Articles

Where are you headed, world?

According to tradition, the Apostle Peter asked, “Quo vadis, Domine!” “Where are you going, Lord?”

Although we are not in the apostle’s situation, we too ask ourselves: “Where are you going, Lord?” In what direction is this sin-filled world—which has forsaken you—heading? And what will happen to us believers?
We are seeing more and more clearly how the world in which we live is destroying itself. On the one hand, war and conflict are intensifying, threatening mass destruction, while violence and wickedness are spreading ever more widely throughout the world. On the other hand, natural disasters are multiplying, and famine threatens the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
In addition to all these hardships, artificial intelligence has emerged, paving the way for even greater uncertainties regarding the lives of millions of people and posing a serious threat to individual freedom. All these uncertainties weigh heavily on us and lead us to wonder what direction the world we live in is heading.
However, the Bible provides an answer to this question, as it offers a detailed description of the signs that foreshadow the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to earth. The Lord Jesus said that His coming in glory to earth will be accompanied by a series of forewarning signs, beginning with general ones, such as global turmoil, deception, and false prophets who lead people away from the truth, as well as wars, conflicts, famine, pandemics, and earthquakes. The world will be marked by lawlessness, extreme aggression, and wickedness; this period is described as “the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:4–14).
We are now in the stage known as “the beginning of birth pains,” which will evolve into what is known as the Great Tribulation. This period will bring challenges and suffering unprecedented in human history. Scripture warns that, without divine intervention, humanity would be in danger of total destruction. The Great Tribulation will last seven years, divided into two periods of three and a half years each, with the latter period being particularly severe. Although we have not yet reached this phase, we see that current global events are moving in this direction.
The Tribulation will end with an event unique in human history: the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament. The second coming of the Lord Jesus will be completely different from the first, when the Lord came in humility, as a servant of suffering (Isaiah 53). At His first coming, Jesus fulfilled the biblical prophecies by offering His life as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity and rising from the dead to bring forgiveness and eternal life to those who turn to Him in repentance and faith. In contrast, at His second coming, the Lord Jesus will appear in all His glory and majesty, judging and ruling the world with justice through divine power.
During the Great Tribulation, the world that has rebelled against God will be judged: The kings of the earth, the rulers, the commanders of the armies, the rich, and the powerful—all slaves and all free people—hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of His wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:12–17).
He will destroy the kingdoms of this world and establish the reign of righteousness on this earth. Just before He went to the cross, Jesus said: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And after I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:31–32).
The devil, also known as Satan, is the ruler of this world system and will pave the way for the emergence of an evil ruler, called the Beast or the Antichrist, who will seize power in the world before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
At present, divine grace, manifested through the Holy Spirit and the teachings of the Bible, acts as a protective barrier against evil. In the last days before the Lord’s return, this barrier against evil will be removed, thus facilitating the activity of the forces of evil, embodied by the Antichrist: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only until the one who is now holding it back is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of His mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of His coming. His appearance will be by the power of Satan, with all kinds of miracles, signs, and false powers, and with all the deceptions of lawlessness for those who are headed for destruction, because they did not accept the love of the truth so that they might be saved. For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe a lie—so that all who have not believed the truth but have taken pleasure in wickedness may be condemned.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7–12).
At some point, an event without parallel in human history will take place, when the Lord Jesus will come on the clouds to take the believers to Himself. This event is known as the rapture of the church: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18).
This means that a day will come when all true believers in the Lord Jesus will be supernaturally taken from the world “to meet the Lord in the air.” They will receive new bodies of glory: Behold, I tell you a mystery: we will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be transformed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body is clothed with imperishability, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the word that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:45–55).
Those who will experience this transfiguration will be blessed with new and glorious bodies, free from decay, disease, aging, and death, capable of existing for eternity with God, having been saved from the desperate situation that will befall the earth. But those left behind will face the horrors of the Great Tribulation. That is why it is essential to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior right now and to cultivate a personal relationship with Him so that you may be safe.
