A Dozen Signs That Tell Us We Live on the Edge of Eternity :: By Jonathan Brentner
We live on the edge of eternity. For those who know Jesus as their Savior, it will start when He catches us up to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:3-17). Those left behind will face the horrors of the seven-year Tribulation.
As many of you know, I often write about the signs of the time. However, I feel compelled to do so again as a reminder both to myself as well as to others of the nearness of Jesus’ appearing.
Apart from the first sign listed below, they appear in no particular order. Together, however, they shout to us that we indeed live in biblical times. We live on the edge of the start of our exciting adventure that begins with Jesus’ appearing to take us home.
- Rebirth of Israel
The rebirth of Israel forms the bedrock of our conviction that we live in the last days of human history as we know it. Most, if not all, other end-time prophecies depend on a restored Israel. For example, according to Jesus, the antichrist’s future defilement of the temple happens during the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15). This could not happen apart from the rebirth of Israel as a nation.
The reemergence of Israel in 1948 as a nation after two thousand years was an astounding miracle, and it happened precisely as the prophet Isaiah predicted (66:8). It sets the stage for the rest of the signs regarding the end of the age.
- Third Temple Preparations
In AD 180, church father Irenaeus wrote that someday the antichrist would defile a rebuilt temple. [i] Isaac Newton, known for his great scientific mind and discoveries, predicted over two hundred years in advance that Israel would again become a nation. Not only that, but he also predicted that the antichrist would desecrate the temple during the Tribulation period.
Today, this third temple is far along in the planning phase. Based on over thirty years of research, the Temple Institute in Israel has prepared most of the furnishings for it, procured the architectural plans for it, and is training Levites to serve as its priests. The fervor for building this temple is strong within the nation. Israel has already begun planning the infrastructure to deal with the large crowd of visitors once it’s completed.
Recently, the Facebook page of the Temple Institute in Israel displayed a LEGO depiction of the planned third temple in Israel.
- Vaccine Mandates/Passports
The vaccine mandates, along with the issuing of vaccine passports, foreshadow the coming mark of the beast as depicted in Revelation 13:16-18. In several places in America and around the world, one cannot eat in restaurants or attend public events without proof of vaccination.
In a previous post, Transhumanism: The Path to the Mark of the Beast, I demonstrate how current technology, meant to enforce vaccinations, will later lead directly to the fulfillment of Revelation 13:16-18.
What we see today with the mask and vaccine mandates is conditioning people to accept the future mark of the beast. The push for transhumanism on the part of the most powerful people in the world lies behind the vaccine mandates of so many governments around the world.
- Worldwide Obsession with the COVID-19 Vaccines
In Revelation 18, which speaks to the destruction of Babylon, we find these words, “and all nations were deceived by your sorcery” (v. 23). The word for “sorcery” in the Greek is Pharmakeia from which we get our English word “pharmaceuticals.” It’s more than a little interesting that during the Tribulation, drugs will be a key means of deception.
As JD Farag points out, there has never been a time when all the nations of the world are promoting a vaccine. Some are more forceful than others, but that does not diminish the prophesied worldwide obsession over them that we already witness.
Peter Koenig, a geopolitical analyst and former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), wrote the following about the universal push for the COVID-19 injections.
What these measures do – “Vaccination Certificate / Passport” for the jabbed – is to separate society into the “good ones,” the “vaccinated” ones; and the “bad guys,” those who are not vaccinated, do not intend to get the deadly jab ….
. . . all 193 UN member countries whose governments have been coopeted in a long preparation period – would like you to believe that the non-vaccinated are a danger for society. [ii]
Just as John predicted in Revelation 18:23 in regard to the seven-year Tribulation, we find that all the nations of the world are already hooked on a Pharmakeia, or what we know as the COVID-19 vaccines.
- The Great Reset/Build Back Better
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the phrases “Great Reset” and “build back better” have become a part of our vocabulary, but so few recognize the sinister agenda behind them.
