The first 98 days of 2011 have been incredible in terms of what has taken place. The following is a list of some major events that have taken place so far this year:
- Regime change in Egypt
- Near regime change in Yemen
- Civil war in Libya with NATO Intervention
- The return of the Israel-Palestinian Conflict to the Forefront
- Bahrain destabilizes to the extent that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States intervene militarily
- The biggest challenge to the Syrian government’s rule in several decades.
- A 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan and a devastating tsunami
- A level 6 nuclear event on a 1 to 7 Scale (Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant)
- An emerging global food price crisis
- An over 20% increase in the price of oil ($90 to $111)
If you guaranteed to me at the beginning of 2011 that two or three of these events would take place by April 8 I would have told you that the pace that we are approaching the End Times is picking up. It’s amazing that so much has happened in such a short period of time-it’s like five years worth of significant events have taken place in a little more than 3 months…
I occasionally think about the world fifteen years ago and compare that world to what the world is like today. Fifteen years ago I was a kid who thought computers were evil, had no conception of what the Internet was, and thought the world was a fairly peaceful place to live in. The world fifteen years ago was so different than the world today that it seems like it was a lifetime ago…
The world is changing so quickly that five years ago seems like a long time ago…
- I occasionally ask my dad, who has studied Bible prophecy since the 1970s and has followed the news very closely, whether he could have ever envisioned what has taken place recently just five or ten years ago. He has repeatedly told me that he could never envision the world being like it is today five or ten years ago despite what he knows about Bible prophecy. He’s gone as far as to tell me that he would think that I was crazy if I traveled back in time five years and told him about the events that have transpired recently. Five years ago he could not envision what has transpired in the past five years taking place.
The world today is even a lot different than it was a year ago. This time last year the B.P. Oil Spill, one of the most widely-covered news events in 2010, had not even started yet. Could you have ever imagine that the world would be like what it is right now just one year ago today?
Given how fast the world is changing, it’s hard not to see how we are on the path towards living in a world that is much different than the one we live in today in the near future. Many of the events this year have the potential to reshape the Middle East and reshape the world soon.
- Time is passing as it normally has done throughout history-there are still approximately 365.24 days in a year, there are still approximately 24 hours in a day, and there are still approximately 60 minutes in an hour. However, what has transpired around the world in a short amount of time recently is what is incredible about the time period we live in.
It’s not easy to envision what might be taking place in the world five years from now given how quickly the world is changing. Nevertheless, we should remember that God is in control and that He has a plan that will continue to unfold over the next several days, weeks, months, and years whether we arrive at the start of the End Times soon or not. I believe we are getting closer to the start of the End Times as time passes, but God is the One who truly knows what His timing is.
