Another "Sign"  
Perplexity
It is Here!  
                                                                          By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                          November 23, 2019
     "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring," Luke 21:25.
Introduction
     My apology to those who read my studies on a regular basis.  I haven't sent out a study for over three weeks.  I have started several studies and just couldn't finish them.  I have been bothered with what some call "writer's block."  I do need the prayers of God's people, for writing these Bible Studies for the people of God, and for lost seeking souls, is the ministry the Lord God gave to me when I became physically unable to do anything else.  I have felt like I have been under Satanic attack on a number of occasions.  I need your prayers.  Thank you!   
Defining the Word
     The Greek word translated as "perplexity" in our English Bibles literally means, "stymied; no solution; beyond ability to solve; no way out."  
     Dear readers, this is the exact situation the world of mankind has come to today; like RIGHT NOW.  The world today is in the biggest mess of mass confusion and unsolvable problems I have personally ever seen in my 85 years of life.  Only the coming of the L:ord Jesus Christ will bring an end to these problems Christ rejecting mankind has created for themselves.  
The Scriptural Position
     Carefully notice that in Luke 21:25, the Lord Jesus, in prophesying about the "signs" which were to come, placed the "sign" of "perplexity" in the next to last position in this inspired Scripture.  In other words, one way of looking at this is, when lost unbelieving mankind on the earth, thinks world conditions cannot possibly get any worse, then "the sea and the waves" will begin to roar and rage all over the coastal areas of the earth.  
     I highly suspect this "roaring" of the sea and waves will be caused by the "signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars."  Right now as I write, according to the professional astronomers, there is a huge Comet or planet coming towards the earth, pushing asteroids and meteors ahead of it.  There is no question that such a bombardment of the earth's surface by these objects, and the passing of the earth by a gigantic planet or Comet will cause earthquakes all over the earth.  The earthquakes, in turn, will cause gigantic tidal waves and tsunamis in the seas and oceans on the earth.  
     Welcome to the FUTURE being faced by unbelieving mankind LEFT HEHIND on the earth following the pre-tribulation rapture of God's believing Church and people.  
But First Comes "perplexity"
     And it is here!  Even as I write the government of America is being torn apart by wicked politicians. Civil war could begin at any minute of any day now.  
     If it does, there is no question that the American economy would totally collapse.  And because the U.S. economy is so tied into the world economy today, then the whole world economic system will also collapse.  
     Remember that the prophecies of the Lord Jesus in Rev. 6:5-6, state that shortly after the beginning of the seven year Tribulation, there will be world wide food rationing, and a "measure of wheat" [enough to bake one loaf of bread] will cost a day's wages [for those who still even have jobs at that time].  
     Well, surely our "highly intelligent" political leaders won't let this happen.  Have our readers been watching the performance of these political leaders on the evening news lately?  E'nuf said!  
     Perplexity?
     This year the fools interfering with the weather systems of the world, supposedly working on "climate control" have brought such foul weather upon the world that practically no food has been produced or harvested; neither in Europe or America.  So before food crops can be grown and harvested this coming year, there will be massive food shortages occurring in nations  all over the world.  It was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who prophesied of this world condition, clearly stating, "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places," Matthew 24:7.  See also Mark 13:8 and Luke 21:11.    Perplexity!  
      But also, the nations of the world are on the brink of war, especially in the Middle East.  And with the nations in a war of words over what is happening in Syria and the Middle East right now, with total disagreement on how the problem should be solved, there is little chance that a Third World War can be avoided.  And it won't be!
     Thankfully, the Lord God is holding off world war until the rapture of His people has occurred, but following the rapture the whole LEFT BEHIND world of mankind will burst into red hot flaming war.  Read it for yourself in Rev. 6:3-4.  Perplexity!   
     Just as it was in "the days of Noah," preceding the flood, so it is today.  The Lord Jesus Christ said so, Luke 17:26-27.  Today, instead of water covering the earth, there are "floods of ungodlly men," Psalm 18:4. Rampant CRIME is totally out of control.  Police are being overwhelmed by the crime wave that is sweeping the whole earth today.  And the criminals are no longer afraid.  Policemen are being killed all over America, some even being deliberately  ambushed by criminals.  This has happened several times in the St. Louis area here in Missouri.  And what is the solution unbelieving mankind has come up with?  "Why, we must recruit and hire more policemen!"  Tell me, why would any man with a lick of sense between his ears, want to be a police officer today?  Perplexity!        
