By Dr. Don Bierle, FaithSearch President

[Editor’s note: Finlly, we provide the promised Part 2 of “Is 2022 the Beginning of the End?”]

In the January 2021 issue, I wrote a feature which identified foundational biblical signs of the end of the world which were apparent in 2021. Foremost were apostasy and lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2). You can review part 1 here.  

Part 2 will explore the New Testament for guidance on what Christians should know and do to prepare for Christ’s return and receive His commendation: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). 

By Dr. Don Bierle, FaithSearch President

[Editor’s note: Again, we will provide the promised Part 2 of “Is 2022 the Beginning of the End?” after Pentecost, in our next issue.]

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus spent the evening with His apostles, preparing them for their coming crisis of faith, which they would face following His death. One of His primary provisions was the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit: 

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of Truth… He abides with you and will be in you.

(John 14:16‑17)

“Another?” Who was the previous one? According to 1 John 2:1, it was Jesus Himself: 

My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [παράκλητος (paraklētos)] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 

(1 John 2:1)

By Dr. Don Bierle, FaithSearch President

I have found the Upper Room discourse (John 13-17) to be one of the most informative and life-changing passages in the New Testament. It reveals the heart of Jesus in a very personal way. That night, before His arrest in the Garden and before His crucifixion the next day, the apostle John tells us Jesus wanted to show His apostles (and eventually us) the “full extent of His love” (John 13:1, NIV).