The “Great Reset” represents the building back of sustainable economic and environmental systems to replace the current failed system; i.e., capitalism. Klaus Schwab, the founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), unveiled his Marxist agenda in May of 2020, hoping to capitalize on the turmoil caused by COVID-19.
Klaus Schwab said this in July of 2020, “The pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world.” [iii] Here “reimagine” equals the merging of humans with machines, and “reset” refers to the Marxist regime that the WEF promotes under via its build back better campaign. The Great Reset is the economic side of the New World Order envisioned under the UN’s agenda 2030.
Prophetically speaking, these phrases point to the coming kingdom of the antichrist that’s already forming throughout the world. Do not be deceived by benign-sounding terms such as “build back better”; they foreshadow a wicked tyranny that will be far worse than anything the world has ever experienced.
- Prince Charles’ Speech at COP26
Prince Charles, speaking about climate action at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow on November 1, 2021, made a startling statement regarding “economic transition,” which is the Great Reset advocated by the WEF that helped sponsor the event. Here is a quote from his speech:
We also know that countries, many of whom are burdened by growing levels of debt, simply cannot afford to go green. Here we need a vast military-style campaign to marsh the strength of the global private sector, with trillions at his disposal far beyond global GDP, and with the greatest respect, beyond even the governments of the world’s leaders. It offers the only real prospect of achieving fundamental economic transition. [iv]
Many students of biblical prophecy wonder about Charles’ reference to having trillions of dollars at “his disposal.” Who is this mysterious person? Could it be the coming “lawless one” waiting in the wings for the right time to step onto the world stage?
How eerie is it that Prince Charles may have actually referred to the antichrist as someone already alive and able to demand such allegiance?
He also may have inadvertently confirmed that the massive transfer of wealth to corporations and the rich taking place through the climate change emergency and the COVID-19 vaccines is all about the coming New World Order.
- Inflation
The inflation that’s sweeping across America and much of the world is just a small sampling of what lies ahead in the not-too-distant future. For many years, I have suspected that the economic turmoil described in Revelation 6:5-6 was just around the corner. In several ways, the fact that it has not yet happened defies some of the things I learned about economics in my MBA classes at the University of Iowa.
I believe the Lord is sovereignly holding back the fulfillment of the economic chaos predicted in Revelation 6. At some future point, however, the Lamb will open this seal and unleash the monetary crisis that many financial experts predict will happen as the result of the massive worldwide debt and printing of money.
- Deception
Scripture tells us that the Tribulation period will be a time of widespread deception upon the earth (Matthew 24:23-25; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; Revelation 13:11-15). The antichrist will deceive multitudes of people who will, in turn, worship him.
The amount of deception present in our world takes my breath away; it’s staggering. The duplicity already rampant in our world tells me that the Lord is already preparing the world for the future “wicked deception” that will pave the way for the rule of the antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:10).
- Lawlessness
In Matthew 24:12, Jesus predicted that during the Tribulation, the world would see an increase in “lawlessness.” In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9, Paul refers to the antichrist as the “lawless one” and the “man of lawlessness.” Lawlessness will define both the antichrist and his kingdom.
With enough time and research, I could write a very long post detailing the multitude of evidence pertaining to the increased lawlessness in our world. In the U.S., we read of flash mobs that overwhelm stores and steal vast amounts of valuable merchandise. Calls to defund the police and the virtual elimination of bail for arrested criminals all add fuel to the fire of the anarchy and violence present in some cities in the U.S. A dozen cities have already broken records for murders in a year’s time.
We also see lawlessness at the government level in America and across the world as elected officials defy written laws and constitutions and impose their own selfish will upon those they govern.
