As we stand at the beginning of a new millennium, many wonder, "What will the future bring?" Though there are many voices claiming to be able to give the answer to that queston, there is one authoritative source which truly can give an accurate picture of the future : The true and living God ...and he has spoken to mankind through one written source : The Bible. The Bible is confirmed as being divinely authored and powerfully authoritative by its historical accuracy, and especially by its many fulfilled predictive prophecies.

The Last Days

We are living in unparalleled and exciting times. Important scriptures are now being fulfilled during our lifetimes, and so, many people sense that we are living in the last days before the glorious return of Christ to earth. The term "last days" indicates the time-period or "age" which started 50 days after the resurrection of Christ, where the Holy Spirit comes (Acts 2:17) and indwells believers and baptizes them into Christ's body (1Cor.12:13), which is the Church. The age of the "last days" continues at the present time, and will carry right through the time of the "Great Tribulation." The Tribulation will be climaxed and ended by the glorious Second Coming of Christ personally from heaven to earth in power, glory and judgment (Mat.24) ...and that will be the "end of the age."

Signs of the Times

Now, in speaking about the nearness of the Second Coming, we should not be so unbiblical as to name a specific date for that event, as some have so foolishly presumed to do. For example, at the turn of the last millennium (1000 AD) many people exhibited wild frenzied behavior, ignoring the fact that the prophetic signs of Christ's return (listed below) were not present in their generation (and they are not all present for the year 2000 either). Such wild, speculative behavior is foolish, because Jesus said that "no one knows the day or the hour" of the end of the age, except God (Mat.24:36).

However, short of knowing the specific "day or hour" of Christ's return, scripture indicates that we will be able to recognize the time or "season" to a fairly close degree (perhaps six months), as the apostle Paul says, "you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, while people are saying 'Peace and safety', ...But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that the day should overtake you like a thief" (1Thes.5:2-4). The number one reason a Bible-believer is not in darkness, is because of the knowledge and guidance of God's Word of Truth, the Bible, which is "a light for my path" (Psa.119:105).

Jesus adds to this picture by rebuking the religious officials who refused to recognize who he was as Messiah, and he said to them, "You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times" (Mat.16:3). There were many prophecies fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus, which those officials should have recognized, but they were too blind to see. Similarly, there will be "signs of the times" which will occur right before the Second Coming of Christ ...and hopefully, you, dear reader, will not be too blind to see them. This article is for the purpose of helping you to recognize the main signs which will preceed the Second Coming of Christ ...and are even now beginning to happen.

The General Tone of the End

There are a number of prophecies which will indicate the nearing return of Christ, but they might seem somewhat less recognizable, because they will be the type of things that "have always been happening" down through the centuries -----although, in the end of the last days, these prophecies will be occurring with increasing frequency and strength, just as the birth-pains of childbirth do (Mat.24:8). The overall atmosphere of end-times history will include increasingly frequent "wars and rumors of wars," along with ethnic groups rising up against ethnic group. There will be severe famines and earthquakes in various places around the world (Mat.24:7), and there will be great plagues of disease ravaging various regions of the world (Lk.21:11), as well as great environmental disasters. Jesus also brings out that in the end there will be a great persecution and martyrdom of believers in Christ (v.9). Still, Jesus even indicates that such signs as these do not necessarily and clearly indicate that the end is very near (v.6,8), but such events will eventually get extremely severe near the end.

