3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”The earthquake in Japan pressed on me the earnest of Jesus’ words. That, in addition to other signs, like people dying from disease or disaster, brings the point home that time is winding up. People are dying either from disease or disaster. There are uprisings in the Middle East. Iran and Russia are coming together just as Ezekiel 38 prophesied. Jesus told us in Matthew 24 that there would be signs that would precede the end. Among them are false Messiahs. Many will claim that they are the Messiah and will lead many people astray.
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
David Koresh: An American Messiah?
Jim Jones, Joseph Smith and David Koresh: Comparative Essay
Here’s another interesting site I found: False Messiahs.com.
There will also be wars and rumors of wars. In other words, there will be wars and there will be rumblings or news of coming wars or battles. This likely goes hand in hand with ‘nation against nation’ and ‘kingdom against kingdom’. The term ‘nation’ is literally, ethnos, which means people group or ethnic group. Some have speculated that this could point to Muslim uprisings; as there has been on group of Muslims fighting another group or group of Muslims fighting non-Muslims. It could indicate the skirmishes between the Palestinians and the Israelites. It could also refer to the allegation of potential war between North Korea and South Korea or between North Korea and the West. ‘Kingdom’ literally means sovereign reign, which could point to any sovereign state, such as America against North Korea or India against Pakistan or Iran against Israel.
Israel, Hamas ignore U.N. , death toll rises
Egyptians protest against sectarianism
North Korea bombs South Korea's Yeonpyeong island; 2 dead, 13 wounded in attack: report
North Korea threatens America and Japan as Kim Jong Il 'wins' election
Water Dispute Increases India-Pakistan Tensions
Like most of the signs mentioned by Jesus, famines have been around forever. Who can’t remember seeing pictures of starving children in Africa and Latin America? What about the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906? Yes, these things have been going on for quite some time. But, also like the signs Jesus mentioned, as the end comes they will grow in frequency and intensity. Now, it is almost common to hear news of people in need of food or an earthquake hitting one part of the earth or another. Hollywood has made millions of dollars depicting the tragic plight of people who suffer from some natural disaster. Perhaps you remember movies like Volcano, The Perfect Storm, 10.5, or 2012. Trust me, there are tons more: Tsunami, Twister, Ice Quake, Tidal Wave, The Day After Tomorrow, and the list goes on. One thing is for sure: from what the Bible says, it is not going to get any better.
Famine in Haiti made in the U.S.
Famine in Africa
Widespread Destruction from Japan Earthquake, Tsunami
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake shakes northern Chile
7.0 quake hits Haiti; ‘Serious Loss of Life’ expected
Swarm of Unexplained Earthquakes Strikes Arkansas
All of these events are the beginning of birth pains. There is more to come. The Bible goes on to say that people will hate and betray one another. Because of false messiahs, many will depart or desert the faith. As a result of the increase in sin and the lack of salvation, the love of many will fade away.
The long and short of it is this: for the Christian, this world is not our home. As my book, For Such a Time as This says, “There are dark, perilous, and terrible times coming; trouble that the world has never known.” For the Christian, it is a great time to be alive because 1) we have a blessed opportunity to lead people to a saving knowledge of Jesus using these prophecies as a reference and 2) we know from these signs that our redemption draws near.
I provided the above sites for reference only. I did not investigate the sites or the webmasters, fully. Therefore, consider the sites for informational purposes only and not as an endorsement of them.
