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Where Is Our World Headed?
A look at Bible Prophecy

(PART 2)

Click Here For Part 1

In Part 1 of this series, we examined some of the indications given to us in the Bible assuring us that we are living in the time of the end, the time just before the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this planet. But does the Bible provide us with any other signs that prove that we are indeed living in the very last days?

Let's see what Jesus Himself had to say about this subject.  In Matthew 24, the Lord addresses this very issue.  In Verse 3, it says that His disciples approached Christ and asked Him, "What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?"  This is the exact same thing we are wondering about today!

The End of the World?

So how did Jesus answer? "Take heed that no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying, 'I am Christ' and shall deceive many."  Notice that the first thing that came out of the Lord's mouth was a warning: "Be careful because there is going to be a great deal of deception when it comes to this issue."  

Today, there is a huge amount of misconception and false teaching concerning how and when Jesus will return to this earth. In fact, this is one of the greatest areas of misunderstanding in the Christian world. The devil is laboring frantically to mislead and confuse even the most sincere Christians. This is why we need to study the Bible in order to see exactly what God has to say.

Wars and Rumors of Wars

What else did Jesus say? Let's keep reading in Verse 6 "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."  Now does this sound familiar? Do we hear about wars and rumors of wars today?

All we have to do is flip on the television or the radio and we can hear a lot more than rumors of war; we can get the whole scoop!  Think back just over the past 15 or 20 years and see if you can find a time when there wasn't some kind of war or conflict going on somewhere around the globe. It's pretty much impossible. We live in a world today in which we've become very well acquainted with war and strife.  

We've become so familiar with these occurrences that they don't even phase us anymore. It just seems like life as usual. As long as nobody is bombing or invading our homeland then why should we really care? But when terrorism strikes home, things tend to change a little bit.

Just think how much war has increased in the last 150 years! We've had wars on a global scale, something that was previously unheard of and basically impossible. However, today is a different story: a massive world war could easily become a reality. The terrorism of September 11th 2001 is a perfect example of just how fast things can change.

For years, the United Nations has vainly attempted to secure worldwide peace. Back when the year 2000 was approaching, Bill Clinton, former U.S. president, said that he looked forward to entering "the millennium of peace." But the Bible says that "When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them" 1 Thessalonians 5:3

Signs, Signs, Everywhere are Signs!

Jesus went on to say in Matthew 24 Verse 7, "For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."  Christ tells us that when we can see these things taking place, then we will know that we are living in the beginning of the end of time. But haven't there always been earthquakes, plagues, and all these other calamities? Yes, there has, but not like today.  

Just as war has skyrocketed in this past century, so have all these other signs that our Lord mentioned here. Do you realize that there have been more earthquakes in the past 100 years than in all the previous 1000 years combined? Is this just some kind of coincidence. Not quite.  

What about famine?  Jesus said that the world would be exposed to an epidemic of widespread famine down in the last days. Are you aware of the fact that 1/3 of the world's population are malnourished and thousands are dying everyday from starvation?  It's true: 1/3 of all people are going hungry!  Do you think that maybe this was what Jesus was talking about?  

Crime And Evil Goes Up Before Jesus Comes Down!

If we keep reading in Verse 12, Jesus continues to describe the conditions of the earth just prior to His return: "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold."  Christ assures us that iniquity (i.e. crime and violence) will greatly increase in the end of time.  Let's compare this with Paul's description of the last days given to us in 2 Timothy 3:13, "Evil men and seducers will grow worse and worse."  Both of these passages make it clear that wicked deeds will become more and more common as time comes to a close.  It's sad but true that the fulfillment of this sign is all too obvious!

Let's take a closer look at how Paul described the end times in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."  We can pretty much go right down this list and check off the things we see around us. It's amazing how accurately Paul was able to describe what the world would be like 2000 years down the road!  This portion of the Bible sounds as if it were taken straight from the headlines of the daily newspaper.

The Bible predicted that the morals of society would deteriorate and that impurity would rise higher than ever before. Pornography and illicit sexual activity are so widespread today that they almost seem like a part of our society. Divorce rates are higher than ever, with one out of every two marriages ending in divorce. That's  50% of all marriages!  And don't forget about homosexuality and same-sex marriages. This was unheard of only one century ago, but things have changed.