End Time Signs Prior to the 7-Year Tribulation Period
End Time Signs Prior to the 7-Year Tribulation Period
Matthew 24 describes a time before, during, and after the tribulation. In our class that we’re currently in, we will be taking a pre-tribulation point of view. In other words, the view that believers in Christ will be raptured prior to the last 7 years of tribulation.
Destruction of the second temple – occurred in AD 70.
Worldwide deception regarding those who supposedly come in Christ’s name:
The list is very long. In fact, the list is so long that I could never list everyone who is a false teacher. A few would be Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, TD Jakes, Joyce Myers, and Joel Osteen. Those are the ones that most evangelicals are aware of today, but there have been thousands of preachers who have deceived others since the Church began at Pentecost.
The other list represents a much more subtle breaking away of the truth of Scripture. Those churches who have given way to a social gospel instead of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those churches who are focused on their members or prospective members instead of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Rick Warren’s church in California is a perfect example of this and he even wrote the book, The Purpose Driven Church. The focus of the Church was never to be on how to attract others into the doors of the church. The focus of the Church is the gospel message of Jesus Christ. To do that, we have to go outside the doors of the church.
2 Tim. 4:3 speaks of a time when people will only want to hear what they want to hear. We are there. Everything is relative in this time that Paul describes to young Timothy. People will be quoting “their” truth as if truth was something that is relative and not absolute. However, we know that Scripture is absolute truth.
There will be a great falling away. (Also mentioned in 2 Thess. 2:3-4) There have always been defectors from the faith. Defectors are traitors. Defection actually began in heaven and moved down to the earth. However, the level of defection in the end times will stretch across the entire world. We are there. The Apostle Paul goes on to say in 2 Thess. 2:3 that because of this falling away from the faith, the world will be primed to accept the Antichrist. The world is getting ready. Just in the last few years, some major evangelical leaders have denounced their faith in Christ. In 2021, Paul Maxwell who has written several Christian books announced that he is “no longer a Christian and that it feels really good.” In 2020, Jon Steingard who was the lead vocalist for a Christian band, announced that he no longer believed in God because he found that not supporting same-sex marriage and evolution was something he couldn’t tolerate. In 2019, Joshua Harris (author of the best-seller, I Kissed Dating Goodbye) left his spouse of 20 years and 3 children and announced that he was no longer a Christian. He later decided that he was gay. In that same year, Marty Sampson, an incredible worship leader and music writer for HIllsong said that Christianity is “just another religion.” In the last few years, Pastor John Piper’s son, Abraham, said that he “deconverted” from Christianity. He has been very loud and very proud about leaving his faith. 1 John 2:19 has something to say about transitions such as these, “They went out from us because they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” The falling away has begun.
There will be wars and rumors of wars. Turn on the tv or radio at any time of the day or night and you will hear of wars. America braced itself during the last administration with the threat from North Korea. Now we are bracing for a threat from China, Iran, and various Islamic terrorist groups. The nation of Ukraine is sitting in ruins from a war that has raged throughout most of 2022 til now. According to globalcitizen.org, ¼ of the globe is currently engaged in some kind of conflict. Most of those, we don’t even hear about. It is estimated that by the end of 2022, 274 million people will need assistance because of war. And then there’s Oct. 7, 2023. The nation of Israel has most of the planet against them and the safest place for any ethnic Jew is Israel. The rest of the world is not protecting God’s chosen nation and in fact, seems to be working in concert against them as Israel battles on many fronts, from the North, the South, and the East.
