MORE Signs of the Last Days
Many things likely come to mind when you think about the end times. You probably envision fire coming from the heavens, chaos erupting globally and life as we know it coming to an end. While these are common associations, several signs will occur before the last days that we should pay attention to. We understand that these are signs of the end times because Jesus tells us so. Here are the final 11 signs of the end of the world.
Signs of Deception
One of the major signs of the end times is deception. The Bible warns us of false prophets who will say they are the Messiah. They will also claim they have answers for all the problems of the world. Jesus gives us very specific warnings that speak to our generation now, referenced in Matthew 24. In this passage, Jesus mentions the false prophets who will use wonders to deceive us. These false prophets can include people in government, elected officials and other leaders. We must guard ourselves and be on the lookout for these deceivers. We are also told in the Bible these aren’t ordinary men. In the last days, many will cry out for leaders, and they will turn to these false prophets who claim to have the answers.
Hunger and Famine
Another significant sign of the end times is famine and hunger. These are some of the biggest issues plaguing our world right now, and many people are trying to figure out if this is a sign we are entering the end times. According to key statistics, 11 percent of the world’s population is hungry. That means 805 million people are undernourished daily. While we are blessed with a large and fertile planet, millions of people are going hungry each day.
Natural Disasters
When natural disasters take place, many people are concerned that they are pointing to the end times. Some of these recent events and disasters include record-breaking heatwaves not only in America and in Europe. People have also cited devastating earthquakes and wildfires that have taken out whole communities. This has come against the backdrop of political tension, which has only left people more fearful.
The Spread of New Diseases
Revelation 6:5-8 warns that our world will be rocked by new diseases and subsequent plagues in the end times. Luke 21:11 also cautions that there will be pestilences in various places and fearful events in the last days. Many people have wondered if the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the new diseases the Bible speaks of. Some believe that the pestilences that Jesus referenced will be fulfilled in the first three and a half years of the Tribulation period that comes after the rapture.
War
We are told in scripture that there will be disputes among nations. Scripture warns us that a big sign of Jesus’ ultimate return is discord and war among groups of people. This is another sign many people are wondering about is occurring right now. The Book of Revelation references a period called the Tribulation. During this period, we are told there will be a great deal of war. This war will appear to have no end. The Bible also tells us that as we enter the end times, including national battles, conflicts at the border and race wars.
Rumors of War
In addition to listing war as a sign of the end times, Jesus also mentions rumors of war. Many people think that Jesus is simply warning us of war in the last days, but Jesus is really instructing us to not allow rumors of war to concern or alarm us because “the end is not yet.” Jesus was doing the same thing when He spoke of false Christs in Matthew 24:5. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:8 that “all these are the beginning of the birth pains.”
Signs in the Heavens
God references numerous heavenly signs that point to the end times. The 6th Seal of Revelation goes into great detail about the signs in the heavens which haven’t been witnesses since creation. One of the biggest passages that reference these signs is Revelation 6:12-14. This passage says, “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” While many believe these are signs of despair, they are indeed signs of hope.
Persecution
One of the signs of the end times many people don’t talk about is persecution. During the final days, there will be a rise in the persecution of Christians. We will also see hatred and betrayal increase. In Matthew 24, right before Jesus references the rise of false prophets, He warns the disciples, “Then you will be arrested, persecuted and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from Me and betray and hate each other.” This is why we must be disciplined in our prayer lives.
Lawlessness
Jesus prophesied in the final days that there would be lawlessness. Many people think the lawlessness associated with the end times is as simple as people disobeying the 10 Commandments. It goes much deeper than this. Remember, Jesus was a big proponent of God’s law. Not only was His life governed by the law, but He also taught people to obey the law. In Second Thessalonians 2:8-9, Paul uses the word lawless to reference the most powerful false religious teacher in the last days. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, Jesus warns us that God will reject those who practice lawlessness.
Jesus
The most significant sign of the end times is Jesus. In Acts 1, the risen Lord spoke his parting instructions to his followers. They asked the Lord, “Is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” While the disciples didn’t fully understand Jesus’ full purpose, they were filled with the hope that He would act victoriously and decisively on their behalf. Jesus’ response serves as a reminder that while we will not be privy to the exact day and moment of Jesus’ ultimate return, we will not be oblivious to the signs that the day is close.
While the world appears to get darker, and we face more spiritual warfare than ever before, we have real hope through Jesus Christ. He defeated death and remained victorious. We can have the same victory when we put our total faith in our Lord and Savior. When we trust in the words of Jesus and the prophets, we can be better prepared for what’s to come.
