How close are we to the end?

The Signs of the Times

Never before in the history of the Church have there been so many unmistakable, definite signs pointing to the time of Christ’s return. There are so many signs that are happening that to cover them all would take months. I would like to mention just a few of the more outstanding and more important signs, which have recently been fulfilled. It is the prophecies of the Bible that make it the most unique book in the world and why it is so different than any other holy book. Even though there are people who will scoff at the mention of “end time” prophecies because they think nothing has changed. We know things are different now than they were one hundred years ago, than they were fifty years ago. With the re-gathering of the Nation of Israel in 1948 after almost 2,000 years of being scattered the end time clock began ticking. Jesus said the generation that saw this re-gathering would be the last generation. Peter prophesied about an end time nuclear war. He said in the end of the ages, God was going to rain down fire on this world and that the “elements” would actually melt with a “fervent heat.” This is something we can now understand with the invention of nuclear bombs. Revelation 13 talks about the ‘mark of the beast’ and already that technology is here with many thousands of people already having chips implanted in their hands and arms all over the world right now. The prophet Daniel in chapter 12 said that two signs we could look for in the ‘time of the end’ would be an increase in knowledge and that men would be traveling all over the earth. “But you Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the TIME OF THE END; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” We are living in the midst of the greatest knowledge explosion since the beginning of the world! There was a knowledge explosion when Guttenberg invented the printing press in the 1400s. Up until that time all books had to be hand written. This one invention caused a tremendous increase in knowledge throughout the world by making books more available for people to read. Within one hundred years, books, newspapers, and magazines could be purchased and read by the average citizen, whereas before most could not afford a hand written book and could not even read it. Then four hundred years later, electricity was discovered and men began to send information electronically through telegraph, and the telephone. Then came the radio, and the television and there was another knowledge explosion. But nothing has caused such an explosion in the history of the world in spreading knowledge like the computer, seventy years later, which has only been available in PC form for less than thirty years. Even the fax machine seemed to help people have greater access to knowledge. Then in the last thirty years we have seen the development of the internet. Right now we have at our disposal all the knowledge of the entire world. We can have access to all the libraries in the world! Now we have the wireless and cell phones, so we can have access to all this information from anyplace on the earth. We are in the midst of the most incredible knowledge explosion this world has ever seen. Information about everything is coming with unbelievable speed.

Think about this, all knowledge had to be transferred by handwriting then in 1440 the printing press then about 400 years later, 1878 Thomas Edison finally puts electricity to use with a light bulb and generators and almost at the same time Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and telecommunications were born. Then seventy years later, in 1940’s we have the invention of the computer then thirty years later, 1970’s the internet invented, and then in last 10-15 years, we have the cell phone and the wireless. New ideas are coming almost every year! (1,400 years-press, 400 years-electric, 70 years-computer, 30 years-internet, 10-15 years-wireless/cell, anyone see a pattern???)
Many of you might remember how we ‘increased in knowledge’ just 25 short years ago. If we wanted to do any kind of research, we had to go to the library or we needed an up to date set of encyclopedias. If we went to the library we had to flip through card catalogs to find some books or magazines that had the information we were looking for. If I wanted to find some information for a sermon it would take hours and hours and days just to find it. Now if we want some information all we have to do is log on to the World Wide Web and its’ there! Communication technology is moving forward so fast, that electronic equipment is outdated now in less than one year! Take the CD for instance; on this little 4 1/2” plastic disc, we can store more information than is contained on your entire bookshelf! Or, the same disc can contain your favorite music or even movies. I remember when I thought the cassette tape was a “big” deal! And we are already seeing the CD go out of date, with MP3’s and IPods. What about our cell phones, just look at what has happened with them. My cell phone I have right now has all the information loaded on it that I have on my computer! And if I want I can take pictures with it! I can go in the internet with it, send emails, text messages, and buy and sell stock!

We are living in the super technology generation. Daniel was told to seal the book until the time of the end. He was told how we would know when the end was near. There would be an explosion in knowledge. We seem to be at that point. You can go to the store and buy a calculator for fewer than ten dollars. Then, in ten minutes, one person can do calculations that used to take a thousand men working thousands of hours to complete! While we cannot name the exact date of the Lord’s return its nearness may be known by the signs of the times. We are near, are you ready?