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. EVIDENCE THAT THE LORD IS NEAR.
"Keep a careful count yourself; when you
see that some of the signs predicted have already
happened, then you will understand that the
time has come when the Most High will judge the world He has
created. When the world becomes the scene of
earthquakes, insurrections, plots among the nations, unstable government, and
panic among rulers, then you will recognize these as
the events which the Most High has foretold
since first the world began."
(2 Esdras 9:1 "With all these things the birth-pangs* (pangs of distress. NWT) of the new age begin." (See Matt 24:7,8 NEB). "But listen to me, you who are the Lord's servants, and take my words to heart. This is the word of the Lord. Receive it, and do not disbelieve what He says. Calamities are here, close at hand, and will not delay… and the world will groan under the pangs* that grip it." (From 2 Esdras 16:35-39 NEB). "In the same way, when you see all these things, you may know that the end is near (Or: that He is near), at the very door. I tell you this: the present generation will live to see it all." (Matt 24:33,34 NEB). "In the same way, when you see all this happening, you may know that the Kingdom of God is near." (From Luke 21:31 NEB). "When all this begins to happen, stand upright and hold your heads high, because your liberation is near." (Luke 21:28 NEB).
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