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Biblical Signs of the
End of the Last Days
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The world in which we are now living
is in a great vortex. We are standing at the portals
of the destruction of civilization with the problems
of wars, financial panics, famines, environmental
disasters, etc. We leaders must show the authentic
Biblical way to Christians if they are to prepare
for the Lord’s return. We must accurately
point out to them the Biblical prophecies and signs
of the end of the last days. (Lk. 21:11)
End-Time Signs According to
Christ
Two thousand years ago, the disciples of Jesus questioned
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him about the signs of the end of the world. Even today,
God’s servants and the saints are anxious to know
answers to the same question. The ministers living at
the end of the last days need to show them these signs
as revealed in the Bible. Let us hear the words of Jesus
to His disciples: (Mk. 13:21-22)
“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. 8. All these are the
beginning of sorrows.” (Matt. 24:3-8)
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Wars
There shall be more regional wars as the end of
the world approaches. Even at the present time,
there are chronic wars going on in many parts of
the world. Ideological, racial, religious and ethnical
conflicts have doubled since the Berlin wall came
down in 1989. It is now possible to destroy the
whole human race if world war should break out.
We are now threatened not only by nuclear weapons,
but also by biochemical and chemical weapons and
many other kinds of weapons of mass destructions
possessed by many different nations. Tensions are
strong in the Middle East, “the powder-keg
of the world”, and the Korean Peninsula, site
of the only divided nation remaining in the world.
(Ezk. 38: 39: Dan. 7:24-27; 9:25-27; 12:1; Mt. 24:21-22;
Rev. 9:14-19; 16:12-16) |
Earthquakes
On August 17th, 1999, an earthquake of 7.4 magnitude
occurred in Turkey leaving over 40,000 casualties.
(Time Magazine, Oct. 25 issue) A great earthquake
hit Turkey in September, 1999 with a magnitude of
7.6, leaving over 2,000 casualties. (Economist,
Sept. 25) These earthquakes shocked the whole world
and warning signs to the Christians: the Lord's
coming is at hand. It reminds us of the earthquake
in 1970 in Peru with 66,000 casualties; Guatamala’s
in 1976 with 23,000 casualties; the one in 1976
at Dangsang, China, magnitude 8.0, with 255,000
casualties; in Armenia in 1988, 55,000; Iran, 1990,
40,000; India, 1993, 9,748 - 30,000 casualties;
Japan, 1995, 5,502 casualties; Afghanistan, 1998,
7,023 casualties. (1999 World Almanac statistics)
According to the latest figures, the frequency of
large-scale earthquakes in the 1990s is twice that
of 1980. The Bible predicts that powerful earthquakes
will be taking place with increasing frequency in
the end-time. (Rev. 16:18; 2 Pet. 3:10) |
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Unusual Weather
Every year, large areas of the earth are damaged
by heavy rain and floods, while in other parts of
the earth, drought disaster increases, reducing
crops, and forested areas. Large parts of the jungle
areas of Indonesia and Brazil are being burnt to
ashes. These kinds of phenomena are influenced by
unusual weather patterns of the so-called “El
Niño” or “La Niña”.
Because of this, the number of persons afflicted
by cholera |
and malaria is reaching as high as 541,000 per year with
117,000,000 victims suffering from climatic calamities.
(Matt. 24:7) Other figures show that the woes of the Bible
are taking place before our very eyes. The earth’s
surface temperature is rising annually. The jungles and
forests, the “lungs of the earth”, have diminished
eight percent since 1980. In the past ten years, 1.5 to
2 million acres of forests have disappeared. If this continues,
thirty percent of the area of North America and Africa
shall turn into desert. The farmlands that produce food
and living space are gradually disappearing and the human
race faces the prospect of degenerating into nomadic life.
(Mt. 24:29; Lk. 21:25-26; Rev. 6:12-14; Isa. 34:4)
Environmental Contamination
Decrease of the forests due to warming of the earth’s
surface, weather changes, acid rain, air pollution, the
drain on natural resources, desertification, and systematic
pollution and destruction of nature by man, ending with
the destruction of the human race itself, is not an imaginary
fear of science fiction. There are an estimated ten million
environmental victims every year throughout the world.
Very possibly, the phenomenon of mass starvation will
become common in the 21st century due to water shortages,
toxic waste materials and radioactive dumps. Three billion
people in eighty nations, more than half of all the countries
in the world, are suffering from water shortages. Environmental
contamination causes up to 40 % of the deaths. (Lk. 21:25-26;
Rev. 6:12-14; Mt. 24:29)
Food Shortages
Over 800 million people are on the verge of starvation.
One-third of all Africans are starving. The World Watch
Institute warns that a world food crisis shall soon be
upon us. The world’s food reserve from 1982 to 1993
was for 81 days, but that dropped its low point--41 days--in
1998. Droughts, floods and natural disasters hit the rich
grain-producing areas of the world lowering crop yields
and augmenting the food crisis. (Mt. 24:7; Lk. 21:11)
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Plagues
There are all kinds of plagues raging in the world,
despite the progress of medical science. Contagious
diseases are causing seventeen million deaths every
year and millions more affected by them. AIDS, the
ebola virus, hemorrhaging, fevers, epidemic viruses,
tuberculosis (TB), Legionella pneumonia, algoid
influenza, encephalitis, etc. Over thirty different
kinds of new contagious diseases broke out recently.
Then there were the old pestilences and cholera,
which broke out again in India, Pakistan, China
and southeast Asia. Malaria, yellow fever, and other
endemic-type diseases broke out in that region in
the '90s and tuberculosis by AIDS is increasing
rapidly.
The number of victims of HIV/AIDS worldwide from
December 1997 to the present time is 36 million
people. Of these, 29.4 million are adults, of whom
60% are male. About 1.1 million are children under
15 years old. The HIV virus is spreading swiftly,
claiming 16,000 new victims per day. The UNAIDES
Department estimates that 5.8 million people fell
victim to HIV in 1997 while 2.3 million died (including
460,000 children). It announced that about 1l.7
million (including 2.7 million children) have died
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HIV/AIDS since 1970. According to UN research, “in
the early industrial nations, 60% of all adults will contract
the HIV virus disease during the next twelve to thirteen
years”. The progress of this disease is spreading
swiftly in the U.S., and those who are infected by the
HIV virus develop AIDS as the disease progresses. After
one develops full-blown AIDS, one may be expected to live
for at least 3 years, often spreading the disease to one’s
sexual partners during that time. Eighty-five percent
of all HIV patients contracted the disease due to immoral
sexual contact. (UNAIDS, Dec., 1997) (Lk. 21:11; Mt. 24:7;
Rev. 16:2, 10-11)
False Christs
“21. For then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world
to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22. And except
those days should be shortened, there should no
flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days
shall be shortened. 23. Then if any man shall say
unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or, there; believe
it not. 24. For there shall arise false Christs,
and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they
shall deceive the very elect.” (Matt. 24:21-24)
There shall arise many false Christs before coming
of the great tribulation and before entering into
the time of tribulation. |
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They shall deceive many saints with cunning, persuasive
lies. There will be those (1) who pretend to be the Lord
at His second coming, (2) those who are say that Jesus
already returned to earth invisibly, and (3) those who
insist that there will be no second coming of the Lord.
According to the scripture, these are all deceivers and
liars. (Mk. 13:21-22)
They shall appear in the form of the most successful and
brilliant religious leaders. They will not be Bible-centered,
but will use the name of Jesus Christ for their own selfish
purposes. They will raise money from the saints to enrich
themselves. They are backslidden leaders, fallen into
fleshly temptations and are spiritually bankrupt. (Matt.
7:21-22; Rev. 8:10-11)
As we closely follow the words of the Bible about the
signs of war, famine, plagues, and false Christs, we can
see that these are for the awakening and preparing of
God’s people in this evil world. News reports of
these signs come to us from around the world every passing
day, and we can safely say this is the beginning of the
time of the prophesied disasters. (Luke 21:8-11; Rev.
12:3-4)
Israel’s Becoming a Nation Again
“32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his
branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know
that summer is nigh: 33. So likewise ye, when ye shall
see all these things, know that is near, even at the doors.”
(Matt. 24:32-33)
The fig tree symbolizes Israel in the Bible. Israel fulfilled
this prophecy when it became an independent state on May
14th, 1945, after its long dispersion of 2,000 years throughout
the nations. This dispersion came about because of their
having crucified Christ on the cross. As a result, they
were expelled from their homeland. Therefore, their restoration
to their homeland is a fulfillment of prophecy and shows
that the Lord's Second Coming is near, even at the door.
(Mark 13:28-29; Luke 21:29-31)
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