How To Live In The End Times - Christians should always be ready for Christ’s return. His imminent coming will make us live in holiness and do His work quickly. Anticipating Christ’s return and overcoming the devil requires us to recognize the signs of the times and remain informed about global events. Jesus will return in our time — with unprecedented moral decadence, political unrest, economic turmoil, plagues, and natural disasters. Be discerning about what you hear from pastors, teachers, or prophets and stand firm in your faith, even amid persecution. It is impossible to fully describe the joy and glory that await those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Nothing in this world can compare to the eternal bliss that awaits them

There are many indications that we are living in the end times. 

The ultimate showdown: will the Second Coming of Christ or the coming reign of the Antichrist define how today’s believers live their lives? 

This article is an excerpt from the book titled “666: The Mark of the Beast Made Simple.”

Having dispelled the shadows, fears, and misconceptions surrounding 666 and the mark of the beast, we now shift our focus to the Bible’s empowering message for those navigating these tumultuous times. 

This chapter will explore practical insights for thriving in the end times without being troubled, fearful, or fainthearted.

Two Groups Of End-Times Christians

Since Jesus left, Christians have commonly thought He would return in their generation, especially during major catastrophic world events. 

Our generation is almost certain Jesus will return in our time — with unprecedented moral decadence, political unrest, economic turmoil, plagues, and natural disasters.

Chronologically, we can categorize Christians in these last days into two groups: those living before the Antichrist’s reign and those present during his rule.

For example, although we are in the end times, we have not yet entered the era of the Antichrist. 

Most Christians believe the rapture will take place before the Antichrist’s reign. 

Other Christians, however, have different views on this.

This book follows the pre-tribulation view that the church will be raptured before the Antichrist unleashes hell on Earth. 

Therefore, despite the multiple signs of the end, God’s prophetic clock for the end time has not yet started ticking. 

We are still in the pre-tribulation, pre-rapture generation.

So how should we live?

Living In The End Times Before The Antichrist

Here are two explicit commandments for living in the end times:

Live with the constant expectation of Jesus’s return.

Christians should always be ready for Christ’s return, and that sense of His imminent coming will make us live in holiness and do His work quickly (1 John 3:3).

Overcome the dragon and the beasts. We should overcome the dragon (Satan), his workers, and his devices as we wait.

Anticipating Christ’s return and overcoming the devil requires us to recognize the signs of the times and remain informed about global events. 

The continuous struggles in everyday Christian living and the intensifying darkness in the world serve as reminders that the sinister dragon is already present and active.

The Dragon And The Beast Today

When reading the book of Revelation, particularly chapter 12, some Christians may be tempted to think that Satan, depicted as the seven-headed dragon, will appear on Earth during the last days. 

However, this is a grave mistake. That dragon, Satan, is here on Earth right now.

In fact, he has been here since Adam and Eve fell in the Garden. 

Some of us may be shocked to learn that the dragon may have attacked us today, attempting to seduce us into disobeying God, just as he seduced Eve.

The dragon is already here, constantly working to fulfill his two-fold purpose through a three-fold strategy and a four-fold power system mentioned earlier. 

He is actively seeking to turn people from Christ to Satan. He lures them with promises of pleasure, power, or fame and through other temptations and lies. 

How many Christians have shipwrecked their faith because of the promise of pleasure, power, fame, prosperity, or celebrity status?

Satan’s false prophets are deceiving many with false teachings and miracles today. And his antichrist leaders are persecuting Christians all over the world.

Therefore, it is crucial to acknowledge the simple but profound truth that the dragon is already here, and his antichrists and false prophets are hard at work.

However, there will come a time when this work will expand on a global scale, surpassing anything previously witnessed.

And the coming Antichrist will fully embody everything antichrist, and his false prophet will fully embody everything false prophet.

As a result, here is Jesus’s command for us today: Overcome the dragon and his beastly activities. 

Do not reject Christ for sexual pleasure or the promise of prosperity, fame, or power gained through ungodly lifestyles. 

Be discerning about what you hear from pastors, teachers, or prophets, and stand firm in your faith, even amid persecution.

How To Avoid The Mark Of The Beast

There is no mark of the beast to avoid until the beast appears and reveals his Satanic government ID.

Believers in Jesus Christ during the Antichrist’s reign must profess their faith in Jesus and reject the Antichrist, even at the cost of their lives.

However, for Christians living before this time, there is no mark of the beast to avoid until the beast rises to power. 

The mark is not yet here. However, we have the dragon, the spirit of the Antichrist, and satanic pressures all around us.

There are two things people can do today to overcome the dragon, his beasts, and his activities:

Believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Maintain a healthy relationship with Him every day.

So here is how to overcome the dragon in these perilous times before the Antichrist and his government: resist temptations, avoid false teachers and prophets, and do not bow to persecution in any form.

