Signs of the Times
Author Unknown
Events in the twentieth century alerted Bible students to the tremendous potential for fulfilled prophecy; and many students of the Bible and eschatology recognize the events continuing to unfold in the world today as signs of the Last Days – of the End Time.
Today many secular as well as religious authorities recognize these are extraordinary times. An Associated Press writer asks, “Is everything spinning out of control?” A Wall Street Journal headline read, “Millennium Fever: Prophets Proliferate: The End is Near.” A New York Times book review began, “Some 50 million Americans share a belief that these are the last days.” Even the Chicago Tribune ran a front-page story about the End Times in a recent Sunday edition.
Even the most seasoned newsmen who have “seen it all” are in awe of the world developments in recent years. All of them realize that something unique in the history of the world is happening today. What is most stunning about it all is the breath-taking rapidity of these recent developments. It seems we are now seeing change happen faster than ever before. What once took years, now happens in days. What once took days, now happens in minutes.
Is Civilization Coming to an End?
“Armageddon is now near – not because of this event or that event which may, in isolation, look like a prophetic fulfillment. Rather, it is because of the very nature of what causes Armageddon, coupled with the fact that our world today is rapidly assuming, on a global scale, the characteristics of that which underlies Armageddon.” - William R. Goetz, “Apocalypse Next”-
British journalist and author, Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990), suggested, “The basic condition for a civilization is that there should be law and order. Obviously, this is coming to an end. The world is falling into chaos, even perhaps especially our western world… There are many other symptoms. The excessive interest in eroticism is characteristic of the end of a civilization because it really means a growing impotence, and fear of impotence. Then the excessive need for excitement, vicarious excitement, which of course the games provided for the Romans and which television provides for our population. Even the enormously complicated structure of taxation and administration is a symptom of the end of the civilization. Above all, there is this truly terrible thing which afflicts materialistic societies – boredom, an excessive boredom which I note on every hand.”
Signs of the Times Visible All Around Us
“…wars and rumors of wars”
(Matt. 24:6a)
Endless wars seem to rage in nearly every corner of the globe; and the “war on terrorism” is becoming the “new normal” for an entire generation. Since the year 2000 alone, America has been mired in conflict in Sierra Leone, Yemen, East Timor, Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Cote d’Ivoire, Iraq, Libya, Liberia, Georgia, Haiti, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Somalia. Ron Paul (1935-??), former U.S. congressman and presidential candidate, pointed out in 2011, “We’re in 130 countries. We have 900 bases around the world.”
We have elevated war today to include unspecified enemies. Besides the vague “radical Islam,” the war on terror has no particular enemy and is not directed toward any specific country. It has been generalized to include just about anybody that disagrees with the ruling power – extending even to American citizens living within our borders. As such, it almost guarantees perpetual war.
…see that ye be not troubled:
for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet”
(Matt. 24:6b)
As Jesus points out, war is not necessarily a “sign” of the end of days, rather something that must happen as people continually slide into the chaos that results from their rebellion against God.
“Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”
(Matt. 24:7a)
The Greek word translated “nation” is “ethnos,” meaning a race (as of the same habit), that is, a tribe; specifically a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually by implication pagan):- Gentile, heathen, nation, people. The Greek word translated “kingdom” is “basileia,” meaning royalty, that is, (abstractly) rule, or (concretely) a realm (literally or figuratively):- kingdom + reign. [Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries)
Limiting our understanding of Matthew 24:7a (above) to only recognized countries around the globe would cause us to misunderstand this passage. Most countries in today’s world consist of many “ethnos,” i.e. ethnic groups, so I don’t think the passage means the U.S. vs. Russia – or other national conflicts. A more accurate understanding, for example, would be conflicts broadly between Gentiles and Muslims.
Conflicts are raging in Darfur, Saudi Arabia, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand, Chad, the Gaza Strip and West Bank in Israel, Niger, Mali, Kenya, and Sri Lanka. The centuries old conflict involving the Islamic world has not abated, rather seems to be escalating toward a world-wide conflict.
“…there shall be famines…and earthquakes, in divers places”
(Matt. 24:7b)
We’re hearing of an increasing scarcity of food on a worldwide scale, due to increasing consumption in growing countries like China and India – and rising fuel costs. These shortages have caused riots in some places; and some predict the future outbreak of wars fought over increasing food scarcities. Multi-national corporations are facing toward complete domination of the world’s water and food supplies in order to maximize their profits while exerting complete control over a thirsty and hungry population.