Such prophecies will be fulfilled as the end draws near, but of course, they are the sort of things that can be said to have reoccurred down through the millennia, and thus, they are (by themselves) relatively weak indicators ("signs") of the end. Therefore, we will now list a number of prophecies of a "higher caliber" :

Back to the List of Signs of the End (above)

2. A United Europe will be the Supreme Super-Power of the World

To give an overall prophetic framework for the course of human history, God showed the prophet Daniel ( in Dan. chapters 2, 7 and 8) that leading up to the coming of Messiah's kingdom, there would be four Gentile world-empires in the history that would be unopposed and supreme over all nations of mankind : The first empire would be Babylon, the second would be Medo-Persia, and the third one would be Greece. Babylon was in power at the time of Daniel's writing, but the fulfillment of Greece becoming the supreme world power was yet 200 years in the future from Daniel -----and it happened just as prophecied. Even thought the fourth empire was not specifically named, it was described as more powerful than all the earlier three, with iron legs and iron teeth that "crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left" (Dan. 7:7). This is an apt description of the only unopposed empire to rule over all other nations since the time of the Greeks, and obviously it was : The Roman empire.

-----However, moving down the time-line pictured in the envisioned statue of Daniel chapter 2, we see that the ancient "iron empire" of Rome revives at a later date in second form (iron stuck together with mud, forming the statue's feet), and it comes into power just before the kingdom of God and Christ is established on the earth. This is what Bible scholars call the revived or re-constituted "Roman Empire" which is prophesied to be the supreme super-power of the world once again just before the time of Christ's Second Coming. Therefore, in considering that Rome included all of Europe and the Mediterranean region, it is expected that the re-constituted Roman empire will be based in Europe ...which is where we look for the final phase of that last Gentile world-dominating-empire to occur.

Historical Events

So, what has been happening? At a meeting in Rome the European Common Market came into being in 1957. In fulfillment of the statue's feet having "ten toes" in Daniel 2, when the headquarters for the Common Market was erected in Brussels, Belgium, ten flagpoles were placed in front. In 1979 the European Parliament held its first elections. By 1981 the European Union's ten members were: Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany, England, Denmark, Ireland and Greece. In the intervening years, and as we look at the Europen Union (EU) today, it continues to grow in size and power, and if Europe continues to unite it will include 700 million people in the world's richest trading block. The EU presently deals in about 25% of the world's trade, as compared to 13% for the USA. In 1999 the EU began trading on world money markets with its new currency, the "European Currency Unit" (ECU), ...and if the oil-producing countries of the world adopt the ECU as the official purchasing currency, the US dollar will have lost world dominance. Although no individual European country has a super-power's world-class military, NATO now basically serves as the European military. And even though the USA is still seen as the world's super-power, we may not be far from needing to face the fact that the EU, "Rome Re-constituted," is the next world super-power -----and prophecy declares that in the years just before the Second Coming, a re-assembled European Empire will become the final Gentile's unmatched super-power over all the nations of the world.

Back to the List of Signs of the End (above)

3. A Jewish Temple will be Re-Built in Jerusalem ...With Animal Sacrifices Resumed

Background

In Israel's worship of the living God, they were directed to set up a tabernacle or tent (1445 BC), as a sactuary or "dwelling place" for God's glorious presence among them (Exodus chapters 25, 26, 29). The tabernacle served as a meeting place for God and his people, as well as a picture of entering into God's presence in heaven, which is accomplished through the work of Messiah (Christ).

After the reign of King David, his son King Solomon directed the building of the First Temple of God in Jerusalem (960 BC). The Temple replaced the tabernacle as the place where believers could cultivate their relationship to God through sacrifices (esp animals) and prayer. Eventually, because of Israel's turning away from God, in 586 BC, the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar overthrew Jerusalem, and the whole city including the Temple was looted and burned (2Kings25), and many thousands of Judeans were deported to slavery in Babylon, which lasted for 70 years, just as the prophet Jeremiah had predicted (Jer.25:11 & 29:10). When the 70 years of captivity in Babylon where completed, the Medo-Persian Empire overthrew Babylon (in 539 BC), and in about 457 BC, King Artaxerxes issued a decree that Israel could build another temple in Jerusalem, and in about 444 BC the Second Temple was completed, although it was not as splendid as the First.

During the reign of King Herod, a project was initiated in about 20 BC to remodel and improve the Second Temple and its courts, and even when Herod died in 4 BC the remodeling work wasn't fully completed until about 62 AD, -----and this was just eight years before the Second Temple was totally destroyed in 70 AD by the armies of Rome under General Titus ----fulfilling Jesus' prophecy of its destruction (Mat.24:2).

