You probably have many questions right now about what is happening, why it’s happening, and where things are headed.
With Russia invading Ukraine—in addition to all that has happened since 2020 with the global pandemic, race riots, democratic governments becoming tyrannically, rising inflation, the elite pushing for a radically new economic system, and the nations at the threshold of a potential world war—you probably want to know are we really living in the end times. Emphasis on really.
After prayer recently, I felt compassion for those with questions about all that is happening right now. If you are like most, you are probably wrestling with thoughts of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, and discouragement. You likely are asking where is this crisis headed, how should I respond, and what do I need to do.
I know many have questions right now, so I asked our church, Forerunner School, and subscribers to the Radical Pursuit email list to submit any questions they had, and I would do my best to provide an answer.
And I have to say . . . I was really blessed by the thought-provoking questions submitted. Time won’t allow me to answer every one, but I narrowed it down to 10 questions.
I will answer 5 of the questions in this article, which will be focused on are we living in the end times. And I will answer the other 5 questions in a separate article, focused on Russia’s invasion into Ukraine.
Before I do my best to answer your questions, I want to state clearly that I definitely don’t have all the answers. But hopefully I can help provide some perspective for you from Scripture, so you can make sense of all that is happening, have a better sense of where we are in God’s unfolding plan, and respond by preparing yourself for the Lord and for living in the end times.
That said, let me start answering your questions.
How do you know we are really living in the end times?
To answer this question, you have to know about the three distinct timeframes in the end-times. These are recorded in Matthew 24, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, and Daniel 9:27.
These three prophetic timeframes are known as:
1. Birth pains
These are national and international trials, tribulations, upheavals, and shakings that work toward putting the end-time puzzle pieces into place. Birth pains can span multiple decades—even a century or longer—before the final phase of the end times (Matt. 24:4-8).
2. Peace and safety
The antichrist will sign a peace treaty with Israel and many Arab nations (Dan. 9:27). This treaty, in addition to other geopolitical solutions, will bring temporary peace in the nations. But this short period of peace and safety will end when the antichrist breaks this peace treaty and goes forth conquering and to conquer (1 Thess. 5:2-3; Dan. 9:27; Rev. 6:2).
3. The Day of the Lord
This is the last 3.5 years of the age, also known as the Great Tribulation, when the antichrist rules from Jerusalem and the Lord pours out His seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments on the world (Rev. 6-19).
In this article, I’m only going to explain the end-time birth pains.
Jesus described the beginning of birth pains when He said:
“See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” (Matt. 24:4-8).
The beginning of birth pains includes the following signs:
- Increased deception
- Wars and rumors of wars
- Nations rising against nations
- Kingdoms rising against kingdoms
- Famines
- Plagues
- Earthquakes
Notice also the Lord said, “Those things must take place” (Matt. 24:6).
For the Lord’s eternal purpose and His end-time prophetic plans to be accomplished, these things must take place. There is no other way for God’s ultimate plan and purpose to be done. If there was an easier way, the Lord would certainly do it, for He is kind, merciful, and good.
A quick glance at the news reveals these signs are certainly happening in our day and seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity.
I believe the beginning of birth pains started with World War 1 and World War 2. Why do I believe this? Look at what happened in these two wars. Never before have so many nations fought against each other. Never before have we seen “nations rising against nations” and “kingdoms rising against kingdoms” like we did in World War I and World War II. These two wars ultimately led to Israel becoming a nation in 1948—which was the greatest fulfillment of prophecy since the first coming of Jesus. And it also led to the formation of the European Union, which I believe is the beginning of the Revived Roman Empire described in Daniel 2.
And since 2020, we have definitely experienced an intense increase in the birth pains.
Another truth to keep in mind. Jesus said the days of the Son of Man are like the days of Noah (Matt. 24:37). The days of Noah were a 120-year period, where the Lord prepared a remnant, warned the world of impending judgment, and then finally, released His judgment upon the world (Gen. 6:3). Birth pains and the days of the Son of Man are essentially synonymous terms, describing the lengthy period counting down to the Day of the Lord.
Again, I believe this time period began with WW1. If that’s true, then we have been living in the end times for over 100 years. That means you were born into the end times. Viewing the present time through this lens changes your perspective.
So, how do we really know we are living in the end times? We must: 1) Know eschatology (the study of the end times); 2) know the key signs of the end times (I will talk about these next); and 3) we must assess whether current events help these key signs to be established, formed, strengthened, and matured.
If you are interested in learning more about the end times, you can take my Understanding the End Times class for free.
https://radicalpursuit.net/classes/understanding-the-end-times
What are the key signs of the end times?
Though we cannot know the day or the hour when Jesus returns, we can—and should—know the season (Matt. 24: 32-34, 36). Knowing the signs that point to Jesus’ return puts a sense of urgency in our hearts to make ourselves ready for His return.
By understanding prophecy and keeping up with current events, we can see several signs which indicate that we are living in the end times. I list seven key signs of the end times below.
As you read these, keep in mind I wrote 6 of these 7 signs over 13 years ago. And I only had to tweak a few descriptions of these signs for this article. That shows these signs are even more relevant today than they were then. Most definitely, with the events we have experienced over the past decade, these key events are strengthening and maturing.
Seven key end-time signs are:
1. Israel restored.
Before 1948, many Bible prophecies could not be fulfilled because they depended upon Israel being a nation. That all changed on May 14, 1948, when the United Nations voted 33 to 13 to make Israel a sovereign state. Since that time, many end-time prophecies have been fulfilled, including millions of Jews returning to Israel, Jerusalem being established as the capital city, thousands of Israeli Jews getting saved, and Israel becoming a center of world controversy (Jer. 16:14-16; Isa. 43:5-7; Zech. 14:2; Luke 21:24; Rom. 11:25; Zech. 12:1-3, 10).
