Post 37: Living in the End Times
Image: A clock, an hourglass, and a bible on a semi-transparent background showing dark clouds and lightning in the sky. The words " Signs of the end times" and the phrase "bytesofsalvation.com, July 2026".
Summary: This post will discuss what the Bible says regarding what the world will be like in the season before Jesus removes His church/bride from the earth, which is the times we are currently living in.
I would like to start this post with gratitude and thanksgiving that God convicted me of my unbelief and the truth of His word concerning the condemnation of our sin, so that I could recognize my need for salvation and change my mind to believe in Christ sacrifice alone for the forgiveness of ALL my sins! Amen!
I am a relatively new Christian, coming to faith in Christ in Feb 2024. Since then, one of the topics that have come to my mind continually is what the bible says about the end times. The Lord has been pressing upon me the need to understand and recognize that our generation is indeed living in the latter days of the end times. The time is indeed short before Christ comes in the clouds to take away His church and the light from the world, plunging the world into a chaos and tribulation like nothing this world has ever seen. I'll talk more about this removal of the church and the upcoming tribulation period in the next blog post. Here, the focus is a very brief discussion of the signs of the end times.
Signs of the End Times
There are many things the Bible says will be signs that mark the season of the end times. In the Parable of the Fig Tree in Matthew 24:32-33, Jesus compares the signs of His return to the budding of fig tree leaves, teaching that just as sprouting leaves indicate summer is approaching, observing end-time events indicates His return is near.
In the New Testament, there are a few bible passages that suggest the lead-up to the end times will be marked by intense spiritual deception and departure from truth. One of Jesus' most prominent warnings concerning this deception is in Matthew 24:4-5, where He is teaching His disciples about things to expect that mark the end times, with one of the first things He mentions being deception.
Mass deception
Biblehub defines deception as deception as "misleading or causing someone to believe something that is not true...associated with falsehood, trickery, and deceit." Someone is deceived when they believe as true something that is actually false. In Genesis 3, we learn about the first deception that occurred in human history, where Eve was deceived by the serpent and then acted on the lie she believed from the serpent, which lead to the fall of mankind.
In our current world today, we have the worldwide use of Artificial Intelligence and the emerging Artificial General Intelligence and Artificial Super Intelligence. AI is being increasingly used in nearly every facet of life today, and was largely unheard of on such massive scale even 50 years ago. From the mobile devices we carry in our pockets, to AI being incorporated in everyday activities like shopping, and entertainment, and other online activities, AI software and programing is literally in almost everything. AI is also being used worldwide to collect data on every single person alive and funneling that data into huge data centers to centralize all information about people in one system.
So far in the AI space, there have been examples of AI creating fake news and images of people appearing to do or say things they did not actually do or say. There have been instances of AI models trying to deceive its creators/programmers, AI powered robots becoming violent, AI creating and promoting misinformation and disinformation, and even AI suggesting harmful activities for its users. There is even supposedly an all AI generated and operated church in Switzerland or Sweden or Austria, and I've seen talks and read reports of a new religion created by AI or people referring to AI as god. AI is also being used to track nearly all aspects of our private lives as our private rights continue to be stripped away little by little under the guise of peace and safety.
Given current progression of AI capabilities, I can see very clearly how AI is already being used to deceive people on a massive scale. In the bible, Jesus Himself also describes deception in the last days, warning His disciples that many will come in His name claiming to be the Christ, but their intent is to decieve and lead people away from the truth (Matt 24:4-5). My ESV Study Bible (along with most study bibles) offer notes on this that speak about many people since the formation of the early church and throughout the history the church, and even today, who have claimed to be "The Messiah" or claimed messianic identity. Jesus warns His disciples to be on their guard against such people.
Departure from truth
According to Biblehub, the bible describes "Apostasy" as "the departure from the faith once delivered to the saints, often involving a rejection of core Christian doctrines and a turning away from God. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 talks about people in the end times turning from the faith to follow deceptive spirits.
I can also see how AI could contribute to what the bible calls the Great Apostasy. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the Apostle Paul warns that the "Day of the Lord" (More on "The Day of the Lord" in a future post) will not come until there is first a departure or a great falling away of many from the core truth of the salvation from the wage of sin by grace through faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Matthew 24:10-11 warns us that many will fall away and betray one another, with many false prophets arising and leading many astray. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 tells us of the Holy Spirit's warning that in the latter days some will depart the faith because they will "devote themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through in insincerity of liars who consciences are seared". 1 John 2:18-29 warns us that many anti-Christs will appear in the last hour.
I think this "departure from truth" can be plainly seen in many deceptive religious/spiritual movements that are popular today, among these including the New Age Movement, Christian Universalism, Transcendentalism and the Prosperity Theology, just to name a few. These false teachings change aspects of or promote a false version of God/Jesus, teach things that remove the concept of universal condemnation of sin and the need for a savior, or promote lies that we can somehow ascend to godhood, among other deceptive spiritual beliefs. The purpose of including those links here is to provide a few examples of such movements for your further research but I will not be diving further into those movements in this writing...I'm keeping this about the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, yo!
