Over the past several days I have analyzed several things that the Bible identified as indicators of whether we are approaching the end times. In this entry I summarize what these indicators are telling us and give you an idea of when I believe the end times will begin.
I analyzed what kind of developments we need to see in Israel before the end times begin in Part 1 of Signs of the End. The developments that we need to watch for are:
- A large of migration of Jews living outside of Israel to Israel.
- Israel strikes a seven-year protection agreement with a major world leader.
I also analyzed developments that Christ identified as indicators that we are approaching the end times (though the end is not yet when we see them-Matthew 24:6). Christ described these developments as being part of the beginning of birth pangs (Matthew 24:8). The birth pang analogy means that the frequency/prevalence of the developments we need to look out for will increase like the pain a woman feels as she is readying to give birth increases.
I reviewed each birth pang indicator from Part 3 to Part 7. The following table summarizes the findings of my study of each birth pang indicator:
Together, these indicators suggest that we are not near the end times yet. However, a few indicators suggest we are approaching the end times (albeit at slow rate) as they are becoming more prevalent as time goes on.
(Update: I would not disagree with the notion that the political instability indicator has begun to increase in the past few months, but it’s nowhere near where it’s going to be and the current overall level of political instability globally is not close to where it has been in the past (see Part 6 for more). The basis for the statement that political instability has been declining is data from the Center of Systematic Peace who devote themselves to studying this phenomenon (see Part 6 for more)).
Although these indicators do not suggest that we are not near the end times yet, conditions could change quickly with a global economic and financial collapse, which I believe is imminent and will come sooner rather than later. A global economic and financial collapse could cause many of the birth pang indicators to become far more prevalent in a short period of time because a collapse would dramatically destabilize political conditions in the areas affected (in this case it would be around the world).
- You are very likely going to see great political unrest throughout the world during and following a collapse. Governments and leaders failing to deal with major economic and financial problems in an effective manner will be endangered as people look to replace them with anyone who appears to be more competent at handling the situation than those currently in charge. The public’s desperation will give an opportunity for individuals and groups from all parts of the ideological spectrum a chance to take power through the electoral process, revolution, or military coup. We likely shall see new, moderate leaders take charge of some countries and extremists (right and left-wing) take charge of many other countries.
- You are very likely going to see a lot more war and rumors of wars because the restraints of war will be lifted and desperate political leaders searching for an excuse to shift the public’s attention away from domestic problems and for ways to secure the necessities of life for their people may turn to war to solve both these problems at the same.
- There is likely going to be a lot more hunger and food shortages because many more people will have difficulty affording to buy food and food will be diverted to soldiers fighting in wars.
- Many people will be in dire straits during an economic and financial collapse. Many people will look for someone who can rescue them from hardship and provide them comfort. This gives delusional people with major messianic complexes an opportunity to exploit people’s vulnerabilities by making all sorts of promises that they are the Christ sent to save them and the world. As a result, you are likely going to see a major increase in the number of people who falsely claim to be the Christ.
The End Time Jubilee
Before I began the Signs of the End Series I had a poll where I asked you when you thought the end times would begin. I participated in the poll by selecting that the end times would begin within the next 10 to 20 years.
One reason I believe the start of the end times are between 10 to 20 years away from now is that we do not yet have a global economic and financial collapse. We have a global economic and financial crisis that will eventually become a global economic and financial collapse. The current crisis is capable of transforming into a collapse at any moment, but it’s more likely that it will transform into a collapse within the next few years as policymakers try anything to delay a collapse. Once the global economic and financial collapse arrives I believe the world is going to need another few years to dramatically change into a world that will be conducive for the rise of Antichrist.
The main reason why I believe the end times is 10 to 20 years away from now is that we are several years away from a special year on the Hebrew Calendar called a Jubilee Year, which I’ve written about before but will write about again in case there are people who are not familiar with the concept.
Before I focus on the Jubilee Year you must first be aware of another special year on the Hebrew Calendar called a Sabbath Year. God instructed the Jews to give their land a full year of rest (basically do not farm it) every 7 years. This year of rest is known as the Sabbath Year.
- Lev 25:4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
- Lev 25:5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
- Lev 25:6 And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
- Lev 25:7 And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
A Jubilee Year is a special Sabbath observed once every 50 years after the completion of the 7th Sabbath Year. A Jubilee Year begins on Yom Kippur (Tishri 10 on the Jewish calendar) with the sounding of a ram’s horn.
- Lev 25:8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
- Lev 25:9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
At the beginning of a Jubilee Year people are obligated to return items to their original owners, including land, (Lev 25:10, 13, 23-28) and grant freedom to their servants/slaves (Lev 25:39-54). Since a Jubilee Year is another Sabbath Year it is another year of rest for the land (Lev 25:12).
The reason the Jubilee Year is so important that there are multiple passages in Isaiah that indicate that the 70th week of Daniel (the seven year period) will end at the beginning of a Jubilee Year (Isaiah 61-3 and Isaiah 58). Therefore, to find when the end times will begin a person must find first when the seven year period will end (find the Jubilee Year).
First, I tried to identify the date of a past Jubilee Year mentioned by the Bible. A scholar working for the Vatican and I believe that Luke 4 when Jesus reads Isaiah 61 in the Temple is an announcement of a Jubilee Year. Luke 4 apparently took place in the Year 28 AD, so the next step was to see if I could use some simple math to calculate the dates of other past Jubilee Years and Sabbath Years to make sure it is even possible to calculate future Jubilee Years (since if a person cannot calculate past Jubilee Years and Sabbath Years why bother calculating future ones…). My calculated dates matched up with historians’ dates for the following events.
- Jesus’s reading of Isaiah 61 in the Temple, (Luke 4:16-21, Jubilee Year)
- Nehemiah’s reading at the Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:14-8, Sabbath Year).
- The destruction of Solomon’s Temple (Jeremiah 34:12-17, Sabbath Year)
- Ezra’s reading at the Feast of Tabernacles (Ezra 7:6-10, Sabbath Year)
- Josiah’s reading of the Book of the Law (2 Kings 22:3-11, Jubilee Year)
- Ezekiel’s vision at “the beginning of the year” (Ezekiel 40:1, Jubilee Year)
- Alexander the Great exempting tax payments in Israel (Sabbath Year).
- St. Jerome’s identification of a Jubilee Year in the 2nd year of Probus
Once I knew that I could find past Sabbath Years and Jubilee Years I tried to calculate future Jubilee Years. I found that the next Jubilee Year should take place in Fall 2028. Then I subtracted seven years from Fall 2028 and got an end times start date of Fall 2021.
- A full explanation can be found at the following link.