2. The gospel preached to all nations.
Jesus said He would not return until the gospel of the kingdom was preached to all nations (Matt. 24:14). According to several mission organizations, the Bible has been translated into 2,000-plus languages and can be read by approximately 98% of the world.[1] Since Bible translation is one of the greatest forms of evangelism, the gospel of the kingdom is being preached in most nations as a witness. This is definitely a sign of the end times.
3. An increase in globalization and universalism.
Revelation 17-18 describes a one-world religion, economy, and government established in the end times. The world is rapidly moving in this direction with the Great Reset, the UN’s 2030 Agenda, and Central Bank digital currency. Nationalism is swiftly shifting to globalism and universalism is on the rise, where people claim all religions lead to God.
4. An increase in knowledge and transportation.
In the end times, Daniel 12:4 tells us, “Many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.” With the increase of international travel, many are definitely going back and forth. And with the increase of technology, knowledge has definitely increased. Now, with the internet at our fingertips, we can find the answer to almost anything. This Scripture could not have been fulfilled until the twenty-first century. Today, you can get to almost anywhere in the world in a day. This was unheard of until the late twentieth century.
5. An increase in technology and communication.
What was once science fiction has become a real part of our everyday lives. The internet has changed the world forever, allowing knowledge, instant communication, and access to live and on-demand video to increase in an unprecedented way. The internet now allows the world to see breaking news instantly. With the increase in AI, quantum computing, the internet of things, the metaverse, and transhumanism, several prophecies, such as Revelation 11:9 and 13:3, can now be fulfilled. Breakthroughs in microchip technologies will probably be used to implement the mark of the beast—the antichrist’s one-world economic system (Rev. 13:15-17). Central Bank digital currency—soon to be implemented in the Western world—will give government the power to control what people spend, where they spend it, how much they spend, and when they spend it. This is definitely paving the way for the mark of the beast.
6. The weakening of America as a superpower.
For years, many end-time scholars have argued that a one-world government, religion, and economy could not be established while America was the world’s superpower. For years, they have proclaimed that America must be weakened, much like the British Empire was weakened after WW2, before end-time Babylon could rise up (Rev. 17-18). Well . . . if you have been paying attention, America is quickly losing its superpower status, especially with the election of Biden and Harris. We are now a laughingstock to the much of the world after the debacle in Afghanistan. The only thing keeping America as the world’s superpower is the USD as the world’s reserve currency. But if you closely monitor what is happening, many global elites are pushing hard to destroy America’s economy. So, this requirement certainly seems to be unfolding.
7. The unification and strengthening of Europe.
Many prophecy scholars believe the Roman empire will be revived at the end of the age (Dan. 2). From Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, they view the iron as European nations and the clay as other nations, such as America, Canada, and Australia, along with many other nations. This is definitely beginning to take place through the European Union (EU). Though the EU is only the beginning of this prophecy being fulfilled, the Great Reset and the UN’s 2030 Agenda are most definitely working to fully align European nations and other powerful nations into a global government.
How can we distinguish between end-time events and natural events?
As stated previously, we can look at current events, whether war, famine, or plagues, and determine if these fit the profile of an end-time birth pain. How? By analyzing whether or not these events are working toward these seven signs being established, formed, strengthened, or matured. If so, then yes, this event could be considered an end-time event. If not, then no, this event is just a natural event.
For example, we can look at what happened after WW1 and WW2 and see Israel reestablished and the EU beginning to be formed. Therefore, WW1 and WW2 were definitely end-time birth pains.
The same could be said with the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 was like a “trojan horse” the European globalists and other Western governments have used to try and usher in the Great Reset. They are attempting to gain greater control over the world through tyranny. They are seeking to crash the current economic system to bring in a new form of capitalism, which is really fascism. So, yes, I believe Covid-19 is an end-time birth pain; not just a natural event.
We can follow this same type of analysis to gauge whether a war, pandemic, technology, etc. are end-time birth pains or just natural events.
Do you think we are living in the seal judgments of the book of Revelation?
Some prophecy teachers are now saying we are living in the seal judgments of the book of Revelation (Rev. 6). They believe the birth pains in Matthew 24 and the seal judgments of Revelation 6 are the same. If you carefully study both passages, I can definitely see why they believe this. These two passages are very similar. As I said earlier, I do believe the beginning of birth pains has begun. But I don’t view the seal judgments of Revelation 6 as the beginning of birth pains. And here’s why. When the second seal judgment is released, peace is taken from the earth (Rev. 6:4). If you carefully read through the book of Revelation, you don’t ever see peace being restored until Jesus returns. But there will be peace in the Middle East when the antichrist brokers a deal with the Jews and the Arabs on the Temple Mount. This in mind, I view the seal judgments in Revelation 6 as the beginning of the Great Tribulation, the last 3.5 years before Jesus returns, when the antichrist breaks his peace treaty with Israel and goes forth conquering and to conquer (Dan. 9:27; Rev. 6:2). For this reason, I don’t think we are presently living in the seal judgments of the book of Revelation.
Hopefully, this helped answer some of your questions. In the next article, I will answer questions about Russia’s invasion into Ukraine.
[1] https://backup.storage.sardius.media/file/akamaiBackup-ihopkc-103762/IHOP/1015/107/20160205_An_overview_of_the_signs_of_the_times_KBST03.pdf, referenced on 3/7/2022.
