The Beginning of the End
By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.
08/10/2022
He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:2–3)
I still remember the first major league baseball game I attended. My Dad took me and my sister to Yankee Stadium (the old Yankee Stadium) when I was ten years old. It was bat day, which meant that everyone who went through the turnstiles received a free bat.
My sister got one that said “Lou Piniella” on it, and mine said “Reggie Jackson. Lou Piniella was my favorite player, so I traded my sister the Reggie Jackson bat for the Lou Piniella one. My friends all thought I was crazy because Jackson was the most famous Yankee at that time, dubbed “Mr. October” because of his world series home runs.
Our seats were along the rail in left field, and I can still picture Lou Piniella standing out there on the field, so close it seemed I could have talked to him. I was in awe. Everything seemed bigger than life. I had watched Yankee games on TV many times, but to see all the sights and hear all the sounds in person was amazing.
At one point, after the top of the seventh inning had just ended, everyone in the stadium stood up and the organ started playing, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” I asked my dad what was going on and he said, “It’s the seventh inning stretch. It means we are getting close to the end of the game.” I remember feeling sad that the game was almost over, and our fun outing was coming to an end. I began praying, as only a 10-year-old boy can, “Lord, please let the game go into extra innings!”
Just as the seventh inning stretch signals the nearing of a baseball game’s end, the Bible tells us there are signs that signal the end of the age and soon return of our Lord. Jesus tells us to “discern the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:3). While the Lord’s return to rescue His bride, the Church, from this present evil age (the Rapture) is a signless, imminent event, His Second Coming and inauguration of the long-awaited Kingdom on earth are preceded by many signs.
We do not know when the Rapture will occur, but when we start seeing signs that point to events associated with the Second Coming, it can only mean one thing: the Rapture is closer than ever before! What signs do we see that the stage is being set for the lead up to Christ’s Second Coming?
Most notably, the world is on the verge of a Great Reset according to which there will be a one-world political, economic, and religious system. Globalist organizations like the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and others are blatantly and confidently proclaiming the onset of this New World Order. This scenario fits perfectly with the description of the Antichrist’s reign of terror in the seven years just prior to the Second Coming.
Talk of a global digital currency is another sign that the stage is being set for the return of Christ. So too are the pervasive attacks on gender, morality, freedom, and Christianity, as well as the impending roll out of a global digital tracking system and social credit scores. The list goes on. There can be no doubt the stage is being set for the return of Christ.
After we sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” the Yankees took the field, and the game continued. I relished every moment from that point on, knowing that the end was near, and it would all be over. As we near the end of this age, and the coming Kingdom, are you relishing every moment? Are you redeeming the time in these evil days (Ephesians 5:16)?
We are witnessing the beginning of the end in God’s plan of the ages. The storm clouds are rolling in; it is the two-minute warning; the final at bat; whatever metaphor you would like to use, time is short. Are you prepared for what lies ahead? Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died and rose again for your sins? If not, today is the day of salvation. Place your trust in Him now.
For those of us who already know the Lord, instead of singing, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” let us sing, “Take me out of here!” Even so, come Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)
08/10/2022
He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:2–3)
I still remember the first major league baseball game I attended. My Dad took me and my sister to Yankee Stadium (the old Yankee Stadium) when I was ten years old. It was bat day, which meant that everyone who went through the turnstiles received a free bat.
My sister got one that said “Lou Piniella” on it, and mine said “Reggie Jackson. Lou Piniella was my favorite player, so I traded my sister the Reggie Jackson bat for the Lou Piniella one. My friends all thought I was crazy because Jackson was the most famous Yankee at that time, dubbed “Mr. October” because of his world series home runs.
Our seats were along the rail in left field, and I can still picture Lou Piniella standing out there on the field, so close it seemed I could have talked to him. I was in awe. Everything seemed bigger than life. I had watched Yankee games on TV many times, but to see all the sights and hear all the sounds in person was amazing.
At one point, after the top of the seventh inning had just ended, everyone in the stadium stood up and the organ started playing, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” I asked my dad what was going on and he said, “It’s the seventh inning stretch. It means we are getting close to the end of the game.” I remember feeling sad that the game was almost over, and our fun outing was coming to an end. I began praying, as only a 10-year-old boy can, “Lord, please let the game go into extra innings!”
Just as the seventh inning stretch signals the nearing of a baseball game’s end, the Bible tells us there are signs that signal the end of the age and soon return of our Lord. Jesus tells us to “discern the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:3). While the Lord’s return to rescue His bride, the Church, from this present evil age (the Rapture) is a signless, imminent event, His Second Coming and inauguration of the long-awaited Kingdom on earth are preceded by many signs.
We do not know when the Rapture will occur, but when we start seeing signs that point to events associated with the Second Coming, it can only mean one thing: the Rapture is closer than ever before! What signs do we see that the stage is being set for the lead up to Christ’s Second Coming?
Most notably, the world is on the verge of a Great Reset according to which there will be a one-world political, economic, and religious system. Globalist organizations like the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and others are blatantly and confidently proclaiming the onset of this New World Order. This scenario fits perfectly with the description of the Antichrist’s reign of terror in the seven years just prior to the Second Coming.
Talk of a global digital currency is another sign that the stage is being set for the return of Christ. So too are the pervasive attacks on gender, morality, freedom, and Christianity, as well as the impending roll out of a global digital tracking system and social credit scores. The list goes on. There can be no doubt the stage is being set for the return of Christ.
After we sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” the Yankees took the field, and the game continued. I relished every moment from that point on, knowing that the end was near, and it would all be over. As we near the end of this age, and the coming Kingdom, are you relishing every moment? Are you redeeming the time in these evil days (Ephesians 5:16)?
We are witnessing the beginning of the end in God’s plan of the ages. The storm clouds are rolling in; it is the two-minute warning; the final at bat; whatever metaphor you would like to use, time is short. Are you prepared for what lies ahead? Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died and rose again for your sins? If not, today is the day of salvation. Place your trust in Him now.
For those of us who already know the Lord, instead of singing, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” let us sing, “Take me out of here!” Even so, come Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)
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