WINNING WITH THE WORD

“Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life.

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Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, your Virtual Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Monday, March 2, 2020. Today’s Podcast is Episode #9 in Series 2020 and is titled “Is the World Coming to an End?”

So, is the world really coming to an end? Let me say that the world as we have known it is coming to an end. Ultimately, however, after a seven-year period of time known as the Tribulation, Jesus will return to destroy the enemies of Israel once and for all and to set up His millennial kingdom–or His thousand-year reign on the earth. During this time, Satan will be bound and the world will be in peace under the rulership of Christ. At the end of the Millennium, Satan will be unleashed one last time and then destroyed forever by God Himself. God will then create a new heaven and a new earth that will last forever.

But, before that time, a lot must happen.

It doesn’t take much to realize that something different–and scary–is happening in our world. This year, if the Lord wills, I will have lived three-quarters of a century on this earth. What I am seeing today is something far different and far more frightening than I have ever seen throughout my entire lifetime.

So, what’s going on? 

The answer to this very important question is found in the Bible, specifically in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24: 3-13. In that chapter, we read about a conversation between Jesus and His disciples. Let’s listen in:

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, ‘Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign that you are coming again, and when will the world come to an end?’ Jesus answered them, “Be careful not to let anyone deceive you. Many will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Don’t be alarmed! These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come. Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All of these are only the beginning pains [of the end]. Then they will hand you over to those who will torture and kill you. All nations will hate you because you are committed to me. Then many will lose faith. They will betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. And because there will be more and more lawlessness, most people’s love will grow cold. But the person who endures to the end will be saved. This Good News about the kingdom will be spread throughout the world as a testimony to all nations. Then the end will come.”

All around us today, we see these prophetic words of Jesus coming true. Specifically, here are a few of those signs:

1. The phenomenal rise in wickedness. The Bible teaches that in the last days, wickedness would increase exponentially. In 2 Timothy 3: 1-5, we read this: “In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.”

Are we not now seeing this increase in wickedness all around us? Laws have been passed in some states that allow the killing of a baby after the child is born. Sex trafficking has reached astronomical proportions. Gay pride has infiltrated the Kindergarten classroom. How much worse can things get?

2. The push toward a one-world religion. Pope Francis’ recent call to merge Islam with Catholicism has stunned and angered many Catholics. The Pope’s historic signing of a “declaration of fraternity” with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar sent shock waves through the Christian world. This merger is a sign of what the Bible calls in 2 Thessalonians 2: 3 the “great falling away”–the rise of the apostate Church that will eventually become the one-world religion, possibly headed by the Pope himself. Many are already implying that he is the “false prophet” described in Revelation 19: 20. The Pope has even called for a revamping of Catholic school curriculum to include the study of Islam as a viable religion. 

3. The sudden rise of anti-Semitism. A couple of years ago, I was having a conversation with a Jewish friend of mine. I mentioned to her that we would soon see the rise of anti-Semitism once again. She laughed and said, “That will never happen again.” Yet, we are seeing it happen before our very eyes.

4.  The growing assault on Christians. More and more, Christians are being attacked for their positions on the sanctity of life, gender issues, and the freedom of expression. We are being cast as bigots, intolerant, and just plain anachronistic.

5. The spread of pestilence. In Matthew 24: 7, Jesus said there would be pestilence in various parts of the world. We are witnessing this now in the form of the Corona virus that has created panic throughout the world.

6. The increase in earthquakes and famine. I recently read that by April of 2020, many supermarket shelves would be empty because of the drought, heavy rains, insect plagues, and pestilence that have occurred both in our own country and in other parts of the world. As a result, our food supply has been greatly compromised. Famine already exists in many parts of the world. Could it not come to America as well?

As for earthquakes, they have increased in frequency and intensity. The ring of fire that borders world countries along the Pacific Ocean is on the verge of breaking in many places, particularly in the Cascadia Subduction Zone that stretches from Canada’s northern Vancouver Island to Northern California. It is only a matter of time before the “big one” shakes the entire west coast.

7. The amazing advances in technology, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Interestingly, it is believed by some that the image of the AntiChrist will be a robotic, lifelike statue powered by artificial intelligence: In Revelation 13: 14-15, we learn this: “He [the false prophet] was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die” (Brackets mine).

