How Long, O Lord?

Alright, things have been crazy lately! I mean like, CRAZY crazy, more than I've seen in my lifetime. I want to just lay out some thoughts, or puzzle pieces as the Watchman River likes to call them, about what all is going on in this world and what it's leading up to.

First, I'll start with something personal. On July 20, I was just praying and sitting in silence, as the Bible says to, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10), and a thought came over me, not so much like a normal thought in my head but more like the Holy Spirit telling me something, that was simply, "3 months from now, your life will look completely different". Nothing more, nothing less. What could that mean?Well, a number of things, but I have a feeling God's moving in big ways to make some big changes, very soon.

I've had experiences like this before over the course of my life, at least every now and then, always when in silence. Kind of like I've gotta be listening for such thoughts, such a voice, to come. One of these experiences was from over 15 years ago, when I thought, "You'll be alive to see Jesus come back." It's something that, ever since, I've held to with absolute belief that it's true. I can't not believe it! For years I've reasoned to myself, "I'm still young. That'll probably be decades from now!" I'm somewhat doubting that part now. Another time, I thought—a better description is probably heard—the Holy Spirit say, "You won't be able to have children." Thus far, I haven't gone to any doctors for testing, but the point stands that I'm married, am not on birth control, and have never gotten pregnant. Strangely enough, these memories of thinking or hearing thoughts that didn't seem like my own both came to me quickly after Gold told me "3 months from now, your life will look completely different". I don't think it's coincidence; I think God's connecting some dots. 

Now, I could be completely wrong about this, and it's all just ponderings at this point, but that's exactly what I'm here for 😊. 

This preface leads into the puzzle pieces going on in the world. 

• There's been insane weather happening all year, from floods in NC and TX to massive earthquakes in Russia, now leading to typhoons. That's all without the windstorm that uprooted our shed a few months ago! On a smaller scale, the power has gone out (at my residence anyway) more this past year alone than the rest of my life combined, all from storm damage. It also seems like there's been more once-in-a-lifetime natural disasters around the world in the past year than any year prior.
• More and more war has been starting up in the last year, a lot of it centering around the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Palestine, etc.) and especially around Israel, due to tensions surrounding the rebuilding of the temple in Israel. Yet at the same time, there's loads of talk about peace and treaties than too.
• Lawlessness is through the roof! In the everyday that I see, theft has become so common in retail that $5 earbuds are locked behind glass walls now. Reckless driving and excessive speeding are deemed normal even when dangerous. Lying isn't frowned upon but rather encouraged now! That's all without the increasing number of shootings and threats, the sexual assault, and don't even get me started on LGBTQ+. God tells us how we ought to live in the Bible, and people are not only doing the opposite but openly encouraging it!
• Technology has taken over. I don't even just mean that there's phones and computers and cameras and things everywhere. I mean social media has enveloped many brains into vicious addictive cycles that lead down dark and dangerous paths. Porn is an ever-growing industry with no sign of slowing down soon. AI has become the one-stop shop for people to get answers without ever having to think for themselves. It's all nerve-wracking, mostly because of the effect it has on people. People don't look each other in the eye and seek connection hardly at all anymore. It's either eyes on the phone or plowing past passer-bys with not even a nod of acknowledgement. How cold and inhuman such responses seem!
• Inflation has been unbelievable over the past few years. Everything is more expensive, and now between the weather and strange crop conditions this year, it's supposed to just get worse. Famines and food shortages are also creeping up from it all. 
• While thankfully still mild in the USA, persecution against Christians around the world is ever-growing. In many nations, believers have to be careful how they speak because to even mention God or Jesus is enough to get them hurt or even killed by the people around them. In the USA, I've seen more of a moral shift among believers than persecution, where people proclaim to be Christians and follow Jesus, but with their actions live out the lawlessness described prior and often claim that it's what God wants and teach others to do the same!

Between Matthew 24, Daniel 9, Revelation 6, and more, I see all of these things leading towards the return of Christ. No one knows what day or hour He will return, but God explicitly gives signs that the time is approaching, which Jesus lays out beautifully in Matthew 24. Wars, famines, and earthquakes are the beginning, persecution and false prophets bringing deception, wickedness growing and love dwindling, we're getting close to the end. The main thing holding the end back, I'm guessing anyway, is that the gospel has not yet been preached to everyone in the world. Maybe that's actually referring to the angel in Revelation 14 that proclaims the gospel to all nations, maybe not. Either way, it's all building towards the end that God said would come in His Word.  

I think Jesus is coming back sooner than anyone realizes. Maybe I'm wrong and it's other big changes that will happen in the next three months, but I'm really questioning whether the end of 2025 will be part of the tribulation and judgment that the Bible clearly says is coming. The birth pains all seem to be happening now! And while many will scoff and say such signs have always been present, they have not all been so strong at one point in time. An 8.8 earthquake causing tsunamis across the ocean, technology perfectly in place for implementing the mark of the beast and the population control Revelation describes, plans and eagerness to rebuild the temple (where the beast will set up the abomination of desolation) in Jerusalem where wars and rumors of wars are rampant. Looking back, no other time throughout history seemed to align so clearly with God's descriptions of the end times and so ready for the beast to take his place. There's even been talks about global government! The world is not sustainable as it is, and the end is coming so soon I can practically feel it in my bones. How long, O Lord, until Christ comes back?