Famines – Famine can occur for various reasons. It can be because there is a lack of rainfall and crops cannot grow. It can be because the supply chain is broken and food cannot get to customers. It can be because there are not enough farmers growing food to feed the people of a given area. But famine always follows war because war tears up the land and prevents adequate agriculture from happening. This is what we are seeing in Ukraine. Ukraine is called, the breadbasket of the world. It produces ¼ of all the grain the world consumes. Take Ukraine out of the food equation and you have a world-wide catastrophe. We are there. Have you been to the grocery store lately? The increased price of food is proof of scarcity. There is also an unnerving amount of food plants that have burned to the ground across the US. One might wonder if some entity is purposely trying to reduce the food storage in our country. In places like Yemen, people are dying from starvation because of a bloody ongoing wars. We never hear of such things here because even with the increased prices and scarcity of some items, we still eat like kings here in the US. For the first time in many years, Americans are struggling just to purchase groceries. However, if we ever turn our backs on Israel, we might find ourselves under a curse from God because of our behavior and because of our treatment of Israel, and the plenty on our plates might be greatly diminished in the future.
Earthquakes. Romans 8:22 tells us that the earth actually groans with all the sin that has been committed upon it and that the groaning will become worse, like the pains of a woman in labor. There are earthquakes all over the world every day. You can track them on earthquaketrack.com. Earthquakes can actually be increased by nuclear activities. Therefore, in that regard, humans can be responsible for certain earthquakes. There is a definite increase in the number of earthquakes detected. However, scientists say that this number is really not so much of an increase in the actual number of earthquakes, but an increase in the seismic equipment used to measure earthquakes. In any event, as time goes on, Scripture tells us that earthquakes and other natural disasters will increase.
Pestilences. The meaning of pestilences in the Bible carries with it the meaning of a germ that causes widespread deadly disaster. When we read about pestilences in Scripture, they generally occurred as a result of God’s punishment upon a people or a nation (Deut. 32, 1 Chron. 21, Ezekiel 7). Pestilence is one of God’s final judgements during the tribulation period. Matthew 24 lets us know that there will be widespread pestilences of some kind even before the tribulation period, in the time just before that period. Could we consider the Covid outbreak to be a pestilence of biblical proportion? We absolutely could. Every single country in the world was affected. Do you see how these events are setting up for the 7-year tribulation? Will there be another deadly virus? Yes, there will. I hope we are raptured before it comes. These pestilences give the world an opportunity to draw together in a one-world system to fight a common enemy, a virus. And, it will set the stage for a fake redeemer to come to the scene to make the world calm down and relax from the fear that it causes. The U.S. and many other nations previously considered turning over their authority to the World Health Organization in the event of another worldwide pandemic. As long as Trump is in office, this will not happen, but he will not always be in office. This will include policies on vaccines, lockdowns, school closures and much more. How do you think the world will get to a place where nobody can buy or sell without a mark on his hand or forearm? By the time we get to the mark of the Beast, worldwide policies will already be in place to make that happen. During the Biden administration, the US almost turned over our national sovereignty to control healthcare to a global organization.
Christians will be persecuted for their beliefs. Christians have always been persecuted for their beliefs to one degree or another. In the US, we’ve never had to face death or major loss because of our belief in God. However, I have a feeling that our days of free worship are soon to be over. The only job I’ve ever been chastised for my biblical belief system was the one I had as a chaplain. That’s right! Nobody was more surprised than I was but my belief system was challenged every day and criticized many times. All we need to do to see just how easy we have it as believers in America is to view the website persecution.com and read some of the stories from Voice of the Martyrs. Believers in Christ in places around the globe are giving their lives every day for their belief system. Persecution on a world-wide scale for Christians will get worse as we edge closer to those last 7 years on the earth. We are already seeing the signs of warning here in America as the 10 Commandments are removed from courthouses and prayer is denied at ballgames and sporting events. Did you ever think it would be uncool to say “Merry Christmas”? Many Americans are encouraged in their workplaces to say, “Happy Holidays” instead. Holding to a biblical worldview will become less and less popular until it is ridiculed and then persecuted. There are already soft signs of this across our land. The LGBTQ agenda is so prominent these days that if you do not celebrate it, then you are considered a “hater”. If you stand for life and oppose abortion, then the ungodly say that we are not for female reproductive rights and therefore, we are against women. If we support Israel, then all hell breaks loose. Christianity and Western values used to be the norm in America. That is changing quickly.
