What Are the Signs? - Pt 2

 

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. [6] For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. (2 Timothy 3:1–9 ESV).

 

The first sign of the End of the Age is the rise of technology. Do you realize that radio, television, computers, and the internet were all developed in the 20th century? In only a century and a half, we’ve gone from the invention of the telephone to having a smartphone in the palms of 83 percent of the global population. Some of you are old enough to remember the first televisions. I certainly am. It was a big event when my dad brought home our first TV. It was similar to the one pictured here. They were more of a cabinet than a screen. We connected the input to portable antennas called “rabbit ears” because of their shape. We were fortunate enough to live close enough to Houston which gave us a choice of three different channels, if we were able to get the antenna positioned just right! That technology has certainly come a long way in the last 75 years!

 

Or take the travel industry. For six thousand years, the fastest mode of public transportation was a horse. Today, travelers can jet around the world in mere days. In a matter of decades, the world saw the invention of the commercial railway, the mass-produced automobile, and commercial aircraft. Private citizens have even flown into space!

 

And it’s not just physical ease; information is readily accessible at our fingertips. “Google” is a verb in the dictionary. The dawn of technology resulted in the consumer getting what he wanted when he wanted it; it normalized instant gratification. And it’s showing no signs of stopping. Now the public is careening down the black holes of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency.

 

The important question is whether you using the technology, or is the technology using you? Do we see in this sign an indication of Paul’s description of those living in the last days: “men … without self-control” (vv. 2-3), “led away by various lusts” (v. 6)? We also see the prophecy of these things 2,500 years ago: “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” during “the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4). Don’t be lulled to sleep by the truth that there has been a rise in technology before. After all, the Renaissance (c. 14th–17th century) was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political, and scientific "rebirth" following the Middle Ages. Originating in Italy and spreading across Europe, it emphasized humanism, classical learning, and innovation in art, science, and literature, transitioning society toward modern times.

 

Our call is to recognize that Jesus’ return is imminent. This must lead us to preparation and ministry.