Is This The End?

The coronavirus is causing many people to conclude that we are living in the last days.  The final days.  "This is all a sign that Jesus is coming back at any moment."  Is this true?  No.  The Bible doesn't say that a great pandemic will break out right before the return of Christ.

Do not be alarmed by the end-times-crazies.  Every time something bad happens in the world -- bad weather, an earthquake, a tsunami, a war, a pandemic, persecution, 9/11, Y2K, the election of Obama, the legalization of gay marriage -- these people sound the alarm that this is the final sign that Jesus is going to return at any moment.  This is nothing new.

The end-times-crazies are either ignorant of history, or very forgetful.  They ignore the fact that there have been horrible world wars, plagues, epidemics, earthquakes, and persecutions since the beginning of the world.  If you think this is bad, imagine how horrible it must have been to be a Christian in the first two centuries when they were hunted down and murdered by both the Jewish and Roman governments.  Imagine what it must have been like to live during the Bubonic plague in the mid 1300's, which killed 50 million people, or sixty percent of Europe's population.  Imagine how scary it must have to live during the Civil War in the 1800's, which killed 620,000 American soldiers.

So, what are the signs of the times?  How will we know that Christ's return is near?  The first thing you need to know is there is no consensus about this.  There is wide disagreement among Bible-believing, God-fearing Christians.  Many point to the "signs" mentioned in Matthew 24 -- false messiahs deceiving many; wars and rumors of wars; famines; earthquakes; persecution; false prophets; lawlessness; the gospel proclaimed in all the world; the abomination of desolation.  But this is a wrong interpretation, since Jesus said that all these things would take place before that generation passed away (Mt 24:34).  It is clear that Jesus was not talking about the signs that would precede His return, but those that would precede His coming in judgment on the Jews, and the end of the Jewish nation and religion.  This occurred just forty years later in 70 AD when Rome marched in and destroyed Jerusalem. 

In fact, there are only two signs left to occur before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  The rise of the Antichrist, and the Great Apostasy.  The Antichrist will rise in power and influence, and he will lead many professing Christians to reject Christ and follow after him.  Christ will then return, destroy the Antichrist, and rescue His people.  This is laid out very clearly for us in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.  Seriously.  It is very easy to understand.  Just look at verse 3.
Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
It is possible that the Antichrist is already here; already working his mass deception.  There are many false teachers, and many professing Christians abandoning the faith.

The bottom line is that the Coronavirus is not a sign that we are living in the end times.  Do not listen to the end-times-crazies.  They will say this every time something big happens.  At the same time, make sure that you are ready for Christ's return, because it could be soon, and no one knows the day or hour. 

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