According to Jesus Christ, two of the specific signs concerning the last days will be the increase in "famines and earthquakes in various places." (Matthew 24:8)
Since the dawn of the 20th century, we've seen a marked increase in earthquakes and famines across the world. While admittedly, some of the increase in quakes can be attributed to fracking (waste-water injection used for shale oil drilling), earthquake activity was already increasing before the advent of fracking.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) keeps track of earthquake activity and admits that quakes have increased significantly over the past century. However, the USGS attributes that to the addition of several seismic recording stations around the world that are now able to track quakes.
While the USGS explanation is plausible, only a fool would argue that earthquakes aren't increasing. According to webecs.co.uk, there were 12 earthquakes of 6.99 magnitude or greater from 1863-1900. From 1900-1938, there were 53 such quakes recorded globally; 71 from 1939-1976 and 164 from 1977-2014.
Concerning famines, 27 occurred in the 19th century; 67 in the 20th century, and 72 have already occurred in the current century. Certainly, technology and mass communications have enabled the world to keep better records of such events. But technological progress alone can't explain the marked increase in famines.
Another prophetic sign that Christ revealed that would signal His return is getting near is this one: "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name." (Matthew 24:9)
While Christians have been persecuted since the beginning of the church age, Christ's prophecy clearly warns of a global persecution that could turn into a holocaust. In places such as Africa and the Middle East, multitudes of Christians have been brutally persecuted and murdered by Islamists. And Christians are increasingly being targeted for persecution in the west where godless secularism has encroached upon religious freedom.
How bad is it getting for Christians? According to Open Doors USA, a nonprofit organization that monitors Christian persecution across the world, last year (2015) was the worst year they've seen for Christian persecution since they began keeping track.
While Open Doors lists North Korea as the worst abuser of Christians, the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), another organization that tracks Christian persecution, states that persecution of Christians has increased exponentially in Muslim nations.
According to VOM spokesman Todd Nettleton: Wherever there is growing Islamic radicalism, there is growing persecution of Christians. Even where moderate Islamic states offer peace — and that is rare — they almost never have freedom to practice their faith and are often marked for death.
Nina Shea, the director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, states that Islamic extremism is not just rampant in rogue terror groups, but also in the governments of nations such as Saudi Arabia. That means the persecution of non-Muslims, of which Christians have historically represented the greatest numbers in predominantly Muslim nations, is sanctioned by the governments of those nations.
Concerning the end-time persecution of Christians, the apostle John, who recorded the Revelation (Apocalypse) while in exile from Rome in the late 1st century, revealed this about the dreaded Antichrist and his tyrannical world government: "He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them." (Revelation 13:7) Who are the saints? They are the true Christians who belong to Jesus Christ their Lord.
Nearly 600 years before John recorded that prophecy, the prophet Daniel revealed this: "He (Antichrist) will destroy the mighty men and the holy people (Christians). (Daniel 8:24) And Christ revealed this prophecy, undoubtedly referencing Muslim persecution of Christians: "In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God." (John 16:2)
Christ revealed other signs to alert us that His return was getting close. In Part III, we'll look at those signs and see if they're being fulfilled.
No comments:
Post a Comment