Yes, in the last days there will be hell on earth, but there will also be heaven on earth! The thick darkness of Hell's deceptions will cover the globe, but so will the glorious brightness of God's kingdom, which will shine so beautifully and so fully, that WHOLE NATIONS will come to the church to learn the ways of the Lord!
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." Isaiah 60:1-3
What my childhood church has failed to realize is that God can walk and chew gum at the same time! God is fully capable of punishing the wicked while at the same time rewarding his saints! 2 Peter 2:4-9 We have a living example of this positive prophecy being fulfilled even as you read this.
With our own eyes we have seen God-hating, atheistic Russia crumble to dust, and now the spiritually famished Russian people have come to the church as a NATION to learn the ways of the Lord! As of 1993, 6,400 Russian public school teachers were given JESUS films, so they could show it to their students! In these past three years Campus Crusade for Christ teams have been training them to teach Christian ethics and morals to Russian children!
If you will become forceful in your faith, you CAN push back the darkness, as Jesus promised us:
"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." Matthew 11:12
I don't know about you, but I want to do everything I can to minimize suffering in my life, so I am grabbing a hold of great and mighty promises like 2 Chronicles 7:14, and through prayer, I am doing my part to push back the darkness and advance the light.
