Signs of the Times

By Mark Swarbrick

Evidence that we are living in the Last Days

Fifty years ago, I was telling someone that we were living in the last days. I mentioned a number of things that were indicators. The unbelieving response I got was: “People were saying that way back when I was a youth and those things you mentioned have always been going on.”

Now that I am an old man, I too can say: “People were saying that way back when I was a youth.” Do you know what that means? It does not mean I was mistaken. It simply means that Jesus’ return is fifty years closer now than it was then.

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When I tell people of Jesus’ soon return, it is not uncommon to get a response of unbelief, one that sounds very much like the prophecy in 2 Peter 3:4, where we are told:

“In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”

It Will Surely Come

When the prophet Habakkuk was frustrated at the injustice in the world, he asked the Lord when the promise of God to set the world aright and stop evil men would be fulfilled. The Lord’s answer was this:

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)

Christ will return, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, “at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:40) As 2 Peter 3:9 says: “The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” We must realize that when Christ suddenly raptures the saints to heaven, those left behind will inherit a world that rapidly turns into a hell on earth. God’s delay is because of his patience, mercy, and love. But we must never forget, there is a time limit to his patience. “Today is the day of salvation,” says the Lord.

I believe it is likely we are living in the last of the last days. I say, “last of the last” because biblically speaking, it has been the “last days” ever since Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. At that point the next event on the biblical calendar became the return of Christ, as told by angels”

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

I shall list ten reasons why I believe it is very likely we are living in the final days of earth history. Scripture says: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1) Of course, there have always been terrible times on earth. But what this passage speaks of is a steady increase in evil and calamity. Turn on the evening news and you can see this happening before your very eyes. Here are just some of the facts concerning the state of the world:

Impending Worldwide Financial Crash

America’s national debt is 31.38 trillion dollars and climbing higher every year. Politicians have been spending money like there is no tomorrow. They believe it is impossible for the U.S. economy to crash They are foolishly blind. The interest rate on our borrowed money is climbing ever higher, and if the U.S. entered a severe depression, the interest payments would be difficult to maintain. Already many nations are moving away from using American dollars as the default currency of trade. If America loses its default currency status, the results would be devastating to the U.S. economy.

The impending crash of the American economy will be felt worldwide, just as it was during the Great Depression of the 1930s. And along with worldwide hardship, comes the rise of evil dictators, just as we saw with Hitler and the Nazi Party. Desperate people will follow a wicked leader who promises a brighter future. That is exactly what will happen when the Antichrist comes promising peace and prosperity.

Nuclear Weapons

Never before in the history of mankind has fallen man had the technology to destroy the entire world. We do now. It is only a matter of time until there is a nuclear exchange. Once that happens the earth will never be the same.

The estimated number of nuclear weapons currently deployed with operational forces increased to 3,825, from 3,720 last year. Around 2000 of these—nearly all of which belonged to Russia or the USA—were kept in a state of high operational alert.[1] There are an estimated total of 20,500 nuclear warheads in the world today. The average power of these devices is 33,500 kilotons, enough to destroy the total earth landmass.[2] Then there are the big ones. Russia has 50 megaton warheads. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima was a 15 kiloton bomb. 50 megatons is equivalent to 50,000 kilotons. In other words, just one 50 megaton bomb is 3,333 times more powerful than the bomb that levelled the city of Hiroshima.

Worldwide Dependence on Electricity

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The world depends upon electricity to keep warm in the winter, to cook food, to run our factories that make all that we need, to produce food, to supply clean water, and dispose of our sewage. Without electricity all that comes to a stop. But why would electricity stop? Because of the vulnerability of the power grid, that’s why. It can be taken down by sabotage, by cyber attack, or by an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). And EMP can come from the sun. It regularly emits flares capable of taking out the electrical grid.

In 1859 our sun emitted what scientists call a Coronal Mass Ejection (CRE). This caused a powerful geomagnetic storm that resulted in an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), which fried telegraph equipment and started fires in telegraph offices around the world. Scientists say that we can expect a significant CRE from the sun approximately every 150 years. It has been 161 years since the Carrington Event. We are overdue.