The Lord Jesus said that this event will take place at an unknown time, unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. “But about that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Indeed, just as it was in the days before the flood, when people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, right up to the day Noah entered the ark—and they knew nothing about it until the flood came and took them all away— so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Then, of two men in the field, one will be taken and the other left. Of two women grinding at the mill, one will be taken and the other left. Stay awake, then, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Know this: if the master of the house knew at what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would stay awake and not let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready; for the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:36–44).
A thief never announces when he will strike, and any responsible person should be prepared to take all necessary precautions. Typically, a thief is an evil person who comes to take from the rightful owner what does not belong to him. In this context, the Lord Jesus intervenes to gather His redeemed people to Himself. This marks the beginning of a battle in which He will confront the power of the evil one, who, through betrayal and deception, has become “the ruler of this world.”
At His second coming to earth, the Lord Jesus will take control of the world, replacing the devil’s influence, and will establish the reign of the Kingdom of God, initially for a period of 1,000 years, known as the Millennium or the Messianic Kingdom. This will be followed by an eternal age, characterized by a new heaven and a new earth, according to several biblical passages (Revelation 20–21, Isaiah 2:1–4, Isaiah 11–12, and Zechariah 14).
Therefore, we believe that the following events will take place in the order presented below:
1. The Rapture of the Church, an event that could occur at any moment and for which we must prepare spiritually (1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11, 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12, 1 Corinthians 15:51–58, Matthew 24:36–44, and Luke 17:20–37).
2. The Great Tribulation will unfold over the course of seven years, during which the Antichrist, empowered by the forces of evil, will rule the earth (2 Thessalonians 2:1–12, Revelation 13, 17).
3. The return of the Lord Jesus as King of kings with overwhelming power and glory, whose role is to destroy the forces of evil and bring salvation to Israel in the final battle. The Antichrist, also known as the Beast, along with the False Prophet, will be condemned to hell, and the Devil will be bound in the abyss (Revelation 19–20).
4. The Lord Jesus’ reign on earth for 1,000 years, ushering in an era of peace and justice known as the Millennium or the Messianic Kingdom, during which Satan will no longer have the power to deceive the nations. Jerusalem, the Temple, and Israel will be restored, becoming the center of power for the Lord Jesus’ kingdom (Revelation 20, Isaiah 2, Isaiah 11, and Zechariah 14).
5. The Judgment at the Great White Throne at the end of the 1,000 years, when Satan will be released, causing a final rebellion, but he will be defeated and cast into hell forever (Revelation 20:7–10). All those whose names are not written in “the Lamb’s Book of Life” will be condemned to hell.
6. The new heavens and the new earth, where believers will live with Him for eternity (2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21–22).
Because the Rapture is imminent, it is essential that we prepare for the Lord’s coming by accepting the salvation offered by the Lord Jesus. Those who choose to follow Christ share in the Light of the World, who will guide them through the darkness of this world: “I am the Light of the world; whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12).
Now is the time to prepare for the event of the Lord’s return. He illustrated this with the parable of the ten virgins: “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones, when they took their lamps, did not take any oil with them, but the wise ones, along with their lamps, also took oil in jars. Since the bridegroom was delayed, they all dozed off and fell asleep. At midnight, a cry was heard: ‘Here comes the bridegroom; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and prepared their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ The wise ones replied, ‘No, lest there not be enough for us nor for you; instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.” While they were going to buy oil, the bridegroom arrived: those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall, and the door was locked. Later, the other virgins also came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you!’ Watch, therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour when the Son of Man will come (Matthew 25:1–13).
In this parable, the Bridegroom is the Lord Jesus, and the virgins who have oil in their lamps represent the saved believers, who are filled with the Holy Spirit and prepared to meet Him. Oil, a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, highlights the difference between those who live out their faith authentically and those who, although they identify as Christians, do not possess this divine anointing. At the Lord’s coming, the latter will find the door closed to them and will not share in the joy of the coming kingdom. It
is essential to ensure that we do not find ourselves in the situation of knocking on a door that remains closed. Therefore, the choice to follow the Lord and enter through the door of salvation that He has opened becomes a crucial priority.