Read
this article as a perspective on how Jesus’ prophecies in Matthew chapter 24 “might
apply”
to
our world today.
A murder in Oklahoma. Several years
ago a 16-year-old boy and a companion entered a convenience store in Oklahoma
City and opened fire on the store clerk.
The 16-year old instigator of this
rampage described the murder in these words: “I squeezed the trigger and heard him scream. I
hit him... I squeezed the trigger again, and the bullet entered through his heart and through his
lungs. Blood splattered all over the opposite wall and he hit the ground. Then
we walked out. We didn’t take any money. We didn’t take any merchandise. We just took the life of an innocent
man... for Satan.” Investigators said later that the 16-year old wanted “to see
what it felt like” to kill somebody.
Did
that story shock you? Probably not. It happens all the time. If you watch daily news programs, you’re
well past being shocked by the evil that men and women are capable of doing to
one another. When did evil become so common that we are no longer shocked by
it?
Long
ago, Jesus sat on a hillside with His disciples and predicted such a time as
this. Later, the disciples asked Jesus privately, “What will be the sign of
your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).
In
response, Jesus outlined the signs that would precede His second coming. Here
is something amazing. When we compare Jesus’ prediction in Matthew 24 with the predictions
in the book of Revelation, they provide an incredibly accurate picture of our
day. Was Jesus speaking about events of our time—signs in nature, in society, and
in knowledge?
Today,
it seems like these signs are being played out in the headlines splashed across
our daily newspapers, on the evening news... everywhere we turn we see similar tragic
events. If you’re a serious student of the Bible and think about the second
coming of Christ... you can’t help but wonder if what Jesus said in the Olivet
Discourse is being fulfilled on the world stage in this generation.
Let’s
examine each of these signs––nature, society and knowledge––individually.
Signs in the World of Nature
Jesus
turns His attention to the natural world: “There will be famines, pestilences,
and earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7).
Do
we see famines today? North Korea is experiencing a famine of extraordinary
proportions. Look to Sub-Saharan Africa. The UN Food and Agriculture
Organization reports nearly 10 million people are in need of emergency food.
Without it... they will perish.
Experts
estimate that for more than a billion people in the world today, about a sixth
of the world’s population, chronic hunger is an ever-present part of daily
life. Ten thousand people a day, or more than 3.5 million people per year, die
of starvation.
“There
will be famines and pestilences,” Jesus said. “Pestilences” are diseases
affecting crops, livestock or human beings and can be caused by nature or by
human carelessness.
The
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that an estimated 50,000
to 120,000 premature deaths are associated with exposure to air pollutants in the
United States. Most of the third-world is ten times worse than the U.S.
Disease-causing bacteria are developing resistance to antibiotics, and new
diseases are appearing for which science has not found a cure.
Jesus
said there would be earthquakes in the last days. Today we have 4000
seismograph stations in the world that record 12,000 to 14,000 earthquakes per
year—that’s approximately 35 earthquakes per day. The “big one” is on its way,
scientists tell us, and all these are preliminary to
the dramatic earth-shaking events that will foreshadow the second coming of our
Lord.
Signs in the World of Social Life
No
signs are more obvious or inescapable than those in the social world.
Jesus
plainly predicted: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of
the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the
ark” (Matthew 24:37, 38).
And
what was life like in Noah’s day? Moral values were discarded for pleasures,
marriage vows were broken, divorce was common, the social and moral fabric of
society in Noah’s day disintegrated. Standards that were once the norm, God’s
standards, were no longer acceptable.
What
about the moral fabric of society in the 21st century? Living together outside
of marriage is commonplace, widely accepted and even encouraged. Now more than
30 per cent of all births in America are to unmarried women. The marriage rate
has fallen nearly 30 per cent since 1970, and the divorce rate has increased
about 40 per cent. Truth is considered relative; morality is an individual preference;
right and wrong are no longer absolutes. The resulting violence is sweeping our
nation. Frankly speaking... if Jesus does not come soon, we will destroy our
culture through immorality and violence.
Signs in the World of Knowledge
Every
time you boot up your computer, you fulfill a prophecy in Daniel: “But you,
Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many
shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4). This verse
suggests that both knowledge about the prophecies
of Daniel and knowledge in general would increase.
Knowledge
has never before increased as fast as it does today. It is estimated that 80
per cent of all the scientists who have ever lived are alive today. The
scientific material they produce every 24 hours would take one person a lifetime
to read.
And
not only is knowledge increasing exponentially, the accessibility of that
knowledge is phenomenal. If you wanted to know something years ago, you had to
go to a public library and invest hours in research. Today, knowledge is
accessible at the click of a mouse.
Daniel’s
prophecy that “knowledge will increase” is speaking especially of the knowledge
of God’s Word, the truth about Jesus, the gospel message of salvation and His
expected return. The Bible predicts a powerful worldwide spiritual revival
before the coming of Jesus: “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all
the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come”
(Matthew 24:14).
Before
the coming of Jesus, unprecedented doors of opportunity for the proclamation of
the gospel will open around the world. Is Matthew 24:14 being fulfilled now... around
the globe?
From
Russia, Africa, India, China the countries of the Middle East to the remote
islands of the Pacific, millions are turning to God’s Word, committing their
lives to Christ and His Kingdom. God is on the move everywhere in the world.
This preaching of the gospel on such a scale with such receptiveness has never
happened before. If any person on earth “has an ear and desire to hear”, they can
hear the gospel. Is this generation witnessing the prophetic signs of Jesus’
eminent return?
Is
there anything in your life that would keep you from being ready for His
return, should it happen soon? Jesus longs to save you. He longs to have you
live together with Him forever.
There
is too much evidence to simply say this generation is no different than any
other generation since Pentecost and the founding of the Church. This is no
ordinary time. God’s final call is going out all over this planet. Millions around the world are responding. Now
is the time to prepare for His soon return.
The Second Coming of Christ WILL
Happen
The
second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the Church, the grand climax of
the gospel. The Savior’s coming will be literal, personal, visible, and
worldwide. The way of this sin-filled world is not going to continue as it
is... consuming generations of people who are born and then die, saved or
unsaved. Jesus was telling us the end would one day arrive. He would return. He
admonished believers just prior to his death, in the verses of Matthew chapter
24... to be on the watch and prepared for His return.
It
is foolishness to believe that “this generation” could not possibly be the
generation that will experience the second coming of the Lord. The evidence is
all around us, all around the planet... so why not this generation?
It
is reasonable and logical in light of the evidence, that we may well be living
witnesses to the complete fulfillment of the end-time prophecies. Consider the
evidence. Do a bit of personal soul searching. Why do so many believers reject
the possibility that now, this time in human history, may indeed be the “time
of the end?”
Believers
in the first century church thought Christ’s coming was going to happen in
their lifetime. They were focused on being spiritually ready for His return.
They heard Jesus loud and clear... be watchful, aware of the world around you,
love one another, love God with your whole heart, be obedient, serve others and
preach the gospel and my eminent return. Jesus is saying the same words to all
Christians today.
Today,
like the Christians of the first century. we don’t know the day or the hour of
His coming. Therefore, we must be ready at all times. R4L
