Sinais do fim dos tempos
A Bíblia descreve sinais que precederão a volta de Jesus. Guerras, falsos mestres, sinais cósmicos e a pregação do evangelho a todas as nações — tudo aponta para o fim dos tempos.
Sinais proféticos
Este evangelho do Reino será pregado em todo o mundo e então virá o fim. Os sinais dos últimos tempos já se manifestam.
The good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed around the whole world so everyone will be able to hear it, and then the end will come.
But right after those days of persecution the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and in brilliant glory. With a blast from a trumpet he will send his angels to gather his chosen ones from every place, from one end of heaven and earth to the other.
So stay alert, because you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. But consider this: if the house-owner knew what time a thief was coming, he would keep watch. He would not allow his house to be broken into and robbed. You also need to be ready, because the Son of man is coming at a time when you’re not expecting him.
Teach them to follow all the commands I have given you. Remember, I am always with you, to the very end of the world."
No one knows the day or hour when this will happen—not even the angels in heaven, not even the Son; only the Father knows.
Os últimos dias
Nos últimos dias virão tempos difíceis, homens amantes de si mesmos. Mas derramarei o meu Espírito sobre toda a carne.
Be aware that there will be troubled times in the last days. People will love themselves and love money. They will be boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and without God in their lives. Heartless and unforgiving, they’ll commit slander and have no self-control. Brutal people who hate what’s good, they will betray others and be totally thoughtless. They are absurdly full of themselves, living so much for pleasure that they don’t care about loving God. They may give an outward impression of being religious, but they don’t actually believe it works. Stay away from these people!
God says, ‘In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. I will pour out my Spirit on my servants, both male and female, and they will prophesy. I will also give you miraculous signs in the heavens above and on the earth below—blood, fire, and swirling smoke! The sun will become dark, and the moon will become red like blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord. But whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
After this I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will be my prophets, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will also pour out my Spirit on male slaves and female slaves.
"At that time Michael the great prince, the protector of your people, will stand up and there will be a time of trouble like never before, since nations first existed. But at that time your people will be saved, all whose names are written in the book. Millions sleeping in the ground in death will awake, some to eternal life, and some to eternal shame and disgrace. Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky; those who have shown many the right way to live will shine as bright as the stars forever and ever.
Esperança e prontidão
O dia do Senhor virá como ladrão. Mas nós não somos das trevas — estejamos sóbrios, vigiliando e esperando.
What we’re telling you comes from the Lord: Those of us who are alive and still here when the Lord comes certainly won’t precede those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the cry of the archangel, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, and those who have died in Christ will rise first. Then those of us who are alive and still here will be carried up together with them into the clouds, and we shall meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever! So encourage one another with these words.
So then we shouldn’t be sleeping like everybody else—we should stay awake and keep ourselves clear-headed. For it’s during the night that people sleep; and it’s at night that they get drunk. But since we belong to the day we should keep our heads clear. We strap on the breastplate of trust and love. We put on the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God hasn’t placed us in a position to be punished, but has reserved us for salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Watch out that you don’t become distracted by partying or getting drunk or by the worries of this life, so that this day catches you by surprise. For this day will come upon everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Always keep watch and pray, so that you may be able to escape all that will happen and stand before the Son of man."
However, my friends, don’t forget this one thing: that for the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not delaying the fulfillment of his promise, as some define delay, but he is being very patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost, but everyone to come and repent.
However, the day of the Lord will come, unexpectedly like a thief. The heavens will explode with a thunderous roar, and the elements will be destroyed as they are burned up. The earth and everything in it will vanish. Since everything is going to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? You should be living lives that are pure, dedicated to God, waiting expectantly and being eager for the coming of the day of God. That day the heavens will catch fire and be destroyed, and the elements will melt in the heat. But as for us, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth that God has promised where everything is good and right.
Listen, I’m going to reveal a mystery! Not all of us will die—but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised never to die again, and we will be changed.
Look! I’m going to create new heavens and a new earth. The former things won’t be remembered—they won’t cross anyone’s mind! Be glad, and be happy forever and ever in what I’m going to create, for I will make Jerusalem a delightful place, and its people a real joy. I will be so happy over Jerusalem; I will celebrate among my people. The sound of weeping and cries for help won’t ever be heard there again.
Watch out! The day is coming—it burns like an oven—when the proud and the wicked will be burned like straw. When that day comes they will be completely burned up, root and branch, says the Lord Almighty. But for those who have reverence for me, the sun of God’s salvation will rise with healing in its wings, and you will be set free, leaping like calves released from their stalls.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and the sea no longer existed. I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven, prepared like a bride made beautiful for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne say, "Now God’s home is with human beings and he will live with them. They will be his people. God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will never happen again. There will be no mourning or crying or pain ever again for the former world no longer exists."