jesus is coming. He said in the same way a police officer on the roadside causes a driver to be cautious of their speed and slow down, the return of Jesus should impact the way Christians live. He warned the temptation to compromise works like yeast and permeates every area of a person’s life. Laurie said, “If we really believe Jesus is coming, it should affect our conduct.” He said, “We are to keep our lives pure.” Then added, “Get right with God or get left behind.”

Laurie: What Every last Days Believer Needs to Know, http://www.christianpost.com/news/laurie-what-every-last-days-believer-needs-to-know-48872/; February 7, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

2 Peter 3:11-12 (NASB)(11) Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

The FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) is in a turmoil. It seems as if they cannot keep air traffic controllers awake during their shifts. Over the last few weeks, there have been several close calls and in one instance two Jumbo Jet liners were forced to land at Reagan National Airport without clearance from the ground.

--The Week, April 29, 2011 p. 5 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Because of scheduling issues, the controllers sometimes work 16-hour shifts without much downtime in between. There are at least eight recorded instances of controllers sleeping on the job.

The apostle Paul warned Christians to stay awake and be prepared. We do not want to be found sleeping when the Lord returns.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (NASB) Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. (2) For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. (3) While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; (5) for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; (6) so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

Cutting age technology has delivered to us a world that is perpetually connected. Now any person at any time can potentially update every one of their friends about their most current activity. Facebook and Twitter have opened the floodgates of electronic socializing. The Rev. Franklin Graham has even gone so far as to say that when Jesus returns to Earth to establish his Earthly kingdom, social networking may play an important role in spreading the news, giving the world an instantaneous news feed of the event.

--NBC- http://www.nbcbayarea.com/blogs/press-here/Christ-Is-Coming-Get-Tweeting-120626849.html Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Miguel Martinez

Revelation 1:7(NASB) 7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

Jesus said we should be prepared for his anytime return, but it is not for us to know the day or the time. Contrary to Jesus’ explicit words, many still try to prophecy an end date for the world. Radio broadcaster Harold Camping predicted the end on May 21, 2011. As with all previous predictions, the date passed and we were all still here.

In its weekly “Good week for” section, The Week magazine published this piece. “It is a good week for the human race, after the world did not end on May 21, as Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping had predicted.”

The interesting thing about this pronouncement is that the magazine was in mailboxes on May 20. The Editor explained in a note, “We filed this item several days early, but will print a correction if it’s wrong.”

Believers have an obligation to be faithful to the word of God. When we make such pronouncements, we not only look silly, we cause others to look on God’s word with skepticism.

Matthew 24:42 (ESV) Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

Harold Camping has become a household word for his incorrect prophecy concerning the rapture, which was to have taken place on May 21, 2011, and on the revised date of October 21. Camping then apologized for his predictions and said, “He was getting out of the prediction business and retiring.”

The Week, November 11, 2011 p. 6 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Mark 13:33 (HCSB) “Watch! Be alert! For you don’t know when the time is ?coming?.”

A Florida man recently took a picture that has a lot of people in the Tampa Bay area talking. Oscar Hendrix was taking pictures of rainbows while driving near Lake Okeechobee. Though Hendrix is not a professional photographer, he says the [picture stunned him. It shows a white cloud against a darkened sky, and many say they see a figure in the image. Hendrix told a local paper, “When I got to this picture, this image of this man in the sky, it blew my mind because it looked just like Jesus.”

Other residents who have seen the picture say it could be a figure of some kind, but not everyone is willing to say it looks like Jesus. Hendrix is not discouraged though, he added, “It looked like Jesus Christ with something in his hand, and it to me looked like a dove, and so that blew my mind.”

--Man says photo shows Jesus in the clouds, http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2012/3/11/jesus_cloud_gets_peo ; March 14, 2012. Submitted by Jim Sandell.

Acts 1:10-11 (CEV) (10) but as he went up, they kept looking up into the sky. Suddenly two men dressed in white clothes were standing there beside them. (11) They said, "Why are you men from Galilee standing here and looking up into the sky? Jesus has been taken to heaven. But he will come back in the same way that you have seen him go."

Don’t live your life full of regret. Often we think the past is painted by regret, the present is haunted by regret, and the future is limited by regret. Even people we would never suspect, find their life overshadowed by regret.

