Signs of the Times

Bottom line

The end, along with the return of Christ, is drawing closer and the church is expected to know the signs.

Opening Line

How many people are easily scared or startled by something?

Introduction

I remember growing up, watching the first Jurassic Park movie with my dad. I can’t even remember how old I was when I watched it. But I remember, near the end of the movie, when the power is out and the raptors have escaped from their pen. Ellie Sattler is turning on the power and just as she is catching her breath, the raptor slams into the cage. My soul left my body in that moment, I jumped so bad.

Well fast forward to about a year ago. Abby was still living with us and she had a list of movies she wanted to watch. Fortunately for her, Michelle and I like watching movies, and the Jurassic Park movies were on the list. I happen to own at the time all six movies because I love a good monster movie. I will watch superhero movies, but give me dinosaurs and Godzilla every single time.

Well we were watching the first movie, and even though I knew the part was coming, it had been long enough I wasn’t sure of the exact timing. Well sure enough, the raptor hit the cage and a younger version of myself returned to my body because I jumped just as bad as I did the first time. Fortunately, the two girls jumped higher, so I was able to play it off.

Main Point

My concern is that when the end comes, and Christ returns, people are going to share one of those same two experiences. There will be some that don’t know the word or rejected the teachings of Christ, and when he returns they will be shocked. They didn’t know it was coming, so why would they be prepared or watching for it.

But there will be some who are followers of Jesus, who have read the bible, and have heard about the signs, and they will be equally caught off guard. See Jesus teaches his followers what the signs of the end are so that you can be watching for the signs and be ready. It is not to scare or cause concern, but simply to raise awareness.

Why it matters

This morning, I want to be clear about the purpose. We are going to look at Matthew 24, where Jesus tells his disciples that these are the signs of the end. If after this morning you are not convinced that the end of all things is imminent, you are not listening or pay attention. I know that at different eras and decades the church honestly believed that the end was near, but I believe that the culmination of things makes the strongest case ever in history.

So this morning is going to be a little different. We are going to not only look at Scripture, but we are also going to look at the current state of things and how it lines up with Jesus’ words.

Scripture

Matthew 24:1–3 NLT

As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”

This interaction between Jesus and the disciples would have probably caught the disciples off guard. They are admiring the temple that is built to honor God, and Jesus looks at it, knowing that one day it will be destroyed by the Romans. So the fact that Jesus points out the impending doom of the temple, the disciples can’t help but to ask for more details. So they ask Jesus, what are the signs? How will we know that the end is near and you are returning?

Matthew 24:4–5 NLT

Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.

Matthew 24:11 NLT

And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.

1) Increased False Messiahs and False Prophets

Jesus starts off by warning the disciples that there will be an increase of people trying to deceive the people of God and draw them away.

This is interesting because the reality of false Messiahs isn’t new. Many of these false Messiahs were pretty localized and strictly of the religious variety.

But there was a shift in the 20th century that made false Messiahs more prolific. When the advancement of technology and the ability to travel the world, these false Messiahs are able to use their charisma and personality to have a greater impact and deceive greater amounts of people. Since 1920, 8 different people have been able to convince people that they are either the second coming of Christ or the reincarnation of Christ, and their deception lasted for long periods of time. There is one in the Philippines who started in the 1950, claiming to be Appointed Son of God and has the power to stop earthquakes. There was one in Australia that claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus and I heard about it on the news in Canada. There was one in the US that claimed to be both Jesus and the Antichrist at the same time, and his followers took the tattoo 666 as the mark of their devotion.

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Though false Messiahs is one thing, even more concerning is the deception is false prophets. The increase of false teaching and bad theology that has swept across the world is immense. Everything from the New Apostolic Movement to the Prosperity gospel. Everything coming to light about Hillsong Church and Bethel church is an indication of how sneaky and deceptive these things can be. The even more alarming thing is that even as the evidence piles up about the attrocities of these so called ministries, many believers refuse to accept the accusations. It is truly alarming!

Matthew 24:6 NLT

And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.

Wars and Rumor of Wars

This shouldn’t be a big surprise. The reality is that war and conflict is just part of the human history. It is this verse that led many churches to believe that the end was near during World War 1 and World War 2. Why wouldn’t you believe it? The whole world was at war.

But what we have seen in recent years is a clear escalation of conflict, compounded by the ever present threat of nuclear war looming. Since WW2, there has been an average of 150 armed conflicts taking place around the world each year, with number of actual conflicts never dropping below 100. Nearly 300,000 people die every year from these conflicts.

When you factor in the rumors of war, you need to account for the Doomsday clock. At the beginning of 2026, the clock was set to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been. The reason for the setting is a combination of current nuclear agreements coming to an end and the introduction of AI into modern weapons systems. AI with weapons, I think I saw that movie, had something to do with skynet?

Matthew 24:7 NLT

Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.

3) Earthquakes in many parts of the world

I’m going to do these next three out of order, but that is intentional because the first two actually attribute to the third one.

There will be earthquakes. In recent years, our ability to detect seismic activity has obviously increased with the advancement of technology. Regardless, the recent stats when it comes to earthquakes and their impact on the human population shows an increase. Recent decades show that an average of 16 major earthquakes happen every year since 1900. Many of these earthquakes are of natural causes, but there is no denying that human progress has also contributed to the increase in seismic activity.

