Based on Matthew 24:1-14 (New King James Version)
“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’ 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. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. ‘Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 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.”
One of the sure things we have to hold on to are biblical prophecies, because they are fulfilled exactly when their time has come. The Word of God is as sure as God Himself because the Word is God Himself. The words that we read in the most sacred text are more than words, more than thoughts, which were written by men, but inspired by God. Therefore, if you want to hold on to something sure and immovable, take the Word of God as the foundation for your lives.
For example, we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Only Begotten Son of God because of precisely this, because of the fulfillment of the prophecies in His life. Some time ago, Peter Stoner and Robert Newman wrote a book called Science Speaks. And they explained that the odds of just eight of the 60 messianic prophecies being fulfilled in one man would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (100 quadrillion). And we know that more than eight prophecies were fulfilled in the life of the Lord. Winning the lottery in any country in the world would be many times more possible in comparison. So, we can very easily determine two very fundamental things, that the Word of God is fulfilled in due time, and of course, that the Lord is undoubtedly God.
Returning to the passage we read at the beginning, the Lord revealed many of the things that would happen that would lead to the end. And I can say very confidently that the vast majority of what He said has already been fulfilled. Therefore, we can conclude that we are already at the end. For example, the destruction of the temple occurred in 70 AD, when the Roman Empire completely destroyed Jerusalem. And literally not one stone was left upon another because the soldiers took apart and burned the walls of the temple to be able to extract the gold and precious stones. And what can we say about false christs since there have already been many over time? In reference to wars, unlike the ancient wars that occurred with such kingdoms as the Roman Empire, there have not been wars of greater magnitude than those that have occurred in the last two centuries in the world. We have already had not only one world war, but two world wars where groups of nations rose up to confront each other in different parts of the world, where “nation against nation” took place. And the last world war showed such magnitude that thousands of people died in moments when only two bombs were dropped on Japan, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where more than 355,000 people died.
Regarding plagues (which includes diseases), we can say that the world has already seen great horrors such as the Black Death or the Bubonic Plague where more than 50 million people died between 1346 and 1353. More than 60% of the European population died during those few years. And what can we say about today? The world has never been so plagued by different health problems as we see today between cardiovascular problems, strokes, respiratory and lung problems, cancer, etc. The World Health Organization says that more than 41 million people die each year due to non-communicable diseases alone (like those mentioned). More than 15 million of these deaths occur between the ages of 30 and 69.
In reference to global hunger, in February 2024, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) estimated that 309 million people in 72 countries where the WFP operates would face acute problems with food insecurity. This includes an estimated 42.3 million who would be at risk of starvation. More than 9 million people die annually from hunger (25,000 people daily).
Regarding earthquakes, we can relate the following. In the year 1556 in Shaanxi, China, an estimated 830,000 people died. In 1976 in Tangshen, China, as many as 655,000 people are believed to have died. More recently, in 2004, near the Indonesian coast, a submarine earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 occurred, producing a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India. In 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the Haitian government estimates that up to 316,000 people died. The issue of earthquakes has become a common occurrence in our times, that in different parts of the world, sooner or later, some type of significant earthquake occurs.
And in relation to the preaching of the Gospel worldwide and the persecution of the Church, it has also already happened. Virtually everyone in the world knows about Christ, and that the symbol of the cross is the demonstration of God’s love, that He gave to His Only Begotten Son so that we could have eternal life in Him. In 1995, during the Global Mission event, Dr. Billy Graham preached a sermon at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico that was broadcast by satellite to 185 countries and translated into 116 languages. And in many parts of the world, the Universal Church of God is already being persecuted. When the Antichrist comes to power, global persecution will come to pass.
So, we can conclude that we are already at the end, and a wise person would realize this reality, and would make decisions that ensure they are ready for what is coming and eternal life, such as repent and convert from all sins, believe and accept the Lord Jesus as the Lord of their lives, and live to fulfill the will of the Lord. These three things make up the Gospel of God so that a person can obtain salvation. So, are you ready, or are you still avoiding the only path to salvation and eternal life? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.