(watch part one of this series by clicking play on the video below)
Everyone’s curious about the end times and what the Bible says about that. They want to know how it will all end, and the Bible answers that question.
History moves and progresses. When you read the Old Testament, you see the moving of God into the New Testament, even up to our day. Isaiah 46:10 says, “From the beginning, I told you what would happen in the end. A long time ago, I told you things that have not yet happened. When I plan something, it happens. What I want to do, I will do.”
God is infinitely involved in history. He plans things. He does things. He acts. He moves. History is not about just coming to some never, neverland. That’s not how it ends. Specific actions, signs, and indicators unfold in history that indicate the end is coming.
In fact, we see that the disciples of Jesus were very curious about how the world would end. They asked Jesus several times about apocalyptic events and the future. Matthew 24:3 says, “Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him in private and asked, ‘When will this happen (referencing the demolishing of the temple)? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?’ ”
There are two big things when studying the end times that we need to wrap our minds around.
One: What are the signs, the indicators of the second coming of Christ? (this will be the topic of the next blog post)
Two: What are the signs and indicators of the world in terms of the last days?
This is a very complex topic, with a lot of moving parts. You can study the issue of the last days, the second return of Christ for the entirety of your life. You can study it every single day for hours and hours and hours, and still, after decades, have a lot of questions.
Whenever I come across complex topics and want to delve into them, I ask myself simple questions.
So my first simple question is this: What should I know?
The Bible gives us a lot of information and specific information about what we should know. The Bible becomes clear on this because God wants us to have a level of confidence that He has everything under control.
Luke 21:8-10, “Jesus said, ‘Be careful, so you’re not fooled. Many people will come in My name, saying, “I am the One” and, “The time has come!” But don’t follow them. When you hear about wars and riots, don’t be afraid, because these things must happen first, but the end will come later.’ Then He said to them, ‘Nations will fight against other nations, and kingdoms against other kingdoms.’ ”
Jesus is forewarning us of what we should know. He says don’t be fooled by speculations, teachings, philosophies, or actions of misguided leaders who try to tell us they have a handle on how the future will be and that they are the Messiah. Jesus tells us that we should know that there are going to be wars between nations in the last days. There will be riots, and Jesus tells us not to be afraid when we see these things. These atrocities are last days’ activities.
Jesus says that these are indicators of what we should know regarding the last days. Jesus said in Luke 21:1, “In various places there will be great earthquakes, sicknesses, and a lack of food. Fearful events and great signs will come from heaven.” Jesus tells us when you see this preponderance of earthquakes, sickness, and mass starvation globally, these are indicators that we’re indeed living in the last days.
In 2020, eight earthquakes globally were of magnitude 7 or above on the Richter scale. There were 115 quakes between 6 and 7. There were 690 earthquakes between 5 and 6 on the Richter scale. There were 12,720 earthquakes between 4 and 5 on the Richter scale. The point is, we’re in the last days.
Another sign of the last days is a lack of food, and climate change has had a devastating effect on food shortage.
The food shortages and the unrest that’s taking place among nations have caused a global migration of people trying to find someplace else to live, where they can get food or think they can have peace. In fact, as of November 11, 2021, the United Nations refugee agency reported that 84 million people started migrating from where they’ve been living to go and live somewhere else. Why? Because they’re going through starvation, lack of food, and lack of peace.
I don’t want you to be fear-driven. I just want you to know that Jesus says this is, in fact, the last days in which we’re living in.
The next question I ask myself is: What should I believe?
When studying the last days, what should I believe? What should I believe theologically? What should I believe philosophically? What should I believe when I see all these global catastrophes? Should I just run amuck, throw off all kinds of caution and live in a wild, undisciplined way? What should I believe?
Peter says in 2 Peter 3:3-4, “It is most important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live doing the evil things they want to do. They will say, ‘Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died, but the world continues the way it has been since it was made.’ ”
Peter stressed the importance of what we should believe in, in the last days. He says when you’re living for Jesus, people are going to laugh at you, and they’re going to laugh at the paradox of you being calm, cool, and collected when all this catastrophe is going on, and you are having a sense of hope when they have no hope.
And so Peter says, when this happens, don’t be alarmed.
Peter is helping us understand that we should not allow ourselves to believe all kinds of weird, paradoxical, unbiblical, and untheological views. There’s an anchor that comes into your soul when you trust in the validity, authority, and accuracy of the word of God. Jesus went on to say in Matthew 24:9-13, “You’ll be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you’ll be hated by people of all nations. Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you’ll be saved.”
Jesus is telling us. Don’t throw away your moral boundaries. Don’t throw away your ethical disciplines. Don’t throw away your theological views steeped in Scripture that shows you how to love and how to live.
Jesus said in John 6:39, “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but to raise them up at the last day.”
My third simple question is this: What should I do?
What deliberate action should I take? What can I control, even though so many things are beyond my control? Jesus answered the question in Matthew 24:14, when He said, “When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.” Jesus declares that we have some input in how the world and history conclude.
Jesus says, here’s what you must do. Preach the gospel locally and globally. That means getting the word out. Share Christ with your friends. Share Christ with the family you have. You have to see there’s an urgency for people to come to know Christ.
We should create expectations that the Holy Spirit is up to something big. Jude 17-18 says, “But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, ‘In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their ungodly desires. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere instincts and do not have the Spirit.’ ”
When scoffers try to divide us, we should study the word and become well-rooted and grounded in Scripture. And you can refute all the scoffers and those trying to dissuade and mislead you.
Jude 20-21 says, “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”
Jude tells us, to pray in the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? Pray in alignment with the Holy Spirit. Pray in symmetry with the Holy Spirit. Pray the very words of Scripture that the Holy Spirit says we should pray. And it also means praying your heavenly prayer language. If you’ve been baptized in the Holy Spirit and receive the gift of diverse kinds of different kinds of tongues, pray in your heavenly language. And when you do that, that’s praying and praying with the Holy Spirit and praying in harmony with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says I want you to know that as you go through these last days and experience suffering and even the pain of not having answers to deal with all of the major atrocities, rest assured when you’re in my arms in heaven, the pain of the last days will be forgotten because of the beauty of the glory that awaits you.
