What Are the Signs? - Pt. 3

 

[Jesus said] “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:6–14 ESV).

 

The second sign of the End of the Age is the spread of the Gospel throughout the world. In 2014, in what I believe to have been an incredible miracle from God, Amazing Facts became one of the only Christian ministries given permission to hold a full public evangelistic series in China since 1949, when missionaries were expelled. At 1.4 billion, the communist country has the world’s largest population. At the end of the meetings, hundreds were baptized to the glory of God and DVDs of the meetings began to proliferate around the country.

 

And it’s not just Amazing Facts; missionary-minded ministries everywhere have taken up the great commission. This is also true in other parts of the world. South America is seeing a great resurgence in evangelism; the 10/40 Window, which holds two-thirds of the world’s population, is also seeing a great response to the Gospel; and, colleges and universities in the United States are seeing hundreds of students respond to the gospel.

 

Interestingly enough, this sign of the end has been contingent upon another: the rise of technology. There are those whose only opportunity to learn about the gospel comes from a website. Satellites can now beam the light of God’s truths into individual homes. Through the internet, television, satellite, radio, publishing, and word of mouth, the message is reaching into virtually every corner of the globe.

 

This is actually a sign that triggers the Second Coming. The Bible tells us that when every living person has had the opportunity to hear the gospel, when “this gospel of the kingdom [is] preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, … then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).