What Are the Signs of the End Times—And Are We Seeing Them Now?

Guinea Bissau Conference Session #4: Birth Pains, Discernment, and Readiness in the Last Days

Core Question:

“What is the last sign of the end of time?”

Key Texts:

Matthew 24; Luke 21; 2 Timothy 3:1–5

2 Timothy 3:1–5 ESV

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Big Idea: God did not give signs to satisfy curiosity—but to awaken urgency.

A QUESTION JESUS EXPECTED

The question we are asking today is not a modern question. It is not a Western question. It is not a question born from social media or the news cycle. It is a biblical question, and it is a question Jesus Himself invited.

In Matthew 24:1-3

Matthew 24:1–3 ESV

1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 3 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?”

Notice what they did not ask.

They did not ask for a date.

They did not ask for a schedule.

They asked for signs.

And Jesus answered them—not with a calendar, but with patterns.

This is crucial. Scripture never gives us a date for the end. Scripture gives us conditions. Not so that believers will speculate, but so that they will prepare.

I. JESUS’ TEACHING ON BIRTH PAINS

Matthew 24:3–8 ESV

3 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?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 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. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Jesus begins by warning His disciples about deception. Before wars, famines, or earthquakes, He says, “See that no one leads you astray.” This sets the tone. The greatest danger in the last days is not chaos—it is confusion.

Then Jesus lists what many people rush to label as “the end”: wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes. But He immediately corrects them: “See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”

Then comes a critical phrase:

“All these are but the beginning of birth pains.”

Birth pains do not tell you the exact moment of birth—but they tell you the process has begun. They increase in frequency. They increase in intensity. And once they begin, they do not stop until new life arrives.

Jesus is telling us something very important: the signs are not isolated events; they are accelerating patterns. The goal is not prediction—it is recognition.

Throughout history, there have always been wars and disasters. But Jesus is describing a global, converging, intensifying pattern, not random occurrences. The world will feel like it is groaning—and Scripture tells us that it is. Romans 8 says creation itself is groaning, waiting for redemption.

II. WHY SCRIPTURE GIVES PATTERNS—NOT DATES

Jesus makes something unmistakably clear: “Concerning that day and hour no one knows… but the Father only.”

This is not a limitation of Jesus’ authority—it is a protection for the Church.

If we had a date:

Some would panic

Some would procrastinate

Some would exploit it

And many would stop living faithfully

Instead, God gives us patterns that require vigilance.

Jesus compares the last days to the days of Noah. People were eating, drinking, marrying—normal life—right up until judgment came suddenly. The problem was not that they were sinning openly; it was that they were unaware and unprepared.

The Bible consistently warns against two errors

Date-setting

Dismissal

Jesus rebukes both. He tells us not to calculate the day, but He commands us to watch.

Watchfulness is not obsession.

Watchfulness is spiritual alertness.

III. THE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL SIGNS OF THE LAST DAYS

2 Timothy 3:1–5 ESV

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Paul gives one of the clearest pictures of last-days conditions, and it is striking that he focuses not on earthquakes or wars—but on people.

“In the last days perilous times will come.”

Then he describes a society marked by:

Self-love

Money-love

Pride

Arrogance

Disobedience

Lack of natural affection

Love of pleasure rather than love of God

This is not merely cultural decline. It is moral inversion.

The most sobering phrase comes at the end:

“Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”

This is religion without repentance. Faith without transformation. Church without Christ. This aligns perfectly with what we see in Laodicea—lukewarm, self-sufficient, and blind.

These are not signs meant to scare believers. They are signs meant to steady believers—to remind us that Scripture is being fulfilled exactly as written.

IV. LUKE 21: WHEN SIGNS SHOULD LIFT OUR EYES

In Luke 21, Jesus speaks again of distress among nations, fear, confusion, and instability. People will faint with fear because of what is coming upon the world.

But then Jesus says something radically different to His followers:

“Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

The same events that terrify the world are meant to encourage the Church.

Why? Because the Church is not waiting for collapse—we are waiting for Christ.

The signs are not the end.

They are the signal that the end is approaching.

V. THE DANGER OF SIGN-OBSESSION VS. BIBLICAL READINESS

There are two unhealthy responses to signs

First: Obsession

This is when believers chase every headline, conspiracy, and rumor. This produces fear, division, and distraction.

Second: Apathy

This is when believers dismiss signs entirely and live as if nothing is changing. This produces complacency and compromise.

Jesus calls us to neither obsession nor apathy—but readiness.

Readiness looks like:

Faithfulness

Holiness

Endurance

Gospel urgency

Jesus never told His disciples to predict His return.

He told them to be ready for it.

VI. THE PURPOSE OF SIGNS: URGENCY, NOT CURIOSITY

Signs are meant to do three things:

Confirm God’s Word– What He said would happen is happening.

Awaken the Church– Sleep is dangerous in the night.

Urgently Call People to Christ– Time is short, mercy is still available.

Peter reminds us that God’s delay is mercy, not weakness. The door of grace is still open—but it will not remain open forever.

VII. OUR HOPE: THE BLESSED HOPE OF THE CHURCH

We are not waiting for the final sign.

We are waiting for the trumpet

Jesus promised to come again.

Paul said the Lord Himself will descend.

Titus calls it the blessed hope.

The signs tell us where we are—not who we are.

We are the redeemed.

We are the watchful.

We are the Bride.

CONCLUSION: HOW SHOULD WE LIVE NOW?

Since the signs are increasing:

Live holy

Live awake

Live urgent

Live hopeful

Do not fear the signs.

Do not chase the signs.

Let the signs drive you to faithfulness.

The night is far gone.

The day is at hand.

The King is coming soon.