The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for[a] all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, [b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
It is quite clear from the above verses that we are in the days of tribulation, where race rises up against race, son against father, rumors of wars, and so on. However, one thing stands out: the world will not end until the gospel is preached to all the world. How far do you think we are from attaining this?
Perhaps that is how much time we have remaining until the end.
Jesus, however, warns us not to focus on the exact day or timing but on our walk with God. You have no reason to worry about which place you might end up—whether heaven or hell—on the day of judgment. What you need to worry about is not then, but your walk with God now. Whatever happens on judgment day is determined by what you did in your lifetime, which is now—not tomorrow, but now. This is what determines whether your fate is heaven or hell!
4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
Here Paul tells the church to spend less time worrying about the day they get their reward and concentrate more on working hard in order to achieve this reward—heaven, eternity. What good is it to know the end day when you will miss out on heaven?
Isn’t it rather wiser to work toward making it to heaven than to worry or dig into when the exact end day will be? I will tell you this, and I will say it once.
Jesus said this to His disciples when asked this very question in Matthew 24:36
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of [f]heaven, but My Father only.
So don’t waste your time again trying to figure it out by logic or some sort of calculation. Do you not know that the things of God can only be understood by the Spirit of God? Even Daniel goes on to inquire further from the angel. Guess what reply he got?
Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?”
9 And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.
The angel says, “but the wise shall understand.” Didn’t I just say nobody knows?
It is not with the naked eye that we see or comprehend these mysteries, but by the Spirit of God—of wisdom.
Surprisingly, there are a few clues left behind in the Bible that can help you know when the days are near…
Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.
There are two clues: the mysterious timeline of “a time, times, and half a time,” and at the end, “when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered.”
There are even more clues in the Scripture I began this article with. Could you go and pick them out for me?
Truth be told, if you add up the pieces, it will start to add up, but the exact time or date is not known. As Jesus said, only His Father knows when! He compares this time to a season.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that[e] it is near—at the doors!
The time and season are near; however, just as we can tell when a season is about to come by changes in certain aspects—like the shedding of leaves, etc.—so should we be vigilant of the times we are in: tribulation, abomination of desolation, blasphemy, and so many more. It is only a matter of time before the doors are opened.
Call to Vigilance
When the angel talked to Daniel, he told him that the wise shall understand. That makes me wonder: who are the wise?
Jesus says, “Watch therefore, for you do not know the hour your Lord is coming.” And He concludes on this matter with these words:
For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Who then shall make it to heaven? Let’s find out here….