But this time, it won’t just fry telegraph equipment; it will burn out all electronics that use solid-state integrated chips, which includes virtually every electronic device in the world. Today we are a society that depends upon electricity and electronics for our very survival. We literally cannot feed our people without it. The modern automobile, as well as generators and semi-trucks, use integrated circuit electronics to provide ignition and computerized engine controls. They will not run without them. Everything from factories to water purification and waste management now depends upon computer-controlled machinery.

While solid-state electronics are durable against physical jarring, they are extremely fragile when it comes to EMP. A world-wide electromagnetic pulse could destroy every integrated circuit chip in the world. All electronics in the world would cease functioning. Additionally, the high-voltage power transmission cables that crisscross our country would act as massive antennas that would soak in the pulse, causing the destruction of transformers and other crucial infrastructure. Some of these large transformers are not made in the United States and it could take years to get replacements. In the meantime, the electrical grid of the United States would be useless.

The sun is not the only danger. Whereas an EMP from the sun is indiscriminate, a nuclear generated EMP can be targeted to just one area, such as North America. A nuclear weapon, detonated at a high altitude of between 30 and 50 miles above America, would create a powerful EMP capable of destroying electronics and the power grid nationwide. Imagine cars and trucks not running, factories abandoned, and no communications. A hundred years ago, food was grown by farmers locally. Not so today. It comes from far away. Without shipping, people will not have access to food. Water supply to towns and cities requires electricity to run the pumps. There would be no running water and no sewage treatment.

In 2008 our government formed a commission to assess the threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse. They determined that an EMP would kill, within one year, 90 percent of America’s population by starvation and disease. See the footnote to read the report for yourself. Frightening statistics indeed, especially when you contemplate a nuclear North Korea and a soon-to-be nuclear Iran – a country which chants “Death to America.”

American defense experts recently recovered and translated a secret Iranian military handbook which speaks of Iran’s plans to use EMP against the United States. Intelligence reports reveal that Iran has practiced launching a mobile ballistic missile from a vessel in the Caspian Sea and successfully tested high-altitude explosions of its Shahab-III ballistic missile, a test mode consistent with EMP attack. If such a missile were launched from a freighter in the Gulf of Mexico, it would be impossible to trace the attack to a specific country. A smaller attack could be done with a high-altitude weather balloon. However, this would not reach a sufficient altitude to affect the entire United States, but would be capable of destroying the power grid from Washington D.C. to New York.

The guided spy balloon that Red China recently sent over America could have easily been carrying an EMP weapon. Biden let it maneuver over several of our military installations before drifting over the rest of the country. The Chinese military now knows how easily they can EMP the United States.

The worldwide dependence on electricity and the vulnerability of the electrical grid has placed the world in a precarious position. We are teetering on the brink.

World War III Imminent

There was only about twenty years between World War I and World War II. It has been 78 years since the end of World War II. World War III will happen and it could be very soon. Currently, as of this writing, two super powers are in conflict – American and Russia – over Ukraine. China and Russia have cozied up together and Putin has said he will use nuclear weapons if necessary.

China has sworn to invade Taiwan, which would give them control over all advanced semiconductor chips in the world, putting the world at their mercy. An invasion of Taiwan could easily lead to World War III, and that war will see nuclear weapons and bio-weapons released upon the world.

Worldwide Spread of Sexual Perversion

There are two accounts of divine judgment associated with sexual perversion in the Bible. The first was the flood of Noah. Just before that happened, we are told in Genesis Chapter Six that people engaged in sex with fallen angels. God’s judgment quickly followed this sexual sin. Jude 1:6-7 tells us the angels that did this were confined to “eternal chains under gloomy darkness” and Genesis 6 tells us that God then destroyed the entire world with a flood. We are also told in Scripture that Sodom and Gomorrah were overrun with homosexuality just before God destroyed those cities. The two most devastating judgments of God on the earth were proceeded by sexual perversion.

The point being is that homosexuality is a marker showing that a nation is ripe for judgment from God. Romans Chapter One informs us that a society that turns to homosexuality is a harbinger that God has forsaken them to a depraved mind.

Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood…For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (Romans 1:24-27)

A 2019 Gallup poll in the United States found that 5.6% of adults identified as LGBT, up from 3.6% in 2012. Similarly, a 2021 survey in the United Kingdom found that 5.7% of adults identified as LGBT, up from 1.5% in 2012. A more recent poll shows that an unprecedented number of US adults identify as LGBTQ – and that young people, especially Generation Z, are driving the increase. Gallup reported a jump from 4.5% to 5.6% of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer since its last poll in 2017.[3]

Sixty years ago transgenderism was unheard of. No boy in school would have thought to pretend they were a girl. No adult would have thought such a child was normal. Homosexuals were rare and considered to be quite odd. Adults at home and at school emphasized that sex was only for a married man and woman. Now premarital sex is common and homosexual behavior is considered the “in” the thing to do, and the adults approve of this. Not only are more and more people engaging in sexual perversion, the acceptance of people doing this has been universally approved around the world. Those who affirm this deviancy are guilty in God’s eyes of approving of sin.

Never before in the history of mankind has there been such a world-wide sweep of homosexuality over the world as there is now. It is a harbinger of coming judgment. Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37) We have similar conditions now as to what they were before the flood. The time to repent is now, before it is too late. God has warned that Christ will return in flaming fire dealing out retribution to those who do not believe and obey the Gospel. That time is at hand.

Israel Became a Nation

In 70 AD Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish people were ousted from their homeland. The nation of Israel came to an end. The centuries rolled by. Amazingly, the Jewish people maintained their heritage and identity, yet their country was dead and gone. Two thousand years went by.

This was a puzzle to Bible scholars, for many prophecies indicated that the Jews would be back in the land of Israel when Christ returns. Numerous prophecies predicted that Israel would be regathered to its homeland in Israel one day. But even the most learned Bible scholars doubted this. No nation had ever disappeared for two millennia and then been reconstituted. So they “reinterpreted” these passages as non-literal and assumed they must somehow mean something for the church. They had many theories to explain that these passages did not really mean what they said. After all, they said, no nation has ever come back after being extinct for 2,000 years.

But a few Christian scholars believed God’s word meant what it said. I have an old book written by one such scholar. It was written in the 1930s. The author wrote that that no matter how unbelievable it sounds, it would happen one day that Israel would be a nation again.

Then, in 1948 it happened. Israel became a nation again and Jews flocked to it from all over the world. Not only that, they are making plans to one day rebuild their temple. People say that won’t happen, just as they said it wouldn’t ever be a nation again. But it will happen. The temple will be rebuilt and serious plans are under way to make it happen. Now all the prophecies Jesus gave about Israel being in the land when He returns, and the prophecies in the book of Daniel and in the Epistles about the Antichrist setting up an image of the beast in the temple during the Tribulation, all these can be fulfilled.

Israel becoming a nation again was a major fulfilment of Bible prophecy and it has given rise to much speculation that the Rapture of the Church could be close. That is why there have been people saying, “Oh they thought the return of the Lord was close and they were talking about it when I was a child.” Of course, they were talking about it a lot after WW II, because Israel becoming a nation was a major sign.

Jewish Plans to Rebuild the Temple

In Judaism, the rebuilding of the Temple is a long-standing religious aspiration, and rebuilding of the Temple remains a topic of intense discussion and debate within the Jewish community. The Jewish website www.TheTempleInstitute.org says:

“The Temple Institute is dedicated to making the Holy Temple a reality in our day, and toward this end, the Temple Institute has, for 36 years, been building and planning and researching and teaching and sharing with you our reconstructed sacred vessels and priestly garments, our books and paintings, our red heifer candidates, our teachings and insights and our love for HaShem and the Holy Temple!”

In 2 Thessalonians 2:2 the Apostle Paul tells us that during the Tribulation the Antichrist “takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.”

In Matthew 24:15 Jesus says, “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”

These two passages tell us plainly that the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt. How that will come about we do not know. The Dome of the Rock stands on the Temple Mount now and it would mean war if anything happened to it. However, some scholars say that the temple was actually located to the side of where the Dome of the Rock is, so the temple could be built with the Dome of the Rock in place. Some believe that the “firm covenant with many” that is made by the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27) will involve a treaty negotiated by the Antichrist between Jews and Muslims to allow the Jews to rebuild their temple.

The plan to rebuild the Jewish temple is one more indicator that the time of the Tribulation could be drawing nigh.

As in the Days of Noah

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:37-42)

What were the conditions in the days of Noah?

Unbelief – In spite of Noah being a preacher of righteousness for 120 years, and building the Ark (which may have taken 75 years or so), the people did not heed his warnings that a flood was coming because of their wickedness. (2 Peter 2:5)

Wickedness – “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5)

Normal Life – People were going on about their everyday life, marrying, eating and drinking, etc. They were unaware of the impending doom, in spite of Noah’s warnings.

