What awaits us in these last days? What should Christians expect? These are a few of the important questions this article will address.

In his first letter, the Apostle John wrote these words to the believing brethren: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1 John 2:18). When we consider that the apostle wrote these words about 1,950 years ago, how applicable must they be today! In other words, today more than ever we are living in the “last time.”

What is so characteristic of the last time? Is it so peaceful so that we can sit down with our hands in our laps and wait for things to happen? On the contrary. Battles and unrest characterize the last time, because many antichrists have come and there can be no talk of peace. That is why we must take heed when people speak of a time of peace. Even the Apostle Paul warned of this: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Paul is speaking here of the final returnof the Lord and warns us of being lulled to sleep in the expectation of this event. There can be no rest for those of us who believe in Jesus, for this last time is the hour of the Antichrist.

John wasn’t the only one who wroteabout this negative aspect of the endtimes. Paul wrote these inspired words to Timothy: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). How do we know Paul was referring to anti-Christians here, and not simply to unbelievers? He characterized these people as “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” These people will give the impression that they are on the side of Jesus Christ, but they will not act in accordance with His words, which is exactly how the anti-Christian spirit will be manifested. The Antichrist will give the impression of being Christ, the Messiah, by appearing to be a benefactor and bringing peace. But soon he will reveal himself as the son of the devil.

Our present day is a very restless time, because many antichrists are in our midst, but this also has a very comforting side for born-again Christians.
Encouragement for Children of God

The Lord Jesus encouraged His own with the words, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We may hold up the banner of this glorious truth as a sign of victory, even if we know of the troubles and battles of this time. We must realize continually that our troubles are never greater than our Helper. We are in this evil world, but we have the Victor of Calvary at our side. This is why it says in John’s first epistle, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 1:4).

Although we feel the spirit from below like a breath from hell and we often fear, especially in this last hour, we may look up to Jesus in the midst of even the greatest storms and hear Him say, “I have overcome the world.” If you are miserable now, you must encourage yourself and say aloud, “Jesus is Victor! He has overcome the world!” This does not disregard the fact that we really are living in the last hour and that the evening began, from a spiritual point of view, long ago. The sun has gone down, the night has not yet come, but the Church stands before the Rapture and the judgment upon this world is very near. What will thisevening, this last hour, bring? What can we expect?

In order to answer these sometimes frightening questions, it is helpful to consider some of the events in the lives of Jesus’ disciples that teach us to trust our wonderful Lord Jesus completely in every situation.
A Prophetic Vision for Our Time

In John 6:16-18 we read, “When even was now come, his disciples went down into the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.” It was already evening when the disciples got into a boat and sailed across the sea towards Capernaum. This is a clear prophetic picture for our time, which has already produced many antichrists. Spiritual darkness and uncertainty have filled many people with fear and trembling — even driving some to commit suicide.

Those who have not yet become children of God through faith in the Son of God always have reason to be afraid, for we are living in a demonic time, a time of confusion in which evil has already taken on enormous proportions, and uncertainty is our main problem. When the Lord Jesus spoke of His coming in great power and glory (not about the Rapture) He said something else had to happen first: “men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26). We can already feel this fear Jesus spoke about today. It has come upon mankind like a paralysis. Even creation is subject to it, as Paul wrote in his letter to the Christians in Rome: “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).

We who have become children of God cannot escape this. We are not subject to the spirit of fear, but we are still in the world, and we are often surrounded on all sides by a breath from hell. Jesus did not say that His own did not need to fear, but, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” If we abide in Him, however, the world cannot touch us, then we will be “more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). That is the difference between the children of this world who are so full of fear and the children of God who can overcome it in the name of Jesus.

Yet we may not rest in a false sense of security, for we also, as children of God, have to deal with this deceitful anti-Christian spirit. In John 6:16-17 we read, “And when even was come, his disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea towards Capernaum.” They were not just any people, but disciples of Jesus who wanted to go to Capernaum. Of course Jesus knew that a storm would arise on the sea, but He did not prevent His disciples from embarking on this dangerous journ e y. It is just the same with us who believe in Him today. Jesus didn’t promise a little heaven on earth to His own, to which we can withdraw to wait until He comes. No, He put us in this demonic world to spread the Gospel in word and deed to people who are not yet believers. He did, however, give us a letter of safe conduct: His victory over this world. And through this letter of safe conduct we will arrive safely, even if we are often in uncertainty, or even fear, when the waves of the sea often threaten to cover us and drown us. We may even look forward to the day when we meet Jesus, because the goal before us is infinitely glorious. Jesus’ disciples on the Sea of Galilee rowed into the dark night and the arising storm brought them into great uncertainty, but they had a glorious goal before their eyes: Capernaum.
Capernaum: Only a Little Fishing Village?

What was so special about Capernaum, which means “village of Nahum”? Although Capernaum was an ordinary fishing village, it had something special about it. We read in Mark 2:1, “And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and in was noised that he was in the house.” The New International Version of the Bible translates the verse this way: “the people heard that he had come home.” Certainly Capernaum was Jesus’ home during His life on earth, or, as Matthew 9:1 says, “his own city.” That is why it says also in Matthew 4:13, “And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast.”

