This is one that many think they will never fall for. There are many that have and will come and flat-out claim to be Christ in the flesh. These are the ones that are easy to dismiss. Be careful of the ones that say that God has sent them, that they have a “special revelation from God” or suggest to you that there are certain rules that must be followed and only they can show you those rules and help you to obey them. There is only one rule to be saved, and that is to acknowledge and accept Jesus Christ (currently at God’s right hand in Heaven) as your savior. No other rules exist for salvation. Sanctification (growing more Christ-like) is a process, but does not require an individual to assist you – sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit, not of any man on earth.

These have been around for as long as man has walked the earth. How are we supposed to know the ones that we are told to watch for? That is a very popular question posed by many non-believers as well. Jesus tells us in the very next sentence, that these are just the beginning of birth pangs. Just like birth pangs, the frequency and intensity of these events will grow the nearer we are to Jesus’ return.

This is one sign that is more and more apparent as the days progress. Christ followers are continually mocked for their faith when other religions are not. Other faiths’ radical factions are often singled out, but then those criticizing said faith will go out of their way to defend the larger body of the faith being ridiculed. Not so with Christ followers. All Christ followers increasingly are grouped into a ridiculed group with no exceptions allowed. It is not the individuals in the faith that are the ultimate target, it is Christ himself.   Jews (non-Christ followers, but Messiah-seekers) also suffer from this hatred, just as they have since Old Testament days. The world loves to hate everything about the creator, and the hatred grows stronger and more bold every step closer we are to Jesus’ return and the tribulation.

The great falling away discussed in this passage should send every Christ follower to their knees every night. This is referred to elsewhere in the Bible as “the Great Apostasy” and is talking specifically about people who have professed to be followers of Christ but then turn away from their faith at some point. There are deep-seeded debates going back centuries about whether these people were actually saved or not. We won’t solve that debate here, either – but you are highly encouraged to actually tackle the topic in a Bible study and defend either or both sides from a Biblical frame of reference. See what the Bible says and try to leave as much extra-Biblical commentary out of the discussion as possible.  You will see stories come across our blog that discuss various aspects of this and how we see it playing out today stronger than ever.

This is easy to see happening today. Many of us have witnessed this in some form for our entire lives. As those who are charged with enforcing the law choose not to enforce it (for whatever reason), people become jaded and ultimately stop trusting each other to do the right thing because there are seemingly no consequences for breaking the “law”. This leads directly to what Jesus is referring to in this passage – “because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold”. We cannot let our love grow cold! However, this coldness becomes more and more obvious in the world and like a snowball that rolls downhill, not stoppable once it gets to a certain point. Coldness will run through more and more people as the return of Christ gets closer.

We are not to only be watching for Jesus. The Great Commission is still in effect as our highest priority. We should be working to save people from eternal death as our first responsibility. These signs, however, provide hope for Christians when all hope seems lost. It is so very easy to get caught up in the details of the world, and so many of them are depressing. The number of people that outright reject Christ, the love of evil and the constant beating on Christians can take a toll on anyone. Jesus never said the walk would be easy. He gave us these teachings to offer hope in the future, to sustain us when we feel hopeless. Looking at the various signs, as stressful as it is, ultimately should provide a Christian hope. Jesus’ return is called “the Blessed Hope” and all of these various signs point directly to it. Take a minimum of a few minutes each day to glance up and reflect on what is coming and REJOICE!

The menu on the right contains links to various websites that track the items that we were told to watch for as signs that Christ’s return is getting near. Most of these are secular sites that track various disasters around the world. All of these various disasters are things that we are told in several passages in the Bible to look for – earthquakes, wars, famines, pestilences (illnesses), volcanoes, droughts, floods, etc. The links will land on the free versions of these resources that have no pop up ads, but please feel free to support the efforts of any one of the sites that you find particularly helpful to you. Link this page to have a quick access to these and others that we find in the future. We will work to keep these links current.