Are we nearing End Times?

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There is nothing new under the sun. There are historically evil societies. The Greeks, for example, openly practiced all manner of sexual sin, including paedophilia. Some native tribes have viciously tortured and murdered each other. Colonists, many claiming to be otherwise Christian, slaughtered and stole from indigenous peoples. The Holocaust, Russian Gulags, Holomodor… We are aware of more now because the advent of globalism and instant news. As a student of history, I can attest that the appearance of societal acceptance of openly evil practices waxes and wanes.

Don’t get me wrong: I am appalled at the world my children are experiencing and the grim future if we continue on this trajectory. I am grieving the world as it is compared to my 1990s childhood. It is a discipline for me to take in what is happening without internalising the anxiety or ruminating about things over which I have no control. Especially difficult is the hatred and vitriol toward law enforcement, as my husband was an LE Major and retired less than a year ago. The stress was eating him alive and I cannot imagine if he was still in charge of so many officers, trying protect them and lead them with discipline and integrity. Evil has always been with us, even if the manifestations are different.

Whilst no one knows the day or hour but the Father, we must be vigilant and ready. We must maintain the hope we have in Jesus Christ. We must be ready in season and out of season to give answer to those who inquire of our reason for hope. We are not to be anxious, pray without ceasing, and rest in the knowledge and love of Jesus.
 
Polak said:
The difference I see between now and then, is that sin is successfully being normalised.
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If you look at history, like two other posters said, there have been countless times and places in history when some type of sin was “normalized”, whether the sin in question was sexual orgies or mass killings. It’s awful when sin gets “normalized” in a particular area, but it’s nothing new under the sun. We live in a fallen world and sin will be with us till the end.
 
Eh, nobody can say if the end is “near” with any certainty. All we know is that each day we are one day nearer.
 
TwoNames said:
There is already a push - very small - just like with homosexuality in the begining, to make pedophilia acceptable.
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Good point. Sexualise kids when they are young. They will then be able to consent to sex, right? Because they understand it now. The argument that children can’t consent to sex will go away. You can then lower the age of consent.
Tis_Bearself said:
This same push was around for decades before you were born, probably in a bigger way. Look up NAMBLA and the Kentler Project.
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I know about NAMBLA. So there was an unsuccessful push for it in the past. This doesn’t mean they will stop pushing. They will find other ways to normalise it. One of those is through education.
 
2 Thessalonians ch 2 speaks of the Lawless one to come. I believe we are being prepared for his arrival, and Satan always has a lawless one, (lawless many, really) ready through the centuries and he says like us, Maybe it’s now.

Certainly many who are far from God are going farther still and becoming ‘set in stone’. We should be praying for those good people who are taking care of family and paying their bills but never really took the time to go to church. It seems like now would be a good time to get things right with God.
 
When I was a kid in the 70s, it was normal to see families with 4 kids. 5 and 6 kids in a family wasn’t unusual. It was normal that there was a mom at home and the family had 1 income, 1 car. (You could put a sign ‘Milk’ in your window and the milkman had it on your step for breakfast) It was rare that people lived together. It was rare that a teenager got pregnant. At that time abortion was not legal. Every business was closed on Sunday.

TV had family friendly programming. Batman and Robin always battled criminals and at the end of the show you could be sure to hear ‘Robin, crime doesn’t pay.’ There was a show of a married couple, I can’t post the name of the actor because his name has become ‘bad words’ not allowed on a forum. Mary Tyler Moore was the actress. (See, the word ‘actress’ has been removed because it’s female, and we’re moving to genderless societies. If someone had said that back then, it would have been laughed at as ridiculous thinking, yet here we are) If a scene was in the bedroom, they had double beds, made up nicely, and the actors had clothes on, and NOT in the bed! having their conversation. Ridiculously old fashioned by today’s standards, yet this is how TV brought an audience into a private space and made it more acceptable. As kids we were told, when visiting, that you do not go into the mom and dad’s bedroom, it was their ‘private space’. Their private stuff. Prime time TV today would be shocking to the 70s folks but we just know it as normal now.

