BIG Questions- Part 2: “Is getting a tattoo a sin?” “Is it a sin to smoke or do drugs?” and “Is it really a big deal if I sin?”

There are a few questions that trip up just about everybody. But every question has an answer. I have been asked a number of these, and some I didn’t have the answer to at the time. So, I’ve looked up a few and I want to share those, so that you can have the answers, too, and so you can tell anyone else who asks you. This time, we tackle tattoos, smoking, drugs, and comparing sin- is any of it really so bad?

                                       Don’t forget to leave your questions and comments below!!

1. Is getting a tattoo a sin?

This question grows in popularity as the “art” of self-mutilation grows. It has become easier and more acceptable to get tattooed. Many are even risking infection and disease by having them done with needles and pen ink in their own homes. The danger there goes without saying, but is it a sin? The Bible mentions tattoos specifically one time. That is in the book of Leviticus.

Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:28 NIV)

Now, some people have argued against this statement, despite it being perfectly clear. Among the series of commands that this verse is in, we are also told not to eat bloody meat, not to practice divination or sorcery, not to cut our hair at the sides or trim the edges of our beard, and not to make our daughters prostitute. Out of these, the only one we don’t follow nowadays is the trimming of our hair and beards. This command was for the Jews (some of whom still practice it), and was “overturned,” so to speak, later on. Still, some have said that since we cut our hair, we can cut our bodies and tattoo ourselves. This is not a fair comparison at all. We must look at what a tattoo really is, and what it does to our body.

We need to be extremely careful of what marks we put on our bodies. If, for no other reason at all, then for the following.

He [the Antichrist] also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that none could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17 NIV)

That is what we commonly call the “Mark of the beast”. It is something that most people will actually want to get, because they are blinded by the convenience and commonality of the world. Still, we can look even deeper into a tattoo’s function. How do you get a tattoo? You let someone stab you with a needle, and while the wound is fresh, they inject foreign ink into your body. Despite some of the beautifully artistic pieces, my view has always been “Hang it on a wall”. So tattooing is not really more than a clever way to mutilate the flesh with a pleasant-looking after effect. What does the Bible say about that?

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:15, 19-20 NIV)

Since your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and you are living for God, and your body in fact belongs to Him, what authority do you have to cut, poke, mutilate, inject ink, etc.? Jesus paid a price for your body, for your very life, and God asks that in return you use your body to honor Him. Paul warns in his letter to the Philippians,

Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. (Philippians 3:2 NIV)

So let us take to heart the words of Scripture that plead with us to offer ourselves wholly to God, body, mind, and everything that we are. Don’t allow an inch of the devil’s work to touch you or taint you. Allow yourself to be put to unadulterated service, in every capacity, to the Lord. Since God is in control, let His glory be your decoration, and supply yourself to Him.

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. (Romans 6:13 NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:1-2 NIV)

What about those who already have a tattoo?

Don’t worry if you have one. Many people have gotten tattoos before becoming a Christian, or maybe just didn’t realize the way God felt about it. While the tattoo is difficult to remove, the sin isn’t. Cutting yourself or tattooing is NOT the unforgiveable sin. God will forgive you if you repent sincerely. Many Christians who were previously tattooed use the mark as a part of their testimony of the life they left behind when they accepted Christ. It is never too late.

                               Don’t forget to leave your questions and comments below!!

2. Is it a sin to smoke or do drugs?

This question has a lot of similarity to tattooing, since it involves harm to the body. However, there are a couple other reasons that smoking and drugs are sinful.

One of the biggest excuses is that God made it, so it’s okay to smoke it. This isn’t further from the truth. Although the Bible does declare that God made everything for good, (Genesis 1:31; Ecclesiastes 3:11a) you must also remember that the earth is not now how God originally made it. Because of the sin of mankind, the earth was changed. God allowed thorns and thistles to grow, plants that were not for our practical use; plants that were not in God’s perfect Garden.

Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. (Genesis 3:17-18 NIV underline added for emphasis. See also Hebrews 6:8)

Another reason is that it is illegal to do drugs, and to smoke until a certain age. Ask yourself, “Why would such a law be in place unless it was somehow harmful to smoke?” The truth is, the law allows you smoke at such an age because they believe that at that age, you can decide whether or not you want to harm your own body and health. The Bible demands that we not only obey God, but also our governing authorities, i.e. the police, courts, judges, laws, etc. If it is illegal, and harmful to our bodies, you are really committing two sins at once if you smoke.

            Obey your leaders and submit to their authority… (Hebrews 13:17 NIV)

One other thought is this: God has made everything, but for a good purpose. Marijuana plants can be used to make hemp, which is useful and safe. God never said that should smoke the plant. That was sinful man’s idea.

