Before we entirely convince ourselves that the End Times are here, let’s consult our history.
The year I was born, the communists took over China. Crisis. Then came the Korean War, all that fuss about Berlin, and in 1956 the people of Hungary revolted against their Soviet overlords and were bloodily put down. And my home county was suddenly full of Hungarian refugees.
Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis? Almost had a nuclear war over that one. And then the Viet Nam War, a bunch of Arab-Israeli wars, and, God help us, the turmoil of the Sixties. That was bad enough over here, but even worse in France: mobs of “students” almost wrecked Paris.
El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Iran hostage crisis–and all that fun and games from one end of Africa to the other: crisis, crisis everywhere. In fact, I don’t remember a time when there wasn’t a crisis brewing somewhere, several of which exploded into war. Not to mention 9/11. And I missed living through a fearful crisis that was worse than all of the above put together–World War II. Think we have it rough now? It was much worse in 1941-42.
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars… For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places…” Matthew 24:6-7
This state of the world, described by Our Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of the Pax Romana, has prevailed for centuries and we are not yet out of it. We will not be out of it until He comes again.
And what can we do but follow His instructions, and work diligently for His kingdom, remain at our assigned posts… and watch? How many times are we warned in the Bible that He will come as a thief in the night, when the world does not expect Him?
God’s patience is so much greater than ours; like Aslan, He calls all times “soon.” When the Son of Man does come again, I doubt anyone will be in a position to say “See, I told you!”
But I’m sure He understands our feeling–which I so often share–that the End Times are upon us.
Jesus taught his followers to be alert and to keep on the watch for the Second Coming. There are specific things we are told to take note of.
Matt 24:32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
When ALL of the things Jesus spoke about started to occur at the same time, we know that the Return is near, right at the door.
He related this, in part, to Jerusalem.
Luke 21:24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
In 1967, just over 50 years ago, the Old City of Jerusalem came back into Jewish hands. Just as Zechariah 12:3 foretold, it has become a burden to all nations. Peace and Security is being tied to the notion of a “two state solution”, dividing part of Israel and giving it to the Palestinian Authority. 1 Thess 5:3 When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. The issue of the disposition of Jerusalem is predicted in scripture and is playing out before our eyes in real time. One of the biggest concerns in Israel is “spillover” from the war in Syria turning into action directed specifically at Israel. None of this is surprising in light of the scriptures.
No man can know the time of our Lord’s return, but we were given signs and told to be on the lookout. I agree completely that there have been wars, famines, diseases, etc, since long before these words were spoken by Jesus, but there is a characteristic difference, right now there is upheaval and strife happening pretty much everywhere. Terrorism is happening in one place after another, today 13 were killed in Barcelona. If there is anyplace where a sense of true security exists, that’s news to me.
Extremism, of all forms, seems to be growing rapidly. I can’t imagine a way to stop it at this point, because it is no longer confined to one nation or group of nations. The ability to communicate worldwide has made possible the growth of extremist ideology in many places and for many different causes. As long as such instant communications exists, it will be effectively impossible for the relative stability of the postwar years to return. The same technologies which allow flash mobs to occur for artistic purposes allow mobs to be assembled for less benign purposes.
If our Creator wishes it to be reigned in, then we will see that happen, but if this is His time to act, we can expect further destabilization and that seems to be the direction matters are taking at the moment. If indeed, the nations begin to cry out for “peace and security” (AKA “peace and safety”), we are forewarned that their destruction is soon to follow and we know that our trust cannot be placed in human solutions.
I guess that begs the question, how can we know we are living in the end times if there has always been wars, disasters, and such? Here’s what I think. Without going into all the details, study Genesis and Revelation and you will discover that Revelation is essentially Genesis in reverse. In Genesis you had the first world government under Nimrod. In Revelation you have the last world government under the AC. It’s coming in a complete circle. Were not quite there yet, but globalism, Agenda 21, Climate Change, etc. are all paving the way. It can’t be accomplished without technology. The increase in knowledge is another sign that differentiates us from all prior generations. And of course with Israel back in the land and in control of Jerusalem, it allows for the rest of the prophecies to be fulfilled. Just an aside, but if the bizarre behavior of people are any indication of how close we are, we may be closer than we think.
The bizarre behavior of people today has certainly not escaped my notice. Just look at the news and you are bound to see something bizarre happening somewhere, but it scales down to the mundane, as well. Families and friendships seem to be breaking down as well. A lot of people face the world alone because the family has all but ceased to function in many places.
All of these things are foretold. Jesus said that a “man’s enemies will be members of his household” and we see that happening around us today. Take a stand for Christ and you may find yourself at odds with some in your family. Divorce becoming so common is yet another manifestation of this.
Certainly some of the things people do now–trying to wipe out the two sexes, for instance–are qualitatively weirder and more perverse than past shenanigans. Then again, the wicked have had centuries of practice and evil thought: they were bound to come up with something.
Man’s ability to mess with our genome and even combine with animal genome offers even more wicked and perverse possibilities. Not even past generations could surpass that.
Just as the days of Noah, when the Sons of the True God took wives. This was a major threat to the human race and had to be addressed by God, in order to protect His creation.
In addition to all that’s been said above, which I completely agree with, there seems to be an inexplicable ‘heaviness’ in the air – a sense that something is different now and that something is about to happen. And there seems to be an urgency in the spirit of many of us.
I feel that as well. It’s as if there’s a shift in mood that has affected much of the earth’s population. There is literal talk of nuclear war, something unthinkable just a few years ago.
Jesus said that just as in the days of Noah, so would things be in the days of the Son of Man’s return.