Events of the twentieth century alerted Bible
students to the tremendous potential for fulfilled
prophecy, and many students of the Bible and
eschatology recognize the events continuing
to unfold in the world today as signs of the
last days.
The signs are visible all around us.
" wars and rumors of wars" -
Matthew 24:6
Endless war seem to rage in Iraq and Afghanistan
and the war on terrorism is spreading to nearly
every corner of the globe. Since 2000 alone,
America has been mired in conflict in Sierra
Leone, Yemen, East Timor, Afghanistan, Philippines,
Cote d'Ivoire, Iraq, Liberia, Georgia, Haïti,
Pakistan, Lebanon, and Somalia.
"Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom." - Matthew 24:7
Other conflicts are raging in Darfur, Saudi
Arabia, Central African Republic, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Thailand, Chad, Gaza Strip
and the West Bank in Israel, Niger and Mali,
Kenya, and Sri Lanka.
"There will be famines and earthquakes
in various places." - Matthew 24:7
Every year, earthquakes cause thousands of
deaths, either directly or due to the resulting
tsunamis, landslides, fires, and famines.
3,000 people died in the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake.
Around 110,000 were killed
in the 1948 earthquake in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
More than 5,700 deaths were reported following
the strongest earthquake ever recorded
in 1960 in Southern Chile.
While only 15
people died in the 1964 Prince William Sound
in Alaska quake
itself, 110 more
people were killed in the resulting
tsunami.
66,000 were killed off
the western coast of South America in the
1970 Peru earthquake.
Between 250,000 and 655,000
died in the 1976 China earthquake
that struck
Tangshan, then
a city of one million people.
63 people were killed in the 1989 Loma Prieta
quake -- which
struck
the San
Francisco area.
60 people
were killed in the 1994 Northridge quake
in Southern
California.
More than 5,000
were killed the 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake.
230,000 (and perhaps as many as 290,000) people
in 12
countries -- including
about 168,000
in Indonesia alone
were killed in the 2004 earthquake
just
off the
west coast
of the island
of Sumatra, and the
tsunami that followed.
More than 80,000 people
were killed in the
2005 Pakistan
earthquake.
More
than 69,000 people died in the
2008 Sichuan
China
earthquake.
We're hearing of an increasing scarcity of food
on a worldwide scale, due to increased consumption
in growing countries such as China and India
and rising fuel costs. These shortages have caused
riots in some places and some predict the future
outbreak of wars fought over increasing food
scarcities.
Change
The twentieth century was an unprecedented period
of change and the twenty-first century is proving
to be even more dramatic. At no time in history
have more changes occurred in science and in
the political structure of the world.
More changes occur in science in a single year
than formerly occurred in a century.
The world's brightest beacon of liberty has been corrupted by immoral bankers
and is now quickly becoming one of the greatest forces of evil in the world.
With Israel restored as a nation in 1948, the panorama of end-time prophecy came
into a focus in which Israel will be a prominent player.
The introduction of the concept of a world government, made real by the United
Nations paints a scenario that is in harmony with prophecy concerning a future
world government.
The wholesale collapse of ethical and moral values throughout society and government.
Children are killing their classmates, employees are killing fellow employees,
and government leaders are promising change.
Is
civilization coming to an end?
"Armageddon is now near not because
of this event or that event which may, in
isolation, look like a prophetic fulfillment.
Rather, it is because of the very nature
of what causes Armageddon, coupled with the
fact that our world today is rapidly assuming,
on a global scale, the characteristics of
that which underlies Armageddon." [William
R. Goetz, Armageddon Next]
Malcolm
Muggeridge suggested, "The basic
condition for a civilization is that there
should be law and order. Obviously this is
coming to an end. The world is falling into
chaos, even perhaps especially our western
world... There are many other symptoms. The
excessive interest in eroticism is characteristic
of the end of a civilization because it really
means a growing impotence, and fear of impotence.
Then the excessive need for excitement, vicarious
excitement, which of course the games provided
for the Romans and which television provides
for our population. Even the enormously complicated
structure of taxation and administration
is a symptom of the end of the civilization.
Above
all, there is this truly terrible thing which
afflicts materialist societies - boredom,
an excessive boredom which I note on every
hand."
Today many secular as well as religious
authorities recognize " These are
extraordinary times."
An Associated Press writer asks, "Is
everything spinning out of control?" A
Wall Street Journal headline read, "Millennium
Fever: Prophets Proliferate, The End is Near." A
New York Times book review began, "Some
50 million Americans share a belief that these
are the last days." Even the Chicago Tribune
ran a front-page story about the end times
in a recent Sunday edition.
Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of Nobel Prizes in
1954 and 1963, has said he believes the greatest
catastrophe in
the world is approaching. This
looming catastrophe might well result in a
world war which could destroy civilization
and spell
the end of the human race. Or, it might take
the form of mass starvation among a world population
that has been doubling every 35 years. Civilization
might end because of the collapse of the systems
on which it depends; or the end of civilization
might result from weather changes induced by
governments to improve the yield of crops.
Even the most seasoned newsmen who have "seen
it all" are in awe of the world developments
in recent years. All of them realize that something
unique in the history of the world is happening
today. And what's most stunning about it all
is the breath-taking rapidity of these recent
developments
Events of the twentieth century alerted Bible
students to the tremendous potential for fulfilled
prophecy, and many students of the Bible and
eschatology recognize the events continuing
to unfold in the world today as signs of the
last days.
Malcolm
Muggeridge suggested, "The basic
condition for a civilization is that there
should be law and order. Obviously this is
coming to an end. The world is falling into
chaos, even perhaps especially our western
world... There are many other symptoms. The
excessive interest in eroticism is characteristic
of the end of a civilization because it really
means a growing impotence, and fear of impotence.
Then the excessive need for excitement, vicarious
excitement, which of course the games provided
for the Romans and which television provides
for our population. Even the enormously complicated
structure of taxation and administration
is a symptom of the end of the civilization.
Above
all, there is this truly terrible thing which
afflicts materialist societies - boredom,
an excessive boredom which I note on every
hand."