Although the disciples were in a boat in the dark night, and their unrest increased as the waters of the Sea of Galilee were suddenly troubled by a strong wind, they were still on the way to the city of Jesus and His home, Capernaum. What a glorious goal they had before them! It is the same for us today. Darkness and uncertainty are the characteristics of our time, which is already very demonized and full of heresies. The evil in the world has increased alarmingly. In spite of this, those who belong to the Church of Jesus are on their way to the eternal Father’s house, the heavenly Jerusalem. You may also find yourself on this way to your heavenly homeland, which sometimes seems to be almost too difficult, child of God. It is good to enter through the straight gate and to walk on the narrow way, for only this leads to Jesus, who is life (Matthew 7:14). There is room for many on the broad way; many things are tolerated, even if they are diametrically opposed to the Word of God. The broad way does not lead to Jesus in the Father’s house, however, but to a completely different place: “Broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” (Matthew 7:13). The narrow way has room for only two people: you and Jesus. Fight the good fight of faith, because this way holds many trials and temptations.

But we can overcome all our fears and troubles by knowing that Jesus, the conqueror, is with us, by proclaiming His victory, and by turning our eyes continually upon the goal, “Capernaum,” the heavenly city, our homeland.

How moving Jesus’ words are concerning the homeland of the believers, the heavenly “Capernaum,” the eternal house: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” Why shouldn’t we be troubled? “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3). Here also the caring, protecting love of the Savior is revealed, which we have already seen in John 16:33: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

The victory of Jesus not only enables us to say with confidence that “He helps me in trouble,” but also assures us that, “In these troubles I am on the way to His city, the eternal homeland, where Jesus Christ, as the heavenly architect, is building homes.” What wonderful grace, what a wonderful hope!
Deception of the Last Times: Self-Satisfaction

In John 6:16-17 we saw prophetically, in the picture of the disciples in the darkness on the stormy Sea of Galilee, the Church of Jesus Christ on the last part of the way. What took place, however, just before this? The disciples had been in the midst of a crowd when the five thousand people had just been fed (John 6:1-15). Then suddenly they had been taken out of the security of the throngs of people to the solitude of being in a boat alone in the dark night.

This also seems to point to the situation of the Church of Jesus Christ on the last part of the way, on which the Lord is beginning to prepare the believers for His soon coming.

How does this preparation take place? The Lord Jesus is taking individual Christians out of the masses and beginning to work on them personally. Why is He doing this? Because the spirit of Laodicea is at work in the Church today. Spiritually speaking, we are living in the time of the church of Laodicea, and this is one of the signs that we really are living in the last times. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). What is the deception of the latter times? At the time of the church of Laodicea it was self-satisfaction: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17). Today many churches are boasting, “We are doing well. Look how many people are coming to our meetings. We know what we’re doing and how to do it!” How does such a superficial judgment come about? I believe it comes about through the suggestive power of the masses. What do I mean by this? Many Christians are in great danger of falling prey to the so-called herd instinct. In other words, they only feel at home in the masses. This was never God’s intention, however. No, He wants to have a completely personal relationship with each of His children. Because only few Christians, however, attain inner peace and intimatefellowship with the Father and the Son through reading the Bible and prayer, this fateful herd instinct has developed. Many believers only feel at home when they are in the midst of hundreds or even thousands of otherChristians and can warm themselves in their company. But true life and warmth can only be found in Jesus Christ.

Many Christians run from one Christian event to another and from one conference to another. And some of them are proud of being able to say that they have not missed any of them. I am not against meetings where many people hear the Wo rd of God; I pray for these and am glad for them. But in the midst of thousands of Christians and the feeling of belonging to them, individual believers are often no longer conscious of the fact that they are on a spiritual decline. They may no longer be able to judge the standard of their own spiritual life. Under the mass effect they think that everything is in perfect order. This is often the trouble today: people think they have everything, whereas in reality they have nothing left, as it once was with Laodicea.
Beware of “Strange” Fire

The many activities in the church at Laodicea were well organized, but the believers there did not do what God actually wanted. This is why, in His eyes, they actually had nothing, and He had to reproach them: “and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

This is the case in many places today as well. Christians are perfectly organized, but they are not an organism, i.e., they are not an entity in Christ. This is why we have so much “strange fire” in the churches. What do I mean by this? Everything appears to be in order and so-called manifestations of the Spirit seem to be present, but much of it is fake: fake blessings, fake experiences, fake revelations, fake works. Worst of all, however, is that fake activities are present in many churches today.

This was already a great evil under the Old Covenant, when two sons of the high priest of that time thought they should engage in special activities. It seems that it was not enough for them to bring the burnt offerings that the Lord had ordered. No, in their eyes, something special had to be done for the Lord, not just by anyone, but by them. But in God’s eyes this was sheer disobedience, which is why His punishment was not long in coming. We read of this in Leviticus 10:1-2: “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron , took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” Strange fire, or false activity, resulted in the death of two of the sons of Aaron .