Remember, your body is made in God’s image and is designed for worship. Jesus died to give you life, not so you could slowly destroy yourself. Keep in mind what the Bible teaches about your body:

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:15, 19-20 NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:1-2 NIV)

                 Don’t forget to leave your questions and comments below!!

3. I try to be good, but I keep making mistakes. Since everybody sins, is really such a big deal if I do once in a while? 

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

To you, it might seem like no big deal. It might even seem that way to the person you sinned against. To God, however, it’s a very big deal; the BIGGEST! Sin is the one factor that separates us from God, even if its what we call a little sin. The Bible tells us that everyone has sinned.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

This is a HUGE problem for us. Even just one little lie; or if we steal a candy bar; or if we misuse God’s Name; all of these make us imperfect. God is absolutely perfect, and so is heaven. If heaven had just one sinner in it, it would no longer be a perfect place. Because of this, we have only two options: Be perfect or go to the only other place we can go- hell. “But,” some would ask, “What about all the good deeds I do?”

            For all of us have become like one who is unclean,

And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;… (Isaiah 64:6)

All your good deeds are wonderful, and please God, but compared to our sin, every good deed is like a dirty garment. What value is a filthy, robe? Absolutely none. God doesn’t measure your sins in one pile and your good works in another to determine if you make it. You are either perfect, or you aren’t. The problem is, everyone has sinned,, and there is a price to pay for sin:

            For the wages of sin is death… (Romans 6:23)

Because we sin, we die. The punishment for sin is that death, and if we die with that sin still covering our lives, the death continues in hell. That is why God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sin. We are instructed in how we can have our sin erased, as though it never happened!

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Jesus has paid the price for us, but we can choose to accept or ignore this gift. To accept, all we need to do is confess our sins to Him, and He will faithfully forgive us. That is how we can be made perfect! Once God forgives our sin, we have a new start; a perfect record! Of course, we need to try our best to avoid sin in the future, but should we slip up, God is still faithful to His Word. The apostle John continues to urge us on by saying:

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)

Jesus paid the price for the entire world. That includes you. The prophet Joel records God’s words as He urgently calls us to go back to Him in repentance. God beckons us to Him.

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

“Return to Me with all your heart,

And with fasting weeping and mourning;

And rend your heart and not your garments.”

Now return to the Lord your God,

For He is gracious and compassionate,

Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness,

And relenting of evil. (Joel 2:12-13)

When you go to God with your sin, it’s serious, yet He is slow to anger. He loves to be gracious and kind to us; He loves to defeat the evil in us. God would be more than thrilled to forgive you of your sin. He wants to erase the sin and one day welcome you into His Heavenly Kingdom. If you need to, confess your sins to Jesus in prayer.

            He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

            But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. (Proverbs 28:13)

 What are your thoughts on any of these questions? Do you have questions of your own? Let me know below!

BIG Questions- Part 1: “Who made God?” “What does He look like?” and “Who wrote the Bible?”

There are a few questions that trip up just about everybody. But every question has an answer. I have been asked a number of these, and some I didn’t have the answer to at the time. So, I’ve looked up a few and I want to share those, so that you can have the answers, too, and so you can tell anyone else who asks you.

 

1. If God made everything, then who made God?

“To whom then will you liken Me

That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.

(Isaiah 40:25-26)

God is not something that we can compare to anything. That includes time. God created “time” for us; something measurable by which we can gauge our life. God is not limited by time, space, distance, etc. He is limitless with few exceptions: He can do no wrong, and He cannot be out-done. Other than that, God is limitless. To ask where God came from, you have to assume there was a “where” to come from. If we ask who made God, we are falsely assuming that there was someone to make God, and that God was made. He was not. Before God made the earth, there was no billions and billions of years; there was no time, as we know it.

 

We usually picture time as a line, because it simplifies our explanation. To God, time is more like liquid. Imagine a big bowl of water. You live in one drop of that water; that’s your “time” on earth. Other drops are the Creation of the world, the great flood, the Tower of Babel, the Crucifixion of Jesus, the 1980 U.S. Presidential elections, the moon landing, the last world war, the future rise of the antichrist, the Battle of Armageddon, the final trumpet sounding, the new earth, etc. In that bowl of water, God can see everything clearly, and it is all fluid to Him. He holds the bowl in His hands, and can touch any event or era at once. God can see your sin at the same “time” He is judging you, at the same “time” He watches His Son, Jesus, die on a cross for you. God is not limited to time as we are.

 

So, who made God? No one. He’s always been, for as long as time as we know it has existed.

Where did God come from? There was no “where” for Him to come from, until He made it.