Lawlessness will increase. Did you ever think you’d see the day when people wanted to actually defund the police? What insanity! Watching rioting in our country sometimes seems so surreal. And then we turn on the news and find that it’s been spun to reflect that the evil done was good and the good done was evil. In Isaiah 5:20, God pronounces a “woe” on that kind of behavior. By the way, that’s not anything you ever want God to pronounce on you. We are there. Look at what has transpired on college campuses in the last quarter of 2023 and 2024. Those delusional students have taken over college campuses and caused havoc and chaos. God is not a God of chaos. He is a God of order. (1 Cor. 14:33)
People who once loved one another will hate one another. If we look at our own country, we can find such hatred and hostility that many believe we are on the brink of another civil war. When you don’t love God and the things of God, then you become self-absorbed. Pastor John Piper says, “Hate is the final outcome of hypocritical love, just the shell of love where the warmth has gone out.” Dear ones, we must meet regularly together to combat this hatred from coming into our churches. Look at what happened with the Covid pandemic! Our churches were closed. When they did reopen, people who had gotten the vaccine were angry with people who didn’t get it. People who wore masks were angry with people who didn’t wear masks. That pandemic divided many churches. Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as it is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Perhaps the Holy Spirit breathed out these words for us in these last days. It would seem that He did because the love of many is definitely growing cold. Anxiety is at an all-time high across the planet. Even our little children are increasingly more anxious. Anxiety has at its root, fear. People who have a lot of fear are always more likely to engage in discord than people who are peaceful.
The message of the Gospel will reach the ends of the earth. This is not nations per se, but ethnic groups across the world. All ethnic groups will eventually hear the Gospel news. This is why the Church must be missionary in its orientation. We absolutely can never stop spreading the good news and we can never stop sending missionaries to foreign lands. Jesus will not return until this is accomplished. Is it accomplished yet? At joshuaproject.net, we find that there are currently 17,446 people groups in the world. Of those groups, 7,391 groups have no Christian witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those groups represent 3.34 billion people. Romans 10:14 clearly tells us, “How can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching.” There is nothing else that must be done prior to the rapture of the Church. However, before Christ returns, the entire world must have knowledge of the Gospel. This is not a prerequisite of the Rapture, but of the 2nd coming of Christ.
The last days on earth will be “As in the days of Noah”. What actually characterized the days of Noah? Most people would be surprised to discover. Genesis 6 tells us that there was world-wide wickedness and that people only wanted to do bad continuously. But we also learn in Gen. 6:1-2 that something very abnormal took place in those days. Human women mated with fallen angels and produced an offspring referred to as the Nephilim. These fallen angels had high knowledge of spiritual things that mankind did not have. This was never God’s intention for angels and humans to mate. This is one reason for the flood of Noah’s day. If the last days on earth will be like the days of Noah, does that mean that angels and humans will mate again? That is a thought-provoking question that we cannot answer but what we do know is that of the entire world population, only 8 people were allowed to get on that ark. Noah’s bloodline had not been tainted by the Nephilim. It really is all about the blood. Will we again see the bloodline of humanity tainted? Again, I don’t know. What I do know is that the world will be corrupt as it was in Noah’s day. Are we seeing that now? Yes we are. The one thing holding back the full release of evil is that believers still inhabit the earth and our bodies/temples are the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God within us as believers that is holding back evil from completely taking over the world. But as Gen. 6 tells us, God’s Spirit will not always dwell here. When believers in Christ are raptured out of here, all hell will literally break out.
Ezekiel 37-39
Israel will again become a nation – Reference from Ezekiel 37 to the dry bones. Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948. Isaiah 66:1 asks the question, “Can a nation be born in a day?”. Well…..the nation of Israel was.
There will be a new confederation of nations that come against Israel. This could be prior to the rapture of the Church or after. This is a war called the Battle of Gog of Magog. (Ezekiel 38-39).
