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FAQ 273
Signs of the End Times
NCW 68, May-July 2000
Q. Are we in the end times? Could you give us some guides as to what signs to look out for?
There are a number of arcticles on this topic in our publications and on our main webpage at nccg.org. Here are 14 specific signs mentioned in the New Testament:
- 1. trouble within families
- 2. fear and ignorance of Earth changes/disasters
- 3. regathering of Yahweh's people
- 4. apostasy
- 5. war and rumors of war
- 6. signs in the Heavens
- 7. lawlessness
- 8. increased knowledge
- 9. increased travel
- 10. rise of false christs and false prophets
- 11. plagues and pestilence
- 12. gospel preached globally
- 13. earthquakes
- 14. hearing the phrase "peace and safety"; I Thessalonians 5:3
However, a few comments may help flesh parts of this out a bit more:
(1) According to the NT, the end-times began, in the cosmic sense, in the apostolic era, and have been in the process ever since. The first advent of Christ marked the symbolic end of the old world order. However,
(2) There may also be said to be a literal "end-time" or "winding-up scene". The signs are many, which Jesus and the apostles listed. Many believe that the "end" will come in a matter of a few years and some (like ourselves) believe we have about a generation left. One of the most important signs given by Yah'shua (Jesus) was that upon His return the spiritual and moral condition of the people would be like that of the antediluvian (pre-flood) period. In a world of many millions, there were only 8 true believers in Noah's time. We may extrapolate from this and calculate that when the Lord returns again there will be proportionately as many people. We can only guess at how many because we don't know the world population as it was in Noah's days nor what it will be when the Lord returns, the current world population doubling every decade or so. Whatever the true figures on both sides of the prophetic equation may be, we are talking about only a REMANT of true believers in the very last days, perhaps numbering only in the thousands or ten thousands. There is no doubt that there is a major apostacy in Christendom now and that formerly Christian societies have crossed that threshhold where paganism is the dominant religion belief structure. We have a while yet before the world becomes COMPLETELY pagan as it was when Christianity first began. I believe we are to return to a situation not dissimilar to the VERY early Christian Church as it obtained before the apostles were taken, inasmuch as I believe true apostles are to be shortly restored again.
No-one can precisely give dates, of course, nor is it wise to attempt to do so - God's calendar is not fixed inasmuch as the saints may interceed to postpone or hasten judgment - or God may withhold because of repentance in certain places. There is, at present, much "antichrist" fever and alot of speculation about the activities of the Catholic Church which, without a doubt, is actively making moves to resecure its once dominant historical position by various devices. There are technological advances suggesting we may not be far off from bio-electronic surveillance and control. But it is up to Yahweh as to when He permits the adversary to utilise these things.
It is our belief, as you may have discerned from our writings, that the separation of the wheat and the tares is about to begin, and that the process of separation will be dramatic indeed, dividing false from true Christians. We believe that a special ordinance of the Lord's Supper, used in apostolic times but discontinued with the Apostle John's death, may an important instrument in this separation processes. Thus we believe the Church Age is rather like two parts of a mirror image and that we are now heading towards a time which in many respects will be like the former New Testament period. The true Church will be in a tiny minority, badly persecuted in a pagan world, and possessing tremendous power.
This page was created on 12 June 2000
Last updated on 12 June 2000
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