     A week ago, one night, a huge meteorite flew through the atmosphere of the earth over the eastern part of the U.S.  It literally lit up the night sky, with a bright flash of light, and displayed a long tail, before it apparently burned out  It so fascinated  the astronomers, that they are currently offering a $25,000 dollar reward to anyone who finds the remains of it.  So far no word on anyone finding where it landed.  
      They might as well save their money, for there is soon coming asteroid showers all over the surface of the earth.  Read it for yourself in Rev. 8:7-11.  The red hot asteroids, having heated up passing through the atmosphere of the earth at thousands of MPH, will start fires when they land in forests, or hit homes, or strike anything combustible.  Everyone LEFT BEHIND on the earth following the pre-tribulation rapture will get to see them.
      O goody goody!  Won't that be a thrill!  Yes!  Unlike anything modern man has ever experienced.   But I really don't think the people will be overjoyed about their coming.  Perplexity!  
     And yes, there will be "signs" in the Sun, and in the Moon, and in the stars, exactly like the Lord prophesied in our text Scripture, and in Rev. 8:12.  It is a normal thing for mankind living on the earth today, to step out into their yard or street at night, look up at the night sky, and see millions of stars in the night sky from horizon to horizon.  
     Well, it will be quite different, and probably a little unsettling, to look up into the night sky, and see millions of stars shining in two parts of the night sky, but one-third of the sky in pitch darkness.   And then during the day the sunlight suddenly going out, and one-third of the day being plunged into darkness.  Some folks LEFT BEHIND on the earth when the rapture occurs may soil their britches when these things occur.  
     But cheer up!  If the reader is paying attention,  Rev. 8:13 makes it clear that it will only become worse and worse as time passes, just as the Lord prophesied in Luke 21:25. So cheer up!  Those lost Christ rejecting unbelievers LEFT BEHIND when the rapture occurs will only have a few more years to experience such things before the Tribulation JUDGMENTS are concluded.  Joy! Joy! Joy!  Won't that be fun?  Perplexity!  
     But let's not get too far into the prophecies of the Tribulation. That is not the intent of this message.  
     Let's go back to our text Scripture in Luke 21:25.  The Lord Jesus, after stating that there would be "signs" in the Sun, Moon, and Stars, then stated that upon the earth the nations would be in "distress.....with perplexity."  In other words, there would be such problems, between and among the nations on the earth, that they would be unsolvable; beyond solving.  
     The Greek word translated as "perplexity" literally means, "no solution; beyond solution; no way out."  Dear readers, mankind living on the earth today has reached that exact point
We Have Arrived!  
     Do our readers listen to the news on TV reported by the news media?  Do our readers read the newspapers?  Or.....   
      Are you like a sister in Christ, who told me that she refuses to listen to the news broadcasts, because the news is all bad.  Silliness!  Ignorance!  
     So the news is bad!  So what?  Aren't God's people supposed to stay informed about what is happening in the world around us?  A true believer cannot witness to others, warning them of dangers that exist, and exhorting them to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior,  if they don't even know about the dangers themselves.  Sticking your head in the sand like the proverbial Ostrich doesn't solve anything, and it sure doesn't stop the evil and wickedness in the world around us from happening.  So, right now while I write.......
Perplexing Problems
     The American government is on the virge of imminent collapse.  There are people in government circles today, who are dedicated to destroying our present form of government, and taking this whole nation into a one-world government.  The liberal Democrats are pitted against the conservative Republicans to the extent that actual Civil War could break out at any time, thereby dividing and destroying the entire nation. Read Matthew 12:25, Psalm 9:17,  and Jeremiah 30:11.  
     Obviously there is no logical reasoning with those obsessed with creating a one-world government. .  They have their minds made up, and nothing or no one is going to change them, or stop the movement they have started.  
      President Trump has done everything he knows to do to expose such wicked men, including removing some from positions of power in the government.  President Trump has shown by his actions, that he really does want to "make America great again."  But his efforts have been fought bitterly by the one-worlders, even to the point they are presently trying to remove him from office by.......
     [1]    Impeaching him
                        or
     [2]    Assassinating [murdering]  him.  
     Every reader who does watch the news, knows about the impeachment process, being reported on every day by the news media.  The impeachment effort is failing, due to the lack of credible evidence to prove the accusations made against the President.   But.......  
     How many of our readers are aware that President Trump has been rushed to the hospital twice in the last few days, to be
checked out for possible poisoning?  How many of our readers know that the President's trusted "food taster" was taken to the hospital first, very sick,  and is now in grave condition?  He may have already died as I am writing this study.   He had obviously  been poisoned by some of the food he was tasting to protect the President   Pray for him and his family!  Pray for our President!