This battle will include nations that the prophet Ezekiel could never have envisioned as being allies against Israel at the time of his writing. Those nations will include Russia, Turkey, Iran, Libya, Sudan and some of the “stan” countries to the north. We are seeing this alliance strengthened especially since the Russia/Ukraine war began.
This battle will come from the north down through Syria and God will defeat this enemy in the hills of Israel.
No other country will stand with Israel. When Biden came into office and before Netanyahu was reelected, the interim Israeli prime minister requested a meeting with Biden and was rejected. America re-entered the Iran nuclear deal which could have bad consequences for Israel. During the 2nd Trump administration, the US and Israel took out many of the nuclear scientists in Iran and destroyed their nuclear sites. Although America has many believers in Christ who support Israel, there are many in our Congress and Senate who despise Israel. God tells us all the way back in Gen. 12:3 that He will bless those who bless Israel, but He will curse those who curse Israel. I want America to be on the blessing end, but in the end, all nations of the earth will turn their backs on Israel.
Isaiah 17:1
Damascus will become a ruinous heap. For the past few years, there has been consistent shelling from Israel to Damascus. If you’ve seen recent pictures of Damascus, then you know that it is not far from a ruinous heap. Over the past few years, we couldn’t even count the number of bombings that have occurred in Damascus. The terrorist organization, Hezbollah, operates from this area.
Damascus will become too demolished to have people live there. Again, they are almost there.
Daniel 7 and Revelation 13, 17
The rise of a one-world government. Since before WWII with the League of Nations, the world has been primed for a one-world government. This is the government from which the Antichrist will rule. After WWII, the United Nations was created and now there are multiple organizations who have as their guiding principle, the creation of a one-world government. Elites and influencers from across the globe are involved in this endeavor. President Trump stood between the United States becoming part of a global government. He is a nationalist and as such, he believes in maintaining sovereign control of the US. The Obama and Biden administrations were heavily indoctrinated by the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization. They drank the coolaid! They were willing to give away much of our sovereign control to other nations but their plan was always to follow the WEF goals for 2030. The vast majority of Europe’s leaders are globalists and since the Covid pandemic, more and more of them are calling for a global government to deal with future pandemics. The players are almost in place now to step into a one-world government. America is all that is standing in the way.
During the Biden administration, CEOs from around the world resigned from their jobs amidst the uncertainty of the world markets. This sets the stage for a man with a plan, the Antichrist, to arrive on the scene.
Revelation 17
The rise of a one-world religion.
According to this chapter, this religion will have the approval of the Antichrist. It is highly possible that prior to the tribulation, we will see the beginnings of this new religion. I believe we are seeing this now with so many universal beliefs that everyone is going to heaven and that there are many roads that lead to God. Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church frequently made comments regarding his belief that we are all brothers as children of the same God. He joined hands across the aisle with people of all faiths in confirming that they’ll all get to heaven. Will another Catholic pope be involved in pushing a 1-world religion? Possibly and probably. However, this absolutely does not mean that the one-world religion will be Catholicism. In fact, I believe it will be a mishmash of a bunch of different things. I believe that Romans 1:25 gives us an indication that in the days to come, people will “worship the creation rather than the Creator”. We are there. All of this “green”, environment worship is gaining more and more popularity across the globe. At the U.N. Climate Change Conference in 2023, they even rolled out a “green bible”. The world is obsessed with sustainability and saving the planet. I have news for them, regardless of what they do, the planet as we know it will be destroyed, making room for the new heaven, and the new earth. (Rev. 21) And the world will not be destroyed because of cow flatulence or global warming or any of the other outlandish ideas that are out there. The world will be destroyed by God and Him alone.
Revelation 13
The rise of a one-world currency.
