03.24.21
But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels in heaven, but my father only. (Matthew 24:36)
We come back to our study of the end times. We are currently looking at the signs of Jesus’ return. These signs, for the most part, have occurred throughout earth’s history, but they are compounded in the last days.
To review, the first and most significant sign is the reestablishment of the nation of Israel. This was predicted in Ezekiel 37 by the image of the dry bones coming together and forming a living body. Israel once again became a nation, just as the Bible predicted, in 1948 after almost 2000 years.
The other two signs we considered last time were the alignment of the nations against Israel as outlined in Ezekiel 38, 39 [Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iran, etc.], and the proliferation of wars and rumors of wars [including the two great world wars of the 20th century].
The fourth sign is apostasy—a falling away from the faith. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many (Matt 24:5). There has always been a falling away from the truth of God’s Word. This began with Satan in the Garden of Eden, sprang up afresh after the Great Flood at the Tower of Babel, and continues apace today. There are a dizzying array of false teachers in our world today. My library contains a notebook which includes a description of some 150 aberrant groups, and the list increases year after year.
Apathy is the fifth sign of Christ’s soon return. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (38) For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, (39) and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24:37-39) Another word for this is materialism. The world is running after money and power without thinking about Jesus’ return. A careful study of the Book of Revelation will point out that materialism is a key component of the future one-world system.
We come to natural disasters as our fifth sign. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7b) You can do a Google search of the surprising number of famines and earthquakes that have occurred in the last 100 years. Pestilence would include such things as malaria, aids, Ebola, yellow fever, STDs, and surely the Wuhan virus.
The sixth sign is an increase in knowledge and travel. “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Dan 12:4) The past 150 years have displayed a vast increase in inventions and modes of travel. The auto was invented in 1886 by Karl Benz of Germany. The first airplane flew in 1903 by the Wright Bros. Man went to the moon in Apollo 11, in July 1969. The electro-mechanical computer was developed by the US Navy in 1938. The first cellular phone was created in IL in 1978. Now we have smart phones that far surpass those early computers/phones.
Without question, this is the era of the increase of knowledge and travel!
Finally, number seven is globalization. This is an important sign, which we will plan to take up next time. We will also talk about the seriousness of being prepared for His coming. Are you ready?