We’re like that frog in a pot of water on the stove, the heat is on low, and we have long forgotten that normal is a pond out back, not in this pot that will be cooking us soon.
 
Uuummm what?
This is not off topic. Sadly.

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As others have said we don’t know when the “end times” will take place, for that matter the end time could be for any one of us at any time.There have been many instances in the last 2000 years where there have been wars, rumors of wars, pestilence, famine, plagues, earthquakes, I’m sure many people over that same time period have thought the time was up also. Of course Christ said we should be aware of the times so we don’t get caught unaware, only God knows when that will be, in the meantime live each day for Christ so we don’t get caught unaware, be it the end times or our own end time.
 
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Saw a “God & Guns” posting on YouTube where the host is interpreting the Book of Revelation in light of today’s events.
 
Polak said:
Does anybody else here believe the end times could be near?
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I can only say “I hope so”, since I’m very tired of the whole human experience. The first church I latched onto in my teens had a booklet which strongly drew my attention titled ; “1975 in Prophecy”. This had been an updated version of the original 1972 in prophecy. After that they stopped naming specific years and began to say, “…in the next 3 to 5 years…”. The current version of that church continues to use that phrase. Since the next 3 to 5 years has come and gone many times since I left their environs, I no longer even think about “end times” other than to hope it all comes crashing down soon.
 
Reverent_Howler said:
interpreting the Book of Revelation in light of today’s events.
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I’ve studied many, many of these teachings over the years and once put a lot of stock in them. I’ve since come to the conclusion, and agree with the Catholic Church in this, that Revelation is not a secret code waiting to be deciphered, it’s symbolism was never meant to be taken literally, nor is it intended to identify individuals or nations in our own day and age. I can well understand why Martin Luther and others didn’t think it belonged in the canon of scripture. Still, if we wish to view it as an allegory and a tale of oppression and ultimate godly victory, it’s a great bed time read.
 
Yes, we are in the end times. We have been since Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. We will be in the end times until He returns to judge the living and the dead. No one knows when that will be except the Father. It could be before I finish this post, it could be 2,000 years from now or longer. Our responsibility is to be ready and watching - not trying to guess a specific date, month or year. I would love for Christ to return during my lifetime, but either way, it will be a joyous day.
 
I’d hesitate to speculate solely on the condition of the US and most of “the West.” The situation I gather is different generally in Africa. When the faithful are persecuted in the West, perhaps it will become a period of intense devotion. Still, I find it just too difficult to form an opinion.
 
Matthew 24:36, Although, sometimes I get confused when people try to predict it they should just leave it to God and be ready. Also to be honest we’ve had way worse.
 
And we have been for 2000 years. That us the teaching of the Church.
From the CCC:

670 Since the Ascension God’s plan has entered into its fulfillment. We are already at “the last hour”. “Already the final age of the world is with us, and the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated in a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real but imperfect.” Christ’s kingdom already manifests its presence through the miraculous signs that attend its proclamation by the Church.
 
What @tafan2 and others in this thread have said. We have been in the end times for the last two millennia. This from the Book of Hebrews, chapter 1:

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. (emphasis added)

Pax
 
We may very well be nearing the end times, but I agree with what someone said earlier - most of what is happening in today’s world has already occurred throughout history. Things only seen worse because society is more closely connected thru the internet, television, social media, etc. than in the past.

Pandemics are nothing new, it just so happens to be the worst pandemic that WE have lived thru. But it’s not the worst in history. The 1918 Spanish Flu killed millions of people, likely far more than the number who will die from this pandemic. The “Black Plague” pandemic in medieval times was so bad it wiped out approximately half of Europe’s population.

I’m sure there were people who lived thru events such as the “Black Plague”, World Wars 1 and 2, the Great Depression, the French Revolution, etc. that also wondered if they were living thru the end times. Christians in the early days of the Church expected they would see the Second Coming of Christ in their lifetime - it never happened.

Traumatic and strange times have existed throughout history. They’re always difficult to endure and I can understand how they would make it seem we are in the end times. And maybe we are. But we have no way to know for sure. And in all likelihood, we’re not there just yet. Only God knows for sure.
 
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