Sexual Perversion – Scripture says “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took to themselves women of all whom they chose…The fallen ones were in the earth in those days, and even afterwards when the sons of God come in unto daughters of men, and they have borne to them — these are the heroes, who, from of old, the men of renown.” Jude 1:6-7 says that women having sex with these fallen angels was a perversion similar to men having sex with men or women with women.

Sudden Calamity – The people didn’t know judgment was imminent. They didn’t realize until “the day Noah entered the Ark.” Then the flood came. So it shall be at the Rapture. Just as Noah entered the Ark, God’s people will be taken to heaven and then judgment will come up on the earth as it is plunged into the Great Tribulation.

The conditions today are similar to Noah’s day. Unbelief, wickedness, and sexual perversion are rampant, yet people go on about their daily lives as if all was well. And while the Church gives warning that judgment is coming, that call is met by ambivalence and disbelief. But one day the Church will be raptured and a flood of evil will come upon this world as never before.

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:21)

The Great Apostasy

The Bible predicts that toward the end of the last days a significant portion of the Church will go into apostasy. Although there has always been apostasy in various parts of the Church, this is speaking of an increase in apostasy above the norm. In Revelation Chapter Three, Jesus speaks of the conditions of much of the Church just before the Rapture:

“I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth…You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:15-17)

Numerous passages of Scripture attest to the end-time apostasy:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. (Acts 20:29-31)

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3)

But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
For many will come in my name…and they will lead many astray…And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. (Matthew 24:3-11)

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write…I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. (Revelation 3:1-3)

We can see the beginnings of this false apostate church taking shape today. Many mainline denominations are ordaining homosexuals to ministry. They support abortion, Marxism, leftist political ideas, and deny that people need to come to Jesus and be born again. They have replaced the gospel of salvation in Jesus with worldly leftist philosophies. Here is how the Bible describes the apostate church of the last days:

And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. Revelation 17:3-4

Note that this passage lists sexual immorality as a marker of this apostate church, exactly as we see it today with mainline denominations promoting and supporting the LGBTQ movement. Whereas the Bible steadfastly states that sex is reserved for marriage between one man and one woman and that homosexuality is a sin that leads to hell, these apostate churches are not only saying this sin is okay, they are performing homosexual marriages and ordaining homosexuals to be ministers. This is the epitome of apostasy. God’s word says: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”

The great apostasy that was predicted to come just before the end is upon us.

Biblical Indicators

There are a number of conditions listed in the Bible that God said are indicators of the nearness of the final days.

Totalitarianism

Revelation 13:7 tells us that the Antichrist will be “given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.” The prophecies in Daniel and in Revelation make it clear that the Antichrist has worldwide dominion. In preparation for this, demonic powers are now at work influencing politicians to move towards despotic governance. People are being conditioned to give up freedoms and obey the government no matter what. We got a preview of this with Covid, with politicians forcing churches to close and making people stay in their homes. People were forced to accept a dangerous untested vaccine, and wear masks that were ineffectual. These masks came to be known as “obedience masks,” as their medical inefficacy was well known. It was just government officials wanting to force obedience for the sake of exercising their power. Evil politicians learned that if you can make people afraid, they are more easily controlled.

The demonically inspired philosophies of socialism and communism are quite effective at destroying economies and stealing freedoms. As we move into the end times, we see Europe and America restricting freedoms such as free speech and gun ownership. Globalization, increased power to the United Nations, and the dishonoring of borders is all part of the Antichrists plot to have a one-world government. This is another one of the signs of the times.

Increased Knowledge and Travel

In Daniel Chapter Twelve, Daniel is given visions pertaining to the last days. After this he is told:

“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.” (Daniel 12:4)

This prediction of increased knowledge and travel has been fulfilled. Throughout man’s time on earth, he travelled on horseback or on foot. That all changed in the past 150 years. Now we zoom about in automobiles and streak through the skies in jets with speeds in excess of 500 miles per hour. We have sent men to the moon and landed spacecraft on Mars. Likewise, scientific knowledge exploded during this same time period faster than ever before in history. We have discovered nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and created computers capable of “artificial intelligence.” And all of these technological advances are comparatively recent.

