Twelve Signs That We Are Very Near the End of the World

By Ed R. Meelhuysen, President

 

The Bible Research Company

I strongly believe that we are very close to the beginning of the time of Tribulation and the sequence of Events of Revelation culminating with the “end of the world” as we know it! Here are twelve of the most evident signs that are being fulfilled. Most were prophesied by the Bible or other prophetic writers. Each one taken by itself, might not be enough proof, but taken all together, the evidence is compelling !
The growth of knowledge would accelerate at the end of time (fulfilling prophecy). A well known prophecy in Daniel pertaining to the end of time is being fulfilled in our time. (Daniel 12:4 – “Knowledge shall increase and men shall run to and fro.” KJV)

Knowledge for many years was growing very slowly, but now is growing exponentially. For thousands of years until as recent as 150 years ago, the fastest mode of transportation was on the back of a horse or about 25 mph maximum. Now mankind has traveled over 25,000 mph on the way to the moon. What a difference! According to Norman Edmund, Founder of the Edmund Scientific Company, with computers and the Internet, the accessibility of information and knowledge is doubling probably every year and will double every 73 days by the year 2020.

The growth of knowledge would accelerate at the end of time (fulfilling prophecy). A well known prophecy in Daniel pertaining to the end of time is being fulfilled in our time. (Daniel 12:4 – “Knowledge shall increase and men shall run to and fro.” KJV)

Knowledge for many years was growing very slowly, but now is growing exponentially. For thousands of years until as recent as 150 years ago, the fastest mode of transportation was on the back of a horse or about 25 mph maximum. Now mankind has traveled over 25,000 mph on the way to the moon. What a difference! According to Norman Edmund, Founder of the Edmund Scientific Company, with computers and the Internet, the accessibility of information and knowledge is doubling probably every year and will double every 73 days by the year 2020.
The near saturation of the gospel to every language tribe and people (fulfilling prophecy). (Matt. 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Mark 13:10 “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.”

Rev. 14:6 “Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth –to every nation, tribe, language and people.”).

ALL nations have now been penetrated, and ALL language groups will be reached in the next two years. This is the first time in history that this prophecy could possibly be fulfilled! A newsletter received from the speaker of the well known TV program It is Written, indicated that at the two ACTS 2000 evangelistic seminars (in Manila, Philippines and Kumasi, Ghana), over 750,000 people attended with over 80,000 baptisms. Praise the Lord!

The near saturation of the gospel to every language tribe and people (fulfilling prophecy). (Matt. 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Mark 13:10 “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.”

Rev. 14:6 “Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth –to every nation, tribe, language and people.”).

ALL nations have now been penetrated, and ALL language groups will be reached in the next two years. This is the first time in history that this prophecy could possibly be fulfilled! A recent newsletter received from speaker of the well known TV program It is Written, indicated that at the last two ACTS 2000 evangelistic seminars (in Manila, Philippines and Kumasi, Ghana), over 750,000 people attended with over 80,000 baptisms. Praise the Lord!

The coming financial collapse in countries around the world and in the USA will be devastating and create a demand for governmental intervention at the cost of liberties (fulfilling prophecy). Many economic cycle/wave theorists are predicting that the economy/stock market will reach a peak and begin a long downtrend that will accelerate [This is happening, isn’t it?]. Proponents of the 30, 50 and 60 year cycle theory are stating that the coming collapse will closely mimic and surpass the crash of 1929, the gradual slowdown beginning sometime in the fall of 1999. As we approach this time, its imperative that we remember, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart by also.”

The accelerating pace of moral decline (fulfilling prophecy). The increase of sexual immorality (including promiscuity and adultery in the heterosexual population, the strengthening of the gay/lesbian movement in political and media circles), the prevalence of lying (perjury), stealing (blue or white collar), disrespect for parents, covetousness, and hatred among the nations will accelerate the advent of God’s wrath against the world as a whole. God’s Law, the standard of morality is degraded and ignored by most of Christendom since most preachers refuse to obey or teach the fourth commandment regarding the seventh-day Sabbath and thus have to throw out all Ten.