Luke 21:11 NLT

There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.

4) Increased Pandemics

Luke adds that there will be plagues. Recent decades have shown an increase of frequency of plagues happening. The increase in plagues is attributed to zoonotic transmission, which is animal to human, which is due to urbanization, deforestation, and global wildlife trade. Transmission is only exemplified by modern travel, enabling a plague to spread globally in a matter of hours.

5 of the 12 deadliest pandemics of human history have happened in the 20th century and 2 already in the 21st century. The interval between pandemics has shrunk, with the last 4 happening within 15 years of each other.

These two signs directly contribute to the next one Jesus lists.

5) Increased Famine

Interestingly. this was actually trending in the opposite direction. Over the past century, greater amounts of effort was being made to feed the less fortunate, with malnutrition actually on the decline.

Then we were hit by a pandemic, major conflicts, and climate instablity, and starvation rates are the highest they have ever been. As of this year, 8.2% of the global population is undernourished. The highest rates of famine are actually found in the high conflict zones.

Matthew 24:9–10 NLT

“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.

6) Increased Persecution

In 2025, persecution of Christians hit the highest numbers in all of history. Over 380 million Christians face persecution for their faith in Jesus. That is about 1 in 7 brothers and sisters in Christ face hardship because of their declaration of faith.

Let me break those numbers down further for you.

4,849 people were killed for their faith

224,129 have been displaced from their homes

Technology has only made the persecution of the church more severe. China governs all religious behavior, prohibiting all unauthorized bible apps and any kind of livestreaming of services. This kind of persecution has forced many churches to go underground.

Matthew 24:12 NLT

Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.

7) Love of many will grow cold

I didn’t think I needed to expound on the rampant sin that Jesus talks about. Everywhere you look, sin is not only rampant but being celebrated.

But I want you to see some interesting stats in regard to the love of many growing cold. Recent data shows that loneliness, social isolation, and the collapse of interpersonal and institutional trust has increased. Current global stats show that 1 in 6 people feel lonely, with the number increasing to 1 in 4 in lower income countries. Loneliness has actually attriibuted to 871,000 death annually, which works out to 100 people die of loneliness every hour!

There is also a connection of loneliness to increased sale of narcotics. In 2023, 3,708 tons of cocaine was produced and sold globally.

Matthew 24:13–14 NLT

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

8) Increased Global Evangelism

After seven bad signs that the end is near, finally Jesus gives us a good one to be excited about. All nations will hear the good news about the Kingdom. Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Joshua Project indicate that 99% of all the world’s languages have at least a portion of the bible translated, with many having a full manuscript. Since 1999, the number of languages without any access to the Bible has dropped from 5,000 to 544. That is incredible, and the advancements of technology and AI have contributed greatly to that progress. 99% of the way there, church.

Matthew 24:8 NLT

But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

This is only Birth Pains

Ladies, when the time is approaching to give birth to the child, what generally happens with contractions? Do they become less frequent and easier to handle? No. They become more frequent and increase greatly as the moment of truth approaches.

The same can be said of the signs Jesus gives us. Where in the past, one or two events may have contributed to the feeling that the end is nearing. But what we are seeing in recent decades is an increase of frequency and intensity of all the signs all at once. Some final thoughts for you.

When it comes to frequency, the average time between billion dollar climate disasters has dropped from 82 in 1980 to 12 days in 2020. From almost 3 months to almost 3 a month.

When it comes to intensity, pandemics are happening more frequently and killing more people, persecution is on the rise, and the Doomsday clock is only getting closer to midnight.

When it comes to synchronization of all the signs, technology has both increased our ability to evangelize the world, while also creating greater capability to persecute and restrict the church and created an increasingly more dangerous world with the connection of AI and weapons.

Transition to Application

So what do we do? Do we stock pile food, build bunkers, and hide out until the world ends?

Main To Do

Luke 21:12–19 NLT

“But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you! Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you. And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But not a hair of your head will perish! By standing firm, you will win your souls.

Jesus doesn’t tell you these signs to create fear, but to create an awareness. He calls you to be alert, to be ready. In fact, instead of hiding, Jesus actually encourages you to get busy sharing the gospel and making disciples. You are told to stand firm in your faith, knowing that Jesus goes with you, and do what disciples of Jesus do. You don’t stay and hide; you go and make disciples.

Why it matters

The time is short, the signs are not only there, but they are increasing and getting more intense. Just like labor pains, the frequency and intensity means that the end is near. The return of Christ is imminent! So disciples, go, make disciples while you still have time, because you never know when the clock is going to strike 0.

Closing Line

So go!

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

How can we ensure we are spiritually prepared for Christ's return?

What signs of the end times do you feel most concerned about in today's world?

In what ways can we actively watch for the signs of the times as instructed by Jesus?

How can we encourage fellow believers not to be caught off guard by Christ's return?

What can you do personally to prepare spiritually for any future challenges?

How can you share the message of Christ's return among your friends?

What does being 'ready' for Christ's return look like in your daily life?