Is Covid-19 a sign of the times? Maybe. What about ISIS? The fact that they kill and persecute Christians certainly raise alarms. But to an extent, these things have happened throughout history. How do we know if we are living in the last days? This article answers those questions.
Main Points
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- Don’t be too quick to fit current events into Bible prophecy.
- There have always been wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes – the end is not yet.
- The last days is the period from Christ’s 1st coming to his 2nd coming.
- There will be a growing spirit of ungodliness – more of what we are witnessing now.
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More subtle signs
There are more subtle signs that may point to the end of time. Have you ever noticed how liberal the world has become? There was a time when people respected religious leaders. But this new generation of young people (the so called millennials) have completely deviated from the values of the previous generations. They are ungodly, sacriligious, and not just anti-religion, but specifically antichristian.
They are particularly hostile to anyone who disapproves of the LGBT lifestyle. And it is not just millennials, it is big business as well. There have been reports that Facebook censors ads that have conservative content. And recently Paypal has boycotted the entire state of North Carolina because of the transgender bathroom law. The US Federal Government has also threatened to withhold funding to North Carolina unless they amend that law to facilitate transgender people.
Revelation 13:17 says that “no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark”.
I am NOT saying that LGBT, ISIS, Facebook or Paypal are the mark of the beast. But what I am saying is that Rev 13:17 requires the cooperation of big internet businesses such as Facebook, YouTube, Google, PayPal toward a liberal agenda. So the fact that all of these internet giants are united against conservatives, it makes you wonder.
Nevertheless, we need to be careful about trying to fit current events into the pages of Bible prophesy.
Danger of Fitting Current Events into Bible Prophesy
Many preachers today are guilty of forcing current events into the pages of Bible prophesy. Every time there is a war, a threat of war, an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, or even an eclipse of the sun, a comet or meteor showers, they cry “the sky is falling” and “the end of the world is at hand”. Many of them have embarrassed themselves by making wrong predictions, the most embarrassing of all being Y2K.
John Hagee is particularly notorious in this regard. I like him. I love hearing him preach about Israel and family values. But when it comes to Bible prophesy, I take what he says with a pinch of salt. Most learned theologians will tell you that John Hagee does not really understand much about Bible prophesy. And those four full moons that occurred in 2014/15 are not “blood moons”. I am a scientist, and it is embarrassing when preachers say stupid things like that. We have to be careful not to turn Bible prophesy into a Christian Nostradamus.
Every generation thought they were the last
Without really studying the scriptures many Christians just assume the words “last days” point to the 21st century. It is common to hear people remark “I really can’t see any generation after this one.” In fact throughout the centuries, every generation has believed that it was the last.
Maximilla, who died in 179 AD, said
“After me there is no prophesy, but only the end of the world.”Gregory the Great wrote to John of Constantinople,
“Of a truth it was proclaimed of old through the Apostle John, Little children, it is the last hour (1 John 2:18), according as the Truth foretold. And now pestilences and sword rage through the world, nation rise against nation, the globe of the earth is shaken, the gaping earth with its inhabitants is dissolved. For all that was foretold is come to pass.”
That was in the 4th century. Let us examine what the Bible has to say concerning the last days and what we are to expect.
When exactly are the “Last Days”?
The Bible defines the last days as the entire period from Pentecost to the second coming of Christ.
*This Chart is based on a Pre-tribulation Rapture
Peter
Read what Peter said on the Day of Pentecost (40 days after Jesus ascended into heaven):
Acts 2:16-20
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Peter linked the events which transpired on the Day of Pentecost to the last days prophesy of Joel 2:28-32. This event was the beginning of the “last days”.
Amazingly some people use this passage as the basis for believing in a great end time revival where God would pour out His Spirit. That promise was fulfilled in 32 AD and continues to be fulfilled even now. That outpouring is not future any more than it is past and present.
John
Read what John had to say in 80-90 AD:
1 John 2:18
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
John believed he was living in the last days because many antichrists had arisen. He also alluded to a future Antichrist. We are definitely in the last days.
Paul
What about the apostle Paul?
1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;2 Timothy 3:1
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
In 64-68 AD, Paul warned Timothy of troubles to come during the last days. Do you think Paul was telling Timothy, “Hey Timothy, things will get really bad in the year 2016. Watch out.“? Timothy was never going to live that long. Paul was admonishing Timothy of events to happen in his lifetime, the “last days”.
See also 1 Cor. 10:11; Heb. 1:1,2; 9:26; James 5:3; 1 Pet 1:20 for other references where the “last days” is identified with the time of Jesus and the apostles. Hover over the scripture references to read them.
But the End is Not Yet
Matthew 24:4-8
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
In Matt. 24:4-8, Jesus listed false christs, wars, famines, and earthquakes as the beginning of birth pains. “But the end is not yet”. There have always been wars, natural disasters and false christs. These are nothing new at all. But at no time in NT history has a war or natural disaster occurred at a worldwide level. Even WWI and WWII involved a handful of nations, but were called “world wars” because they could not think of a better name.
General peace and safety
1 Thessalonians 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.Revelation 6:4
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
The Bible predicts no worldwide catastrophe before the tribulation. 1 Thess. 5:3 states that the Day of the Lord would come at a time when men would be saying “Peace and safety”. In Rev. 6:4, the future antichrist is mandated to take peace from the earth. How could he take from the earth what does not already exist?
The rapture will take place at a time when the world is generally in peace and prosperity. In other words, no major worldwide crisis is expected before then. No financial crash, no world war, no life destroying meteorite, no alien invasion, nothing. There will be incidents at a local level, but not global.
What Should We Expect?
The Bible spells out in much detail what would occur in the Tribulation (Revelation 4 – 19) – essentially all hell will break loose. But it only speaks generally concerning the present era. The mystery of iniquity is already at work (2 Thess. 2:7), meaning that things may get worse as time progresses, but it is only in the Tribulation would God really pour out His judgment on the whole world. There is no evidence that September 11 or Hurricane Katrina were the result of God’s anger against America. It is only in the Tribulation that God will pour out his wrath on an ungodly world. It is only then that any worldwide catastrophe is expected. Between now and then, the Bible strongly implies that there would be a period of relative peace and prosperity. This is indeed what will deceive men into thinking they do not need God.
Continual moral decay
Christians can expect things to gradually progress in that direction. The world will continue to become antichristian. I am just waiting to see exactly how ISIS, LGBT, and other liberals are going to unite against Christians. Christians can expect hostility and persecution. Some will lose their jobs.
As I am typing this, just yesterday Clint Julien, a Christian preacher in Trinidad was killed while preaching the gospel allegedly by some men dressed in Moslem attire. You can expect more of that in the future. And don’t think America is immune. Churches can expect to lose funding and tax free exemptions if they don’t embrace LGBT. TBN preachers are going to come out one by one in acceptance of LGBT. God did not reveal this to me. I am simply connecting the dots.
I will give genuine Christians the same advice the apostles gave us. Stand. Preach the gospel. You have heard of the patience of Job. God is not slack concerning his promises. And whoever endures to the end will be saved. Don’t be surprised by anything that is happening around you. You can’t predict current events based on the Bible, and you can’t fit current events into the pages of Bible prophesy. However, current events assure us that what the Bible says about the last days is dead on target.
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