Signs of the End
Signs of the End
Matthew 24:3 "And as He (Jesus) sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him, saying, "Tell us, what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world? "

Jesus answered them with dozens of specific indicators to be on the lookout for. The term "the end of the world" as used here does not refer to the end of the planet, but the end of current inhumane reign of man on earth. Although many of the signs He gave are the things that have plagued the world for ages, it is remarkable how the severity and frequency of these things have now increased.


Matthew 24:6 "You shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."

No period in all of history has witnessed the escalation of wars as has the 20th century. The International Red Cross estimates that over 100 million people have been killed in wars since this century began.

Since World War II, there have been over 150 major wars, as well as hundreds more armed rebellions and revolutions. The death toll in armed conflicts since the end of World War II is more than 23 million. The Washington Post declared, "Our 20th century wars have been 'total wars against combatants and civilians alike....The barbarian wars of centuries past were alley fights in comparison."

Matthew 24:7 "And there shall be famines"

The World Bank reported in late 1996 that more than 800 million people are going hungry every day, and more than 500 million children do not get enough food to fully develop mentally and physically. "Some 40,000 hunger-related deaths occur every day, mostly in rural regions, " says bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin."

Matthew 24:7 "And there shall be pestilences."

Less than 20 years ago the medical profession claimed victory over many bacterial and viral killers. But  the case of infectious diseases have now skyocketed. The Associated Press reports, "The emergence of bacteria strains that cannot be killed by current antibiotics could become a public health threat worse than AIDS. Diseases recently considered conquered are becoming unstoppable.... Scientists expect nothing short of a medical disaster.

UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, in its year-end report released in Decem 1996, stated that 3.1 million new HIV infections occured worldwide that year. One-and-a-half million people died of AIDS in 1996, bringing the total of AIDS-related deaths to 6.4 million. As of this writing, over 24 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, which means that well over 30 million have been infected since the disease was first recognized in 1981. The World Health Organization (WHO) says "around the world more than 6,000 people every day are infected with HIV and the epidemic is getting worse.

Matthew 24:7 "And there shall be earthquakes, in various places"

The Universal Almanac tells us that there were only 21 earthquakes of major strength between the years 1000 and 1800. But between 1800 and 1900e 18 major earthquakes. Between 1900 and 1950, ther were 33 major quakes -- almost as many as the number in the preceeding 1,850 years!

Between 1950 and 1991 there were 93 major earthquakes---almost triple the number of the previous half century---which claimed the lives of 1.3 million people around the world. Numerous scientists warn that we are currently entering a period of great seismic disturbances.

Genesis 6:11 "A world filled with violence"

Another condition that Jesus said would be prevalent just prior to His return would be unrestrained violence.

Matthew 24:37 "As it as in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man"

In Noah's days, "the earth was corrupt before God, and filled with violence" (Genesis 6:5,11). Today's headlines are full of tragic stories of senseless violence. T he annual homicide and suicide rate iun America is now nearly as high as the total  loss of American life during the entire Vietnam War. In the past 30 years alone, suicide and murder have claimed the lives of over 1,200,000 American, more than all the men killed in all the wars in the history of the U.S.


Matthew 24:14 "This Gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the End come"

Unlike the dramatic rise in wars, famine, plagues and earthquakes, which Jesus called "the beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8) He said the preaching of His gospel to all nations would be a specific sign that would indicate when the actual End would come upon the world.

Never in the course of history has the Gospel been preached in all the world to all nations as it is right now. ---If not directly by missionaries, by modern mediums of radio, television, and telecommunications. According to The Almanac of the Christian World, the Gospel message has now been preached to over 4 billion people, in virtually every country. "Then shall the End come!"

Daniel 12:4 "Many shall run to and fro"

Around 534 B.C., God told His prophet Daniel that in "the time of the end, many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (Daniel 12:4). This phrase, "many running to and fro" literally means "speeding about, here and there," or as The Living Bible renders it, "travel shall be greatly increased."

When you consider that people's means of transportation had not changed substantially for thousands of years, the significance of this prophecy is apparant. Today we not only drive at enormous speeds and cover great distances in automobiles, but a jet can fly around the world in 24 hours, and a spacecraft circles the planet in 80 minutes!

And the number of people traveling today is unprecedented. Economic experts tell us that travel and tourism is now "the biggest and the most energetic industry in the world."


Daniel 12:4 "Knowledge shall be increased"

Knowledge has increased in recent years almost beyond imagination! The term "information overload" was coined for our generation.

The equivalent of over 30 million pages of text is now sent over the Internet every day. Eighty percent of all the scientists who have ever lived are alive today, and every minute they add 2,000 pages to man's scientific knowledge. About half of all medical knowledge is now outdated every ten years.

Computer technology illustrates the knowledge explosion we are undergoing. The computer's basic building block, the transistor, was invented at Bell Labs in 1948. By the year 2000, one processor chip will contain more than a billion transistors.



1 John 2:18 "The Antichrist is coming"

An important and final sign of the end, which the Bible devotes numerous chapters to, is the rise of a one-world government headed by an evil tyrant known as the Antichrist or "the Beast."
The book of Revelation says that the whole world will worship Satan in the person of this bestial world leader.

