Biblical Signs of the End-of-Times

I was sitting with a couple of friends this week watching Fox News’ coverage of the tragic shooting that occurred in Las Vegas last Sunday. We literally sat in amazement at the heroism displayed by both ordinary citizens and first-responders.

I brought up the fact that my girlfriend and her daughter, along with myself, were getting ready for a Florida Georgia Line concert in West Palm this month. I expressed my concerns and I had seen various “experts” warning of “copy-cat” attacks being a huge threat. I urged her, “Think about it… a country music concert in a largely open environment. Think about the crazy people out there thinking ’59 people? I can do better than that!’” Unfortunately, we have to face that fact. There are people out there seeking notoriety and fame at the costs of other people’s lives.

After saying all this, the friend to my left said, “Man, with all this crap going on around us… what’s going to happen next?” to which the friend sitting to my right said, The end!”

I started deeply thinking about what he had said and wondered to myself “Is this it? Are we nearing the end-of-times?” I knew it was time for more Bible study.

The Bible

The Bible speaks of the end-of-times in several places, however, it gives no warning of what day, time or year this will occur.

Mark 13: 32, in which Christ tells us “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

So, the angels in heaven don’t know when the end is coming. Not even Jesus, Himself, knows when He’s coming back, it seems.

To help us see these events for what they are, let’s look at some Biblical signs of the end-of-times.

Nation Against Nation

Jesus tells us in…

Matthew 24:7 – “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”

Consider North Korea, and its boasts of nuclear retaliation. Think on Russia’s growing tension with the United States. Think of the oh so many conflicts in the Middle East. And don’t forget that China, one of the world’s superpowers, is growing increasingly hostile with the West.

Men Against Men

While the scale of the attack in Las Vegas last Sunday night is unparalleled, it wasn’t the only mass shooting to occur in the US that day.

Some 13,000 miles away in Lawrence, just outside the University of Kansas in Kansas, two men and a woman were killed and a further two people injured in a mass shooting incident. Remember the nightclub shooting in Orlando in June of 2016? 49 people lost their lives in that tragedy

Unfortunately, and sad to say, mass shootings in America – defined as an event where at least four people are shot – are now an everyday event!

Christ continues to tell us about the end-of-times in…

Matthew 10:21-23 – “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and hand them over to be killed. Fathers will hand over their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and will have them killed.  Everyone will hate you because you follow me. But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved. When you are treated badly in one city, go to another city. I promise you that you will not finish going to all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes again.”

Moral Decay

In 2 Timothy 3:1-4, Paul writes of a sign: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

Let’s face it, it has been this way for centuries. We are human and, sadly to say, we are exactly what Paul has described. Since God has forgiven us so far and not sent His Son to “take the good one’s home,” I must assume that these traits will occur at an unprecedented level—more brutal, more heartless, and more greedy and proud than ever.

Earthquakes and Disasters in Many Places

Earthquakes play a big role in Biblical prophecy. In Matthew 24:7, Christ says that “there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” when the time is near for His return.

Notice the “various places.” We cannot point to every earthquake that happens and think the end is coming—this sign is something different, something more widespread.

Devastating flooding in Bangladesh and Houston, category 5 hurricanes across the Atlantic, 3 Mexico earthquakes (followed by a volcanic eruption).

There have been enough major natural disasters in the past couple of months to concern even the staunchest climate change skeptic.

Like many of the signs, this will be something we’re familiar with, but greatly intensified—these won’t be just any old earthquakes, but something that rocks the very foundations of the earth, and so do in many places at once.

These quakes are mentioned five times in the Book of Revelation, with the final earthquake corresponding with the seventh bowl of God’s wrath being poured out on the earth. This is described as “a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.”

Signs in the Stars

In Luke 21:25-26, Christ speaks of the sky, saying, “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

This is an interesting one, and appears in several places in the Gospels. Some of the other verses speak of “roaring” in the heavens, as well as trouble in the seas.

It’s possible that this sign is simply speaking of human weaponry—satellite-based defenses capable of firing on the planet, missiles and bombs that streak down from the sky, and whatever other objects of destruction the human mind will contrive in the coming years.

How about the predictions of Nostradamus from the 1500’s who published collections of prophecies that have become widely famous? Here is a quote from him that states…

“Two steel birds will fall from the sky on the Metropolis. The sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude. Fire approaches the great new city” (New York City lies between 40-45 degrees)

“Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up. Within months, rivers will flow with blood. The undead will roam earth for little time.”

Could the prophets not have seen the same type of things?

Whatever the case may be, when the skies darken, the stars disappear and the moon becomes red as blood… we will know that Christ is near!

The Good News

Christ tells us the importance of signs we should recognize. For example, in…

Matthew 24:32 – “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.”

That’s it. That’s the essence of why we’ve been made aware of the signs—so that we might know that Christ is near and take heart, and so that we might also prepare ourselves.

So, keep an eye out for these Biblical signs of Christ’s return—you might just be able to see a few already.

Be in good cheer though. We have accepted God, the father and Jesus, the Son as our Lord and Savior and therefore should not fear His second coming as we strive to live the lives He has asked us to live.

Go with God, give thanks every day. Always be good to one another, stay humble, stay kind… God Bless!