At 93 years old, Betty White has worked alongside comedic stars like Mary Tyler Moore, become one of the most nominated women in Emmy Award history, and appeared in everything from films to sitcoms to "Saturday Night Live." When she looks back on her life, it's amazing that her biggest regret has nothing to do with her now-legendary career. In a recent interview she shared that her biggest regret is more personal and involves the love of her life, her late husband Allen Ludden. The two married in 1963 and were together for nearly two decades before Ludden passed away from stomach cancer in 1981. "At 93, do you have any big regrets?" she was asked. "That I wasted a whole year, that Allen and I could have had together," White says. Prior to marrying, she rebuffed Ludden's proposals for an entire year before agreeing to walk down the aisle. "[I said], no, I wouldn't marry him," she said. Though White now realizes how precious that time was, she is still grateful for the 18 years they did have as husband and wife. "I wasted a whole year we could have had together," she says. "But we made it. We finally did."

Betty White regretted that she placed her career over a relationship with her future husband. As the Bride of Christ, we need to place our relationship with the Bridegroom at the apex of our list of earthly priorities. --Jim L. Wilson & Ron Wood

If our Savior, our Bridegroom Jesus came for us now, what would be our greatest regret?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/26/betty-white-husband-allen-ludden_n_6947532.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

Matthew 25:1-13 (HCSB) “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. (2) Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. (3) When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take olive oil with them. (4) But the sensible ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. (5) Since the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. (6) “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’ (7) “Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. (8) But the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ (9) “The sensible ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell, and buy oil for yourselves.’ (10) “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived. Then those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. (11) “Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’ (12) “But he replied, ‘I assure you: I do not know you!’ (13) “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.

Second Coming

On Oct 1, 2016 I read a headline online that said, “Warning BLACK MOON tonight: Astrological event to herald 'End of Days' and second coming,” and a subtitle that said, “TONIGHT'S Black Moon could bring with it worldwide destruction and the second coming of Jesus Christ, Christians and conspiracy theorists have claimed.”—Jim L. Wilson

No one knows when Jesus will return. How many times will predictors have to be wrong before we believe the words of Jesus?

Matthew 24:36 (HCSB) “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son —except the Father only.

In July of 2018, the Lakers Nation Facebook feed read “For the Lakers to receive a commitment from the NBA’s best player in James was a testament to the excellent work by president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka in the front office. In less than two years at their respective positions, Johnson and Pelinka have worked tirelessly to transform the Lakers into a free agent destination again. From shrewd trades that freed up valuable salary cap space to excellent drafting that netted one of the best young cores in the league, Los Angeles has planted the seeds for long-term sustainable success going forward.”

Lebron the king comes to Los Angeles to raise the Lakers to be the one that rescues the organization to its winning ways. The president Magic Johnson and the general manager Pelinka had to be shrewd to make it possible to bring Lebron in the hope that they might win.

Unlike King James coming to the Lakers, another king came and guaranteed victory. He died on the cross, and on the third day rose from the grave. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. —Jim L. Wilson and Pete Ramirez

- Laker Nation; https://www.facebook.com/LakersNation/photos/a.130266497222.127992.127573752222/10156875394257223/?type=3&theater; July 1, 2018

And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Avengers: Infinity War is the 5^th highest grossing movie of all time. In the movie, the protagonist Thanos wants to rule the world by collecting six Infinity Stones that contain “unimaginable power.” Eventually Thanos attains all these stones and their powers—one of the powers he obtained was the ability to remove people from the world. In one scene, people start dissolving and disappearing. Nearly half the Avengers dissolve as well as half the population on earth unexpectedly.

Christ will come unexpectedly. Our job is be prepared for that Day of Judgment by living our lives according to his purpose.—Jim L. Wilson and Bobby Oh

Luke 17:34–35 (CSB)“ I tell you, on that night two will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

In 1947 the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists from Chicago began sounding an alarm about the amount of time the world has left on their representative 24-hour “Doomsday Clock.” In January of 2020 they changed their estimate of the time left from using minutes as the measurement to seconds.

Mary Robinson, a former president of Ireland says, “We are now 100 seconds to midnight, and the world needs to wake up.”

They based their estimate on their assessments of the damage of climate change and the threat of a nuclear war. Since the scripture teaches that no one knows the day or the hour (Matt. 24:36), no one can possibly know the minute or the second that the end will come. However, one thing we can all know, one day the trumpet will sound, the Lord will return, and we need to be ready for that day.—Jim L. Wilson

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/24/799163555/doomsday-clock-moves-within-100-seconds-of-midnight

About the times and the seasons: Brothers and sisters, you do not need anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

A rare earthquake in North Carolina brought Scripture to life for frightened churchgoers. A lector at the outdoor Sunday mass at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church had just reached a Bible passage in which the prophet Elijah intoned, “After the wind there was an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake,” when the magnitude 5.1 quake shook the building. Father Cory Catron, pastor of a nearby Catholic mission, said the quake “made for good homily material.”

It would be interesting to punctuate a sermon such as this with God produced special effects. The thing to remember is, one day in the future it will be the end. —Jim Wilson and Rodger Russell

You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains.