With all the fires, hurricanes, and earthquakes happening all around the world, not to mention the threat of nuclear war with North Korea, many people have been wondering, are these the signs of the end times that are described in the New Testament? Matthew 24 is one place that discusses the end times – it’s where Jesus is talking to the disciples about the day the Temple buildings will be destroyed. The disciples question Jesus about when this will happen, and then ask, “What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3)
Jesus responded saying, “…you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.” (Matthew 24:6-8)
Jesus goes on to say that believers in Christ will be greatly persecuted and hated by the whole world and that “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12).
The book of Luke also gives an account of what Jesus said to the disciples regarding the end times. In Luke 21:25-28 Jesus says, “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”
Some people have equated the importance of Luke 21:25-26 saying that the solar eclipse happened on the 21st, on the 25th, hurricane Harvey hit near Corpus Christi (which literally means “Body of Christ) and on the 26th the city began to flood.
While some people think things like this are merely coincidental, others are quick to say God is giving us plenty of signs. Even the uppity The New York Times ran a story contemplating whether or not all the natural phenomena are related to the coming apocalypse.
“While the sense of some gathering apocalypse is not sending people into bunkers, it lingers even in secular minds, if not always consciously,” writes Henry Fountain, a journalist who covers natural and human-caused disasters.
But it’s not just the solar eclipse and the hurricanes that are causing people to ponder end-time theology. It’s also the 249 earthquakes that have taken place this past month in Mexico alone, including one of its largest ever with a magnitude of 8.1 on September 7th. Then there are also the “rumors of wars” as North Korea has threatened to reduce the United States to “ashes and darkness” and also to “sink” Japan. If all that were not enough, wildfires continue to burn throughout the western halves of Canada and the U.S., and have burned over one million acres of land in the state of Montana alone.
According to an article in Popular Science, the 2017 fire season is a “global phenomenon.”
“You may have missed the memo (we get it, there’s been a lot going on) but the world is currently on fire. Massive blazes burn in the United States, Canada, Russia, South America, and across Europe,” says Kendra Pierre Louis, a writer for Popular Science.
While Jesus doesn’t talk about fire specifically as a sign of the end times, there is this passage in 2 Peter 3:10-13 that does: “…the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.”
While everything that is happening in the world may or may not be signs of the end times, one thing is clear: it is more urgent than ever for Christians to do what they have always been told to do – to share the love of Jesus to a lost and dying world.
~ Christian Patriot Daily