None of these false teachings provide salvation because they change fundamental truths about salvation. The bible gives clear warning about believing false gospels in Galatians 1:8–9, where the Apostle Paul states that anyone preaching a different gospel is cursed. The point here is that there is no other true message of the gospel. Paul explains that a different gospel is not truly another good news, but a distortion of the message of salvation from sin coming solely through Christ's shed blood on the cross. He emphasizes that the true message he shared came directly through the revelation of Jesus Christ, not from human origins.
Global unrest and upheaval
The Bible also talks about global unrest and upheaval increasing throughout the world in the end times. In Matthew 24:6-8, Jesus is continuing to teach His disciples about what the world will be like prior to his return, saying
" 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are but the beginning of birth pains."
In this passage, Jesus is warning them that the season of the end of the age will be marked by many things, including nations waring against each other, severe food shortages, and devastating diseases in the world. I think this current Iran-Israel war is also a sign of the times because the Bible says that all nations will turn against Israel and current worldwide attitudes towards Israel seem to be declining in recent years. In the US, we have also seen an uptick of food shortages and recalls due to contamination in recent years as well. Within the last century, there have been several deadly disease outbreaks and pestilence, including which the Bible suggests come as judgments from God.
Moral decay and cultural attitudes
The Apostle Paul details specific behavioral trends that will become prominent in society, reflecting a deepening spiritual bankruptcy and lack of regard for authority.
Matthew 24:12 tells us that iniquity (lawlessness) will increase in the last days, causing the love of many to grow cold. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul also outlines how we as believers can discern the spiritual season leading up to Christ's return, warning of perilous times characterized by increased selfishness, greed, rebellion against authority, and a lack of love for God.
As I think about many cities across the US defunding the police, reports of lawlessness and crime seem to have increased in such areas which seems to be giving rise to attitudes of anarchy and civil discourse. As attitudes continue to decline, believers will face increased hatred, trouble, and opposition from various nations for following Jesus. This has already been happening in the history of the church, as some or all of the disciples/apostles in biblical times were heavily persecuted and/or killed for the proclamation of their faith in Jesus. This is also happening throughout the world now in the present day, from persecution of Christians in China, Africa, Europe, United States, and Canada, among other places.
One other clear sign of the season of the end times is that the gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world (Matt 24:14). Consider the reach and scope of the internet, which gives people immediate access to all kinds of information across the world in a matter of seconds. The internet gives worldwide access to many different gospel resources (including this very blog), so we can clearly see that the gospel is already being preached throughout the world, but it is our personal responsibility to believe the gospel so that we can be saved from the condemnation that our sin has brought (John 3:16-18).
Christian living in the last days
In 1 Corinthians 7:29–31, the Apostle Paul says that the time remaining for us here is very short; therefore, we should order our priorities in light of that reality. For the believer, knowing that that God's decreed ending to all things is fast approaching should empower us who trust in Him to live with the proper priorities in mind.
The bible gives many scriptures that advise believers of how they ought to live during this time. Jesus reminds believers in Matthew 24:6 to "See to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come." 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and 1 Peter 4:7-8 advises believers facing the "last days" to stay steadfast, sober, and grounded in love in the midst of the spiritual and moral challenges of the time. 2 Corinthians 4:18 encourages believers to focus on the eternal things of God's kingdom, for which the believer has already been purchased through Christs death, rather than focusing ourselves on the temporary things of this world which will inevitably pass away when Christ comes back to redeem the creation.
Our only hope
Regardless of how bad the Bible describes the end times, the Bible also gives the world the answer for how we can be prepared for this, whether or not we are alive during this tumultuous time.
Jesus alone is the answer! Jesus promises eternal life and spiritual deliverance for all those who believe in who He says He is and what He says He has done for us in providing the only payment for our sin that God will accept when He sacrificed Himself on the cross! Jesus himself that He is the resurrection and the life, and those who believe on him will be resurrected to eternal life on the last day (John 6:40, John 11:25-26).
We hope in the return of Jesus Christ to judge the living and the dead, ultimately establishing a new heaven and a new earth free from pain and death. Isaiah 26:3 states: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. By believers keeping their minds focused on Jesus during these trying times, we will have peace knowing that in Him, we have eternal life and He has already won the battle! We can have peace despite what is going on around us in the world, as we lean on the Christ the solid rock!
Conclusion
Jesus provides forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God, which frees us from paying the final wage of sin, which is spiritual separation from God in Hell. To those truly born again in Christ Jesus, we are set free from the final wage of sin and the slavery to sin, and so we ought to walk by the spirit and not by the flesh, that we may freely and lovingly serve the God of our salvation, and live in the in the freedom Jesus purchased for us all on the cross! AMEN!
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