The Prophecies

In the same teaching session, after Jesus got done declaring the destruction of the Second Temple, he went into an explanation of the end times, in which he foretold that before the end of this Gentile age, an abominable desecration of "the Holy Place" would occur just as Daniel had foretold (Mat.24:15). Since the "Holy Place" is an inner section in a temple (but the Second Temple was to be destroyed) it is necessary that a Third Temple must be built just before the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus taught that there will be a "Great Tribulation" (Mat.24:21,29) at the time of this Third Temple, so, we might call it the "Tribulation Temple."

A study of Daniel chapter 9:24-27, teaches that 69 heptads would elapse up until the time of the Messiah (a heptad is a 7-year period, also called a "week"). Then, after a gap of time, the 70th heptad (or "week") would come, during which God would deal especially with the Jews. That 70th "week" of 7 years will begin with the Antichrist confirming (ratifying) a "covenant" (or treaty) evidently with Israel and probably other nations, -----however, in the middle of the heptad (7-year "week"), the Antichrist will reverse his generous attitude towards Israel, and he will put a stop to all sacrifices (Dan.9:27). Now, it is clear that, for the Jews, no sacrifices ever take place outside of the Temple in Jerusalem ...therefore, this confirms the existence of the Tribulation Temple in the 7 years before the end of the age and the coming of Messiah. That Temple will be built before the Second Coming.

We go to the writing of the apostle Paul for a final confirmation on this Tribulation Temple : In 2Thessalonians chapter 2, Paul teaches that "the man of lawlessness" will be revealed in the time of the end. This will be a man who insists that he is God, as he "opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God" (2Th.2:4). This will occur at the mid-point of Daniel's 70th "week" (heptad), and from this point, the world will be embroiled in somewhat less than 3 1/2 years of "Great Tribulation". Therefore, clearly, since the Antichrist carries out this abominable desecration in "the temple" (see 2Thess.2:8-9) then a Tribulation Temple must be constructed before the Second Coming can occur.

Current Historical Developments

At the present time, Israel has not built their Third Temple ...however, there is alot of talk about it, and many Traditionalist Jews hope to rebuild it in their life-times. One huge problem is, that the same rectangular tract of land (the temple-mount, called Moriah) has also been Islam's second holiest sight (after Mecca), with the Al Aqsa Mosque at the southern end of the temple-mount, and the Dome of the Rock in the middle ...probably in the exact place where the Jews would have to build the Third Temple. This is a very sensitive and possibly explosive situation, and thus, may well be why the Antichrist's confirmed "covenant" or "treaty" will be necessary, allowing Israel to build their Temple. Since Messiah is thought by the Jews to be the one who rebuilds the Temple, when Antichrist accomplishes such a feat, he will probably be proclaimed by the Jews to be the Messiah (after he first deceives them into thinking he is a Jew).

----But no matter how it finally works out, several Israeli religious organizations are now making preparations for the Temple's construction. A Time Magazine article (Oct.16,'89) explains that : Conferences of "Temple Research" have been held ; Two schools of the Talmud, located not far from the Temple Mount (& the "Wailing Wall"), are teaching approximately 200 priesthood students the elaborate details of Temple service ; Some groups are researching the family genealogical lines of priests who are the only people permitted to conduct animal sacrifices ; Research is being done (including excavations underneath the Temple Mount) to determine the exact location of the Holy of Holies in the Temple ; An organization called "The Temple Institute" has reconstructed almost all of the ritual implements for the Temple, including furniture, vessels and utensils ; In addition, things such as priestly vestments, trumpets, lots and lyres are being fashioned for the priesthood ; And since the priests and other sacred Temple items must be "purified" with the ashes of a totally red heifer before entering the Temple, the search is on, worldwide, for perfectly red heifers (which have been located, according to new reports). ----Almost everything is ready, except for the Temple itself ...but it will surely come at the right time. Every day, traditional Jews pray, "May it be Thy will that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our days." -----Amen. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Back to the List of Signs of the End (above)

4. Antichrist will Arise as the Virtual Dictator of the World

"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour" (1Jn.2:18). Although anyone who opposes Jesus Christ (and supplants Jesus' authority) is one of "many antichrists", there will come an individual person who is "the antichrist."

