Have you ever looked at the world and thought, "Something's not right. The chaos feels louder. The divisions feel deeper. The pain feels closer." Jesus once sat on the Mount of Olives and gave his disciples a terrifying gift, clarity. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation. There will be famines, earthquakes, and lawlessness. and the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24. He wasn't describing a far-off apocalypse. He was giving us the signs of a global unraveling. And here's the part that chills the soul. We're watching it happen in
real time. But what exactly are the last days? Hebrews 1:2 says, "God has spoken to us in these last days by his son." meaning they began with Jesus. We're not waiting for the last days to start. We're in them. And the longer we deny that, the more asleep we stay. Just this year, record-breaking floods, violent protests, nations on the edge of war, AI reshaping reality, children growing up without truth, families torn apart by ideology. It's not coincidence, it's convergence. And if this video on deep Bible stories gives you clarity in a world gone dark, share
it so others can recognize the signs and awaken before it's too late. Because once you realize the hour we're living in, you'll never pray, live, or hope the same way again. The signs Jesus gave weren't just meant to stir fear. They were meant to wake us up. He warned of global shakings, but also of something even more dangerous, spiritual deception. And now that we've seen how the last days began with Jesus himself, we must ask, what did his disciples, the eyewitnesses to the resurrection and builders of the early church, expect as the end approached? They
were not silent. They were not uncertain. And they didn't sugarcoat it. The apostles saw what was coming and the picture they painted was unsettling. Paul wrote to a young pastor named Timothy and his words echo with even more force today than when they were first penned. Mark this. There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Does
that not sound like a mirror to our world? Scroll through social media and you'll find a society obsessed with self. Be your own truth. Follow your heart. Cancel anyone who doesn't agree. We live in a generation where pride is celebrated, humility is mocked, and godliness is optional unless it fits the narrative. From Tik Tok therapists to prosperity influencers preaching self- worship in Jesus' name, Paul's words aren't warnings anymore. They're news headlines. The Apostle Peter warned with equal weight, "In the last days, scoffers will come scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where
is this coming?" he promised. Second Peter 3:3-4. Peter foresaw not just rebellion, but mockery of belief itself. And we see it everywhere in modern entertainment. The name of Jesus is one of the only names still used as a curse word. While every other religion is shielded from offense in elite universities and online forums, Christianity is often labeled as outdated, oppressive, or foolish. And tragically, even in some churches, pastors are redefining truth to avoid controversy. The scoffing isn't hidden anymore. It's mainstream. And maybe you felt it personally. Maybe you've tried to speak truth in love and
been ridiculed. Maybe you've watched your own family fall for the lies of this culture. Maybe you've looked around at the world and quietly whispered to yourself, "Lord, how much longer?" What Paul and Peter described wasn't theoretical. It was prophetic. And they weren't speaking in isolation. Jude, the brother of Jesus, wrote these piercing words. In the last times, there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the spirit. Jude 18-19. The last days, according to Jude, would be marked
by division, not just in culture, but in the church. Sound familiar? Denominations are fracturing. Leaders once seen as spiritual giants are falling. Theological lines are blurring under the pressure of cultural convenience. And many believers are wondering where is the remnant that still fears God. Let's bring this closer to home. In recent years, we've witnessed mass shootings at schools, churches, and parades. A six-year-old was caught with a loaded gun in his backpack. Teens film brutal beatings for likes. Children now walk through metal detectors to enter their classrooms. And as horrifying as these realities are, the greater
tragedy is how numb we've become to them. This numbness was foretold. Jesus said in Matthew 24:12, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold." Paul called it a seared conscience, where the moral compass no longer works. We're not just living in days of sin. We're living in days where sin doesn't even feel shocking anymore. And yet through all of this, there's a piercing consistency in scripture, an ancient alignment that shows us this season was always coming. The prophet Isaiah, long before Christ came, spoke of a generation that would call evil
