Storm Warning - Interpreting The Signs Of The Times

The weather fascinates me. Some say I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to tracking storms. I enjoy keeping up to date with the latest forecasts.

 

Did you know that Jesus also referred to the weather watchers of His day? Luke 12:54-56 records the words he spoke to a crowd;

 

"When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming.' And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat,' and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

 

In the above text, Jesus scolds the Jews for their ability to discern weather patterns, but not the signs telling them their Messiah stood in their midst.

 

Might Jesus make a similar statement today regarding Christians and pastors who remain blind to the numerous prophetic indicators of the last days that abound around us? I believe He would.

 

The prophetic signs of our day resemble a storm warning. The dark threatening clouds on our horizon point to nearness of the time when the four horses of Revelation 6:1-8 will burst out of their stalls and gallop across the earth.

 

For us as believers, the black clouds on the horizon signal the nearness of Jesus' appearing; we will be in heaven with Jesus when He opens the seals.

 

 

The rider upon the white horse in Revelation 6:2 may be the antichrist or someone who conquers in advance of his tyrannical rule over the nations. The lack of an arrow in the bow indicates that this rider will conquer without the use of military might, though he may possess such strength.

 

And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

 

Klaus Schwab, the founder and head of the World Economic Forum (WEF), provides us with an example of someone wielding considerable clout without an army. Support for his radical Great Reset comes from leaders from all across the world. I recently watched a video where he bragged that Immanuel Macron of France and Justin Trudeau of Canada had been to his leadership school along with half of Canada's cabinet.

 

The following world leaders took part, via video conference, in the recent Davos Agenda 2022 sponsored by the WEF (Klaus Schwab moderated all sessions):

 

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China

John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate

Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Department of the Treasury

UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Indonesian President Joko Widodo

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio

Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of Nigeria

Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica

Jose Pedro Castillo Terrones, President of the Republic of Peru

Olaf Scholz, Germany's new Federal Chancellor

Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO, Bank of America

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

 

I am not saying that Klaus Schwab will be the rider on the white horse; I do not believe he will be the one. However, the worldwide support he has garnered for his vision of a one world communistic government certainly lays a foundation for the future rider of the white horse to work with.

 

 

The apostle John describes the second horse and rider in Revelation 6:4:

 

And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

 

It's clear that what we now see in our world shouts loudly that this horse is about to romp through the earth. Consider just a few of the hotspots in our world that might explode into much larger conflicts:

 

Russia continues to amass considerable military might on its border with Ukraine, which is also putting a great number of troops on its border. With some NATO nations sending military help and rumors that the U.S. will send over eight thousand troops to the conflict; the tensions increase by the day. I do not know what will happen here, but it seems like it could easily spark a major war in the near future.

Some fear that the rising hostilities between the U.S. and Russia, related to the conflict in Ukraine, will cause Putin to launch an attack on American soil.

Iran continues to pour missiles and weapons, along with many soldiers, into Syria. Turkey and Russia also have a significant military presence there.

China continues to threaten Taiwan by sending warplanes toward the island nation.

A war rages in the Arabian Peninsula between the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen and the moderate Arab states of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

 

We are not yet at the time when this horse will leave its stall; that will happen after the Rapture. However, it seems clear that the stage is set for major wars across the planet.

 

 

The alarm bells are also sounding for the great economic turmoil that will come on the heels of the black horse pictured in Revelation 6:5-6:

 

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!"

 

The conditions described above depict great inflation where a "quart of wheat," a relatively small amount, would cost an entire day's wages. This is extreme inflation.

 

Many economists warn that trouble lies ahead for the world in the form of a depression that will be much worse than what happened during the 1930's.

 

Michael Snyder, who often writes about the dire state of the U.S. economy, recently sounded an alarm about the inflation numbers for December 2021, which showed the consumer price index rising by 7%. He concluded his article, The Dollar Has Entered A Death Spiral, And A Lot More Inflation Is On The Way, with these words:

 

This truly is the beginning of the end for the U.S. economy, and I would recommend that you prepare accordingly.

 

Where I live, the cost of natural gas for heating my home has gone up by 80% and the price of gas per gallon is up about 33%. These factors will continue to push grocery bills higher and severely hurt those living on fixed incomes.

 

I believe the Lord will continue to sovereignly hold back the worst of the coming economic disaster until after the Rapture (as He has already done for several years). Please know, however, that it's only a matter of time before this turmoil explodes in the U. S. and brings the world's economy down with it. This has already started to happen.

 

 

When the Lord opens the fourth seal, death envelopes the world as never before in human history. In Revelation 6:8, John writes about what he saw next:

 

And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

 

One-fourth of the world's current population would amount to close to two billion people. The great wars and famine of the future will result in a death toll not seen since the Genesis 6 flood.

 

The previous riders will contribute to this enormously high death toll.

 

According the Revelation 6:8, the worst is yet to come. I cannot imagine the horror of what lies ahead for this world after we depart.

 

 

I cannot finish on such a woeful note as the enormously high death toll that will occur early in the early part of the Day of the Lord. For those of us who know Jesus as our Savior, our anticipation is most decidedly not the Lord's wrath that will soon fall on this world. Ours is the "blessed hope of Titus 2:11-14. Pause for a minute or two and think about our wonderful and joyful anticipation of the Lord's appearing to take us home us to the place He's preparing for us (John 14:1-3).

 

Jesus is our future, not the coming time of Tribulation that will soon overtake the world.

 

For those of us in Christ, the storm warning signifies the need to hold the things of this life loosely knowing that we may soon be in the presence of our Savior. No one knows the day or the hour of Jesus' appearing, but the storm clouds on the horizon of our world tell us that it's ever so close. We surely live in biblical times. He could come for us any day now; it could be a day just like today!

 

If you are reading this and have not yet turned to Jesus in faith, now is the time to heed the storm warnings and run to the Savior who promises eternal life to all who call upon Him.

Originally published at Jonathan Brentner - reposted with permission.