Are We Living in the Last Days?
Chuck Sligh
February 15, 2015
Signs of the last days given in Scripture:
I. RIDICULE OF THE LORD’S SECOND COMING – 2 Peter 3:3-4 – “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.”
People joke about the second coming and the rapture today. Comedians have routines making fun of it.
Illus. – Radio broadcast on one of the BBC stations by a panel of Church of England theologians who scoffed at those who expect an imminent return of Christ. One of them said, “These people have been waiting for 2000 years now. And each generation keeps looking for Jesus to return in their generation.” Sneeringly, he said, “But Jesus always lets them down. He never comes.” What he didn’t realize was that his very scoffing may have been a fulfillment of this very prophecy.
II. THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF ISRAEL AND THE RETURN OF JEWS TO ISRAEL FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
Note these scriptures:
Ezekiel 20:33-34 – “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.”
Ezekiel 36:24 – “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”
Isaiah 11:11-12 – “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
These are perhaps some of the most amazing prophecies in the Bible and is actually prophesied several other places in the Old Testament. Until the early 1900s, the re-establishment of Israel seemed to be absolutely preposterous. In 1900 Hebrew was a dead language, spoken by no one in the world, like Latin today. Jews were scattered all over the world, and virtually only a handful were in the Holy Land. All of Palestine was under the complete control of Muslim Palestinian Arabs.
However, in 1948 the United Nations established a homeland for the Jews and since that time millions of Jews from every corner of the earth have returned to live there. There are many prophecies about the blossoming of Israel when the Jews returned that we could look at too, but we will not look at today. And by the way, guess what the spoken language in Israel today?—Hebrew.
III. JESUS’S PREDICTIONS IN MATTHEW 24 OF THE EVENTS DURING THE TRIBULATION AND BEFORE THE GLORIOUS APPEARING.
Note 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?”
Bible scholars say that Matthew 25 predicts events during the Tribulation itself, but we would expect that some of the conditions described in the Tribulation would probably develop over time and thus would begin to be evident in the period leading up to the Tribulation.
Let’s look at four of the signs of the Tribulation and see if there are similarities in our day:
1) Matthew 24:4-5 – “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.”
Note also verse 11 – “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”
Today is the greatest period of worldwide religious deception in the history of the world and will only be exceeded by the deception during the Tribulation itself. We see many self-styled “Christs” sowing confusion in our world today. There are more cults and false religions today than ever before
2) Matthew 24:6 – “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.”
War will be a terrible feature of the Tribulation period. But even today, prior to the Tribulation, the daily headlines are about wars and rumors of wars all over the world.
3) Matthew 24:7 – “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”
Again, remember that these are things that will happen during the Tribulation itself. But they are things that people at one time thought were all but vanquished. At the turn of the 20th century it was widely thought that war would become a thing of the past.
Two world wars and hundreds of smaller wars of nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom just in the 1900s extinguished that idea permanently. We live in the day of the greatest period of food production in history, yet scientists tell us that developed countries actually only have about one year’s supply of food. Even without worldwide catastrophes that are prophesied for the Tribulation period, the world is still bedeviled by famines in various parts of the world.
How much more terrible it will be in the Tribulation itself!
The reference to earthquakes in divers (several, many, various) places is interesting. A study of Revelations shows that there will be at least two world-wide earthquakes during the Tribulation. For this to occur on such a massive scale, you would expect an upswing in the number and intensity of earthquakes. Scientists tell us that this is exactly what we are seeing in the world today.
Matthew 24:12 – “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
Remember again that Jesus is here referring to conditions during the Tribulation. However, we see that this prophecy is already evident today. Many strong denominations in years gone by once preached the Gospel fearlessly. These are almost all liberal today, denying the inspiration of Scriptures, the deity of Christ and the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. The love that any believers who might be left in these cold, deceived churches has long ago waxed cold and lifeless.
Even many Bible-believing churches are filled with carnal, world-loving Christians whose intense passion for the Lord has cooled. As bad as it is not, imagine the spiritual iciness that will pervade the Tribulation once God’s people are taken out in the Rapture and before the revival of the 144,000 witnesses!
IV. A WORLDWIDE BREAK-DOWN IN MORALITY – 2 Timothy 3:1-5 – “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
V. AN EXPONENTIAL INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE – Daniel 12:4 – “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
What epitomizes modern day life better than “many shall run to and fro”? (EXPAND)
Think of how fast technology changes today.
• How many of us would have thought you would have a computer in your home 30 years ago?
• How many of us thought a CD was some kind of money market investment 30 years ago instead of something you put in a player to play music with?
• When was the last time you met someone who actually used a record-player or an 8-track player?
• How many of us used to think it was amazing to have thirteen whole channels on your TV?
• Do you know anyone who still uses a BETA-max video player?
• How many of us were using mobile phones just five years ago.
• How many of us even knew what the Internet was 30 years ago, much less used it?
I could go on and one, but you get the point!
VI. WORLDWIDE TALK OF PEACE – 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 – “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”
“Peace, peace, peace”—this is the mantra of our day. The world is looking for someone who can bring peace from the disordered chaos of this world.
Especially are they looking for someone to bring peace to the powder keg of the world—the Middle East. Someday a man will arrive on the scene who will seem to bring peace to that war-torn area of the world by arranging a seven-year agreement with Israel, supposedly bringing peace to the Middle Easr. But it will only be the calm before the storm. This single act is what the Bible tells us will initiate the seven-year Tribulation.
VII. AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY FOR A WORLD DICTATOR TO CONTROL THE WORLD – Note two verses in Revelation 13:
Revelation 13:4 – “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”
Here we see that the Antichrist will be so powerful militarily that potential opponents ask, “Who is able to make war with him.” In actuality, such massive power was not even available in Hitler’s day. But it is now!
Revelation 13:7 – “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
Power over ALL kindred, languages and nations was inconceivable in years gone by. But today computers provide instant, world-wide communication. Satellites can watch our every move. The tools for a "Big Brother" government are in place. No other generation could say that.
No other generation could say that every nation in the world can be linked together within seconds. All of the pieces are in place.
VIII. AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY TO CONTROL ALL BANKING AND COMMERCE – Revelation 13:16-17 – “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
We’ll talk more about this in weeks to come in our study of Revelation. But suffice it to say that no one seriously doubts that the technology is not available for someone to control all banking and commerce…from ATMs, to internationally-linked banking systems, to micro-chips to biochips. We are now using implanted chips in animals to help find those who are missing.
Several nations such as the Netherlands already have a national identification card linked to a national database.
Serious governmental proposals have been made in several countries, including the United States, to implement national ID cards. Advocates of the U.S. proposal suggest a biochip be a part of the actual card to be used to maintain personal, medical and finanical records of every person in the U.S. Some even go so far as to suggest that to prevent a lost or stolen card, the biochip should be implanted in the hand for convenience.
In fact, there was a television commercial in Colorado a few years ago sponsored by MasterCard showing a woman in a white room with a mark on her finger. In this commercial, MasterCard advocated an under the skin biochip to store all personal and financial records. I have several magazine articles in computer magazines suggesting the advisability of just such a biochip.
This is not stuff of the future anymore. This is technology available NOW!
CONCLUSION
Many generations have seen SOME of these prophecies seemingly present. Never before this generation have we seen ALL of them present. Does that mean we’re in the last days? You judge for yourself from the data give.
What should people do when they see these things taking place? – Matthew 24:42-44 – “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