Additionally, knowledge of the Bible prophecy has expanded exponentially. In verse 9 the angel says, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.” For thousands of years no one really understood many of the end-time prophecies in Daniel. But they are understood clearly today. This is another sign of the times showing we are in the “time of the end.” Truly the prophecy has come to pass: Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4)

In Luke Chapter 21 and Matthew Chapter 24 Jesus is asked by the disciples what will be “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3) Here is Jesus’ answer:

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. (Luke 21:10-12)

See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:4-14)

Jesus mentions seven signs that will indicate the approach of the end of the age. These are: pestilences, earthquakes, war, lawlessness, persecution, terrors, and signs in the sky. Let us consider them one at a time.

Pestilences

In Luke Chapter 21 Jesus mentions pestilences as one of the markers of the last days. Again, there have always been pestilences, so we must understand Jesus words in the context of frequency. Pestilences will increase in the last days. That is how we are to understand our Lord’s words. The Merriam-Webster dictionary gives this definition – Pestilence: A contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating. Covid-19 is a pestilence. Are pestilences increasing?

An article in the National Geographic magazine says:

“Dangerous new human diseases are emerging at unprecedented rates, including Marburg virus, avian flu, AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Nipah virus, swine flu, Ebola, Lyme disease, chikungunya, Zika, dengue, Lassa fever, yellow fever, and now COVID-19. Some 2.5 billion people are infected with zoonotic diseases each year, and because many of these ailments have no cure, they kill about 2.7 million annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Unlike previous centuries when diseases took time to spread, the infected can now board a plane and disseminate their germs worldwide before they even show symptoms. COVID-19 emerged in China and spread to 223 countries and territories in a little over one years’ time.” [4]

The NIH Nation Library of Medicine and the World Health Organization both say,

“Infectious diseases are spreading around the world faster than ever and new diseases are emerging at the unprecedented rate of one a year.”[5]

Thus, one of the markers of the end times as defined by Jesus is being fulfilled before our very eyes.

Earthquakes

USGS data reveals that earthquakes are on the rise. In 1985, the total number of earthquakes reported was about 13,000 and in 2005, it had more than doubled up to 30,000.

NBC News reports, “The annual number of “great” earthquakes nearly tripled over the last decade…an increase of 265 percent over the average rate of the previous century.” Note that Jesus specifically refers to major earthquakes when He says, “There will be great earthquakes.

EarthSky reports, “Large earthquakes greater than 8.0 in magnitude have struck the Earth at a record high rate since 2004…the frequency of high magnitude earthquakes has increased in the early part of this century.”

The New Times of India reports, “With so many earthquakes in the news recently, it seems that the frequency of big temblors is on the rise. As per a report by The Guardian, scientists have warned there could be a significant growth in the numbers of devastating earthquakes around the world in 2018.

War

World War I and Word War II were unprecedented in their destruction, the close of WW II brought the unheard-of destruction of nuclear weapons on the scene. According to the United Nations, conflict and violence are currently on the rise since the end of WW II.[6] Domestic violence is increasing as well. For example, In 2017, almost half a million people across the world were killed in homicides, far surpassing the 89,000 killed in active armed conflicts. The current war in Ukraine, or the pending war over Taiwan, are two conflicts that could escalate to thermo-nuclear war. That would be a war of incredible destruction, the likes of which the world has never seen.

Biological warfare looms as a horrifying specter. Nations around the world are modifying viruses to use them as weapons. Covid-19 was designed to be a bioweapon. China’s plan was to develop the deadly virus, and then secretly develop a vaccine to be used only for protecting the Chinese people. Then, in time of war, they could release the virus on an enemy. It’s accidental escape from the Wuhan Bio-Weapons Lab caught the Chinese off guard.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says their data shows the number of major armed conflicts in the world has steadily increased since 2010. According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), the number of active conflicts around the world has steadily increased since the early 2000s, and has nearly doubled since 1990, with more than 50 ongoing conflicts recorded in 2019. The past century has seen several major global conflicts, including World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, among others. These conflicts resulted in millions of deaths and the looming threat of terrorism, cyber warfare, drone warfare, and bio warfare have taken war to an entirely new level of destruction. Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of war. We certainly have that now, don’t we?

