Your Bible & You - Little Book Open.org

YOUR BIBLE AND YOU
209
S i g n s o f O u r T i m e s
promise of his coming For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have
continued as they were from the beginning of creation.’ They deliberately
ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and an
earth formed out of water, and by means of water, through which the world
that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word
the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept
until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:3-7, RSV).
It is not hard to find such scoffers today. Many are in the garb of preachers
while busily engaged in finding reasons why Christ will never keep His
promise to return. Others are on university and college faculties, zealously
promoting the godless theory of evolution and mocking at the Bible record
of Creation and the Flood.
But all their hollow arguments and fanciful guesses are but additional proofs
that the Word of God is true and that the last days are indeed upon us.
One more sign should be mentioned here. This, like so many others, comes
from the lips of Jesus and concerns the worldwide preaching of the gospel.
“This gospel of the kingdom,” He says, “shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” The only difficulty about
this prediction is that no one could ever know precisely when the gospel has
been fully proclaimed. Nevertheless, it is a most impressive fact that the Bible,
in whole or in part, has now been translated into nearly 2,000 languages and is
being printed and circulated by millions of copies every year. Christian books
and periodicals based on the Bible are also enjoying a similar global distribution.
Furthermore, earnest ministers of the gospel are taking advantage of radio and
television to contact constantly growing audiences in all parts of the world. Thus,
despite the magnitude of the obstacles to be surmounted, the message of salvation
is now literally flying “in the midst of heaven… unto them that dwell on the
earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6).
Such are some of the signs of Christ’s second coming to be found in your
Bible. They are indeed signs of our times, for they are being strikingly fulfilled
in events and conditions confronting us all today.
Considered separately each one is of vital significance, but viewed together,
stacked one upon another as it were, they have a meaning that should shake
the world to its foundations. Their message is of measureless importance,
affecting everybody’s future, including yours and mine. In clarion tones they
cry to all mankind, “The coming of the Lord draweth nigh!” (James 5:8).