And pray for and witness to the lost in our nation.   Perplexity!  
The Middle East Situation
     There is an almost complete lack of reports by the  news media on what is really happening in the Middle East.   But what is going on there is another very perplexing problem.
     There has been a war going on in Syria, since,  I believe, 2015 or 2016.  Several nations have become involved, including the U.S., Russia, Iran, Turkey, Israel, and perhaps one or two other nations.  U.S. troops have been moved from one place to another, over the protests of some of the nations involved.  Israel has been fired upon by rockets and missiles from Iran, and has retaliated in various ways.  Turkey came into the area once occupied by the U.S., and Russia moved in to protect the ruler of Syria, and the nation of Iran...??.  And on and on and on.  There is no solution to this war, and some participants obviously want it to lead to World War Three.  War is a great opportunity for the wealthy, to accumulate more and more wealth.  Perplexity!  
Side Effects.....
     Many people today, especially here in America, never think about the side effects of war.  But if war comes to the shores of America, there is no question that there will be a loss of electrical power, resulting in a loss of communication [no cell phones, telephones, Internet, or TV],  a loss of water being pumped into the homes,  a loss of refrigeration, and on and on.  Perplexity!  
Complete Lawlessness
     When [not if] communication is lost, all moral restraints will be lost with it.  People all over the nation will become thieves, robbers, liars, and worse, in their efforts to survive and provide for their own families.  
     Just before the flood in "the days of Noah," the inspired Word clearly states.......
     "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually," Genesis 6:5.
     And.....
     "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth," Genesis 6:12.  
     Had God not protected Noah and his family, there is no question that they would have been brutally murdered.  Noah was a "preacher of righteousness," 2 Peter 2:5.  If there is anything the "ungodly" do not want to hear today, it is the gospel of "righteousness," requiring mankind to receive Christ as their own personal Savior and live moral and righteous lives.
Millions today have no such intentions!  More perplexity!   
     But thanks be unto God, even like Noah, we who are true believers today, have a "blessed hope," assuring us that we are going to escape what is coming upon this unbelieving, Christ rejecting, lost world, Tiitus 2:11-15.  Glory to God!  
Global Immigration
     As I write today, thousands of people from the Middle East, all of them professing Muslims, have immigrated to America, and to almost all of the western nations.  "Open Immigration" is now a national policy, because, after all, "We must not discriminate!"  Hogwash!  Every person reading this study discriminates from the time they get up in the morning, until they go to bed at night.  Look up the meaning of the word in your own dictionary.  It simply means "to make a choice between things."  There is nothing wrong or evil about that at all.  Why do some women put on blue dresses in the morning?  Are they discriminating against their red dresses?  Why do some prefer bacon with their eggs, rather than ground beef?  Are they discriminating?  They sure are, and every person does such numerous times every day.  These highly "intellectual" leaders of this present world, have become almost totally ignorant of life itself, and have little "common sense" left.  
     As I write the streets of cities all over the earth are filled with people, marching, protesting, demonstrating, and demanding their "rights." Some of them loot, burn, and even kill in order to get what they want.   And whether their cause is right or wrong, just or unjust, they won't stop until they are satisfied or pacified.   More Perplexity!
Will It Never End?  
     Yes it will!  And very SOON!  It will end with the resurrection of the righteous dead, 1 Thess. 4:16.  Have our readers ever noticed that when Christ arose, there was "a great earthquake," Matthew 28:2.  Doesn't our text Scripture say that the "sea and waves" will begin to roar or rage following the time of perplexity?  Why?  The obvious answer is "earthquakes."   
     Dear readers, we believers living today are living right at the end of this present dispensation.  If the Lord Jesus does not come for us before this Thanksgiving Day or even Christmas, you had better use those days to witness to your lost loved ones, for I firmly believe this lThanksgiving Day and Christmas observance will be our last ones on this earth.  Are you ready?  Ready to pass into eternity as you meet the Lord Jesus in the air?  ARE YOU READY?  
     I remind our readers that the most perplexed people who have ever lived, will be the unbelievers LEFT BEHIND  on the earth following the rapture, when they realize they are in the prophesied Tribulation period, WITH NO WAY OUT but death.
     Are you listening?  Are you ready?  Are you saved?
     Read Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8-10.  
     May our gracious God add His blessings to this message!  
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     My personal contact information:
POSTAL.....Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd. 8120, Rolla, MO 65401
EMAIL........francismriley34@gmail.com
PHONE......573-202-6493
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