Every year, earthquakes cause thousands of deaths, either directly, or due to the resulting tsunamis, landslides, fires, and famines:
a. 1906 - 3,000 people died in the San Francisco, California earthquake
b. 1948 - Around 110,000 were killed in the earthquake in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
c. 1960 - More than 5,700 deaths were reported following the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Southern Chile, South America
d. 1964 – While only 15 people died in the Prince William Sound earthquake in Alaska, 110 more people died in the resulting tsunami
e. 1970 – 66,000 were killed off the coast of South American in the Peru earthquake
f. 1976 – Between 250,000 and 655,000 died in the Tangshan, China earthquake – then a city of some one million people
g. 1989 – 63 people were killed in the Loma Priete earthquake which struck the San Francisco, California area
h. 1994 – 60 people were killed in the Northridge, California earthquake
i. 1995 – More than 5,000 were killed in the Kobe, Japan earthquake
j. 2004 – 230,000 (and perhaps as many as 290,000) people were killed in 12 countries, including about 168,000 in Indonesia alone, in the earthquake just off the west coast of the island of Sumatra, and in the tsunami that followed
k. 2005 – More than 80,000 people were killed in the Pakistan earthquake
l. 2008 – More than 69,000 people were killed in the Sichuan, China earthquake
m. 2010 – Over 1,000 people lost their lives in Sumatra, Indonesia earthquakes
n. 2010 – An estimated 316,000 people died in a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti
o. 2011 - More than 15,000 were killed in the earthquake and resulting tsunamis that hit Japan
Change
The twentieth century was an unprecedented period of change; and the twenty-first century is proving to be even more dramatic with events unfolding at break-neck speed. At no time in history have more changes occurred in science and in the political structure of the world. Things are changing so fast the average person is utterly incapable of keeping up with them:
a. More changes occur in science in a single year than formerly occurred in century. The breathtaking pace of technological advancements insures that few of us can keep up with the rapid change – and perhaps more important, the inability of society to keep pace with the ethics and/or morality behind many of these changes
b. The crumbling of the Eastern Bloc of Europe and the Communist Empire. The opening of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of a divided Germany
c. The signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 setting up the European Union and creating the European Euro, the single European currency. Just over a decade later, the EU and the Euro are collapsing
d. With Israel restored as a nation in 1948, the panorama of End Time prophecy came into focus with Israel as a prominent player. This event has been at the core of political instability and wars in the Middle East – triggering the growing Islamic vs. Zionist Jihad
e. The introduction of the concept of a World Government made real by the United Nations paints a scenario that is in harmony with Bible prophecy concerning a future World Government
f. America, once thought to be one of the world’s brightest beacons of liberty, has seen financial difficulty because of immoral banking practices; and seems to be on its way to becoming one of the world’s greatest forces for immorality and evil
g. The wholesale collapse of ethical and moral values throughout society and government. Children are killing their classmates, employees are killing fellow employees, and government leaders are promising change
h. The weakening of the Churches and their leaders.
So, given all of this, it seems clear that the world has entered a time of dramatic and ominous change. At the present moment in history, the planet Earth is in a grave crisis. This celestial ball is on a collision course with its Creator. We have reached the day the prophet had in mind when he wrote, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isa. 5:20).
Man has pushed the “self-destruct button.” Foundations of godliness have crumbled; things sacred have come unzipped. We think we’re trying to build a peaceful world, but there is no peace within the heart of man.
To save the world, we must have an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Somehow, God must reveal himself to the present lost generation. Everything else has failed. Education has failed our youth. For the most part, parents have also failed them. Government has failed to reach them. Dead religion has turned them off.
In his book “Storm Warning,” Billy Graham quoted John Walvoord (1910-2002), pastor, author, and past-president of the Dallas Theological Seminary as saying, “The present world crisis is not the result of any one factor, but a concurrence of causes and effects which combine to set the world stage for a conflict which may quickly bring an end to hundreds of years of progress in western civilization and establish new centers of international power. Whatever the future holds, it is going to be dramatically different than the past. In this dark picture, only the Scriptures chart a sure course and give us an intelligent explanation of worldwide confusion as it exists today.”
Where Does it all Lead?
Even though we see the End Time signs so clearly, it’s still difficult to comprehend. What does it all mean? Where is it all leading? Why is there so little peace in the world when we have such unprecedented knowledge and unlimited potential?”
Dr. Linus Pauling (1901-1994), winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1954 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962, has said he believes the greatest catastrophe the world can ever know is approaching. He says this looming catastrophe might well result in a world war which could destroy civilization and spell the end of the human race. Or, it might take the form of mass starvation among a world population that has been doubling every 35 years. Civilization might actually end because of the collapse of the systems on which it depends; or the end of civilization might result from weather changes induced by governments to improve the yield of crops.
The Book of Revelation describes the End Times. It speaks of a one-world government, a godless dictator, financial terrorism; and the total regulation of all business – along with plagues, crime and rebellion, and devastating disasters. To many, it may seem like a far-off time, but there are “signs of the times” in today’s headlines – signs Jesus said would herald his return.
Some people argue that the characteristics of the “End Time” people have been the characteristics of the human race throughout the ages; and that people haven’t really changed. In its simplest form, that is true. It’s not that we don’t do the same things, but what is relevant is that we do it with increasing intensity; and we are learning and teaching new ways of doing it. Certainly, these things – actions and reactions of humankind – have been happening since the beginning of time. However, the intensity of these things today is such that we dare not blind our eyes to their meaning.
“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them, and departed” (Matt. 16:1-4).