Thought for the Month - May 2017

"Time of the signs" by Barry Adair
(…and signs of the time)

You will know by now how these Thoughts come about. I will have been thinking about some issue and will be 'busting' to tell you my thoughts on the matter. Well, this month it is all about road signs. And in particular, road signs which give out incorrect advice. I may come across a little Victor Meldrew this month, but please bear with me!

Road signs. They are everywhere. It really is the "time of the signs". We have standard road signs, temporary signs, overhead electronic signs and even signs jumping up on our Satnavs! Of course, if they are accurate, they lead to safer driving and less death and causalities on our roads.

So what's the problem then Victor? Well I'll tell you. It is signs which give out misleading or simply out of date information. As I'm on the Motorway most days, I'm always reading the overhead electronic signs. What I find is that the "Slow - accident ahead", "WARNING, 30 mph" or "Dense Fog" are all often blatantly untrue. They may have been true half an hour ago but they simply do not relate to the current road conditions. OK, so no harm done then? Well, no… and yet, yes… What I have observed is that many of my fellow drivers are so used to ignoring these out of date signs, that whenever the particular sign is current, they have to brake heavily to avoid the slow moving queue in front of them. People are ignoring the signs at their peril!

I remember a road sign in Ramelton, County Donegal - three successive signs actually written in white on the road. The road in question was a steep decent towards a river at the bottom of a T-junction and said 'SLOW', then 'SLOWER' and finally 'SLOWER PLEASE'. You'd nearly think that the road itself knew people wouldn't be going slowly enough by the time they reached the third sign!

I also remember a time when we didn't have enough signs. Many years ago the M1 went from Belfast and abruptly stopped just outside Dungannon. When I say abruptly, I mean the motorway just stopped in a field and there was a large drop down to the rubble and grass below. Sure, there were a couple of signs telling you to exit before you went this far but it still didn't stop a car plunging off the end of the Motorway. If I recall, at least one person was killed in the accident.

My mind also turned to the signs that God has given us. To be fair, some are harder to read than others. More on those later. The easy to read signs are all around us. We have the sun and the moon and the heavens above us.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1)

In nature too we can easily see His creative hand. But many don't see these signs or perhaps choose to ignore the Creator behind them all. Personally, I see His wonderful design every time I'm out walking in the countryside.

Then we have the "signs of the time", signs of the time we are living in. Or more accurately - signs of the 'end times'. The Bible is clear that our present age will come to a cataclysmic end someday. Signs of these 'end times' are widely prophesied about in many books of the Bible. To understand these clearly means a serious study in God's Word. Hundreds of guides have been written on the 'end times' but I only want to scratch the surface here. One thing to remember as you read the list below is that all of these prophecies are thousands of years old!

So what are some of these 'end times' signs, and do these sound like they belong to the era we are living in?

Israel becoming a nation again and the return of the Jewish people…

This of course has already occurred. In 1948, Israel was recognized as a sovereign state, essentially for the first time since AD 70! Ezekiel prophesied about the rise of Israel as a nation again in Ezekiel 37 -

Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land…"

The land of Israel brought back to life…

Before the 1940's the land of Israel was a desolate waste, full of malarial swamps and deserts. Today Israeli agricultural production is one of the great wonders of the world. This tiny country exports huge quantities of citrus fruit all over the world.

"The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy…" Isaiah 35:1-2

Re-use of the Hebrew language…

During the long dispersion of Israel, Hebrew as a spoken language was all but lost except for a few Biblical scholars. Today Hebrew is the official language of Israel and Israelis now can read original Biblical scrolls without translation!

"For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language that they all may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord." Zephaniah 3:9

Increase in worldwide travel and in knowledge…

…'even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.' Daniel 12:4

The demise of cash and use of a mark (PIN?) instead.

This prophecy hasn't happened yet but it doesn't stretch the imagination too much to believe it will happen -

"And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" Revelation 13:16-17

Do you believe these signs? Do you believe in the Book where they come from? Do you believe in the Author of the Bible?

Or will you, like Victor Meldrew, be shouting "I don't believe it!"?

I know many will disregard these 'end times' signs and will carry on regardless.

I also know that false signs will occur too, bringing about confusion and doubt to those who aren't aware of the signs God has already told us about.

Could I make a plea that you give the above 'end times' signs some thought? As a Christian of many years I can testify to the honesty of God's Word, to its accuracy and also to God's love for a sinner like me.

Our present age will end someday. I don't know when but from God's Word I know it will happen. People are ignoring the signs at their peril!

Please be ready to give an account for your life before the God to whom you owe your very existence.

"You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Luke 12:40

Jesus is coming again! Maranatha!

"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done." Revelation 22:12

 

Until next month (DV)…

Are you SURE that you have your place booked in Heaven? Read this if you're not!