SignPosts [Lesson 4]

Signposts
Scriptural prophecies clearly indicate that the culmination of God’s dealings with the people of this earth will soon occur. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him what signs would precede His coming and the end of the world, He responded with a comprehensive list. (See Matthew, chapter 24: 1-14.) He said there would be:

• Wars and rumors of wars. Warfare has long been part of human existence, but the sheer annihilative potential of current weaponry and the possibility of conflict on a global scale, has made our day a unique and dangerous time unprecedented in history. Today, nine countries possess nuclear weapons,[1] and military engagements are constant. Since the end of World War II, there have been over 280 armed conflicts involving one or more governments.[2]
• Famines. In 2022, an estimated 702 to 828 million people worldwide suffered from hunger.[3] In addition to drought, other contributing factors of worldwide hunger include economic collapse, the displacement of people as a result of warfare, an increasing world population, and diminishing natural resources. In May of 2022, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported, “Around the world, forty-nine million people in forty-three countries are at emergency levels of hunger . . . just one step away from famine.” [4]
• Pestilences. As of 2017, there were 320 virus species known to affect humans, and every year new strains of viruses being discovered.[5] The past few decades have witnessed the emergence of “new” infectious diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and the Zika virus. A new strain of the coronavirus family, SARS-CoV-2, appeared in 2019. It soon spread to every country in the world, bringing global society to a halt as governments tried to contain a virus that would infect millions upon millions of people. In addition, there is the growing problem of antimicrobial-resistant strains of “old” diseases such as influenza, malaria, and tuberculosis. According to the World Health Organization, about 450,000 people contracted a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis in 2021.[6]
• Earthquakes. Approximately 500,000 earthquakes are detected in the world each year, though only around 100,000 are felt because many occur in remote areas or have small magnitudes.[7] In 2022 there were 15,748 earthquakes worldwide measuring 4.0 or greater.[8] In recent years, new technologies, such as processes related to oil and gas extraction, have increased the risk of earthquakes occurring in parts of the world where they were never before experienced.[9]
• Persecution and killing of followers of Jesus. Open Doors, which tracks persecuted Christians worldwide, stated that around the globe, oppression against Christians has increased with 312 million Christians experiencing very high to extreme persecution in 2023.[10] A resolution passed by the United States House of Representatives condemning human rights abuses against Christians listed recent persecutions around the globe, stating: “The Christian population in the Middle East has significantly decreased over the past few decades as a result of persecution, displacement, and genocide . . . such persecution ranges from social harassment and discrimination to physical violence, imprisonment, torture, enslavement, rape, and death.”[11]
• False prophets deceiving many. Since the time of Christ, numerous individuals have amassed followers by falsely claiming to be God’s messenger, including Mohammad in the seventh century, Nostradamus in the sixteenth, and more recently, Joseph Smith, Sun Myung Moon, and David Koresh to name a few.
• Widespread iniquity. This past century has seen an increasing tolerance for sins relating to the devaluing of human life and sexual immorality. As of 2023, 60 percent of the world’s population is living in a country where abortion is legal on demand or for social and economic reasons,[12] and from 2015 to 2019 an estimated 73 million abortions were performed annually, constituting 29 percent of pregnancies worldwide.[13] Euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide are also gaining acceptance; one or the other is now legal in twelve countries.[14] There is a growing movement to embrace “alternative lifestyles” as natural and healthy, and same-sex marriages are now recognized in thirty-three countries.[15]
• Declining love for truth. As of 2017, over 11 percent of the world’s population did not claim any allegiance to a religion, and 45 percent adhered to Buddhism, Hinduism, or Islam.[16] Even many churches which at one time preached the fundamentals of Christianity—the new birth and a life without sin—have changed their doctrine, “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5).
• The Gospel of the Kingdom preached worldwide. Several interdenominational groups are currently working toward the goal of reaching every part of the world with the Gospel of the Kingdom message. By 2001, the film entitled JESUS had been shown in every country of the world in over 1,000 languages.[17] Today, the internet is taking the Gospel to places where it has never before been heard. One website, Bible.is, provides audio recordings of Scripture in over 1,800 languages.[18] The Wycliffe Global Alliance reports that the entire New Testament is now available in 1,617 languages, and organizations are currently working on 2,846 translations. They estimate translations are still needed in 1,680 languages.[19] With all these efforts and steps taking, the only one thing remain to focus upon is the sign of the end which is this gospel of the kingdom of God on earth, the message is yet to announce worldwide for a witness to usher in end, other signs of His coming is happening every day. Matthew 24: 3, 14; Acts 1: 6-8.