Are We in the End Time?

Are we living in the end time?

That might seem like a crazy question to some people, but when you look at what’s happening in the world it’s not that hard to understand why more and more people are beginning to ask it.

But how do you know? Believe it or not, there is a correct answer to this question.

The phrase “time of the end” comes from the Bible. It describes the period leading up to Jesus Christ’s Second Coming. And it culminates in a short, intense period of unprecedented violence—worse than any in history. Violence so bad, it could annihilate all human life.

Jesus Christ Himself forecast this period in detail. In Matthew 24, Christ explained, “You shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (verse 6).

So wars, of themselves, don’t signal the end.

Jesus then said, “[T]here shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (verses 7-8).

So when you see wars increasing, when you hear rumors of wars, and you see famines, pestilences and earthquakes all picking up, don’t just move on and pretend everything is normal. Take notice.

Jesus then explained a specific sequence of events leading to what He called “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (verse 21).

This is no ordinary war. This is a catastrophic world war—on a scale human beings have never experienced.

World War i was called “the war to end all wars.” But sadly, it didn’t end all wars—World War ii was even worse. More than 60 million people died. That war ended with two atomic bombs exploding over two Japanese cities. Suddenly, mankind had entered the age of weapons of mass destruction.

Since then, we have had “wars and rumours of wars.” In fact there have been over 250 significant armed conflicts around the world since then! But none has been as deadly as World War ii. Yet Christ’s prophecy shows that another, even worse world war is coming!

Look at the devastating weapons mankind has created since those first two atomic bombs. Bombs that can incinerate skyscrapers. Pathogens that can poison millions of people. Toxins so dangerous they can kill even the armies that deploy them.

Now, notice the very next thing Christ said in His prophecy about the time of the end: “Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved [alive] …” (verse 22). Christ Himself said that right at the end, human beings would reach a point when our weapons could destroy everyone on the planet!

Could this prophecy have been fulfilled in the age of the bow and arrow—or the musket and cannon—or the tank—or even the airplane? Only in the last couple generations have we possessed weapons of mass destruction!

These weapons have been around for a few decades now. But more recently, we have entered the time of the proliferation of these weapons. Today, unstable Pakistan and unpredictable North Korea have nuclear weapons. And terrorist-sponsoring Iran is about to get them!

Many former Soviet nuclear sites have lax security, and even sites in America and Europe are vulnerable to theft.

Plus, we now live in the age of terror. Terrorists have proven they are willing to use any weapon they can get their hands on, even if it means committing suicide.

People may say it’s extreme to say these weapons will go off in our lifetimes. But look at world events and you know that it’s actually extreme to say they never will!

Is it a coincidence that we now have the exact types of weapons that can fulfill Jesus Christ’s own prophecy?

Is it coincidence that they are proliferating—and that the world is getting more and more unstable?

Or are these the specific signs Christ gave that we are living in the end time?

But remember, Christ said that “those days should be shortened.” The same God who told us about this dark world we’re entering also promised that He will cut these dark days short.

Christ said that “[i]mmediately after the tribulation of those days,” people will “see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (verses 29-30).

The end of this world will lead immediately to the beginning of a new world!

If you see the dangers in the world around you—and if you believe the Bible—you can also know that there is hope: Jesus Christ is about to return.

Christ prophesied in detail about the signs preceding the end time. If you want more proof that He was talking about our time today, here’s a great place to start: Nuclear Armageddon Is ‘At the Door.’Click here to read this easy-to-understand booklet online right now. Also ask for your own personal print copy, and we will send you one in the mail, absolutely free.