Lawlessness

Unless one is a youth, stats are unnecessary to know that lawlessness is on the increase. When I was a child, we didn’t lock our doors, or lock our car at night. It was safe to hitchhike. I hitched a ride every weekend when I was in college. It was perfectly safe in the 60s and early 70s. Hitch hiking is illegal now, because of the danger. No one would stop for you even if you did stick your thumb out for a ride. Why? Increased lawlessness.

American cities have become cesspools of filth, with homeless drug addicts living on the street and defecating on the sidewalks. Once beautiful cities where suburban’s shopped and played, are now too dangerous to visit.

Major American cities saw a 33% increase in homicides last year.[7] In 1960, there were 160 violent crimes per 100,000 people. In 2016 that number had risen to 397. That is an increase of nearly 250 percent. Forcible rape increased by 300 percent, and robbery increased 170 percent.

Riots in the streets of America’s large cities are common. And it isn’t just the thugs. Politicians are engaging in lawlessness as never before. Congressional investigations have revealed that President Biden has been taking bribes from foreign governments, while his son illegally obtained a firearm by lying on a federal form about his drug use. His charges are being dismissed because his dad is president. Rules for thee, but not for me.

It is not just man’s laws that are being flaunted, but God’s as well. When the bible speaks of lawlessness it is referring also to the violations of God’s statutes. The murder of babies through abortion and the government claiming homosexual unions are equivalent to God’s sacrament of marriage is an outrageous violation of God’s laws.

Persecution

Christians are increasingly being persecuted in America and around the world. In Houston, Texas in 2014, the city issued subpoenas requiring pastors to submit their sermons to the city. Any ministers failing to comply would be held in contempt of court and could be thrown into jail. The lesbian mayor wanted to make sure that no pastor read any Bible passages about homosexuality.

The LGBTQ community has become quite aggressive, some of them invading churches on Sunday morning to scream profanities. Christians have been fired from their jobs or threatened with jail for refusing to participate in homosexual marriages. The CEO of Mozilla Firefox was fired for posting on his private Facebook page that he personally believed that marriage was between one man and one woman.

The Vatican News reports that persecution of Christians and anti-Christian violence is on the rise worldwide.[8] The Christian Institute reports that More than 340 million Christians worldwide experienced high levels of persecution in 2020, with 4,761 killed for their faith.[9]

Terrors and Great Signs from Heaven

While these signs in the heavens will be most evident during the Great Tribulation, they are on the rise now as the time gets closer. I believe the signs from heaven will happen maily during the Tribulation. At that time the very stability of the solar system will waver. But even now, some things are beginning to happen.

The U.S. Defense Department recently released video of unknown craft maneuvering near our military installations. The unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are real phenomenon tracked on radar and seen by pilots of fighter jets sent to intercept. The acceleration, the speeds and the sudden directional changes exhibited by these objects defy the laws of physics. The sightings of UFOs have been on the increase since the close of WW II and have continued to increase. UFO phenomenon is often associated with sightings of malevolent beings such as Big Foot and other paranormal apparitions, leading Christian theologians to point out that all of this phenomenon indicates a rise in demonic activity from Satan, who is referred to in Scripture as the “Prince of the Power of the Air.”

Conclusion

All of the markers delineated by Jesus of the end of days are happening now. There is such overwhelming evidence that we are in the last days that one has to be spiritually blind not to see it. Here are the markers we have examined:

Impending Worldwide Financial Crash
Nuclear Weapons
Worldwide dependence on Electricity
World War III Imminent
Worldwide Spread of Sexual Perversion
Israel Became a Nation
Jewish Plans to Rebuild the Temple
As in the Days of Noah, similar conditions today
The Great Apostasy has come
Totalitarianism on the rise
Increased Knowledge and Travel as prophesied for the last days
Pestilences increasing as predicted by Christ
Earthquakes increasing as predicted by Christ
Wars increasing as predicted by Christ
Lawlessness increasing as predicted by Christ
Persecution increasing as predicted by Christ
Terrors and Great Signs from Heaven starting with increased UFO activity

Although we don’ know when, our Lord may come, He made it very clear that he was coming when the world would not be expecting Him and he warned us to look forward to His return and be spiritually ready to go with Him when He comes.

For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly await the hope of righteousness. (Galatians 5:5)

Christ…will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28)

Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)

Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done… Surely I am coming soon. (Revelation 22:12,20)

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