Why Many Churches Stay Silent on Prophecy – And What the Bible Actually Says
Well, good evening, folks. Let’s just open up the Word of God together tonight. You know, as we look around Scotland and across the UK, it’s heartbreaking to see so many churches drifting.
A lot of the big denominations have gotten caught up in social issues and trying to please the culture. They’ve become what you might call “woke”, they are more concerned with the latest trends than with the plain teaching of Scripture.
Even some of our Reformed brothers spend so much time looking back that they hardly ever talk about the future that God has clearly laid out in His Word.
One of the saddest things is the lack of solid end times teaching where people are left confused or asleep while the world is rushing toward the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yet the Bible speaks so clearly about these last days. Jesus Himself said, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).
Let me just break it down for you simply, the way we like to do it here, straight from the Scriptures, I am using the NKJV Bible tonight.
- Current Chaos as “Birth Pains” – Setting the Stage
Jesus told us in Matthew 24 that in the last days we would see wars and rumours of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, and He called them the beginning of sorrows, like birth pains getting stronger and closer together.
Today we’re watching rapid moves toward more government control, digital surveillance everywhere, and dangers online that are targeting even our little ones.
Tech is advancing so fast, tracking systems, AI, and power structures that could one day be used to control people on a worldwide scale.
These things aren’t the Tribulation yet, but they sure are building the infrastructure the Bible describes for the time after the Church is taken out.
The stage is being set, folks.
- The Rapture – The Next Great Event for True Believers
Now here’s the blessed hope that should make every born-again child of God excited.
The Rapture! That moment when Jesus comes for His Church, suddenly, without warning.
Listen to Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NKJV: “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 shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
In a twinkling of an eye, millions, perhaps billions, of true believers, along with the little children and those who haven’t reached the age of accountability, will be caught up to meet the Lord.
Can you imagine the chaos on earth? Planes without pilots, cars crashing, families torn apart.
No government on earth has a plan for something like that, and with that sudden removal will create the perfect vacuum for a strong man to step forward with promises of peace and order.
Best part? There are no prophecies that still need to be fulfilled before this can happen.
It could take place at any moment and that is why we teach imminency, live ready every single day!
- The 7-Year Tribulation – Daniel’s 70th Week
Once the Church is safely home with the Lord, a seven-year period begins, what Daniel called the 70th week, where it probably starts with some kind of covenant or agreement involving Israel.
The first three and a half years will see increasing troubles with wars, famine, and death riding across the earth as the Four Horsemen of Revelation 6 are released.
Then, right in the middle, the Antichrist will break that covenant, commit the abomination of desolation, and demand that the world worship him.
The last three and a half years will be the Great Tribulation, the worst time this planet has ever seen.
Persecution will be fierce, and the Mark of the Beast (Revelation 13) will be enforced so that no one can buy or sell without it. Yet even then, God will not leave the world without witness.
The 144,000 Jewish evangelists and the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem will proclaim the truth powerfully.
- The Antichrist and Great Deception
Out of all that chaos, a charismatic leader, the man of sin, will rise and he will use fear, advanced technology, and powerful lies to control the nations. The Bible warns that God will send strong delusion so that those who rejected the truth will believe the lie (2 Thessalonians 2).
Once the restraining work of the Holy Spirit through the true Church is removed, evil will break out openly and demonic activity will increase, and the whole world will be drawn into a system that demands total loyalty to the Antichrist.
- The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
But praise God, it won’t end there! At the close of those seven years, Jesus will return visibly and in great power and glory (Revelation 19). He will destroy the Antichrist and his armies at the Battle of Armageddon, judge the nations, and establish His glorious 1,000-year Kingdom right here on earth.
And we who were raptured will return with Him to reign with our King!
Why So Little End-Times Teaching Here in Scotland and the UK?
A lot of churches today either spiritualise these prophecies away (saying it’s all symbolic or already past) or avoid the subject because it might cause division or sound too “American.”
The result is that God’s people aren’t being warned, encouraged, or taught to watch.
But the early church lived with this expectancy, and so should we.
Thank the Lord there is still a remnant that loves to teach the whole counsel of God simply and clearly.
In our area you can still find fellowships walking in that Calvary Chapel spirit:
Calvary Carluke with Pastor Colin Smith – meeting Sundays at 11am in the Carluke Lifestyles Centre.
Calvary Christian Fellowship Motherwell – Sundays at 11am and 6:30pm, and Thursdays at 7:30pm on Muir Street.
These brothers are committed to verse-by-verse teaching, a love for Israel, the pre-tribulation Rapture, and reaching the lost while there’s still time.
A Closing Word from the Heart
Folks, if your church never talks about the Rapture, the Tribulation, or the soon return of Jesus, don’t stay in darkness. Get into your Bible and read it for yourself.
Start with 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5, 2 Timothy 3, and the wonderful promise in Revelation 3:10: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world.”
The signs are all around us, getting stronger. Jesus is coming soon!
If the Lord is stirring your heart, maybe it’s time to start a simple home Bible study, or even a small gathering at a venue that suits one-to-one or a small group, just teaching the Word simply, loving people, and lifting up the name of Jesus.
Remember, God loves to use ordinary folks (even those with dyslexia or dyspraxia like me) so that all the glory goes to Him (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).
So, look up, saints! Your redemption is drawing near.
Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)