There Is A Light At…
“And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Matthew 24:3
Jesus’ disciples were just as curious about the end times as we are. After Jesus finished His pronouncement of woes upon the self-righteous religious leaders, He came out of the temple, pointing out that one day there would not be one stone left upon another, indicating that the temple would not always stand in its glory as it appeared at that time. (The temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. about 40 years or so after Jesus foretold of its destruction.) This surprising statement naturally caused the disciples to enquire about the future.
Jesus began by telling them to be alert to deception, particularly to be aware of the people who will come on the scene and claim to be Christ. Many will fall for their lies. Most of those who deceive gain power by making promises that they can never fulfill. We are certainly already hearing a lot of that these days. The deceivers will be successful by appealing to the desires of the flesh and not to personal responsibility. I think that we can put a “check mark” by that one. The second warning that Jesus gave was a caution to not let fear and anxiety overtake us concerning the hostility among nations that will result in rumors of war and war itself. War is also the result of the desires of the flesh–power and wealth. And along with war comes the aftermath: famine and disease. Jesus said that this sign was the “beginning of sorrows”. Of course, wars and battles have been taking place across the globe for 100’s of years, but the wars and battles now seem to be increasing within the boundaries of nations with different groups of people threatening those who don’t agree with their politics and/or ideologies. Check that one, too.
Earthquakes and disasters of nature will also be a sign of the end times. The “climate change” worshippers have not stopped to consider that perhaps abnormal weather patterns may be a sign that God is setting the stage for His return. We have always had periods of natural disasters as long as I can remember, but it has only been recently that certain politicians, celebrities, and others have made the claim that man has caused the various weather phenomenon and only man can correct it. The world has always had many deceivers, fear and anxiety have spread across the world for generations, there have been wars and rumors of wars all throughout history, famine and disease have never been wiped out, and the weather has been crazy at times, thus we cannot gauge accurately the signs of the times by these indicators, at least not yet.
The one sign, though, that seems to be indicative that we are entering the last days is the statement that Jesus made about His followers and how they would be treated before He returned. Those of us who study God’s word know that Jesus’ followers were persecuted particularly after His crucifixion and resurrection, and the persecution of Christians has never abated throughout the last 20 centuries. However, I have never seen the amount of hatred that is spewed against believers as we are experiencing now. Jesus said that sin would be rampant, and because of that, the love of many would grow cold. So many things that are ungodly are not only allowed among society but are encouraged and promoted. The last thing that Jesus said would happen is that the “gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14). With our high tech worldwide communication, I doubt there are very many places where the gospel has not gone which tells me the end is likely coming sooner rather than later. A lot of folks don’t believe in Jesus and thus do not believe that He will return. I believe in Jesus, I believe that He will return one day, and that has made all the difference in my life.