"I am the LORD"

Tunisia; Egypt; Yemen; Bahrain; Libya.  It sounds a wee bit like the battle honours of a British Regiment of Foot Soldiers.  What it is, of course, is a list of the Arab countries that have been affected by varying degrees of popular political unrest and demonstrations in just the past few weeks.

In October 1989, there would have been few who would have anticipated the fall of the 'Berlin Wall', and the beginning of the end of the U.S.S.R.  Yet on November 9th, 1989, that is exactly what happened!  Likewise, in December 2010, there were no forecasts of which I am aware, that two Arab dictators, of long standing, would soon be forced to flee their respective countries - and even have substantial parts of the personal fortunes that they had amassed during their years in power, frozen by the governments of some of the countries in which they had deposited.  How many more dictators will have fled before the end of this year?

Of course, although many in the politico-media world have been caught by surprise in all of this, there is One Who most certainly has not!  He is the One Who "... builds up nations, and He destroys them.  He expands nations, and He abandons them.  He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.  They grope in the darkness without a light.  He makes them stagger like drunkards." (Job 12:23-25; NLT).

Is such tumult and disorder - especially if it does continue to spread through the Arab world - a further sign that we are living in the end-times?  I certainly believe this to be the case.  While on our recent cruise, I was asked by one Welsh Christian brother if I believed that the end was close.  I responded in the affirmative.  "How close?", he enquired.  My answer was to use an illustration that I had used in a post shortly before we had left for our special treat.  I said that if time was to be illustrated by a submarine (the original reference was to the connection between time and eternity: see Nov.30th, 2010) with the bow (that's the front part!!) being the beginning of time, and the stern (the back end, where the propulsion is found!) representing the end of time, then we could probably reach out and touch the propellor!

Of course, the humanist-atheist-materialist will scoff at such an idea, unaware that his very scoffing is foretold in the written Word of God!  "Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 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." (II Peter 3:3-4; NLT).  And Peter continues: "They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of His command, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then He used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.  The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment." (II Peter 3:5-10; NLT).

The current events have caught everyone by surprise; the coming Event will do likewise! Let us be sure that we are prepared for it, by placing our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for full salvation - confessing our sins; and seeking His forgiveness, and the indwelling power of God the Holy Spirit.