Sermon 102: Luke 21:5-19: How to Live in the Last Days OUTLINE Prepare for deception Prepare for upheaval Prepare for persecution INTRODUCTION At the website raptureready.com there is something called the rapture index. This is a measuring device to help you know when the rapture is more likely to be near. In explanation it reads, ‘The Rapture Index has two functions: one is to factor together a number of related end time components into a cohesive indicator, and the other is to standardize those components to eliminate the wide variance that currently exists with prophecy reporting. The Rapture Index is by no means meant to predict the rapture, however, the index is designed to measure the type of activity that could act as a precursor to the rapture. You could say the Rapture index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we’re moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture.’1 The various measurements are: ‘100 and Below: Slow prophetic activity 100 to 130: Moderate prophetic activity 130 to 160: Heavy prophetic activity Above 160: Fasten your seat belts.’ And where are we today? Well according to the rapture index we are at 187 points, well into the fasten your seatbelt side of things. Things like the oil price, inflation, floods, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, the potential win by the Democrats in the US, Putin as Gog invading the Ukraine all tally up to raise the number. The end of the world and how can we know it is close is a matter that Christians have thought about throughout the centuries. We come now to that part of Luke’s gospel that talks about the last days and...

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