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Are we living in the end times? Is the end finally at hand? Is there a new beginning that awaits humanity? Is Jesus Christ coming back soon? All these are questions lingering in the minds of many believers all over the world. There has not been a time in history that end-time prophecies have been fulfilled at such an unprecedented rate as the time we are living in now.
In the midst of a worldwide global shutdown due to the Corona Virus Pandemic, our minds are flooded with uncertainty. Will the economy collapse? Will we be able to feed our families? What does the future hold?
The chaos does not stop there; locusts are invading some parts of our world, fires have caused massive destructions, earthquakes and tsunamis have been the norm in some parts of the world, floods are carrying away people and leaving the rest homeless, wars and hunger destroying humanity, just to name a few.
The interesting this is that none of these international disasters is a surprise to the living word of God. All these events that seem to grip humanity with fear and uncertainty have all been predicted in the Holy Scriptures. We have confidence in the Bible because Jesus told us these things in advance, not to scare us, but to inform us and prepare us for His coming.
Revelation 1:7 “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
Revelation lifts up our eyes to heaven, taking our eyes off the problems of this world and pointing them to Jesus Christ, who is our solution. In Revelation 22, Jesus repeats three times “I am coming quickly.”
You may ask, “How soon is His coming?” “What are the signs of His coming?” The disciples of Jesus asked the same question in Matthew 24:3. And Jesus outlines more than 20 signs of His return. These signs include:
• Signs in the world of Religion.
• Signs in the world of Nature.
• Signs in the world of Politics.
• Signs in the Culture of Society.
SIGNS IN RELIGION
Matthew 24:24 “For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect”
Jesus Christ warned us that in the last days, many false teachers and prophets will arise, leading people away from the truth, performing signs and wonders to deceive even the elect. But the Bible says in Revelation 16:14 “For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty”
The rate at which false teachers and prophets are rising in our day and age is quite alarming. Shoko Asahara published a book claiming to be the Christ, taking on the title ‘Lamb of God’. Three years after publishing that book, his followers killed 13 people with thousands more suffering ill effects in the Tokyo subway sarin attack.
It is so heartbreaking that victims of sexual abuse from South Africa shared their experiences with BBC, criticizing so-called men of God, who hide under the office of prophets, performing signs and wonders while deceiving and devouring young women.
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
Jesus made sure that He warned us of false prophets because He loves us, and He does not want to see us led astray. He wants us to walk in the path of truth.
There has been an increase in those claiming to be divine spiritual leaders. Mediums and psychics have made their way into our society, and even famous television shows deceiving desperate people who are looking for answers. All of humanity’s answers are only found in Jesus Christ alone.
This only confirms further that what Jesus predicted would be happening in the end times is already here with us.
SIGNS IN NATURE
The Bible predicts that all Nature will be out of control just before the coming of Jesus Christ. We should expect fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and epidemics of destruction that are quite frankly unimaginable.
Matthew 24:7, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”
At the end of 2019, the World Food Programme recorded that 135Million people were living in acute hunger and with most countries around the world enforcing lockdowns and quarantines due to the covid19 pandemic, that number is predicted to rise to 265Million people. People in India and other parts of Africa are already facing hunger during this time.
Another contributing factor to human hunger is the locust invasion spreading across the East Africa region, South Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula. The World Food Programme has warned that we are currently facing famine and world hunger. This is another fulfillment of a Bible prophecy surrounding the last days.
Pestilence refers to fatal and infectious epidemic diseases, something we are currently experiencing worldwide with the covid19.
The earthquake information center records an average of 20,000 earthquakes every year. That is approximately 50 earthquakes a day and not to mention some earthquakes that are considered to be too weak to be recorded. In just 2020, we have already experienced significant earthquakes in Indonesia, Solomon Islands, California, Puerto Rico, Japan, Utah, Greece, Idaho, Texas, China, Croatia, Turkey, Russia, Jamaica, among other places.
In 2019, 40Billion dollars was spent on weather disasters alone. We witnessed fires causing devastation in California and Australia, with New South Wales experiencing the worst fire season in history with 13.6Million acres of land burned.
In 2019, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi were all hit by the worst tropical cyclone on record in Africa. Over 1,300 people died with a huge number of people missing. Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas just a few months later, becoming the most intense tropical cyclone on record to hit the Bahamas. Just a few months ago, the world witnessed the eruption of the Taal Volcano in Batangas, Philippines.
These natural disasters further prove that what the Bible prophesies as signs of the end times is the reality we are currently living in. This affirms our confidence in the Bible as the true living word of God.
Bible prophecies clearly reveal to us God’s plan for the future. He desires for us to always walk in the light and not be caught off guard when the darkness in the world seems to be getting thicker. His heart is that we can look up to Him, for He is our peace and the Hope of the world.
SIGNS IN POLITICS
Matthew 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass…”
Jesus predicted that just before the end comes, there will be wars and rumors of wars. It’s no secret that right now, rumors are spreading of the possibility of a world war. Aside from rumors, there have been wars across the globe in places like Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Ukraine, Sudan, and Somalia, just to name a few.
There has been so much devastation as wars rage on with so much unrest in so many nations around the world. People are looking for Hope, and the only real source of our Hope is Jesus Christ. The whole world is desperately looking for peace, and true lasting peace is only found in Jesus Christ.
The Bible predicts that in the last days, all human efforts to achieve global peace will fail.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman”
The Second World War led to the formation of the United Nation but even its best efforts to achieve world peace have failed. Let’s, therefore, fix our eyes on the true source of our peace and that is Jesus Christ. The kind of peace we find in Him is completely independent of the circumstances that surround us, an assurance of His presence that encourages us that all is well when we are hidden safely in Him.
SIGNS IN OUR SOCIETY
Our Lord and Savior predicted that society’s morals would be degraded before the second coming.
Matthew 24:37 “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be”
In the days of Noah, people only cared about self-gratification, finding pleasure in drinking, and feasting. People had numbed themselves from godly things.
This is the sad reality we’re living in today. People only care about what brings pleasure to the flesh, even if it is at the expense of others. Abortions are being legalized just so that people can continue to engage in fornication and sexual immorality to gratify the desires of the flesh.
This is what the Bible says of the days of Noah;
Genesis 6:11-13 “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”
Jesus predicted that just as the days of Noah were filled with violence, so will the days leading up to His coming be. We are currently in a time where the violence of police brutality is being brought to the light with nations all over the world demonstrating and crying out for justice.
CONCLUSION
The current condition of the world clearly points to the coming back of Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of Bible prophecies. One in particular that continues to be fulfilled is the nation of Israel being restored and the Jews returning to their land, which has been happening all the way from 1948.
The Lord is so gracious, and that is why He is allowing us to witness and experience these signs that we may be saved. He loves humanity so much that He desires that no one should perish.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
The signs are so that we can hear His beckon of Love, repent, turn back to Him and stand firm in His truth. He longs for all people to be reunited back to Him. To shed His Love abroad in our hearts and give us everlasting peace and eternal life, where a new beginning is assured beyond this earth.
Will you say yes to the Love of God and His saving Grace? His arms are always wide open, ready to receive you into His beloved. And to the believers, Will you stand firm and endure to the end? Because the Holy Spirit is right there with you, guiding you and always ready to help whenever you need Him. Our goal should be to always pray to our loving God so that the spirit will be within our soul. We should treat our bodies like a temple so that we may become more like Christ and follow his example, so that one day we may go back home filled with love. May God be with you always! God Bless! 🙂
Originally posted 2021-06-04 15:33:50.
