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1. False Christs and False Prophets
Matt 24:5: "For many will come in my name, saying I am Christ, and will mislead many."
Matt 24:11: "And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many."
During the last several years we have been witness to an ever increasing number of individuals claming to be the messiah. Jim Jones and David Koresh are just two examples of the countless others who have and are even now claiming to be the Messiah. Those who are false prophets are even greater in number than those claiming to be Messiah. There is a reason for this. The false prophets are a prelude to the ultimate false Christ, the one called the antichrist. ... "it is the last time: and as you have heard antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time" (1 Jn 2:18).
2. Wars and Rumors of War
Matt 24:6: "And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not the end."
Wars and rumors of wars in all areas of the world may now be seen and analyzed by the entire world population, thanks to instant media coverage worldwide on a 24 hour basis.
More people have been killed in warfare in this century than in any other time in history. As the death toll rises in the Middle east, more and more countries work feverishly to develop weapons of mass des-truction. When this is considered along with the increased threat of terrorism and unpredictable dictators, we see the truth of biblical prophecy.
3. Famines
Matt 24:7: "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilence and earthquakes in divers places."
As Christian farmers are driven out of Africa in increasing numbers, and foreigners move in to replace viable food crops with poppies that supply over 25% of the world's drugs, famine spreads across Africa at an alarming rate. The starving are not limited to Africa, however. A large portion of the world's 5 billion people suffers from an acute food shortage.
4. Earthquakes
Luke 21:11: "And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."
The number and intensity of earthquakes this century is at a rate unequaled in history. A staggering number of seismic events occur around the world on a daily basis. The seismic monitor IRIS shows all of the major earthquakes that occur, each day. The occurences are indicated by yellow and red circles, the seismic events in any period of fifteen days or more provides strong evidence of the fulfillment of scrip-ture in our day. By contrast there was only one earthquake in the entire world between 1890 and 1900.
5. Tribulation
Matt 24:8-9: "But all these are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribula-tion, and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name."
Christians are under attack throughout the world today. The United States is still a land where the Christian can enjoy freedom to worship God without suffering other than possibly some ridicule and discrimination at work and/or school. However, in other countries such as Africa, Saudi Arabia, Canada, China, India, Korea, Russia, and many muslim nations, Christians in these far off places face much greater persecution and often death for their faith. During the tribulation this suffering will be on a world- wide basis including the United States and will go to the extreme of martyrdom. These first five signs will continue and increase in intensity and severity as the tribulation approaches, much like the birth pangs of a pregnant women intensify as the birth approaches.
6. Gospel preached throughout the World
Matt: 24:14: "And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."
This prophecy has already been fulfilled. Radio, television, missionaries, and hundreds of translations of the Bible in many languages, as well as the internet with the worldwide web. Films like the Jesus film and the Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ are now being shown in the Moslem countries. Because of the airplane and many other advanced methods of travel, missionaries can now get to virtually every place on earth.
Little Words: "Events that are Life-Changing"
Jesus' Triumphal Entry began with an almost unnoticed miracle. In Luke 19:30, Jesus instructed His disciples to "Go into the village opposite you where, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it here." Jesus exhibited here that He knew all things---where a certain man would be, what he would be doing, where a little donkey on which no one had ever sat would be tied. This little donkey was to be the one chosen by God to carry Jesus on this very important trip in history.
It is significant that no one had ever ridden this little donkey, and yet he did not buck or in any way object or try to throw off the Son of God who rode him that day, which should have been his natural reaction. It would seem likely that he somehow knew who sat upon him that day. Surely this was a miracle.
It is interesting to note in verse 37 that all of the multitude reacted with great joy "... and as He was now drawing near the desent of the mount of olives the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the works they had seen." Those who were His disciples believed that Jesus was making this triumphal entry as the long awaited Messiah and King coming to set up His kingdom--- "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest" (v. 38). And they were right!
However, they did not yet understand that He must first die as the perfect Lamb of God for their sins. There were also those in the crowd who did not believe, as did the disciples, that He was the Son of God--- "Some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples'" (v. 39). His answer was swift and penetrating: "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out" (v. 40). The Triumphal Entry was foretold by the prophets and was the gateway to the cross and the shedding of the blood of Christ as the Lamb of God which took away the sins of the world. Without the work of Jesus on the cross there is no way to obtain eternal life.
The Crucifixion was unforeseen by His disciples and all of those who expected Jesus to come as the conquering Messiah; yet this event was planned by God from eternity as the only remedy for lost mankind. The Crucifixion was the sacrifice of the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Only God's Holy and Righteous Son could meet the requirements of a Holy and Just God to pay the debt in full for a world of lost and sinful people. Jesus took upon himself the sins of all mankind and became our sacrifice. As we stand before Almighty God, the Righteous Judge, Creator of heaven and earth, we have only to accept the payment already made for us by his Son Jesus Christ. The Crucifixion was the payment in full for your sin and mine. Jesus paid the penalty for all sins of all people, and all we must do is believe in Him as the Son of God who purchased our salvation by His blood and accept this salvation as a free gift from God the Father. ( I recommend seeing the film "The Passion of Christ" in order to help understand the full magnitude of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.)
The last event we celebrate this April, popularly called Easter, more correctly known as "Resurrection Day", is the most important event in all of history. I say this because if there had been no resurrection, then the events of Christ's life--- His birth, life, the Triumphal Entry, and the Crucifixion---would have been an amazingly wonderful, but sad story of the wasted life and death of just another good man. But this is not the case. Jesus Christ conquered death, a miracle predicted in Psalm 16:9, 10 by David more than a thousand years before Christ's birth. It is the resurrection of Christ that sets Him apart from all other religious leaders of all time. He alone not only gave His life for us, but overcame death, left an empty tomb, and appeared to many witnesses after His resurrection satisfying even the most critical of the students of history. To me, however, it is the miracle attested to by countless numbers of those who have accepted Him as their Savior and have experienced the miracle of salvation.
Jesus explained salvation to learned Nicodemus as being "born again" in John 3:3,6,7: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God... That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'you must be born again.'" All believers of all time, including Yours Truly, can say with the Apostle Paul: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). We can truly be thankful for the events of this April and say with the Angel at the entrance of His tomb, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:5,6)! Hallelujah!
