“But there have always been doomsday preachers,” is a familiar refrain when the end of time subject arises.  Which is true.  Skeptics have scoffed at Bible prophecy from the beginning.  For example, Adam and Eve, Noah’s contemporaries, Israel in her heyday, New Testament times and now in history’s most intellectual era–from Eden to the present generation the masses, have played down or outright rejected Biblical prophecy relative to the end of this world as man has known it.  Human beings do not believe what God said about the “signs of the times” which tell us generally when man’s (read Satan’s) control of the earth will end.  The masses also do not believe God concerning what will happen following Christ’s return.  The masses also do not believe what God says about the world following Christ’s Second Advent.  In summary, MAN, INCLUDING CHURCHMAN, DOES NOT BELIEVE GOD’S WORD.

With the increase in man’s knowledge has come an increase in his skepticism toward the Holy Bible.  Bible students are not surprised, for the Apostle Peter noted some 2000 years ago that this would be the case, especially “in the last days” (2 Pet. 3:3,4) which, as the Apostle Peter tells us in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit fell on the 120 in an upper room in Jerusalem.  When facing a multitude who were confused about what had happened, Peter said to them, “THIS (the coming of the Holy Spirit on God’s people–vss 1-13) IS THAT which was prophesied by the Prophet Joel: ‘And it will come to pass in the LAST DAYS ….”

But how can we know that we have entered the “last days,” and that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent?  There is one statement in the Holy Bible that tells us where we are on the Lord’s time table.  Like so many “fine print” statements found in the Scriptures, that statement has been read and reread billions of times and its true meaning relative to time has been overlooked, many of those times were me before God opened my eyes to His “fine print” truths.

In Matthew 24:3 we find Christ’s disciples asking Him when “the end of the age” would arrive.  Jesus made it clear in verse 22 that the end of the world would come at a time when, without His intervention, mankind would destroy itself.  It is imperative that we understand the importance of the Lord’s response in verse 3.  He replied that, barring His return, “… not one soul would be saved alive ….”  Let those time-connected words sink in.  Jesus said that if He did not return to the earth at a specific future time, every man, woman and child on earth would die.  This would mark the “time of the end” of the world as we know it.  As world conditions continue to worsen, man is coming to realize that His most pressing problem is the threat of human extinction–a situation that was predicted almost 2000 years ago.

Christ’s words concerning the eradication of mankind (vs 22) could not have been understood until the invention of the atomic bomb, followed by the hydrogen bomb and other weapons of mass destruction.  In truth, the meaning of several other end-time prophecies could not be understood UNTIL THE END TIME–this modern age.  Those prophesies (“signs”) are now understood by God’s end-time prophets, thereby proving that MANKIND IS LIVING IN THE END TIME.  Irrefutable proof that we are living in “the last days” is the fact that NEVER BEFORE HAS MAN HAD THE ABILITY TO DESTROY EVERY HUMAN BEING ON EARTH.  Authorities tell us that man has the capacity to kill the entire human race several times over.  Before the mid-1940’s and the coming of the Atomic Age,  Christ’s prophecy could not have come to pass.

While on the Mount of Olives with His disciples, Jesus warned about those who would deceive salvation seekers in the last days.  In Matthew 24:4,5,11,24 He declared that during the final days of this world many deceivers would arise among salvation seekers who would destroy many believers with their false “truths.”  Through the Apostle Peter He warned that Satan’s prophets would be so persuasive that they would deceive even some of God’s Very Elect (vs 24).  Which brings to mind the Lord’s warning to all who would spend eternity with Him: “Man must beware when he thinks he stands, lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).  In 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 the Apostle Paul tells us that self-professed “ministers of righteousness” would be working for the self-professed “angel of light.”  They have fulfilled their assignments extremely well.  They have persuaded the masses to reject the Gospel of Almighty God and to embrace Satan’s perverted version, Adam and Eve being the first humans to fall for it.  Nothing has changed.  Some 4000 years later Jesus noted that the entire world had been deceived by the devil (Rev. 12:9).

In Matthew 24:6,7 Jesus prophesied other events that would take place in the end time–wars, famines, pestilence and natural occurrences such as earthquakes.   Other such “acts of nature” as tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, fires, floods, droughts, etc. would fall into that category.

The 20th century (the 1900’s) was by far the most violent and deadly in the history of mankind.  World War I claimed 8.5 million lives.  World War II took the lives of 55 million people, many of them non-combatants.  According to historians, totalitarian governments have slaughtered 170 million people for ethnic, racial, tribal, religious or political reasons.  Nations continue to rise against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms as man gains ever more knowledge leading to ever more powerful weapons.  Scripture tells us that the next war will take the lives of billions.  Too bad brilliant man can’t figure out how to have peace and prosperity.  There is a Book that explains how to do that.  But man is much too intelligent to believe in such antiquated foolishness.  As a result, since World War II there have been more than 200 armed conflicts involving more than 140 countries.  Today some of the most volatile nations on earth possess some of the most deadly weapons known to man.  As a wise man said, “Man has never created a weapon that he did not use.”  According to the Book of Revelation, World War III will be more deadly than all of the world’s previous wars combined.  By the time of Christ’s return, 2/3 of the world’s population will have been destroyed by a combination of factors.  If the world’s final war took place now, some 5 billion would be dead by the time Christ arrived to bring it to an end.

World-wide famine is one of the major signs indicating that the time of Christ’s return is drawing near (vs 7).  Approximately 5.5 billion people live in what are called 3rd and 4th world (“developing”) nations.  Within those nations over 800 million people suffer from malnutrition and multiple millions die of starvation each year.  The Holy Scriptures tell us that more such deaths will occur in the future BECAUSE OF MAN’S SINS.  American farmers are sounding warnings about the loss of produce due to drought in the mid-western states–the “breadbasket of the world.”  Many will die of starvation in America before Christ comes to save man from himself.  World-wide, many more millions will starve.  Parents will eat their own children.  In Afghanistan parents are selling their children in order to buy what little food there is available.  Throughout Africa people are starving by the tens of thousands.

Jesus warned of world-wide pestilence.  The Corona virus is only the most publicized epidemic in today’s world.  COVID-19 kills many, but many more are being killed by other pestilences.  Man’s penchant for mobilization and concentration of people in cities greatly expedite the spread of diseases.  The concentration of humans also causes the accumulation of garbage and human waste in concentrated areas, which in turn pollute the water, air and land, all of which give rise to ever more sickness and death.  God is speaking; is anyone listening? L.J.