What Is the Sign?
Telling us what will mark the last days, Jesus went on to say: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another pestilences and food shortages; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs.” (Luke 21:10, 11) Jesus also said: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”(Matthew 24:14) The events that Jesus mentioned—wars, earthquakes, pestilences, food shortages—would not be new in themselves. They have been happening since early in human history. The difference would be that they would all occur in one time period.
Ask yourself, ‘When have all the facets mentioned in the Gospels occurred in the same era?’ Since the year 1914, man has witnessed devastating world wars; great earthquakes with their tragic consequences, such as tsunamis; widespread deadly diseases such as malaria, flu, and AIDS; millions of people wasting away for lack of food; a global climate of fear because of threats from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction; and the preaching of the good news of God’s heavenly Kingdom worldwide by Jehovah’s Witnesses. These events have occurred just as Jesus foretold.
The apostle Paul wrote: “Know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Yes, “critical times” marked by rampant lawlessness, godlessness, cruelty, and self-seeking aggressiveness would become evident throughout the earth.
When Will “the Last Days” End?
Exactly how long the last days will be is not mentioned in the Bible. But in the last days, the earthly situation is bound to get worse as Satan’s time gets shorter. The apostle Paul forewarned that “wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.” (2 Timothy 3:13) And in speaking of things yet to come, Jesus stated: “Those days will be days of a tribulation such as has not occurred from the beginning of the creation which God created until that time, and will not occur again. In fact, unless Jehovah had cut short the days, no flesh would be saved. But on account of the chosen ones whom he has chosen he has cut short the days.”—Mark 13:19, 20.
Some of the events yet to come are the “great tribulation,” including the war of Armageddon, and the restricting of Satan and his demons so that they cannot affect the earth. (Matthew 24:21) “God, who cannot lie,” has assured us that these things will take place. (Titus 1:2) Armageddon and the abyssing of Satan will be the result of divine intervention.
The apostle Paul wrote: “Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. Whenever it is that they are saying: ‘Peace and security!’ then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman; and they will by no means escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3) Just what causes that false cry of “peace and security” is not stated, and only time will tell; but it will not forestall the coming of Jehovah’s day of judgment.