Frequently Asked Questions About the End Times (Part 2)

1. Are we able to know the signs of the times? Yes, Jesus commanded the people who lived in the generation of His return to know the signs (Mt. 24:32-44). Jesus rebuked those who did not heed the prophetic signs that pointed to His coming (Mt. 16:1-4; Lk. 19:41-44). Prophetic signs serve the Church in the same way a weather station signals coming trouble so that people can prepare and save lives.

2. Can the signs of the times be understood? Yes. The scriptures on the End Times and the signs of the times were written to be understood by all since the majority of people throughout history have been uneducated peasants. The Scripture was written for them too. Jesus and Paul emphasized the know-ability of the prophetic signs of the End Times (Mt. 24:32-34; Lk. 21:25-29; 1 Thes. 5:1-6; 2 Thes. 2:1-11). A lie is that we are not to know the times and seasons of His return (Acts 1:7-8).

3. How much information does the Bible provide on the signs of the times? There is more prophetic evidence about Jesus’ second coming than any other prophetic event in the Bible. The End Times is the most written-about subject in all of Scripture. There are over 150 chapters in the Bible in which the majority of the chapter is about the End Times.

4. Is it true that every generation believed they were living in the generation the Lord returns? It is a common misperception that most generations believed they were in the End Times. It is true that a very small group (less than one percent) of every generation might have thought they were at the end.

5. How can we be confident that we are living in the generation the Lord returns? There are many biblical trends that reveal “the season or generation” of His coming (Mt. 24:4-8). They include the emergence of global prayer (Isa. 56:7), the increase of knowledge (Dan. 12:4), the revelation of the bridal paradigm (Rev. 22:17), the great harvest from all nations (Mt. 24:14; Rev. 7:9), and the increase of wickedness (Dan. 8:23; Rev. 14:9).

6. What is Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27)? The angel Gabriel revealed to Daniel that God’s purpose for Israel involved a prophetic period of seventy weeks. In the modern world a week speaks of a period of seven days. However, in the ancient world a week represented a period of seven years. Gabriel spoke to Daniel about a prophetic period in which God would deal with Israel’s salvation over seventy weeks or 490 years (70 x 7 years = 490 years). However, after the initial sixty-nine weeks (69 x7 years = 483 years), a “pause” was put on the prophetic calendar when Jesus the Messiah was “cut off” or crucified. There is one week or seven years left in God’s prophetic calendar and plan in bringing Israel to salvation. The first sixty-nine weeks of the “seventy weeks” prophecy of Daniel 9:24-26 have been fulfilled beginning from Nehemiah’s command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem in 445 BC (Neh. 2:1) to the time of Jesus’ first triumphal entry into Jerusalem to be crucified (Dan. 9:25).  There are still 7 years (or one week) left in Daniel’s prophecy yet to be fulfilled.  Those 7 years will begin when there is a peace treaty between many nations (likely including Israel) and the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27).

7. What is the beginning of the birth pangs? The birth pangs occur in a significant prophetic period in which Jesus predicted that there would be twelve worldwide trends all occurring in the same generation (Mt. 24:4-8; Mk. 13:5-8, Lk. 21:7-18). Matthew gives seven major trends: false christs, wars, ethnic conflict, economic warfare, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. Luke describes five more: commotions, fearful sights, great signs from heaven, distress in the nations and roaring waves. The Greek word birth pangs is translated as sorrows in the NKJV. It is to be compared with the increasing trauma a woman experiences during childbirth.

8. How do we know when the final seven years (last week of Daniel’s prophecy) of this age start? It begins with a covenant made between the Antichrist and the nations, bringing peace and safety as Paul prophesied in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (Isa. 28:14-18; Ezek. 38:8-12, 14; 39:26; Dan. 8:24-25; 9:27; 11:21, 45; Zech. 11:16; Jn. 5:43; Lk. 19:11-28).

More to come.  I want to encourage you to read through these scriptures and consider these questions before the Lord.  We can know the generation and the season of the Lord’s promised return.  It’s knowable.  We posture ourselves in humility before the Word with hunger and God speaks and gives clarity.

He desires for us to be equipped and understand the times that are ahead.  This will be the most glorious time for the church in all of her history.

May He bless you today.

Wes

Here is a resource you may be interested in to aid your study: