When Jesus' disciples asked him when he would return and what would be the
the signs, he gave specific events which would signal his near return.
He did this so that when we saw them happening, we would know that his return is near so as to
be able to prepare ourselves - to be ready for our Lord and Master.
The two famous chapters in the Bible where Jesus did this is
Luke 21 and
Matthew 24 (the same thing as remembered by two different people).
Between these two chapters we are given these signs:
- The re-establishment of Israel as a nation
- Rise of false prophets and false Messiah's
- Wars, rumours or wars and revolutions
- Increase of lawlessness and wickedness
- Nation rising against other nations, and ethnic groups against other
ethnic groups
- World wide Increase of earthquakes, famines and pestilences (a
deadly or virulent epidemic disease)
- Increasing persecution of Christians
- Wondrous signs (portents) in the sun, moon and stars
- Roaring and tossing of the sea (e.g. tsunamis)
Besides these given by Jesus, there are others given in various places in
the Scriptures:
- Increase in knowledge (Daniel 12:4).
- Increase in demonic activity (Revelation 16:13-14, 1 Timothy 4:1-7)
- Increase in lawlessness (2 Timothy 3:1-7)
- Departure from the faith (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
- Rise of false teachings such as evolution (2 Peter 3:3-7)
Now many of these were not unknown occurrences during His time on earth. The people of that
time knew well what these these things were, just as we do today. But
he said there would be an increase and a convergence of all of
them before His return. So are we seeing this happen today?
Lets consider each one.
Israel becomes a nation in 1948
This is one of the most important events in history. Almost all of
the end-time prophecies, which were written in the Bible thousands of years
ago, speak as if the Jewish nation of Israel is in existence. Of
course we all know that Israel ceased to exist as a nation in A.D. 70 when
the Romans drove the Jewish people out of Israel. They were scattered
for the last time. But amazingly, in the nations they settled in, they
kept their own culture and language for two thousand years. Even more
amazing, their nation was reborn when they came flooding back to their land
in 1947. Hundreds of years before Christ, God said through the prophet
Ezekiel:
I will gather you from the peoples,
assemble you from the countries
where you have been scattered,
and I will give you the Land of Israel.
Ezekiel 11:17
And Jeremiah also prophesied this event.
14 “However, the days are
coming,” declares the LORD,
“when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,
who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 15 but
it will be said,
‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of
the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished
them.’
For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors.
Jeremiah 16:14-15
Isaiah foretold this 700 years before Christ was born!
In
Isaiah 66:7-8, the prophet foreshadowed the re-birth of Israel, which
happened "in one day." The woman giving birth before going into labour
represent Israel.
Before a woman goes into labour, she gives birth.
Before she has labour pains, she delivers a child.
Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Can a country be born in one day?
Can a nation be born in a moment?
When Zion went into labour,
she also gave birth to her children.
This accurately describes what happened on May 14, 1948 - when the Jews
declared independence for Israel as a united and sovereign nation for the
first time in 2,900 years. During that same day, the United States
issued a statement recognizing Israel's sovereignty. And, only hours
beforehand, a United Nations mandate expired, ending British control of the
land. During a 24-hour span of time, foreign control of the land of Israel
had formally ceased, and Israel had declared its independence, and its
independence was acknowledged by other nations. Modern Israel was literally
was born in a single day. This has never happened before with any
other nation and it will never happen again. Not only did it happen,
but it was well prophesied that it would happen thousands of years
beforehand! It is a miracle of God to
show the world his Word - the Bible - can be relied upon and that the
Jews are his people!
Rise of false prophets and false Messiah's
Well this is an easy one. How many false
prophets have we seen rise up in the last 20 years? Just
recently we had the "end of the world" Family Radio /
Harold Camping
false prophecy which was supposed to happen on May 21, 2011.
We all knew that he was a false prophet as soon as he gave a
specific date for "the end" because Jesus told us no man can know
the day or the hour (but he told us we can know the "season" -
that's why he gave us the signs).
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Joseph Smith is a famous false prophet. He was the found
of the Mormon Church (Latter Day Saints as they like to call
themselves). This is one of the largest cults on Earth today.
Charles Taze Russel is yet another false prophet. He
founded the "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society", or Jehovah's
Witnesses and made many "end of the world" false predictions.
In Queensland, Australia we
have the "Jesus and Mary" cult.
Sergey Anatolyevitch Trop of Russia is yet another
who claims to be Jesus Christ.
Maitreya
is a popular false messiah with New Agers. There are and have
been many more, but we can see this sign is truly being fulfilled
today. We could go on but we've made the point that there are many
false prophets/messiahs out there - one of the specific signs of the
end given by our Lord Jesus. |
These people actually believe they are
Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene! |
Wars, rumours or wars and revolutions
We all know that we've always had wars here on planet Earth. The
book of Revelation indicates there will be massive wars ongoing during the
Tribulation period. But interestingly, in Luke Jesus used the words
"wars and uprisings" or "wars and revolutions" or "wars and commotions",
depending on the translation. As I watched the uprisings begin in
Egypt and sweep across North Africa and the Middle Eastern Muslim nations,
the Holy Spirit brought this scripture to my mind. For me, this is
definite sign of the end. And we would expect middle Eastern upheaval
to happen before the rise of the
Antichrist.
Nation rising against nation and ethnic group against ethnic group
Who can forget the 1994 genocide in Rwanda when the Hutus massacred
800,000 Tutsis and pro-peace Hutus. Jesus said ethnic group would rise
against ethnic group, and this is exactly what happened in Rwanda.
Then there was the Bosnian and Kosovo wars. Again, ethnic groups
killing each other. If you look around the world, the same story can
be found everywhere, in such place like Burma and Russia. These racist
massacres were certainly very large scale fulfilments of this prophecy, and
unfortunately we all know that racism is rampant in the world. Racism
is one of man's most grievous sins. God loves all races and Jesus died
for everyone. So to be racist is to be against God and His Son.
Increase of lawlessness and wickedness
We are told that overall crime rates are around normal, in some places
above average and in others below. But if you look at the big picture,
some world-wide crime statistics are way up! Take for example drug
related crime. Or have you heard about the human trafficking trade?
Apparently this is the fastest growing illegal "business" in the world.
Thousands of young woman and children being abducted and sold into the sex
trade. Its horrible in every way, the most vile and wicked thing
imaginable and yet its flourishing. And it fits perfectly with Jesus'
description of "increase in wickedness". Pornography is another
measure of the increase in wickedness. Physiologists and crime
statistics tell us that pornography leads to violent sex crimes such as rape
and murder, even serial murders. Convicted rapists tell of how they
got started with seemingly innocent pornography. But its not innocent.
The images are extremely powerful and for those with moral weaknesses, its a
powerful catalyst for violence. And with the age of the Internet and
smartphones, young people are being exposed to explicit pornography at a
very young age. Its frightening to think about what effect it will
have on some of these poor people and those around them who will be affected
by their actions.
The rise of terrorism is another obvious measure of lawlessness and
wickedness.
And what about the English riots? The British could not have
imagined this would happen, so when it did they were completely surprised by
the rampaging youths. As I watched the rioting, I was again reminded
by the Holy Spirit about Jesus' words, "the increase of lawlessness".
World wide Increase of earthquakes, famines and pestilences (a deadly or virulent epidemic disease)
We have all seen the destruction wrought by the devastating earthquakes
which struck Haiti, New Zealand, Chile and Japan in recent times. Is
this destruction due to an increase in earthquakes or are these just random
but "well placed" and normal? Consider this:
Famines are definitely on the increase. Secularists attribute this
to global warming. I think we can agree that changing weather patterns
cause crop failures. The most recent famine is on the Horn of Africa.
And that leaves pestilences. We are seeing new diseases like Bird
Flu, SARS and the like. And deadly bacteria's which antibiotics cannot
fight are springing up. So we have an increase in pestilences on the
planet.
Increasing persecution of Christians
Because of the suppression of information by the major media
organizations, most people don't know anything about the many persecutions
of Christians around the world - that more Christians were martyred for
being a Christian last century than the previous 19 centuries years
combined. In many places today, its very dangerous to
be a Christian, such as Nigeria, Indonesia, Myanmar to name a few. You only need to search the Web for
Christian persecution and you'll find plenty of info.
Barnabas Fund is a
good place to learn more and to donate to help persecuted families and
orphans of the persecuted church.
Christian persecution in England
Wondrous signs (portents) in the sun, moon and stars
We have seen an incredible amount of UFO activity since WWII ended (maybe
not coincidentally when Israel became a nation again). I expect that
when the 7 year Tribulation period begins we will see some really amazing
portents in the heavens.
The magnetic North Pole is moving towards Russia at the rate of 40 miles
per year!
Roaring and tossing of the sea (e.g. tsunamis)
In recent years we have witnessed 2 devastating tsunamis, and a
few smaller ones in Samoa and Sumatra. This fits with Jesus' words,
but expect it to get a lot worse in the next few years.
Signs of the End
Increase in knowledge
Daniel 12:4: "At the time of the end knowledge shall be greatly
increased." In the past 100 years there has been a literal explosion
in the increase of knowledge. The invention of electricity, automobiles,
airplanes and computers have all taken place in our generation. The Hebrew
word for “increase” (ra^ba^h) implies not only an addition of knowledge, but
also a multiplication or a knowledge that is increasing exponentially. This
is so much of an exact prophecy that knowledge is now presently doubling
approximately every twenty-two months. Daniel uses the words “time of
the end”. This increase in knowledge explosion has happened in the same
century as the rebirth of Israel.
Departure from the faith and increase in demonic activity
Satanism and witchcraft is at an all time high and growing.
Witchcraft is one of the main reasons why so much destruction will be coming
upon various parts of the the Earth, especially in America.
"The Spirit says clearly that in later times some believers will desert
the Christian faith. They will follow spirits that deceive, and they will
believe the teachings of demons. These people will speak lies disguised as
truth. Their consciences have been scarred as if branded by a red-hot
iron.". 1 Timothy 4:1-2
Molech the Owl god
Rise of false teachings such as evolution (2 Peter 3:3-7)
"A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings.
Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves with
teachers who tell them what they want to hear. People will refuse to listen
to the truth and turn to myths" (think Evolution myth).
2 Timothy 4:3-4
Signs, Wonders and Strange Events
Ghost Horseman caught on Mainstream
news media camera during Egyptian uprising
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEXMoCwHVTE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLNtDqDpxzI&feature=related
Strange apparition over Temple Mount in
Jerusalem
Now we are seeing strange phenomenon in the heavens. These YouTube
videos show something very amazing. But not only is the phenomenon
amazing in itself, but its where it took place which makes it doubly more
so. These videos were taken from different locations by different
people. It would require the film making resources of Hollywood to
fake this.
Flocks of Birds falling from the sky
around the World
Dead Cows? Dead Birds, Dead Fish !! Bible Prophecy Fulfilled !!!
As you're likely aware, there's been a bizarre spate of mass
animal deaths reported around the world. First, it was the thousands of
birds that fell from the sky in Arkansas on New Year's Eve. Some 100,000
fish also washed up on the shores of a river 100 miles away. Birds fell from
the sky in Louisiana and Kentucky, too. Two million fish washed up dead in
Chesapeake Bay. 50-100 jackdaws fell from the sky in Sweden. 100 tons
of fish washed ashore in Brazil and 40,000 crabs were found dead in England.
What could account for entire flocks of birds falling from the sky?
Millions of dead fish washing ashore
around the World
Just as the list of large populations of dead birds suddenly
occurring continues to grow, so does the list of dead fish populations. Do a
Web search and you'll see many news reports with images like these.
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