In a remarkable prophecy shortly before His death, Jesus described the
signs that would preceed His return. What do those signs reveal?
Jesus Christ, in His Olivet Prophecy recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and
Luke 21, foretold several major trends that would increase and intensify
before His return. The trends He emphasized were religious deception, wars,
famines, disease epidemics, earthquakes and devastating storms.
This is especially apparent in response to His disciples' inquiry concerning
what signs would precede His return and the end of this age. "Take heed
that no one deceives you," He warned. Many would come claiming to represent
Him, "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" (Matthew 24:4-8).
Are any of these prophesied signs apparent today?
Religious deception and confusion
We have been horrified by the headlines of mass cult suicides such as
Jim Jones and his followers in Guyana in 1978 and the Heaven's Gate cult
in Southern California in 1997. Another tragic chain of events led to the
deaths of David Koresh's Branch Davidians in Texas in 1993. These tragedies
made the news because charismatic leaders led their followers not to life,
but to death.