SIGNS of the LAST DAYS: Spirit poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28)
SIGNS of the LAST DAYS: Peace taken from the earth
SIGNS of the LAST DAYS: False prophets and false Christs
SIGNS of the LAST DAYS: Universal Apostasy
SIGNS of the LAST DAYS: Watering down of the gospel
SIGNS of the LAST DAYS: Increased worldly knowledge
SIGNS of the LAST DAYS: Increase in the wickedness
Frank Bartleman: God Was in the Earthquake
Frank Bartleman was greatly used as a vessel of the Lord in intercession, and as a writer both before and during the Azusa Street Revival which began in 1906. The very same month and year that the revival began, the great San Francisco earthquake occurred. Frank Bartleman saw this as being the hand of God and quickly wrote a tract which was widely distributed.
By Frank Bartleman
“I found the earthquake had opened many hearts. I was distributing especially my last tract, The Last Call. It seemed very appropriate after the earthquake. Sunday, April 22, I took 10,000 of these to the New Testament Church. The workers seized them eagerly and scattered them quickly throughout the city.
Nearly every pulpit in the land was working overtime to prove that God had nothing to do with earthquakes and thus allay the fears of the people. The Spirit was striving to knock at hearts with conviction, through this judgment. I felt indignation that the preachers should be used of Satan to drown out His voice. Just as he later used them to stir up hatred and murder, during the great war. Even the teachers in the schools labored hard to convince the children that God was not in earthquakes. The devil put on a big propaganda on this line.
I had been much in prayer since the earthquake, and had slept little. After the shock in Los Angeles the Lord told me definitely He had a message for me for the people. On the Saturday after, He gave me a part of it. On Monday the rest was given. I finished writing it at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, ready for the printer. I kneeled before the Lord and He met me in a powerful way, a powerful witness that the message was from Him. I was to have it printed in the morning. From that time until 4 a.m., I was wonderfully taken up in the spirit of intercession. I seemed to feel the wrath of God against the people and to withstand it in prayer. He showed me He was terribly grieved at their obstinacy in the face of His judgment on sin. San Francisco was a terribly wicked city.
He showed me all hell was being moved to drown out His voice in the earthquake, if possible. The message He had given me was to counteract this influence. Men had been denying His presence in the earthquake. Now He would speak. It was a terrific message He had given me. I was to argue the question with no man, but simply give them the message. They would answer to Him. I felt all hell against me in this, and so it proved. I went to bed at 4 o’clock, arose at 7, and hurried with the message to the printer.
The question in almost every heart was, Did God do that? But instinct taught men on the spot that He had. Even the wicked were conscious of the fact. The tract was set up quickly. The same day it was on the press, and the next noon I had my first consignment of the tract. I was impressed I must hasten and get them to the people as quickly as possible. I was reminded that the ten days I was called by the Lord to prayer was up the very day I received the first of the tracts. I understood it all now, clearly.
I distributed the message speedily in the missions, churches, saloons, business houses, and in fact everywhere, both in Los Angeles and Pasadena. Besides I mailed thousands to workers in nearby towns for distribution.
Many raved at the message. A man followed me on the street raving like a maniac. He followed me into a business house, to do me violence. But the Lord protected. He then tore my tract up publicly at the curb, to show his hate. Many threw the message down in a rage, only to pick it up again and read it. It seemed God held them to it.
Everyone was curious for the tract, though it burned the most of them like fire. Sometimes they would get so excited on the street cars they would get off before they reached their street. My very presence seemed to convict many. The message struck consternation to thousands of souls. I have never written a tract that had so much influence.
Sunday, May 11, I had finished my Earthquake tract distribution. Then the burden suddenly left me. My work was done, Seventy-five thousand had been published and distributed in Los Angeles and Southern California, in less than three weeks time. At Oakland, Brother Manley, of his own volition, had printed and distributed 50,000 more, in the Bay Cities and ’round about, in about the same space of time. The following are some extracts from the Earthquake tract:
But what had God to do with earthquakes? When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9). Which removeth the mountains, when He overturneth them in His anger, which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble (Job 9:5-6). The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at His presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by Him (Nahum 1:5-6). And I will punish the world for their evil. Therefore I will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken our of her place, in the day of His fierce anger (Isaiah 13:11, 13).
Then the earth shook and trembled, the foundations also of the mountains moved, and were shaken because He was wroth. There went up a smoke in His wrath, and fire out of His mouth devoured. The Lord thundered from Heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice. Then the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid bare, by the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of His anger (Psalm 18).
Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and turneth it upside down (perverteth the face thereof), and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. The foundations of the earth do shake, the earth is utterly broken, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall be moved to and fro. The transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it. (Isaiah 24:1, 18, 20). Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of Hosts with earthquakes, and great noise, and the flame of a devouring fire. (Isaiah 29:6). Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, from before the terror of the Lord, when he arises to shake terribly the earth (Isaiah 2:19). And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air and there was a great earthquake (Revelation 16:17,18).
And will you claim there is no God in earthquakes? John Wesley has said, Of all the judgments which the righteous God inflicts on sinners here, the most dreadful and destructive is an earthquake. From Earthquake Tract, April 1906.
SIGNS of the LAST DAYS: NEW tower of BABEL