Strange fire also brought down Laodicea, and it will also cause our spiritual death if we do not turn away from it and do what God wants us to do. Why, in spite of your intensive Christian activity, do you no longer have the joy of the Lord in your heart, but you sense only emptiness, discontent and sadness? Why is your prayer life so meager? Why do you have no real fellowship with the Lord? Because God says “no” to discipleship, which is made up of self-appointed works and activities, through which your spiritual life is consumed by this strange fire.

Religious self-satisfaction reveals itself today in that people think they have to plan as many activities as possible, whereby Jesus Christ is often “organized out” or “planned out.” And false means is a direct result of such self-appointed false activities. We often hear the expression, “the end justifies the means,” but it should rather be, “the means change the end.” Under the Old Covenant, the Lord lamented, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13). The Israelites employed false means to nourish their spiritual lives, but the Lord wanted no part in this. And He does not want any part in it today.

Who rejoices when we have no or only a half-hearted “yes” to God’s acting in and with our lives? Satan: the enemy of God and man. James wrote in his letter, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). In other words, Satan and the demons never tremble on account of us, however much we do. But the powers of darkness tremble when He has His rightful place in a person’s life.
How Does God Accomplish His Purpose for Your Life?

God accomplishes His purpose for your life by taking you out of the masses, as He did with the disciples in order to have a personal encounter with them. This was also His offer to Laodicea: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). I with Him and He with me; nobody else is present. Applied to you personally, this means Jesus is with you and you are with Him. He wants to have this personal relationship with each of His children in our time when the spirit of Laodicea, the spirit of self-satisfaction, is so much at work. For this reason, the words of Jesus in Luke 9:23 have never been so pertinent as they are today, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The Lord is concerned with individuals. Of course He wants to prepare every believer in the world, but not every believer is willing to be called out of the masses to walk with Jesus alone. Many rebel, and many believers think God has set them aside because they failed here and there, and that is why they are now forsaken by God and man. But when God calls one of His children out of the masses, He wants to prepare that person for the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ. Every born-again person wants to be there when Jesus comes, but not all are willing to let the Lord prepare them for it, and they resist being called out of the masses by Him.
A Way We Do Not Like

What does it mean when the Lord calls individuals out of the masses? It can mean that this way becomes very lonely, very difficult, a way that we would not have chosen. The disciples at that time would never have undertaken that journey on the Sea of Galilee of their own accord, but it says, “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away” (Matthew 14:22). It does not say that any of the disciples disobeyed Jesus’ instructions to get on the boat. Instead, “his disciples… entered into a ship, and wentover the sea” (John 6:16-17).

What about you, my dear friend? Will you go the way that Jesus tells you to, even if it seems very difficult? Believe me, it is a great privilege when the Lord takes you aside because it means He wants to prepare you for His return. It may well be that you find such a way very hard, because you often have the feeling the Lord is not with you and you are completely alone.

The feeling of abandonment must have come over the disciples at that time on the stormy Sea of Galilee. Jesus had told them to get into the boat, but He was not with them Himself. Where was He then, when His disciples were in such a plight? He was on a mountain: “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone” (Matthew 14:23). Doesn’t this suggest that Jesus was praying, among other things, for His disciples, who felt so alone? Certainly He was concerned about them and brought them in
prayer before His heavenly Father.

My dear child of God, do you also think the Lord has forsaken you and that you are all on your own? This is not so. Hear the following three glorious testimonies of the Scriptures:

* “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
* “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:34).
* “ Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Do you believe now that the Lord Jesus means well with you and that you are never really alone? Or do you need further confirmation that He has not left you alone? When you came to believe in Jesus Christ, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, who is God just as the Father and the Son, “that he may abide with you for ever…for he dwelleth in you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17).
Preparation “In the Depths”

Because the Almighty God wants to prepare you for the coming of His Son and only wants the best for you, you may say to Him in complete trust, “Yes, Your will is good, Lord.” If He goes with you into the depths, do not be afraid, for there you will experience the necessary and best preparation, because there are many truths that you can only grasp in the depths. The Psalmist also had this experience when he was in the depths, and therefore he prayed, “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord” (Psalm 130:1). Why did the Lord lead His servant into such depths? Because He could only bring him to realize seven special truths in this way:

1. Conviction of sin: “If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” (verse 3).
2. Forgiveness: “But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (verse 4).
3. Waiting: “I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait…my soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning” (verses 5-6).
4. The Word: “In his word do I hope” (verse 5).
5. Hope: “Let Israel hope in the Lord” (verse 7).
6. Mercy: “For with the Lord there is mercy” (verse 7).
7. Redemption: “And with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (verses 7-8).

Won’t you say “yes,” then, to God’s dealings with you in this last hour, even if He leads you into the depths? Such a “yes” on our part to all His ways will bring an eternal reward, because through them God is preparing us for the soon coming of His Son, Jesus Christ.

(to be continued…)