 

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:17)

 

I realize that this is a concept that is very hard to understand. We think about everything using time. Hours, minutes, dates, ages, anniversaries, and the list goes on and on. You can’t understand God fully; just accept that much- its okay. What is important is that you have faith that God is. Just believe in Him to be in control over time, and over your life.

 

 

2. What does God look like? Why doesn’t He show Himself to us?

So many kids have asked me this question, and “No one knows” is never a satisfying answer. That is the short answer, because we cannot stand face to face with Him and get details, but the Bible does offer us an idea of how God would look. Our first clue comes from the first chapter of Genesis.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness… God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)

So if you want to see God, you can look in a mirror. Since you and I are made in His image, we are a reflection of Him. God looks like us, each and every person who ever has, is, or will live is made in God’s image.

Daniel had a vision of God, although he did not physically see God, this is the image in Daniel’s vision:

“As I looked,
       “thrones were set in place,
       and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
       His clothing was as white as snow;
       the hair of his head was white like wool. (Daniel 7:9)

 

The truth is that we cannot see God; no one has, except Jesus. John 1:18 says,

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.( NIV)

 

Jesus affirmed these words in John 6:46, and John wrote again in 1John 4:12 that “no one has ever seen God”.  There was also a time when Moses found favor with the Lord. Moses asked God to show His glory. He didn’t want to continue on without the presence of God.

 

Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”

And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you…” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”

Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”(Exodus 33:19-23)

 

Following this experience, Moses’ face shone so much, the Israelites put a veil on his face. Just the passing glory of God has such a dramatic effect on a person, it is no wonder we cannot see His face and live. The beauty and glory is far too powerful for our human bodies to stand.

Others have had occurrences with God. Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden before their fall into sin. (see Genesis 3:8-13)  God appeared to Abraham (see Genesis 18:2-33), to Jacob (see Genesis 35:7, 9), to Solomon (see 1 Kings 3:5; 9:2; 11:9; 2 Chronicles 1:7; 7:12), to Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-5), and to Ezekiel (see Ezekiel 1:26-28)

The Lord has also appeared as a symbol or sign, such as the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), as fire (Exodus 19:16-24) and clouds; He has shown himself by miracles, such as stopping the sun in the sky, setting a rainbow in the sky, tearing the temple veil, parting the Red Sea, providing food where there is none, writing on a wall, earthquakes, and much, much more.

One of the main reasons for God appearing symbolically is established in the first letter to Timothy:

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:17 NIV Underline added for emphasis)

God has what we would consider a physical appearance; He does look like something, but the invisibility is in respect to an audience of humans. God’s invisibility toward us is by His choice. It encourages faith. Rather that showing up and forcing belief, God chose to remain at a visual distance so that we can choose to seek Him and believe. It allows us to decide whether or not we will follow Him, or the ways of the convenient world.

 

 

3. Who wrote the Bible?

Many people who are critical of Christianity or religion in general, argue that we don’t know who wrote the Bible. A little studying goes a long way, as we now know almost every author. Some continue to argue that the Bible is written by mankind, so we cannot trust it as being “from God”. We know, however, that:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16)

So without further ado, here are the authors who penned the words of God-

BOOK	WHO WROTE IT
Genesis	Moses
Exodus	Moses
Leviticus	Moses
Numbers	Moses
Deuteronomy	Moses
Joshua	Joshua
Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Esther, Job	Debated or unknown authors
Lamentations	Jeremiah
Psalms: A composite of many authors’ work. Of the 150 psalms, 116 are provided with a title
Psalms 3-9, 11-32, 34-41, 51-65, 68-70, 86, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138-145	David
Psalm 42, 44-45, 47-49, 84-85, 87	Sons of Korah
Psalms 50, 73-83	Asaph
Psalm 72, 127	Solomon
Psalm 88	Heman the Ezrahite
Psalm 89	Ethan the Ezrahite
Psalm 90	Moses
Psalm 119	Ezra
Psalms 120-134	Hezekiah
Psalm 137	Jeremiah
Psalms 146-147	Haggai and Zechariah
Proverbs- Again, the book is a composite, so far as authorship is concerned.
Proverbs 1:1-24:22	Solomon
Proverbs 24:23-34	Attributed to “the wise”
Proverbs 25:1-29:27	Attributed to Solomon, but were collected and recorded by “Hezekiah’s men”.
Proverbs 30:1-33	Agur
Proverbs 31:1-31	Lemuel
Ecclesiastes	Solomon
Ezra-Nehemiah	Author unknown, though Ezra’s chapters 7-9 apparently were written by Ezra, since they are in the first person.
Song of Songs	Solomon
The following were written by the person whose name they bear.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai
Zechariah	Chapters 1-8 written by Zechariah; Chapters 9-11 by Jeremiah; Chapters 12-14 are titled “an oracle” and are attributed to no one.
Malachi	Some believe Malachi was the name of a specific prophet, but it is also the Hebrew term (mal´aki) for “my messenger”, used for priests and prophets alike. Thus, based on Mark 1:2-3, Malachi may have been  written by Isaiah
Matthew	Matthew
Mark	Mark
Luke	Luke
John	John
Acts	Luke
Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy. Titus, Philemon	Paul
Hebrews	Possibly Paul
James	James
1 Peter	Peter
2 Peter	Peter
1, 2 & 3 John	John
Jude	Jude
Revelation	John

