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ured wrong. He then believed he
had erred one year - Christ would
come in 1844. Wrong again. People
got up on. the housetops and waited
for the arrival ofJesus Christ, but he
didn't come.
And now, it's 1973. And Jesus
isn't here yet.
Could we be living in tbe time of
the end?
How Much Time Left?
A group of scientists called the
Club of Rome has used a com–
puter to analyze future projections
of world population growth, food
production, earth resources deple–
tion, and the pollution curve. They
estímate serious shortages and
world turmoil in the early part of
the 21st century.
Look at the world's population
explosion. The number of humans
on this planet may double by the
year 2000. And then in
j
ust a few
more years, 17 or less, it could
double again. And then it cou ld
double again in about 9 years.
Just think, teeming billions of
human beíngs on thís earth! Such a
projection makes the tbought of glo–
bal famine and frightening food
wars very real.
Every fifth human being is Chi–
nese. Every single year, China has
enough babies to more than people
the country of Canada. Every 39
days around this world of ours,
there are enough new babies born to
populate New York City. But that
doesn't bother most people.
"There's lots of empty space,"
people exclaim. "There's plenty of
room. People aren't standing
around shoulder to shoulder,
jammed in like sardines."
"What do you mean, population
explosion?" they ask. But they
haven't been to India or Hong Kong
or Japan.
The fact is, more than two thirds
of the human race ís malnourished.
More than one half of the human
race doesn't wear shoes. More than
two thirds of the human race is illit–
erate.
lfwe took all the foodstuffs avail-
16
able to tbe total of humankind and
divided it equally among us all, we
would each receive a teacup of food
each day. And if you lived líke the
average famíly in the world, you
would not possess a stove, refrig–
erator, freezer, garbage disposal,
electric can opener, or mixer.
To put yourself in the position of
the average world inhabitant, you
would have to rip up the linoleum
or carpeting, take the paper off the
wall, throw away all the curtains
and drapes, rip out tbe plumbing,
and leave yourself just the bare
room. Then you'd throw out all your
furniture. You might leave one old
picture on the wall and obtain one
battered old table, with a couple of
rickety chairs.
Your only mode of transportation
would be a bicycle. The nearest dov
tor would probably be about 20 or
30 miles away.
That, in a nutshell, is the scope of
world poverty, hunger, illiteracy,
and the meanjng of the population
explosion. Can you see adding 70
million people yearly to that kind of
world?
The population explosion may
not mean much to you. But it ís one
of the signs that we are living in the
end of an age!
Nuclear Overkill
Another sign is the open-ended
spiral of tbe nuclear arms race. How
many H-bombs are necessary to
obliterate the Soviet Union? Or an–
nihilate the United States and West–
ern Europe? WeU, no matter. We
are stíU building and stockpiling
more.
Every single disarmament agree–
ment in the hístory of this world has
been nothing more than the blowing
of the whístle for the nations to rush
back and find ways to get around it.
The nuclear club now includes at
least five nations. And more tban 40
otber nations can become members
of the atomic club in less than a
year if they wanted to.
What if the Egyptians obtain the
atomic bomb? What if the Israelis
have it? What if Pakistan and India
both develop it? What happens if
tbe captain of a nuclear submarine
goes berserk? Or the complex "fail–
safe" mechanisms malfunction? Let
your imagination run loose.
How many times over could we
obliterate life on earth with our ar–
senal of nuclear arms? No one really
knows. But the present world situ–
ation calls to mind the prophetic
words of Jesus Christ who spoke of
world conditions as tbey would exist
just prior to bis second coming. He
told his disciples: "For then shall be
great tribulation, such as was not
since the beginning of the world to
this time, no, nor ever shall be. And
except those days should be short–
ened, there should
no ftesh be saved
[alive]: but for the elect's sake tbose
days shall be shortened" (Matthew
24:21-22).
Was Jesus referring directly to the
threat of a global nuclear dísaster?
What Jesus Said
Notice the account of the Olivet
prophecy. Jesus' own disciples (or
students) carne to him privately.
''Tell us," they asked, "when shall
these things be? and what shall be
the sign of thy coming, and of the
end ofthe world?" (Matthew 24:3.)
The G reek word for "world" here
is
aion
and means "age." Jesus
wasn't talking about the world itself
blowing up.
Jesus then answered the disciples'
questions. He said, first of all: "Take
heed that no man deceive you. For
many shall come
in my name
[claim
my authority], saying, 1 am Christ
[admitting Jesus is the Christ]; and
shall deceive
many"
(verses 4-5).
Ministers professing to represent
Christ abound today. But they are
divided up into hundreds of sects
and cults, eacb teaching different
ideas. Jesus declared the vast major–
ity of them would be deceived!
Next Jesus said: "And ye shall
hear of wars and rumours of
wars ..." (verse 6). The rumors are
rife today: "Where do you think the
next one's going to strike?" "Will
Vietnam heat up again?" "Will the
Middle East heat up?" "What if it's
PLAIN TRUTH December 1973