“Sir Arnold Toynbee, in his famed analysis of the rise and fall of world civilizations, A Study of History, outlines six unmistakable evidences for the disintegration and collapse of a world civilization:

Civilizations committing a “cultural suicide” and self destructing;Escape from reality and retreat into thrill seeking;Have a sense of helplessness and powerlessness;Feel self-loathing and guilt;A prevalent sense of promiscuity;Disregard for morality and a pervasiveness of lawlessness. What a marked parallel to our world today! Lawlessness is particularly evident.” (Adapated from the introduction to Why Did Past Civilizations Fall, from the NeXt Millennium Seminar bible study guides.)

John Adams, one of the United States of America’s founders and president said, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.� Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.” The plethora of recent legislation to control the American public and for all intents circumventing the Constitution, is indicative of a nation gone awry.

The accelerating growth of spiritualism and its pervasive teachings (fulfilling prophecy). Multiple pagan groups are indicating that something major will happen at or around the year 2000. Followers of writers of the occult are predicting a global initiation, a “blood bath” of some sort, before the New World Order, with Lucifier (Satan) at its head, can take over. This involves the “termination” of those who resist the movement. The appearance of evil spirits posing as Mary, other “saints” and “departed loved ones” which were prophesied by a latter day prophet are rapidly increasing. (see the Prophecy/Visions section for the texts of these)

The growing bond between Catholicism, Protestantism and spiritualism (fulfilling prophecy) was prophesied in Revelation and by the aforementioned prophet (see the prophecy section of this website). We are seeing that take place at an accelerating pace. Ecumenical unity at the price of doctrinal truth leads to perversion of beliefs. As one great preacher stated, “Worshipping a wrong concept of God is idolatry.” Roman Catholicism, at its foundational doctrines, is the current embodiment of the Babylonian mystery religion, the veneration of spirits (“saints”) and the “queen” of heaven (Mary).
Most “Christian” religions teach Christ first, works second. Scripture teaches Christ first, obedience second with works as an outgrowth of love and obedience. “To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed (listen and obey), better than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

The progressive implementation of governmental regulations and enforced enumeration pave the way for the legal implementation of the Mark of the Beast (fulfilling prophecy as foretold in Revelation – see next numbered item). In December 1994, President Clinton signed the GATT Treaty in Uruguay, including a little know clause that led the way to enforce the enumeration of the American public through the implementing legislation. The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 included the addition of Title 42 USC section 666 paragraph (a) stipulating that the Social Security Number (i.e. the number of your name) be collected upon issuance of a number of licenses, such as occupational, marriage and recreational licenses, birth and death certificates, divorce decrees, etc. Could future paragraphs include the requirements to show the number of your name to buy or sell as well as prophesied in Revelation? The efforts to foist some sort of mandatory identification system upon the American public is growing rapidly, especially with the growth of technology. The public has been resisting these efforts, but government and financial agencies seem determined to implement them anyway.

This enumeration effort is taking place world wide, not just in the United States of America. As of May 31, 1998, over 170 countries worldwide had a social security/enumeration system in place.

Furthermore, the increasing usage of implanted chips as identification devices is accelerating rapidly. In some countries, namely Isreal and Britain, legislation is being progressively passed requiring animials to be implanted with an indentification chip. On Oct. 18, 1998 while this author was teaching a class on the mark of the beast, a student related that a friend who worked at a grocery store had served a customer several weeks earlier who after she gave him the total, ran his hand over the scanner, entering his identification information and completing the transaction. He smiled and said it was “experimental”. Is this a portend of things to come? The Bible says it is! Click here for more information.

The May 1998 lengthy apostolic letter Dies Domini (“The Lord’s Day) released by Pope John Paul II, calls for Christians to return to worship on Sunday and enact “civil legislation” to assist in that direction (fulfilling prophecy). This was prophesied to come to pass at the end of time. The actual Mark of the Beast (ID cards/marks not withstanding) is a “Mark of the Authority of the Beast”.  From the 10 characteristic identifiers of the Beast (also known as the little horn power of Daniel), any elementary student can identify the Beast as the Roman Catholic Church. Its Mark of Authority is its stated change of the day of worship from the Seventh-day Sabbath to Sunday.

“You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, p. 111. .

“The Catholic Church for over a thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.” Catholic Mirror, Sept. 1893.

“. . . of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.” H.F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons, in answer to a letter regarding the change of the Sabbath.