 

The Mission- What will you do?

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The End? Let’s review.

There are a lot of prophecies about the end. Here I have put together just some of them, broken into categories. You decide for yourself if they have come true yet, either in part or in whole. And don’t forget to comment your thoughts below!

 

1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. -2Timothy 3:1-5

9“When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” 10Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.” 25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.–Luke 21:9-11, 25

21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 36“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; -Matthew 24:21-22, 36-38

There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. –Daniel 12:1

See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word. So will it be on the land among the nations as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest. -Isaiah 24:1, 3, 13

WARS:

6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains. –Matthew 24:6-8

9 Proclaim this among the nations:
       Prepare for war!
       Rouse the warriors!
       Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

 10 Beat your plowshares into swords
       and your pruning hooks into spears.
       Let the weakling say,
       “I am strong!” -Joel 3:9-10

9“When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” 10Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. –Luke 21:9-10

DEPARTURE FROM CHRISTIANITY:

3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. -2 Timothy 4:3-4

10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. –Matthew 24:10

1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. -1 Timothy 4:1

…be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. -2 Peter 3:17

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS:

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. –Matthew 24:9

Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution… -Hebrews 10:33

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. –Matthew 5:10-12

…they will lay hands on you and persecute you. –Luke 21:12

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. –Revelation 2:10

 

ABORTION (SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENT):

…they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. –Romans 1:31

3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God -2 Timothy 3:3-4

Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb. –Psalm 22:10

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. –Psalm 127:3

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. –Psalm 139:13

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you… -Jeremiah 1:5

 

VOLCANIC ACTIVITY:

…smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. –Revelation 9:2

…There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red. –Revelation 6:12

EARTHQUAKES:

At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. -Revelation 11:13

There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven –Luke 21:11

…the foundations of the earth shake. 19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. –Isaiah 24:18-19

Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. –Revelation 16:18

FIRES:

8Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.  9“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 18When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ –Revelation 18:8-9, 18

The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.  –Revelation 8:7

TROPICAL STORMS/ HURRICANES & FLOODS:

There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. –Luke 21:25

See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. –Jeremiah 30:23

The floodgates of the heavens are opened, -Isaiah 24:18

 

INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL:

“But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.” -Daniel 12:4

 

INSTANT COMMUNICATION AROUND THE WORLD:

“And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophecy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.  When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.  And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.  Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.  And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.” -Revelation 11:3, 7-10

 

 

I also reccomend this site. See: (re: end time and “global warming”. Actually makes sense!) http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.globalwarmingandthebible.com/images/EndOfTheWorld.jpg&imgrefurl=http://globalwarmingandthebible.com/%3Fpage_id%3D2&h=139&w=185&sz=41&hl=en&start=62&sig2=DxQpagFQ6NQ3TZ1SUBs_0w&um=1&usg=__owjdJ9bGJ3iibbVwz6CKDZaaLb4=&tbnid=v8fUhFECf7RE9M:&tbnh=77&tbnw=102&ei=s8fVSPWtDpLIhgKf6L3MDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522smoke%2Bfrom%2Bthe%2Babyss%2522%2BRevelation%2Bimage%26start%3D54%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4DKUS_enUS272US272%26sa%3DN

 

Verses Used: Joel 3; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 4:1-4; Matthew 24:1-11, 32-38; Genesis 6:1, 11-13; 4:22; Daniel 12:1, 4; Romans 1:31; Revelation 3; 9:1-2, 20-21; 6:2-12; 14:20; 11:13; 16:3, 18, 21; 8:7-9; 18:8-9, 18; Luke 21:25;

“The End?” Bible Study and all images prepared by Justin Lessard. Email: ferventservant1@hotmail.com

Web: https://justinlessard.wordpress.com & http://www.myspace.com/justinlessard

If you wish to use this for a study, all I ask is that you leave the credit info lines, including the name, email, & web address, above. Also, leave me a comment so I know if its useful to you. Thanks.