Jesus once said to the religious leaders who opposed Him "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 talking about the end times Jesus said it would come like a snare upon all who dwell on the earth, like a trap, a trap set by a spring that will suddenly snap shut. That trap is being set now.

Neither Communism or Nazism happened quite as suddenly as it seems sometimes in the history books, both these evil powers crept by stealth, increasing step by step their control and with considerable indoctrination their grip upon the people. This process is happening in society now. But in each case there came a defining moment, a point and time when the people realized that they were no longer free, they were no longer even free to speak their minds.

In speaking about the times of the end Jesus warned of a time of ferocious persecution against christians, He said many would be offended and fall away, I believe this will happen because the most christians believe that they are going to be raptured away from persecution, Jesus taught no such thing, nor does any other bible writer.

This mistaken idea comes from a wrong application given to the word tribulation, it is taken to mean the period when God will pour His wrath upon wicked men. Actually the word means persecution, Jesus said "they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death" the great tribulation is the great and last end-time persecution when the enemies of God will try to wipe out all religion, blaming religion for all that is wrong with the world.

The persecution will be so horrific that parents will deliver their own children up to death and children their parents.

Some bible commentators make this tribulation or persecution to apply only to the Jews, this is not correct, for Jesus said "in all nations...for My name's sake." Also if it were only Jews, then parents delivering up their own children would also be putting themselves at peril. No this is the persecution of Antichrist against christians. You do not have to go far to hear the voice of anger and hate raised against the bible and against christians who believe in it, the coming Antichrist is the prince of all such hate.

John the revelator in his vision spoke about a great multitude who appeared suddenly in heaven, from every race, tribe and tongue and he was told that "these are they who have come out of the great tribulation."

It may not seem when you look around very likely that such a persecution could happen, you might have thought it unlikely if you had been Jewish in Germany in 1930 that within 15 years 6 million Jews would have been slaughtered without mercy or compunction and that in a supposedly civilised nation as Germany is. 

What happened to the Jews is a foreshadow of the much more brutal persecution that will take place against christians. This is a time for the church to watch and pray.