The End of the Age and the Coming of the Lord

By Ben Girod

October 30, 2015

Time as we know it is rapidly moving into its final stages. What once was a daily routine of quiet serenity and peace in many Christian homes in the West is now rather an atmosphere of shaking, with families being sifted to the core, and this combined with global upheaval, apostasy, and lawlessness. Many are now in fear of what is coming; others remain in denial and blissful ignorance, clueless of the coming crisis.

We have entered the hour of the greatest shift in the history of mankind, with impending judgment.  It is the moment of decision.

“Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14).

In the midst of this coming crisis and the great falling-away of the Church, God has an ultimate plan that will be redemptive beyond anyone's imagination. God’s designs will in the end defeat Satan's strategies—He will save His people.

In light of this, the Church will soon be placed within the valley of decision, where She will be compelled to make a deliberate choice for or against the Lord’s purposes—no more wavering.  When She emerges, the gates of hell will throw every obstacle imaginable at Her to stop Her, but it will be in vain, for in the very end She will triumph. This will be the crowning moment of all history, when the Church collectively chooses to obey, even at the ultimate cost of mass martyrdom.

“ And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mathew 16:18).

Even so, in every age and in every generation, God has had a Remnant who walked in unconditional obedience at any cost.  In and through this elect group of intercessors, He historically performed His plan which is now leading up to the final moments of our day. It is this Remnant that comprises the emerging Bride. She dies daily so others can live. She gives away all things so that She can gain all for Christ. She has been shaped and molded by the loving hands of the Father in much tribulation, hardship, and fire. She carries God’s glory to the four corners of the earth.  She bears the fingerprint of God, and is preparing the way for the ultimate redemption of the Church globally.  She has no designs for personal gain, honor, or recognition. She glorifies the Lord.

“Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10).

“(I) now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church”  (Colossians 1:24).

“And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments” (Deuteronomy 5:10).

It was John the Revelator who saw and heard from the Throne, the marriage of the Lamb and His Bride. She had prepared and made Herself ready for this monumental event (Rev. 19:5-9). This marriage will be taking place after She is taken out, or caught up (1 Thess. 4:16-18).

Many today believe in a collective catching-away of the Church (which traditionally has spawned long-standing trust in various doctrines) to save them. However, the Lord is presently preparing a Remnant whose hearts and affections are fully hidden in Him—having shaken themselves free from the bondages of false security found in formal denominational affiliations and “party lines.” 

In light of this, we are told by the Lord Himself to “remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32).  It is important to note that He does not say that she was a sinful woman; she simply had her affections misplaced—disqualifying her from being delivered when judgment fell on the city. To remember Lot’s wife is perhaps one of the most critical messages of this hour. Some of us may still have our affections misplaced. It may be that we are still resting securely in our favored doctrines, which could fail us at the moment of crisis.

This is amplified in Luke 17:30-31: “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.”

In light of these scriptures, with many others relating to this event, it is paramount that we prepare our hearts, for it is what is in our hearts—not in church doctrines—that will be the deciding factor in the moment of crisis.

To be ready will depend on at least two things:

Number One: having a personal and trusting relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without which we will miss it (Matt. 25:13).

Number Two: guarding our hearts with daily repentance, to be able to stand at the moment of His coming (Luke 21:34-36 and Rev. 3:10).

It is widely understood that the Great Tribulation will be for the purification of the Church; but for the Bride herself, She already is transparent, prepared, and waiting, as exemplified by the “five wise virgins” (Mathew 25).

In a marriage between a man and woman there is total transparency; so it is with Christ and His Bride—there is no room for hidden agendas or broken relationships.  She is therefore not destined for the Great Tribulation, but will enter into her reward with her Bridegroom.

In Revelation 6:5-6 we get a further clue of the Bride’s status as these global events begin unfolding, when the “rider on the black horse” speaks of the scarcity of food during this time, while at the same time commanding not to harm the oil or the wine. The five wise virgins carried with them an abundance of oil, together with purified hearts (wine) enabling them to bypass these judgments, for she is already judged (1 Cor. 11:31).

It is also important to note that the five foolish virgins nevertheless were virgins, which speaks of purity; they were not far from the Kingdom, yet they missed the critical moment of redemption, not because of a sinful lifestyle, but by trusting their church doctrines, and allowing the cares of this life to deplete their oil—the oil of holiness and watchfulness, together with an intimate relationship with the Lord, which failed them at the moment of crisis.

We are all aware of His coming, but few are tangibly preparing for it, which could very well catch us off guard. It is true, in all ages they looked for His coming, yet to this day He has not come. Perhaps we have now become indifferent and numbed to this reality, and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of (2 Peter 3:4-5a).

In any event, global conditions today strongly point to His imminent coming like never before in history--the time is now to prepare.                             

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

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