The Miserable Defeat Of The Dragon And The Beast

In the darkness of these end-time events, two events shine a bright light:

The pitiful end of the dragon and the Beast.

The believer’s entrance into unfathomable eternal glory.

John presents the end of the dragon, the Antichrist, and the false prophet:

“And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” - (Revelation 20:10)

Paul puts it this way:

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

Jesus will defeat and destroy the Antichrist.

Afterward, Christians will receive their full inheritance from God, including a new spiritual body that can fully contain and express the Holy Spirit without limitations from sin, the flesh, or physical weakness. 

God will fully immerse our being with the fullness of His Being, allowing us to live — feel, think, act, and speak — as He does.

It is impossible to fully describe the joy and glory that await those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. 

Nothing in this world can compare to the eternal bliss that awaits them, and none of its troubles or fleeting pleasures are worth forfeiting such priceless glory.

Rather than fear what is happening in the world, our hearts resonate with the words of John:

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ 

"Amen. 

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20, KJV)

By Patrick Oben

I am Dr. Patrick Oben, M.D. I work at Mercy One Des Moines, Iowa (USA) as an Internist (Hospitalist) and the Founder of Patrick Oben Ministries, Inc. 

patrickoben.com 

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Signs that indicate the end times are approaching - God has given us enough information that we can be prepared, as our hearts cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus”

One-World Religion - this false religion will permit and even encourage the death of those who follow Jesus during the tribulation. Further, this false end-times religion will include sexual immorality

Pre-Tribulation Rapture - God does not judge the righteous with the wicked. Christ has already taken the wrath of God for believers. He took all of God's wrath for believers previously on the cross and has already saved us from it

The Meaning of 666 - this mark of the beast will in some way represent the name or number of the beast - this number is an important clue in understanding the nature of the Antichrist

What is the meaning of 666?

In his haunting vision in Revelation 13, John unveils the first beast who is a metaphor for the Antichrist.

Empowered by Satan he will have dominion on earth for three and a half years. 

He is depicted as one who will heal from a mortal wound, deceive humanity into worshipping himself, and persecute Christians and the nation of Israel.

Perhaps his most infamous characteristic is the number of his name, 666.

The meaning of 666 has intrigued people for centuries. 

It is often associated with Satan. 

While pop culture adapts it to horror films, others avoid the number altogether due to hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia, the fear of the number 666. 

Many people have attempted using gematria, a mathematical practice of assigning numerical value to a Hebrew word based on the combination of letters, to understand the meaning behind 666. 

Results of this practice have connected 666 to Nero Caesar who was the Roman emperor from AD 55 to AD 68. 

However, United States president Ronald Reagan, among other political and religious leaders, also was a result of the same type of calculation. 

When enough mathematical maneuvers are employed, nearly any name can add up to 666. 

In addition, some early manuscripts of the Bible have the number 616 instead of 666, adding to the difficulty to correctly identify the Antichrist using mathematics.

From a biblical perspective, the number 666 is not necessarily a code for the Antichrist's name, but rather a symbol of his nature. 

During the end times tribulation people will be required to have the mark of the beast on their foreheads or hands in order to buy or sell. 

Those who do not receive the mark will be persecuted by the Antichrist, but those who do, will be subject to God's wrath. 

In a sense the mark of the beast will signify a commitment to worshipping the Antichrist instead of God. 

This mark of the beast will in some way represent the name or number of the beast. 

John hints that this number is an important clue in understanding the nature of the Antichrist. 

He writes, "This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666" (Revelation 13:18).

Numbers have symbolic significance throughout the Bible. 

One of the most important biblical numbers is seven.

Seven stands for complete, whole, and perfect. 

The number seven is used over seven hundred times in the Bible, and most prominently as the number of days in which God created the world. 666 is also symbolic. 

John calls it the number of man. 

Man was created on the sixth day of creation and chose to sin against God. 

Man is imperfect and incomplete without God. 

The Antichrist will try to take the place of God, exalting himself and demanding people worship him.

However, the unholy trinity of the Antichrist, False Prophet, and Satan will be defeated at the hands of Jesus (Revelation 19—20).

Christians should neither fear nor focus on the number 666. 

Jesus has already overcome the sin of the world. 

If His Spirit is living inside of us, then we have overcome the spirit of the antichrist and can trust that He who is in us is far "greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). 

Jesus is all we need and the only one we need.

Ultimately, 666 reveals the Antichrist for what he really is, a deceiver and a fraud.

compellingtruth.org

Related Links:

Signs that indicate the end times are approaching - God has given us enough information that we can be prepared, as our hearts cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus”

It’s time to watch - the Day of the Lord is rapidly approaching

Getting Tough in Perilous Times - we are told to "get tough," fight the good fight of faith, and win battles in the name of the Lord