Main Points & Bible Verses

• Mark 13:19
  For there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again.
• Matthew 24:15-16
  S​o when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand​ t​hen let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

The Three Dimensions of a Crisis

1.1. The Fallen Creation

• Romans 8 18-30
  I​ consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.​ F​ or the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ​​For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope​ ​that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.​ W​ e know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.​ ​For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ​B​ ut if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.​ ​In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.​ ​And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.​ ​And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[​i]​ have been called according to his purpose. ​​For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

• Genesis 3:16-19
  T​o the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; ​​thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.​ B​ y the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
• Genesis 6:5-6
  T​he Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.​ A​ nd the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
• Genesis 6:11
  Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.
• James 1:2-12
  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,​ ​for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ​​If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.​ F​ or that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.​ L​ et the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.​ ​Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

1.2. The wrath of God

•  Jonah 3:1-6
  Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,​ “​ Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” ​​So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city,three days’ journey in breadth.​ J​ onah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.​ T​ he word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
• Acts 5:1-11
  But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,​ ​and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”​ ​When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.​ ​And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.”​ B​ ut Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”​ ​Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
• Colossians 3:5-6
  Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ​​On account of these the wrath of God is coming

• Revelations 15:1
  Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
• Isaiah 54:8
  In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.
• Matthew 5:29-30
  If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.​ ​And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
• Hebrews 12 4-29
  In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” ​I​ t is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.​ ​Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ​​For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ​F​ or the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.​ T​ herefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ​a​ nd make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. ​​Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ​​See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ​t​ hat no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ​​For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.​ F​ or you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ​​Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” ​B​ ut you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ​a​ nd to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ​​and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ​A​ t that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ​​Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ​f​ or our God is a consuming fire.

• 1 Peter 3:18-23
  F​or Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,​ i​n which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,​ ​​because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.​ ​B​ aptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,​ ​w​ ho has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

  1.3. ​The Seizure of Power by Satan

• Genesis 3:2-5
  And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,​ ​b​ ut God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”​ ​But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.​ ​F​ or God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

• 1 Peter 5:8
  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.