This chapter describes some sort of universal mark that we often refer to as the mark of the beast. During the tribulation time, an individual will not be able to buy or sell without having this mark. We don’t know what kind of identification this could be. Some have speculated that it could be a computer chip under the skin or some sort of currency like bitcoin. What we do know is that the elites of the world are consistently trying to create some kind of universal international commerce trading system. In 2009, a conglomerate of nations consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) began meeting for geopolitical reasons of equality and mutual benefit. They have since added the following countries: Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, UAE. In the fall of 2024, they planned on rolling out a new currency for the entire world to replace the US dollar. That did not happen, but it will eventually happen. These BRICS countries encompass 45% of the world’s population and much of the world’s oil production.
Joel 3
The land of Israel will be divided up.
Joel 3 tells us that “in those days” (the last ones), God will judge those people and nations who have participated in dividing up the land of Israel. We never want to be on the wrong end of this. All of the push for a 2-state solution with Israel and Gaza would be considered diving up the land.
In Genesis 15, God clearly explains to Abraham the parameters of the land He is giving to Abraham’s offspring as a perpetual inheritance. And no, this offspring does not include Ishmael because God does not recognize the offspring of Ishmael as the rightful heirs to this inheritance.
If we look at this map, we learn that the actual borders of the land that God promised to Abraham’s heirs covered some of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and even a tiny section of Turkey. The Jewish people have never owned all that land. There are various reasons for that. The small section called Israel has had its borders readjusted a few times since becoming a nation again in 1948. And, unfortunately, Israel has always been willing to give up land for peace. But it has never worked. Is America guilty of pushing Israel to give up land for peace? Yes, over and over again, America is guilty of this. Do the Abraham Accords divide up the land of Israel? Yes, they do. It promises 2/3 of the land of Samaria and Judea to the Palestinians and it promises the Palestinians a capital in east Jerusalem. It was named the Abraham Accords because it was supposed to bring together descendants from both of Abraham’s sons, Isaac (the promised son who is the father of the Jewish people) and Ismael (the son from Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar, who is the father of the Arab people). Ishmael and his descendants have never been promised the land that God gave to Abraham and Isaac. So as much as us evangelicals might love Donald Trump for loving on Israel, for protecting religious rights across the world, and for moving the capital of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, he did a dangerous thing when he introduced the Abraham Accords. Since Oct. 7, 2023, I don’t think the current Trump administration is interested in a 2-state solution. That would never work anyway. Over the years, the Palestinians have been offered land for peace many times. They have never accepted because they want ALL the land. So while the Abraham Accords might have seemed good for Israel in regard to normalizing relations with their Arab neighbors, the prospect of a 2-state solution that was proposed placed the US under the judgment of God. On the same day that the Abraham Accords were introduced, America had its first outbreak of Covid. God is serious about not messing with the division of the land of Israel. With the current war that is going on right now in the nation of Israel, it appears that Israel is no longer willing to come to the bargaining table for a 2-state solution. Why should they when one side is not interested in a compromise?
The 3rd Temple will be built. We don’t know if this temple will be started and completed prior to the rapture of the Church, but we do know according to Dan. 9:27, Matthew 24:15, and 2 Thess. 2:4, that a 3rd temple will be standing at least by the midpoint of the tribulation. For right now, the Al-Aqsa Mosque stands atop the Temple Mount. Will it be torn down? Don’t know. There is room for a 3rd temple as well as the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. Time will tell. Two months after the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in Israel, a Hamas leader released information about Israel obtaining 5 red heifers. The ashes of a red heifer are necessary in order to accomplish the purification rites for the Jews. (Numbers 19) Lots of people are obsessed with the whole red heifer thing. That is continuously going on. Muslims around the world viewed Israel seeking a perfect red heifer, as a sign that the 3rd temple might be close to being attained. This was one of the reasons that Hamas gave for the Oct. 7 attack.
Friends, print this off. Give it to your friends who might not know Jesus. His words are true and what He says will come to pass, will certainly come to pass. This is not a comprehensive list. I just hit the highlights in this list. But you can see that the stage is being set for the 7-year tribulation.
