My aunt seems to think so what with Fires, Earthquakes, Severe Weather every where, Shootings, Political Upheavel Terrorist Acts, Hurricanes.The End is Upon Us so she says.
Are there really that many more instances or does it just seem that way due to the sensationalized multi-channel 24/7 news and social platforms?
Are we in the "end times"....the time before Jesus Christ returns to earth and takes over His Kingdom, etc. According to what Jesus told His Disciples....the "signs" we are experiencing now are birth pangs and the beginning of sorrows. Each day we do grow closer to the day Christ returns but according to the prophecy in the Bible there are many things that still have to occur before it is the "end". And that "end" is really the "beginning" for God's children and for the Christians who belong to Jesus. Each day this earth is "dying" a little more just like each of us are. Jesus will finish destroying this evil earth sometime after He reclaims His Kingdom and He will create a new earth and universe for all those who have accepted the free gift of salvation and eternal life through the sacrifice of His shed blood on the Cross that He offers to all of us. This is what Christians believe and have faith in. For those who do not believe in any of this....then the end will be the end for them at their death or the end will be reincarnation or whatever else they believe in if their beliefs are the truth.
Throughout the centuries, many people have believed that the End Times were near. I'll go with the idea that I should recognize the signs without putting a date to the End Times.
If there is an 'end time' no one knows when it is. I have been hearing (mostly from church folk) the end is near or at hand from earliest memories.
The Apostles expected that Christ would return during their lifetime. Tertullian believed that the disintegration of the Roman Empire would signal the Return of Christ. Others, including Methodius, believed that the earth would not pass away but that it would be renewed, which is similar to what the Jehovah's Witnesses believe today, although they have set a few dates for Christ's Return that have come and gone. Lactantius believed that before Christ returned, the stars would fall from the heavens, the mountains would collapse, and the seas would be made unnavigable.
The end is near...for sixty of my seventy years the end was coming. Corrct me if I am wrong @Babs Hunt ...does it not state in the Bible..no one not even the angles in heaven Know when the end is coming ? Yet not even Christians will not take God at his word..that nobody knows. Everybody wants to Guess ..and see signs. I am pretty sure when the time comes, it all will take place in the blink of an eye.
Gloria, the Bible does say only the Father knows the exact timing that Jesus will return to earth and claim His Kingdom. But Jesus also tells us in the Bible that there are signs that will let us know that this time is drawing ever closer. And He warns us to pay attention to the signs and be prepared for His return. Christians should never set a specific date for Christ's return but because the Bible has given us much prophecy about what will happen before that return...we can know when the time is very near at hand. God didn't want us to be ignorant about His plans....He set them forth in the Bible and anyone who reads it can read what God says will happen before Christ returns. There are many signs and events the Bible foretells so that everyone has the chance to accept God's gift of salvation and eternal life before it becomes to late to do this. Since the day Christ rose up to heaven it has been the beginning of the end...when Christ will return again and take from satan and his followers the Kingdom that rightfully belongs to Him. Each person has to decide whether they believe what God says in the Bible...but one thing is for sure God does lay His past, present, and future plans out for His children in the books of the Bible and anyone can know those plans just by reading it. I've said this before, but it's worth saying again...the end is really the beginning for every child of God. The beginning of eternal life with their Creator and their Savior.
I have to admit that, on a deeply personal level, i do feel an extraordinary amount of comfort in knowing that the Divine Entity which believers refer to as God, will, in fact, return to set up His Kingdom here on earth, as duly described in the Bible. If the entire human system is to be surreptitiously consumed with iniquity, with, presumably, a One World Ruler, at the head of a One World Government, being the major component of this kind of scenario...an Orwellian one, by any other stretch of the imagination...then, the return of the heavenly Hosts, to re-establish control, would be the mother of all blessings. I`ve already sensed the amount of distrust and suspicion every time i take a walk down the road, anyway. So, there must be something in it. Trust in your vibes. They`ll never lie to you....!!
Let’s face it. Mankind has been in the end time epoch since the crucifixion / resurrection of Jesus Christ. But I suppose the most asked question is “are we to expect the Christ to return in our lifetime”? Dunno. Every generation since the resurrection has had believers looking toward heaven in expectations of the return. They waited as we do for that very profound and amazing incident in which our faith will be verified. We long to see the face behind our hopes and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that which we have dreamed is no longer a dream but a reality. No sight of the grave but one of life. No thoughts of wonder, but ones of clarity and knowledge. No doubts, As it was for those who went before us and eventually to the grave, the times are filled with all manner of evils which bring with them the tests of our own faith. His coming will mark the end of the tests, the start of peace, a time of epi gnosis, so who would not wish for such a thing? If He returns in my lifetime, it will be a magnificent event. If He does not, I will await Him from the grave as do the believers who went before me.