- The Rise of a One-World Religion
Under the guidance of Pope Francis and many other religious leaders, the One-World Religion complex in the United Arab Emirates will open in 2022. The website for this initiative describes it as follows:
The Abrahamic Family House will be a beacon of mutual understanding, harmonious coexistence, and peace among people of faith and goodwill. It consists of a mosque, church, synagogue, and educational center to be built on Saadiyat Island, the cultural heart of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Through its design, it captures the values shared between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and serves as a powerful platform for inspiring and nurturing understanding and acceptance between people of goodwill. The vision for the Abrahamic Family House originated after the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity by Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb in February 2019. [v]
Could there be a clearer indicator of the nearness of one-world religion that will emerge during the Tribulation? I don’t think so.
- Mocking/Loss of Faith
The Apostle Peter warned about scoffers who would arrive on the scene during the last days asking this question, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:4).
Jude echoes this sentiment in regard to latter-day scoffers in verses 17-19:
“But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”
During much of the twentieth century, Bible-believing churches proclaimed our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:11-14) as the pretribulation Rapture, and no one laughed. Today, it’s mocked from many pulpits and ridiculed by a great many people both within and outside the church, just as the apostles said would happen in the last days.
- Gog/Magog War
It’s staggering to contemplate how the prophet Ezekiel, who lived 2,600 years ago, could have so accurately predicted the current situation in the Middle East. Only God could reveal the future with such precision.
Consider three key aspects of his prophecy in chapter 38:
- Russia, Iran, and Turkey will form a close alliance that will lead the future invasion of Israel (see 38:1-6; it’s based on ancient names for these nations).
- The prosperity of Israel will cause this group to invade (38:10-12). Israel has incredible wealth through natural gas and oil, among other things.
- Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia will merely protest the greed of the invaders rather than join with them (38:13).
Who could possibly have predicted these three things just twenty-five years ago apart from the words Ezekiel wrote long, long ago?
We see tensions continually rising as Israel repeatedly bombs Iranian installations in Syria and sabotages nuclear facilities within Iran.
Today, everything is in place for the spark that will ignite this war. I believe it will happen when the Lord puts into the heart of Gog to go after the current riches in Israel (Ezekiel 38:4, 16).
It’s Time to Look Up
It’s the sum total of these signs, along with others, that tell us we live in the last moments before our Lord Jesus intervenes in world history. As believers, it’s time to live with the awareness that Jesus’ return to take us home is ever so close. It’s time to look up in eager anticipation of the completion of our adoption into God’s family and the redemption of our physical bodies (Romans 8:23-25).
I am not saying He will come for us this year or the next, although that is entirely possible. I am saying that the biblical signs of the last day tell us that we already live in the shadow of the rapidly approaching Tribulation period, which signifies that our homegoing must also be close.
If you do not yet know the Lord as your Savior, please know that the time is short. Turn to the Savior today for the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life.
Romans 10:13 says, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Such faith recognizes that one is a sinner and that Jesus’ death on the cross suffices to pay the debt for one’s sins. It’s just as John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
This gift of eternal life comes as the result of faith, not of works. See this post on my website, Salvation in No Other Name, for more information on so great a salvation that comes freely as the result of grace and how you can know you are an heir of eternal life.
My new book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is now available on Amazon.
Jonathan C. Brentner
Website: Our Journey Home
Email: jonathanbrentner@yahoo.com
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[i] Irenaeus, Against Heresies, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 10 vols. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979) Vol. 1, p. 560.
[ii] Peter Koenig, Video: Digital Tyranny and the Rockefeller-Gates WHO “Vaxx-Certificate Passport”: Towards a World War III Scenario, November 28, 2021 @ https://www.globalresearch.ca/worldwide-resistance-against-vaccine-covid-fraud/5755538
[iii] Quote from the WEF website: https://www.weforum.org/focus/the-great-reset
[iv] Prince Charles COP26 Climate Summit Glasgow Speech Transcript, November 1, 2021. @ https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/prince-charles-cop26-climate-summit-glasgow-speech-transcript
[v] About the Abrahamic Family House, @ https://www.forhumanfraternity.org/abrahamic-family-house/