"When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times." (Matthew 16:2-3)
What does the Bible have to say about signs from God? In this passage the Jewish religious leaders had asked Jesus for some kind of proof of his identity, but he went on to say that no sign would be given to them "except the sign of Jonah" (Matthew 16:4, referring to his impending days in the tomb as similar to Jonah's days in the belly of the big fish). The gospel of John is filled with references to Jesus' miracles as signs of his identity. There's the passage about the fleece and the dew from Judges 6, where Gideon hears from God but still asks for a sign to confirm that he heard him right.
What about signs that the end is coming? Well, the Bible talks about those, too. This fuels a great deal of speculation in certain circles, where people try to say that such-and-such an event corresponds with some sign of the end predicted in the Bible. Is this conclusion warranted? Let's take a look at some of the signs and find out...
"Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. 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." (Matthew 24:5-14)
"There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. ... Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand." (Daniel 12:1, 10)
"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)
"Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved." (Romans 11:25-26)
"Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-10)
"I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, 'Who is like the beast? Who can make war against it?' The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to make war against God's people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. ... It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name." (Revelation 13:1-8, 16-17)
So where does that leave us? Let's make a list of signs we can expect. First, some negative signs:
--false Christs, false prophets, and false teachings
--an oppressive, blasphemous religious/military/economic leader
--counterfeit miracles and false worship
--wars, earthquakes, and famines
--persecution of Christians, including martyrdom
--apostasy (Christians leaving the faith)
All that being said, there are certainly some positive signs mentioned:
--the global spread of the gospel
--the salvation of many Jews
--many Christians remaining strong in the faith in spite of persecution
What do you think? Do you see these things happening in our world today? I do.
The thing is... they've been happening for two thousand years. Not one thing on this list wasn't taking place in some shape or form in the first century of the church. The signs we should expect to precede the end of the world are an intensification of things that have already been seen throughout church history. We are not looking for anything categorically different. Evil is on the rise, but so is good! This is just what the Bible would lead us to think.
I'm not making this up; it's in the biblical passages themselves. Notice, for example, how Paul shifts from talking about the future to talking about the present in 1 Timothy 4:1-3: "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (Sounds like the future.) "Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods." (Sounds like the present.)
In the same vein, consider 1 John 2:18: "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." (emphasis added)
So, what should we see in the biblical teaching about the signs of the end, and what should we see as we look at the world around us? We should recognize that evil is on the rise. Satan is still active in many awful ways at this time on earth. There are great injustices, religious persecution, false teachings, violence, oppressive dictatorships, and many who reject Christ. We are called to resist this evil and persist in following the true Christ in the face of all obstacles that oppose goodness. God is also moving! The gospel has spread to every political nation-state on the planet. Jewish people continue to embrace Jesus as the true Messiah. Many persecuted believers are persevering in the faith. And alongside great injustices, there have been many strides for justice, human rights, and freedom of conscience. We should not be surprised by the increase of evil, we should praise God for the increase of good, and we should seek to be a part of the latter rather than the former.
Next post: the millennium.
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