Happy New Year 2016!

Fireworks by Anna Langova

Commentary By:  Gordon King

2016, a new year and 2015 has finally come to a close.  The year 2015 brought with it heinous atrocities by ISIS, world-wide natural disasters, social collapse, gay marriage, civil unrest, and increased persecution of both Christians and Jews around the world!

While many believers thought that September would bring with it the rapture of the church, world-wide disaster from CERN, and financial collapse, it just didn’t pan out.  However, that is not to say that nothing significant happened in September, and I would argue that significant things did happen.

I believe that the month of September was a dividing line, a point in time in which God has removed veils, judgments upon nations have begun, and the Holy Spirit is moving upon the face of the earth searching the hearts of those who will stand tall and perform the will of God Almighty!

Many may argue with me on these points, and I cannot say that I blame them!  What evidence do I have, what proof do I have that these things have happened?!  None!  I have absolutely no proof that this has occurred, only a sense that they have.  I’m not telling anyone to believe me, nor am I claiming to be a prophet!

I believe or sense, that 2016 will bring with it even worse things than 2015 did.  I sense major wars breaking out in the Middle East, dragging other countries into it, and it feels very close at hand, if not 2016 then perhaps 2017.  I’m not setting any dates, I just sense this happening soon, and I may be wrong!  I sense increased violence and persecution from ISIS and Muslims around the world.  I sense a time where the chaos and confusion in the world will increase even greater than it is now.  I sense that Christians around the world, and especially here in the West will be under more persecution then they have ever known in the past!

Society at large will be labeling Christians evil and wicked.  Christians will be forced to follow the laws of the land, even if that means disobeying God’s laws.  If they do not, then they will be punished by the government. 

The church of Jesus Christ is under intense pressure, pressure to compromise its beliefs and values.  Pressure to accept what the world accepts, pressure to consider that all ways lead to heaven.  I feel evil permeating the church, and I feel that many in the church today will succumb to doctrines of demons!  I sense that there will be a falling away from the faith, and the there will be a great division between those who take the bible literally and those who take it allegorically!  Between those who take God at His word, and those who take the word and twist it into whatever they desire it to mean.

With all of this wickedness, evil, and violence happening in the world and our future, what is there to look forward to?  Why even wish each other a “Happy New Year”?  It sounds so bleak and gloomy, what on earth do we have to look forward to?

Even though I sense, feel, believe that all of these things will soon happen, I also believe that God is moving mightily upon the face of the earth.  That a great revival is coming soon!  I sense that many are coming to Christ in the face of death, in the atmosphere of desperation, loss, and destruction!  Satan is not the only one working overtime, so is Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ is making Himself known to the lost, giving visions and dreams of the truth!  He is leading those who were thought to be lost forever into eternal salvation!

We have the hope of our salvation!  We have with us the God of the universe!  We have the hope of the lost coming to the light of the truth and accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

And while the world seems to be crumbling all around us, destruction knocking at the door, we can be confident in the promises of God!  We have been given an inheritance with the God of the universe, we share in the wealth of heaven above, forever!

When we hear about more death, destruction, disease, civil unrest, and moral decay, then we know that the return of Jesus Christ is near, even at the door!  We know that our eternal salvation is near, that the Lord will soon complete His good work in us!

With the world falling apart so quickly, at such an alarming rate, then how much closer are we to the return of our Lord?!  How much more can the world take before it implodes?  And yet we know that it won’t!  We know that Jesus Christ will return before this ever happens, we know the end of the story.

My point is that if the world is so close to an end time disaster of a magnitude which we have never before seen in history, then how much longer will it be before the beginning of the Tribulation Period, the rapture of the church, and the second coming of Christ?!

Jesus Christ gave us signs to watch for in order for us to know that His return is near.  These are birth pangs, the beginning of sorrows, the beginning of the end of times!  And if the Lord seems to tarry much longer than we believe He should, then we must remember that a day to the Lord is as one thousand years to us!  And that if He does tarry it is not because He is slow in coming or that He does not want to come yet, but He wishes for no one to perish!

As believers in Jesus Christ, we must not stay focused on the world, but on God!  We must focus our attention on the Lord of the universe, seek Him first, put our faith and trust in Him!  We can do nothing on our own, but with God we can do all things!

The year 2016, a year to celebrate or a year to hate and worry about?!  I say a year to celebrate as we are even closer now to the return of Jesus Christ than ever before!  Jesus is returning soon, much sooner than at any other time in history, and that’s good news, news to celebrate!

God bless my friends and “Happy New Year”!  Maranatha!