-----The title of "Antichrist" is found only five times in the New Testament : two times in the above verse, and three more times in John's letters (in 1Jn.1:22 ; 1Jn.4:3 ; & 2Jn.2:7). We then learn more about this individual when he's spoken of under other titles in both the Old and New Testaments. In Daniel 7:8 he's the "little horn"; in Daniel 9:26 he's the "ruler (prince) who is to come"; in Mat.24:15 he is "the abomination that causes desolation"; in 2Thes.2:3 Paul calls him the "man of sin (lawlessness)" and the "son of destruction"; and also, in Rev.13 he is the first "beast."

What will the Antichrist be like? Some have imagined that he will be a person actually fathered by the devil ...but there is no Scripture to verify such a notion. Rather, the Antichrist will be a human being, because Rev.13:18 says his number is that of "a man." Though he will be a man, the devil will give authority and spiritual power to him (Rev.13:1-4). He will be a "stern-faced" individual, with great and "boastful" speaking skills, with which he will blaspheme the one true God. Rev.13:3 seems to indicate that he will apparently rise miraculously from a mortal wound. At that time, the leader of a new world-wide religion will rally virtually all of mankind to worship the Antichrist. Christians, however, will refuse to worship him, and he will wage war against them and murder them by the millions. He will command such military power, that no human force on earth will imagine that they could go up against him. He will establish his political power-base in the part of the world which is the revived Roman Empire, and which we now call the "European Union." Under Antichrist's world dictatorship there will be a world economic system based on a number-system built around the number "666", and no one will be permitted to buy or sell anything unless they have the mark (his number or name) of Antichrist tatooed either on his right hand or his forehead.

Where are we at today? Of course, we do not yet know who the Antichrist is, but Europe is stepping into center-stage in the world, and NATO is becoming the military arm of this growing political colossus. As all the corporations of the world are merging and consolidating, we are witnessing and ever-tighter one-world economy. This economy is driven by international computer networks, and retail sales of goods functions with the use of UPC bar-codes which are scanned into computers. It is highly interesting, that the first, middle and last pairs of bars in the bar-code (which extend down longer than the rest of the UPC symbol) ...those three bars stand for the number : "666". Of course we don't know for sure, but as we near the end, it seems highly probable that the control of the masses will be connected with the tatooing of some such computer-coding on people, and the Antichrist will attempt to control all of mankind using this system. ----The technology is out there now.

Back to the List of Signs of the End (above)

5. Two "Witnesses," Mighty Prophets, will Preach Jesus Christ to the World

In Revelation chapter 11, we read about the two "witnesses." They will prophesy and preach Christ, and perform powerful miracles, during the last 3 1/2 years before the Second Coming. They will be supernaturally protected from harm (until the very end of their ministries), and their tremendous signs and wonders will dwarf those done by Antichrist and the False Prophet and their cohorts. The nature of their deeds causes Bible scholars to speculate that the two witnesses will be ministering in the spirit and power of Elijah and possibly Moses (we don't know their names for sure). They will be the mouthpiece of God as various judgments and plagues ravage the earth, as the apostle John puts it : "These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want" (Rev.11:6). At the end of the Great Tribulation, the Antichrist (empowered by the devil) will overpower them and kill them, but three and a half days later, they will rise up and stand on their feet, and be caught up into heaven a little while before the time of Christ's Second Coming, which occurs at "the Seventh Trumpet" (Rev.11:15). When the ministry of the two witnesses occurs, it will be an unmistakable indication that Christ's Second Coming is a little more than 3 1/2 years away.

Back to the List of Signs of the End (above)

6. The Gospel Message will be Preached to Every Ethnic Group in the World

Jesus prophetically predicted : "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Mat.24:14). In that verse, the word "nations," is a translation of the Greek word "ethnos", which is where we get our word "ethnic" groups of people. Therefore, the prophecy is clear, that when the day arrives that every last ethnic group on earth has had their chance to hear the message of the good news (or "gospel") about the work of Christ to die for the sins of people who truly trust in him, then, the end will come.

So, today, how close are we to this goal? -----Missions experts now indicate that with further technological advancements (such as the internet), and with dramatic missionary pushes from Christians in parts of the world such as Africa and Asia, this prophecy of presenting the gospel message to every people-group (or ethnic-group) on earth, is possibly about twelve years away. Helping in this effort, the network of Christian gospel radio stations around the world, have now covered about 98% of the population of the earth. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association states that Christians "have the manpower and ability through use of modern technology to reach the entire world ...in the next decade" (BGrahamEvAssn. Newsletter, Nov.,1999). ----In addition, world religious statistics now demonstrate that not only is Christianity the largest religion on earth, but the percentage of the world's population that is Christian continues to increase from year to year. In fact, the only religious body of major size that is growing today, is evangelical Christianity: 200 years ago only 0.7 percent of the world's evangelical Christians were found outside the West, but now 58 percent are found in non-Western countries. Evangelical Christianity is growing at 3.5 times the rate of the world's population growth (references: Click on this link to Global Statistics ...AND... Religion Today News, and "The Church Around the World", 1995, Tyndale House, Publ.) ---Amen! Come Quickly, Lord Jesus!

Back to the List of Signs of the End (above)

7. Armageddon: Armies From All Nations will Gather Against Israel and God

Although it is popularly thought that the Battle of Armageddon will be the greatest-ever World-War between the nations of the earth, this is an inaccurate image of it. Rather, as the Bible portrays it, Armageddon is a huge battle which will be instigated by the Antichrist along with all the armies of godless and deceived mankind, who will think that they have a chance to destroy Jerusalem, and then perhaps even defeat Christ himself at the Second Coming. Revelation 16:12-16 brings out that rulers from the whole world will gather their armies to Armageddon to do battle. Zechariah 14:1-3 tells of the same thing, adding that the nations will gather to fight against Jerusalem, and for a while they will be partially successful, capturing and ransacking the city, and taking half the population prisoner. But then the Lord himself "will go out and fight against those nations" (v.3).

Here's the way Revelation 19:11-16 describes Jesus Christ as he goes to war in the Battle of Armageddon : "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." According to Zechariah chapter 14, the Lord will decimate the armies of the world by causing their flesh to "rot while they are still standing on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths" (v.12) ...then, those forces will be struck with such a panic that they will attack each other. In Revelation 14:14-20, we see that the judgment and wrath of Christ against the ungodly will cause their blood to flow as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 300 kilometers.

Thus, the Battle of Armageddon occurs at the time of the Second Coming of Christ, where Jesus is the prime combatant, and he will be devastatingly victorious.

Back to the List of Signs of the End (above)

8. There Will Be Great Portents (Signs) in the Sun, Moon and Stars

Just a short while ----maybe a day, or even hours---- before the Second Coming of Christ, Jesus said the following cosmic sign will occur :

"Immediately after the stress (tribulation) of those days, 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' At that time the sign of the Son of Man [Jesus] will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect [true Christians] from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other" (Mat.24:29-31).

By the time those heavenly portents happen in the sun and moon and stars, there will be almost no time left, so, this would be the very last sign before the end.

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Of course, it makes no sense at all to think you could wait to give your life to Christ because you would have these signs to warn you of what is coming ----rather, you should surrender your life to Jesus today, because none of us knows for sure that we will be alive one week from now. As the Scripture says, "now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2Cor.6:2).

Back to the List of Signs of the End (above)