End Times

Isaiah 24:10 The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out looters.
11 Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has reached its lowest ebb. Gladness has been banished from the land.
12 The city is left in ruins, with its gates battered down.
13 Throughout the earth the story is the same -- like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest, only a remnant is left.
14 But all who are left will shout and sing for joy. Those in the west will praise the LORD's majesty.
15 In eastern lands, give glory to the LORD. In the coastlands of the sea, praise the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
16 Listen to them as they sing to the LORD from the ends of the earth. Hear them singing praises to the Righteous One!But my heart is heavy with grief. I am discouraged, for evil still prevails, and treachery is everywhere.
17 Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you people of the earth.

The people of God are the remnant. We may experience all the hardships and evil of the end times, but we are God's people and are not to be like the world. Isaiah is prophesying the end time days of tribulation. Believers will rejoice that the Lord is coming soon. Probably these are Jewish believers, many will be killed by the antichrist. There is a mixture of joy and sadness. Isn't this our condition? We joy in the Lord for he is everlasting and we are with him, but we sorrow for the world and it's bad condition and we are concerned in our flesh for our surroundings. Let us learn now to walk in the spirit, to stay close to Jesus and to live lives full of joy and praise, looking ahead to our completeness in him as we arrive in his presence! His grace is sufficient for anything that comes to us in this body of flesh. Rejoice that your names are written in the book of life because of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be a witness of his overcoming life, bringing others to him.