Global events are beginning to spiral out of control, and this has created a resurgence in interest in what the Bible has to say about “the last days”. Throughout the Scriptures, we are warned about apocalyptic events that will precede the second coming of Jesus Christ, and a lot of people are wondering if that period of time is now upon us. All over the Internet, people are engaging in all sorts of speculation and lots of really bizarre theories are being thrown around, and this is causing a great deal of confusion. But all of this confusion is not necessary, because the Bible is actually very clear about what is coming.
Jesus had quite a bit to say about the time just before His return, and He specifically instructed His followers to watch for certain signs. He wanted us to understand that He knew about all of these things in advance, that He has a plan, and that He is in control.
So there is no need to fear. In fact, Jesus told us these things so that we would not be afraid.
To set the stage for the rest of this article, let me share just three quick verses from Luke 21: 9-11.
“But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”
Could it be possible that we have entered a time when these things are starting to be fulfilled? To answer that question, let’s examine some of the global events that are currently unfolding…
#1 Wars And Rumors Of Wars
War is coming to the Middle East, and it might be coming a lot sooner than most people think. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is very eager to annex portions of Judea and Samaria before the U.S. election in November, and the coalition agreement that he reached with Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz allows him to do that as early as July.
I believe that it will happen at some point in the coming months, and the Palestinians are openly warning that such a move will mean war. In fact, Mahmoud Abbas is so upset about this pending annexation that he just publicly backed out of all previous agreements with the United States and Israel. And Jordan’s King Abdullah just told a German newspaper that annexation “would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan”.
“What would happen if the Palestinian National Authority collapsed? There would be more chaos and extremism in the region. If Israel really annexed the West Bank in July, it would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” said Abdullah.
This is something to keep a very close eye on, and we also need to keep in mind that a major war between Israel and Iran could erupt at literally any moment as well.
#2 Earthquakes
Our planet continues to become increasing unstable and I am particularly concerned about the west coast of the United States. It is just a matter of time before “the Big One” hits California, and this week we did see two very alarming quakes strike just off the California coast. The first measured at a 4.7 magnitude. It hit at 11:56 p.m. Sunday about 163 miles west of Eureka. The second earthquake was stronger, measuring a 5.5 magnitude hitting in the same area about 160 miles west of Eureka at 12:02 a.m. Monday.
Overall, there have been 2,668 earthquakes in California and Nevada over the last 7 days, and that is definitely unusual.
Meanwhile, large earthquakes continue to strike other areas of the globe with frightening regularity. For example, a magnitude 6.2 quake just rocked the Mediterranean Sea, and that made headlines all over the globe. In the days ahead, the shaking is only going to get worse, but most people don’t understand what is happening.
#3 Volcanoes
Mt. Popocatepetl near Mexico City has roared to life once again. In fact, it is being reported that it was shooting hot ash 20,000 feet into the air on Wednesday. Keep a very close eye on this volcano, because someday a catastrophic eruption of Mt. Popocatepetl will result in the worst disaster in the history of Mexico. Of course Mt. Popocatepetl is far from alone. According to Volcano Discovery, 24 volcanoes around the globe are erupting right now, and dozens more are showing signs of unrest.
#4 Crazy Weather Patterns
You may have noticed that global weather patterns have gone absolutely nuts. We are seeing record setting droughts in some parts of the world, in other areas we are witnessing unprecedented flooding, and global food production has been greatly disrupted by one unforeseen event after another.
For instance, this week India and Bangladesh are preparing for Super Cyclone Amphan to make landfall. On Monday night, that storm “officially became the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal”.
#5 Armies Of Locusts
Billions of locusts have been traveling in giant swarms the size of major cities across large portions of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. These mammoth swarms can travel up to 90 miles a day, and when they descend on a farm they can eat all of the vegetation in as little as 30 seconds. This week, video of these locusts “blocking out the sun in Iran” was being widely shared on social media.
#6 African Swine Fever
Before COVID-19 came along, African Swine Fever was the most serious pestilence affecting the planet. There is no vaccine, there is no cure, and it is killing pigs all over the globe at a staggering rate. In fact, approximately half the pigs in China and approximately one-fourth of all the pigs in the entire world have already been wiped out by this disease. Needless to say, this is having a tremendous impact on the global food supply, because much of the world relies on pig meat as a primary source of protein.
#7 Famines And Food Riots
You know that things are bad when even the United Nations is using the word “biblical” to describe the famines that are beginning to emerge around the globe. The head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley, is publicly warning that we are heading into “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two”, and he is telling us that we could soon see approximately 300,000 people literally starve to death every single day. We have already witnessed very large food riots in Africa, and now they are starting to happen in South America. Global food supplies have gotten very tight, and they are only going to get tighter in the months ahead.
#8 Economic Collapse
Countries all over the world have locked down their economies in 2020 due to fear of COVID-19, and that has plunged the entire global economy into a deep depression.
Here in the United States, more than 36 million Americans have already lost their jobs, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says that the real rate of unemployment in the United States is now 30.7 percent, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is projecting that U.S. GDP will fall by 42.8 percent during the second quarter of this year. Now that our economic bubble has burst, the dominoes are just going to continue to tumble, and the days ahead are looking quite bleak.
#9 The Coronavirus Plague
This is the greatest public health crisis in a hundred years, and it looks like this pandemic is going to be with us for many months to come. Already, there have been more than 5 million confirmed cases around the world and more than 300,000 people have died. Many had been hoping that the worst was behind us, but the head of the WHO just told us that Tuesday was the worst day for new cases “since the outbreak began”.
Jesus specifically warned us that there would be “pestilences” during the time before His return, and I believe in the future we will see even worse pandemics than this one.
In fact, many of the signs that I discussed above will get worse in the days ahead. Just as birth pains increase in frequency and severity as the time for birth gets closer, we should expect many of the signs that Jesus warned about to increase in frequency and severity as well.
But even in the midst of all the chaos that is coming, God will be moving, and I believe that the greatest revival in all of human history is still ahead of us.