The Bible tells of an ingenious seven-year peace agreement or "covenant" which will be pivotal to the Antichrist's claim to world leadership. This pact will temporarily resolve the Middle East crisis by working out a compromise between Israel and her Arab neighbors. Jerusalem's Mount Moriah, where the Jew's ancient temple once stood and where the Muslim Dome of the Rock stands today, will be a focal point.

Three-and-a-half years after the enactment of the Antichrist's covenant, he will revoke it. He will then make Jerusalem his international capital, and outlaw all religions except the worship of himself and his mystical image. This image will somehow be empowered to both speak and cause those who refuse to worship it to be killed. (See Revelation 13:14-15). Jesus said this will be a time of "great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world" (Matthew 24:15,21).


The Mark of the Beast: Revelation 13:15-18 "He causes all to receive a mark on their right hand and forheads, that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name....His number is 666"

This prophecy describes something that has never before been possible. Two thousand years ago a simple fisherman, the Apostle John, predicted that a global economic system would one day arise in which everyone will be forced to receive a number, without which they won;t be able to buy or sell. It is only since the advent of computers and electronic banking that this could happen.


The Second Coming: Matthew 24:29-31 - Immediately after the tribulation...they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall gather together His chosen."


The world's darkest hour will abruptly end with the dwelling of the brightest day when Jesus Christ returns. All those who belong to Him will be miraculously transformed with new supernatural bodies, and will be rescued from their anti-Christ persecutors and transported to the most spectacular victory celebration ever held, the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb" in Heaven! (Revelation 14:14-15; 19:6-9)

The world will experience the wrath of God when it falls upon the anti-christ and his followers, culminating with Jesus's return to earth to utterly defeat and destroy their one-world empire in an awesome confrontation known as the battle of Armageddon.

This will end man's cruel rule on earth, as Jesus and His superhuman forces take over the world to lovingly rule and reign over it. Thus will begin a period known as the Millennium---a thousand years of peace and plenty and paradise for all. (Revelatin 19:11-21; 20:1-4)


Are You Ready to Meet the Lord?

The Bible says in: Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and have come short of the glory of God."

The First Step is to admit that you are a sinner. Sin separates us from God. God's intent is to bring us back into fellwoship with him. Since man fell into sin in the garden, the only way that man can be reconciled back to God is through a sinless sacrifice. Hebrews 9:22 "Without the shedding of blood their is no forgiveness for sin." Sin must be paid for. God is holy and if he allowed us back into fellowship with Him without paying for sin, He would be violating his righteousness. He would no longer be a righteous God. But righteousness and truth are at the heart of his very character which He can in no way deny. One alternative was to destroy all of mankind and start over. But, how long could he keep doing this before man gets things right? Since He gave us free will, we have the choice whether to serve Him or not, but not without consequence. If He didn't give us free will, we would be robots. God' does not want love from a  robot, for that is not love at all. He may as well play a record over and over again that would say everything that he would want us to say. His desire is for fellowship with His, living, breathing creation. He wants to give His creation all the love that a Heavenly Father could possibly bestow upon His children. He wants us to know Him and be in complete fellowship with Him. Sin destroyed this fellowship.

Thanks be to Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for our sins and brought us back into fellowship with our heavenly Father. John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jesus, being God, became man so that He could literally become the human sacrifice for our sins. The first man, Adam, sinned in the garden by choosing to disobey God. Jesus became man and sacrificed his earthly body on a cross so that we can be reconciled back to God. He literally took the penalty of our sins upon Himself and our debt has been paid in full. The only way to the Father now is through the Son. John 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but through Me."


The Second Step is to repent of your sins and accept the free gift of God provided to you through Jesus Christ by His shed blood on a cross. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." How do you do this? Through prayer. The place is not important. What is important is that your heart is sincere before the Lord. Romans 10:9 - 10 "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; (10) for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.


What does it mean to REPENT? Repent means to change your mind. To repent means to come to the knowledge that there is nothing that you can do to save yourself and that Jesus is the only one that can. Self inflicted condemnation does not save. Tears and grief over sin is a sign that you have realized this,  however, it does not bring about a long term change. A long term change requires repentance, which means to completely awknowledge your sins and  turn away from them. Lay them at the foot of the cross, where Jesus has paid the penalty for them.

The Third Step is to find a Bible believing fellowship and learn the Word of God. Develop a relationship with God and allow the Holy Spirit to continually bring changes into your life.

Here is a prayer you can pray today: Dear Lord, I awknowledge my sins before you. I realize that sin has entered the world through the first man, Adam and that sin must be punished. I realize the wages of sin is death. I admit that I am a sinner and in need of a savior. I believe that Jesus Christ is God and that he alone has paid the penalty for my sins. I believe that he died on the cross for me and rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us daily.  I renounce my past life of evil and ask that you come into my life and save me. In Jesus name, Amen!

If you have prayed this prayer and would like further guidance in your walk with the Lord, please send us a brief note below. Also let us know if you would like information for a free Bible on CD.

Footnotes:
1.) Signs of the Times taken from: http://www.countdown.org/posters/text/signstime.htm
2.) Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible by the Lockman Foundation. Used by Permission.