End Times... Are we there yet?

I woke up today to a facebook post by a popular evangelist named Clayton Jennings which read,

"The world is at a crucial time in history. There are wars and rumors of wars. Men are killing in the name of religion. Children are starving without food. Politicians are consumed with greed and power. People are in love with themselves and ignore the needs of others. Natural disasters are destroying communities. Evil is called good and good is called evil. New diseases threaten the masses. Man worships science and denies the existence of God. Economies are collapsing. We are living in the last days. People should be running to Jesus. Instead, they are mocking Him. Soon every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. He came as a lamb and is returning as a LION. Those who deny Him now will regret it later. Jesus is coming back. #TellTheWorld" 

Now, I will agree that we are closer than we were yesterday. But looking at this list of things that "point" to end times I can't help but ask when in time have we not seen all these things?

War? Cain and Abel started the first war. It ended with the first blow but it was the start of war. Since then have we seen an end? Have we seen total peace?
Hunger? Hunger is nothing new. It is sad and we need to do something about it but it is not new.
Politician's hungry with power? Nothing new. 
Holy war? Nothing new. In fact, I believe the muslim groups that are violent today learned to be violent from the Christian crusades. So one must ask if this religious war is really end times or the cause and effect of the church forsaking its first love (Christ and the Gospel) and killing instead of saving? This is not new either.
People in love with themselves? So you mean this is something new too? I really thought people always put themselves first and that is why a sacrificial love is so rare. People loving themselves is not new.
Natural Disasters? Was there ever a time, after the fall, that the world wasn't constantly changing? I mean a flood (God using natural causes) was what wiped everything out except one man on an ark with his family and two of every kind of animal. This is not new.
Evil One twisting the evil to look good? The evil one will always try and twist good ever so slightly that we believe the new twisted product instead of the original version. He is the bearer of light, or was the angel of light, and so it doesn't surprise me that he can do a lot with a "reflection" or twist of the light. This is not new.
Men searching science and deny God? To be honest the pages of the Bible are full of people looking to the stars to false gods for answers and denying the True God. THIS IS NOT NEW.
Mocking Jesus? Not new. They did this to Jesus' face. They killed Him. They whipped Him. It is nothing new for people to mock Jesus. In fact, thinking of Him as anything less than Savior and Lord is mocking Him. This is nothing new. 

So, I ask what is new? Now, maybe we are close to the end times simply because we are later in history that yesterday. But hear me out on this... does it matter? You see, we evangelists keep saying you need to witness because end times are coming but to me I see the end every time a lost soul dies. It grieves me over one that it does for a multitude. You see, Christ who died for the salvation of many would have died for the individual as well. We should not be moved to action simply because of the threat of end times but because of the love of Christ. It is proven that telling people they will go to hell and the world is ending will get them to "claim Christ" but not a lasting faith. After seeing that the end has not come they get comfortable and their fear of hell was not enough to save them because they didn't truly believe in Jesus Christ. 

So instead of witnessing for Jesus Christ because the end is near we should be witnessing because we were commanded to. But also, what drives me to share my faith is the fact that I know so much joy and love because of knowing Jesus Christ and cannot imagine a day without Him that I want EVERYONE to know that Joy and Love as well. Witnessing should not be done out of fear but out of love. It should not be done because the "end" is near but because God is coming and deserves all to know Him. 

If we are in the end times, I believe the church will be called up soon and the Lamb will begin opening the seals of the scroll that only He is worthy of opening (Revelation Chapter 5). When the church is called up the world will be very dark, darker than what it currently is. And the world left behind to go through the last 7 years before Christ's Kingdom comes will only have what we have left them to find the way and to see God's wrath and very few will be saved during those difficult times. The churches job is not to spread fear but to be a light. That light is to burn bright in each believer that we, today, save as many people as possible. Christ did not save people with a fear tactic. He saved them with love and suffering. He did tell them about horrible times to come but always gave them the promise, "Do not fear the world, for I have overcome the world". He gave us this book of Revelation and I believe it was so that we could be certain that this worldly hurt would end. That He will Reign.... some day. But today, we are not to focus on the end but to focus on the mission. To focus on the lives of the people around us and shine brightly so that when darkness comes, our lives can be flashlights pointing to the Light. 

Today is a good day to be a witness for Jesus Christ and to kick the devil's butt. The same power in you is the power that rose from the dead. Go save a life with that awesome power! Today is a good day... not because the end is near... but Because He is so GOOD!!!!