Where are we prophetically?

Since 2017 was such a hugely prophetic year, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss where I think we are on the end times prophetic scale. 

2017 saw some pretty significant events and signs. If you haven't seen my Prophetic Year in Review, I encourage you to go back and glance over it.

I've been interested in end times since I got saved nearly 25 years ago. Since then, I've studied prophetic Scriptures over and over, as well as read many books and articles on the topic, and more importantly of all, had many a long conversation with Father God about such things. Probably the biggest "rapture" sign I've ever witnessed was the September 23rd sign of Revelation 12.  Because nothing happened on that date, the scoffers have come out in droves, mocking and ridiculing and being their usual negative selves. I ignore them. Why? Because the star alignment of September 23rd was the real deal. I studied it at length, even downloaded astronomy software to search through the years for anything that came close. There was nothing. Many reputable people did far more research than I did and came up with the same results. And because the word "harpazo" or "rapture" was included in that sign, many thought that it could mean that the rapture would occur on that date. I don't recall any of the pastors or watchers that I listen to ever saying definitively that we would be gone on that date, but many were hopeful. As was I.

But we are still here and have moved into 2018. Yet the sign did occur and the sign is associated with the rapture. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read my post The Revelation 12 Sign . What is a sign? If you are on a freeway, heading toward a destination, there are many signs along the side of the road telling you what Exit is coming up, what street is on that exit, etc. Right? If you are in Kansas and you're heading toward Los Angeles, when do you start seeing signs for LA? In Colorado? Utah? Nevada? No. You'll probably not see a sign for LA until you cross the California border and get over the mountains. Then you might see an occasional sign telling you how many hundred of miles you have to go. But when do you see THE SIGN... that one that says this is it, this is your exit. Normally you'll see that sign a mile or two before your exit, or usually right before your exit. You won't see the sign right at your exit cause it will be too late and you'll drive by. I'm sure you see where I'm going with this. If the Revelation 12 sign was indeed a rapture sign, then we wouldn't expect it to occur years and years before the rapture. Wouldn't we expect it to occur right before the rapture? Within a few years, or even a few months?   Why have a such a huge, blatant sign (John calls it a GREAT sign)  if the event it points to something in the distant future?

Okay. Enough said about that.  However, many believers I talk to still think that the rapture and 2nd coming are years and years in the future. Even after they see all the signs I post about on my Friday Mad Mad World posts!  We've always had wars, we've always had earthquakes, diseases, storms, apostasy, persecution. Okay, yes. But not to this degree and frequency. And the main thing is we haven't always had Israel as a nation. We haven't always had the exact nations who are prophesied to attack her lining up like chess pieces on the board. We haven't had the ability for a global government or the mark of the beast technology. I could go on.

But for the sake of those people reading this who are under 40, let me give you a brief look at the world when I was growing up.  Anyone over 50 can attest to this.

I was born in 1959 (Yes, I know I'm old LOL)

• Most of the mothers, if not all, on my street stayed home and took care of the kids. 
• Divorce was a bad thing and frowned upon
• If people lived together before marriage they were thought to be immoral and looked down upon
• Every family I knew attended church on Sunday
• We NEVER heard about Gays, Transgenders or any LBGTQ..etc. Women acted and dressed like women and men like men.
• Kids in my neighborhood played outside all the time. We rode our bikes everywhere, even blocks away from home without any fear of being kidnapped. We played in mud and sand and got dirty. We climbed trees and rode our bikes without helmets. We even went out to play in rain storms. 
• There were no video games, cell phones, tablets or computers
• No facebook, instagram, snapchat or Twitter
• There were 3 stations on our TV set and we had to get up to change it. We owned ONE TV.
• The only porn anyone could see was in magazines with brown wrappers around them at sleazy stores
• People talked to each other in person or on the phone (which was attached to the wall with a cord) 
• We trusted our newscasters. They only gave us the facts about what was going on and not their opinions
• TV shows were wholesome and family oriented. Fathers and mothers were respected by the kids. There was never a bedroom scene shown. I remember the Dick Van Dyke show where he and his wife had separate beds in their bedroom LOL   No french kissing was ever shown on TV. 
• No bra (unless shown on a mannequin), condom, sanitary napkin or erectile dysfunction commercials. No music videos with people humping each other
• No one ever said a cuss word unless they were bad people
• We never heard about prescription drug abuse. The hardest drug I was ever offered as a teen was beer and marijuana.
• Students respected teachers and were punished if they didn't 
• People respected and trusted the police
• Most people professed to be Christians and Christianity was upheld and respected in the country, not defamed and cursed and sued.

 I'm reminded of the old proverb of the frog in the boiling water. If you place a frog in a pot of room temperature water and then place the pot on the stove, the frog doesn't notice how hot the water becomes until it's too late and he boils to death.

Are we like that frog?  We look around at our world and think everything is normal, everything is fine, when in fact, we are boiling to death?

It is my opinion that we are very close to Jesus's return. Very close. Let us not be found asleep. Let us not be found lukewarm or worldly-minded. Let us keep our focus above where we are seated with Jesus. Let us be about saving as many souls as we can while we wait.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,  we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 

1 John 3:2-3