“No! Keep the first day of the week, and lo, the entire civilized world bows in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic church.” “It’s the mark of our authority to over-rule God’s law.” Father Enright C.S.S.R. of the Redemptoral College, Kansas City, Mo., History of the Sabbath, p. 802

“She [the Catholic Church] took pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder [an Icelandic god identified with Sun worship], became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus.” Catholic World, 1894, p. 809.

(Click here for more info on the change from Sabbath to Sunday)
This letter (Dies Domini) has staggering prophetic significance in that Sunday civil legislation was prophesied to take place at the end of time! Sunday sacredness civil legislation enforced will be the Mark of the Beast. And when such legislation is enacted by the U.S.A., it will be soon followed by the 14 climactic events (plagues) of God’s wrath. World wide enactment of Sunday legislation with the enforcement of a death penalty for refusing to comply will immediately precede Christ’s return to this world to rescue His people.

The re-discovery of the Ark of the Covenant, and the implications to the Jewish people regarding the discovery of their Messiah’s blood on the mercy seat are profound (fulfilling prophecy). (Rom. 11:25-29 “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”

Zech. 12:9,10 “On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.� And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”)� Mourning perhaps because their eyes are finally opened to realize that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was indeed who he claimed to be, the Son of God and the Messiah?

The re-discovery of Noah’s ark, Sodom & Gomorrah, the actual Red Sea crossing site (with its coral encrusted chariots, separate wheels and human skeletons), the real Mt. Sinai (Jabel el Laws in Saudi Arabia), and many other archeological finds provide compelling witness and proof to the truthfulness of the Bible. These were preserved in midst of unsuspecting people to minimize their vandalization so that they may be revealed at the proper time. See the Surprising Discoveries section of this website for more information on these discoveries.

The end of 6000 years of transgression is at hand. It’s a commonly held theory among many Christians, which was also held by certain Jewish rabbis over 2,000 years ago, that God allocated one week of seven 1000-year days for a total of 7,000 years for sin to run its full course. Revelation indicates that the seventh 1,000-year period is the millenium during which time the earth will lie desolate (see Isaiah 20).

Man was created slightly longer than 6,000 years ago but Adam probably lived a number of years before he and Eve sinned. However, it is possible to determine the range of time during which Adam could have sinned and thus begun the 6,000 years allocated for transgression. That range is very tight and ends around 2,005 A.D. (Click here for more info)

Furthermore, if the Jewish calendar is corrected for various errors, it also reaches the year 6,000 by the year 2015. The Aztec and Mayan calendars also point to a year 6,000 in the year 2012. All cumulative evidence points to the end of the 6,000-year period.

The end of the 70th Jubilee cycle since the Exodus has come and we’re in the period of final delay (tarrying) and time reconciliation. God is a God of order and His choice of dates is quite systematic. ALL time prophecies containing dates interpreted by the day-for-a-year principle have a beginning or an ending point (or both) on a Sabbatical or Jubilee year!

God allocated 30 Jubilee cycles (30 x 7 x 7) for the Times of the Israelites/Jews and 40 Jubilee cycles (40 x 7 x 7) for the Gentiles (Times of the Gentiles). The total of 70 x 7 x 7 cycles ended in the Spring of 1995, with the Jubilee year ending in the Spring of 1996.

The Times of the Gentiles has ended and perhaps(?) we’re in the last tarrying period to add in the difference (9 years) between a full 7 x 7 cycle and the 40 years of wilderness wandering of the Israelites.(The first Jubilee was celebrated upon entrance into the promised land.) If this is correct, then the 3 1/2 years of tribulation could begin in the fall of the year 2000. See a full dissertation on the jubilee cycles on this website.

ALL EVIDENCE POINTS TO THE FACT, THAT TIME AND THE WORLD AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT, IS ABOUT TO COME TO AN END!!!

Jesus Christ is about to come again to receive His people to Himself. God calls out for a people who will be in complete obedience to Him and hold onto their testimony for Jesus, in spite of trials to come. “Will you prepare?” Will you chose God and obedience to His authority, or the Beast and deference to its authority? The choice is yours. See the the paper on the Gospel of Jesus Christ for a better understanding of this vital topic for these times.

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