Matthew 24:3 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? 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.
These verses of scripture describe some of the signs that point to the imminent return of Christ, which will bring the history of this earth as we know it to a close. It's worthy of note that Jesus begins His prophecies with a warning that no man be deceived by the sophistries, errors, miracles, secularism, and skepticism that will abound in the last days. Among the signs that are given is the constant disturbance and unrest between nations and peoples, as if it will become more and more difficult for us to agree and get along with each other. And added to this we are told of the frequent occurrence of natural disasters, famines and a plethora of new and emerging diseases, which as we are discovering are becoming more difficult to cure.
But another one of the signs which will precipitate the soon return of Christ is the general skepticism about his coming, which millions of people do not believe will occur, and others who do, have put it off way into the distant future, as if God will postpone the day of His coming indefinitely. This erroneous belief sets the stage for a general complacency and a decidedly secular vein of thought to spring up in the hearts of many, and take root in our consciousness, so that our focus may be turned away from eternal realities, to be centered on the mundane things of this world. Let's read:
2nd Peter 3:1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you" ... 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and" ... "the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.
In this passage the Bible warns us of scoffers in the last days who will deliberately cast aspersions on the fact that there was a deluge, in which the world was destroyed by a flood. Discoveries which point to this singular destruction of the Antediluvian world are studiously kept out of the classroom, lest the minds of the general public be aroused to the fact that God will one day judge this present world. The large fossils that are found from time to time are now used to discredit the historical fact of creation and a flood, because most scientists and archaeologists are bent on crediting their findings to an evolutionary process which took millions and billions of years to evolve.
And when this erroneous theory is believed and adopted, it directly attacks the sacred validity of Christ's second coming, for if this world gradually evolved over millions of years, then its reasonable to conclude that no intelligent being could suddenly dissolve it, as was the case with the Antediluvian world. As a result of the teachings of evolution, many are now planning for life in this present world way into the future, and the political and religious systems that are now being put in place are often described in secular and religious circles as being the new world order, in which mankind will set up its own kingdom, and implement its own way of doing things.
But the only new world order spoken about in the scriptures will occur when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and this fact we are warned not to attempt to evade or discredit through secular or evolutionary theories, for if we do we will lapse into a state of carnal security which will place us on the wrong side of history and eternity. The Lord has given specific information and instruction pointing unmistakeably to the time when life as we know it will be dissolved, and the eternal kingdom of God and His righteousness will be permanently ushered in. Let's read:
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
In our evaluation of the current disturbances taking place around the world and in our own backyard, we should be aware that the signs Christ spoke about, pointing to His second coming are being fulfilled in them, and every new major calamity and perplexity of nations are to be viewed and understood in the larger context of Christ's soon return, and thus should reaffirm our belief of the prophecies pointing to this very time. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which cautions us not become engulfed with the troubles that are approaching and occurring, but rather to look up, knowing that our redemption draws nigh. Let's read:
Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
May God add his blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!