The Warning Signs

Last week I briefly mentioned that there are warning signs that the end is coming. The various theologians and scholars debate the timing of these signs. Some think the prophecy in Daniel 10-12 is being fulfilled now. Others think that they are only for Israel and do not involve the church at all; they believe these things will take place after the church has been removed from this earth. I do not claim to know which is the truth, and I’m not going to worry about it.

Daniel 11:36-38 lists some of the signs:

1.     the king will do as he pleases

2.     he will exalt and magnify himself above every

3.     he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods

4.     he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.

5.     he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers

6.     nor will he show regard for any other god

7.     he will magnify himself above them all

8.     instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know

9.     he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures.

We see some of these in our world today, but not all. There are many who speak monstrous things against the God of gods, but they have their own gods they are following. This end time king (often referred to as the Antichrist) will only exalt himself. All other gods will be forbidden. That has not happened yet (for a time, Russia tried to enforce this, but that has subsided.) 

As a result, many of the people groups we see in our world today are not the source of the Antichrist. We need to be busy loving and sharing Christ with those people, and praying that their eyes will be opened and their hearts will be changed. We do not know God’s timing. Anyone who proclaims they know exactly how the end times will play out is deluded. That information is not in the Scriptures. Those scenarios are developed from man’s imagination. We must be careful not to claim knowledge that only God the Father has. As we wait for God to reveal His plan for the end times, we need to be about loving and helping others in Christ’s name.