Part 2....

Some might scoff and say that there is still plenty of room left for many more people.  In one sense, this is true, but resource availability is a problem.  About 3-4 years ago, J.R. Church wrote:

“There is one irrefutable reason for believing that Christ is coming back very soon. In the past 40 years, the world population has doubled. Forty percent of the people alive today are under 15 years old. If the increase of the population were to stabilize at 40 years, then by 2040 there would be 12 billion mouths to feed. By 2080 the population will increase to 24 billion. By 2120 there will be 48 billion mouths to feed. Already every night, over half the people in our world go to bed hungry. If Jesus does not come -- if there is no end to the procreation of man, we are helpless to cope with what lies ahead in the twenty-first century."

Church goes on to say, "According to scientific estimates, the oil supply from Arab nations will be depleted within the next 30 years. Almost all of the gold, silver, tin, copper and other minerals that feed our industrial appetites have been located and mined. Their supply is also running out."  I don't believe Church mentioned it, but water resources are also becoming a problem in burgeoning populations.

But, alas, God is not caught by surprise!

In his book, "Touching the World Through Prayer," Wesley L. Duewel, famous missionary statesman, described this worldwide demographic phenomenon and its relevance to the Great Commission.
 
He says that throughout the world, the villages are static and dying, since the first to suffer in famine are the villagers.  The prospects of enough to eat, education, health services, and job opportunities available in the cities are beckoning the young and ambitious.  The exodus to the cities is a phenomenon that has accelerated.
 
The late Bill Bright wrote, “The average world-class city doubles in population every fourteen years, and some in only ten years.  Because of the intense concentration of people living within a smaller radius, we can reach far more in a city than in a village, and in a shorter period of time.  Paul centered his evangelistic efforts in cities, and then the city churches reached out to the villages.”
 
The ripest time ever is now, Duewel says.   Why?  Because in the first 10-15 years after new city dwellers arrive, they are more responsive than at any other time.  While living in the villages under the scrutiny of family, members of the caste, friends, and village priests and religious leaders, it is difficult for individuals who hear the gospel to step out alone.  Upon reaching the city, they are comparatively rootless and often restless and disillusioned in not finding the new home to be the longed-for utopia.
 
Liberated from the surveillance of relatives and religious leaders, those individuals are vulnerable and ripe for the gospel message.  It is crucial that we reach them now.
 
Bright wrote, “Now, since God is sovereign and knows all of this, is it any accident that the greatest gospel outreaches in the history of the world have taken place since the middle of the 20th century?  God knows exactly what He is doing, and His plan is on schedule.”
 
The middle of the 20th century also saw the miraculous and prophetic rebirth of the nation of Israel, signaling the end times.   This was not a coincidence!
 
Jim