On another note, the increasing surveillance of the world’s population by means of computer chips, AI, facial and iris recognition all point to a coming dictator who will rule the world through a huge database of information. Ironically, much of that information we ourselves have voluntarily and unwittingly provided through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc.

These are but a few of the many signs about the end times prophesied in the Bible. Make no mistake about it, my friend. Every word of the Bible is true. Most of its prophecies have already come to pass just as predicted, and every one that has not yet come to pass will come to pass. 

This should serve as a warning to all of us to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ to remove His followers from the earth. Are you ready? If not, what are you waiting for? Do you want to go through the Tribulation, the most horrific period of human history yet to come? Do you want to be forced to take the mark of the beast in order to buy anything, including your food?  If you accept the mark of the beast, you will most certainly go to Hell when you die because taking the mark of the beast means you are giving your allegiance forever to Satan. There is no turning back once you take the mark of the beast.

I urge you now with an urgency that increases in my heart every day, do not take what I have said lightly. Consider this: If what I have said is not true but you believe it, then you’ve lost nothing. But if what I have said is true, and you do not believe it, you have lost everything. Some of you will recognize my challenge to you as “Pascal’s wager” in different words. That is exactly what it is. Don’t ignore it! Please! Your eternal destiny depends on it.

Years ago, a woman named Mary Katherine Baxter visited the church I was attending at the time. She had written a book called A Divine Revelation of Hell. The Lord Jesus took Mrs. Baxter to Hell in order to see how dreadful it is so that she could warn people against going there. You see, Hell is a real place, just as Heaven is a real place. One of Satan’s greatest deceptions today is to convince people that there is no Hell. But there is, and it is a place of eternal torment–a place you want to avoid at all cost.

So, how can you avoid Hell? By accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. You see, you cannot save yourself. You need someone to save you. That Someone is Jesus Christ. He alone was able to appease the wrath of God, and He did so on the Cross. God is both the One Who loves us and the One Who judges us. He must judge sin because He is holy and cannot allow sin in His Presence. God poured out His judgment for sin on Jesus. If we are in Jesus, then God considers the price for our sin as paid for. But if we are not in Jesus, then there is nothing left but for God’s wrath to fall upon us.

If you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, I urge you to do so now.

Pray this simple prayer with me:

Father God, I want and need a personal relationship with You. I recognize that I cannot save myself. For this reason, You sent Jesus to save me and to restore me to fellowship with You. I invite You into my life to be my Savior and my Lord, Lord Jesus. I choose to follow You, Jesus. I turn my back on the world and its wicked ways, and I choose to follow You and Your holy ways. Thank You for accepting me as Your own. In Your Name I pray, believe, and receive. Amen.

If you prayed this simple prayer, please write to me at drmaryann@maryanndiorio.com. I would like to send you a little booklet that will help you get started in your relationship with Jesus Christ. I also encourage you to get yourself a Bible and read it every day, starting in the Gospel of John, which is in the second half of the Bible. Finally, ask the Lord to lead you to the church of His choice for you where you can learn about Him and find fellowship and encouragement with other Christ-Followers.

For those of you who may not know, I write fiction about some of the issues I deal with in this blog and podcast. I invite you to visit my website at https://maryanndiorio.com/book-table. There you will find a complete list of the novels, novellas, and short stories I have written about characters with problems like yours.

On my website, you will also find additional resources, articles, books, and podcasts to help you grow in your walk with Christ.

This podcast is found on Apple Podcasts, Blubrry, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Spreaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Podbean, Podchaser, and Deezer, so I encourage you to subscribe and have it delivered right to your mailbox.

If you have been blessed by these messages, I also invite you to become a Winning with the Word patron on Patreon. As a patron you will enjoy special benefits only for patrons. Just go to Patreon.com and search for Winning with the Word to join. This podcast is being sponsored by my wonderful husband and patron, Dominic A. Diorio. Thank you, Honey, for supporting the work of the Lord.

And to all of you wonderful people out there, thank you so much for listening. This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, your virtual life coach, reminding you that God loves you just as you are and just where you are, and that He will help you to keep on winning with the Word.

Listen to the podcast here:

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Now it’s your turn: ? If so, which of the tips do you think will best help you to get through to God? Please leave your comment in the Comment Box below. Thank you!

PLEASE TWEET: “Is the World Coming to an End?” by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)

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