good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness. Isaiah 5:20. We see this now in the redefinition of marriage, in the confusion of gender, and in the violent defense of abortion as a right. Isaiah's lament echoes like thunder. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes. Isaiah 5:21. This is not about politics. This is about a moral collapse, a global spiritual anesthesia that makes hearts dull and ears deaf to the truth. But here's what makes it more dangerous. It doesn't always look evil. Remember how Paul described it, having a
form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Timothy 3:5. In other words, people will claim to know God. They'll speak in Christian language. They'll quote Bible verses out of context, but the Holy Spirit will be absent. The power of repentance rejected. The urgency of holiness ignored. The cross reduced to a motivational slogan. Paul told the Thessalonians that before Jesus returns, there would be a great falling away, a rebellion. He wrote, "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed." Second
Thessalonians 2:3. This rebellion isn't coming. It's here. How else do you explain entire denominations voting to bless what God calls sin? or ministers officiating weddings they know scripture condemns or Christian influencers telling their followers that obedience is legalism and holiness is toxic. It's not always loud. Sometimes it comes wrapped in empathy and false compassion. But deception with a soft voice is still deception. And if we're not anchored in the word, we will be swept away by the tide. This is why the apostles wrote with such urgency, not just to expose what was coming, but to
prepare the church to endure it. Peter reminds us, "Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you as though something strange were happening to you." First Peter 4:12. Jesus never promised safety in the last days. He promised victory through perseverance. This is no longer about prophecy conferences and endtime charts. This is about the way you live today. Are you alert or are you asleep? Are you building your life on truth or on a version of Christianity that avoids the cross? Because here's the truth. The world doesn't need another
soft sermon. It needs a church that still trembles at his word. That still believes Jesus is coming back. That still waits with oil in their lamp and fire in their bones. The apostles saw it coming. Now it's here. And the question is, are we ready? If the apostles saw it coming and we now see it unfolding, then the next question is, what exactly are we in the middle of? Because what we're witnessing globally across every sphere of life feels less like isolated incidents and more like relentless contractions. This isn't random chaos. It's patterned, increasing, intensifying.
It's almost as if creation itself is groaning. And maybe that's exactly what Jesus meant when he said, "All these are the beginning of sorrows." Matthew 24:8. The phrase Jesus used beginning of sorrows is better translated from the Greek as birth pains. That wasn't poetic. It was prophetic. He was telling us that before the end would come, there would be a process, a labor. And like any labor, it would grow in frequency and intensity until something is born. So what does that look like? Think about contractions. At first, they're sporadic, dull, and spread out. But as
labor progresses, they become more intense and more frequent. That's exactly how Jesus framed the signs of the end. Wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, betrayals, hatred, deception. These would not happen just once. They would build like waves, gaining force and pressure, signaling the closeness of delivery. And we're not imagining it. Look around. In the last two decades, natural disasters have surged. Not just in number, but in magnitude. Entire cities are now being flooded in hours, while wildfires devour entire towns overnight. Hurricanes once considered once in a century events are happening every few years.
Earthquakes have struck without warning in regions never considered high risk. In 2023 alone, Turkey and Syria were rocked by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed tens of thousands in a single morning. Just months later, Morocco was hit by its strongest quake in 120 years. And recently, storms have brought flooding to cities like Dubai and Laros. Places built for dry terrain, now underwater. Even the weather systems are groaning like a woman in travail. And yet natural disasters are just one layer because alongside the groaning of the earth is a moral collapse in the human heart. Jesus
said lawlessness would increase and with it love would grow cold. That's not a guess. That's what we're living in. Lawlessness isn't just crime. It's rebellion against God's design. And it's no longer subtle. We now live in a generation that celebrates the very things that grieve the heart of God. Children are taught to question their own biology before they can read. Schools are sued for allowing prayer, but celebrated for hosting drag story hours. In some nations, preaching repentance is now labeled as hate speech, and pastors face jail time for quoting certain verses. What is this if
not the intensifying of the sorrows? And perhaps the most terrifying sign is how familiar it all feels. The shock has faded. People aren't just enduring it, they're adapting to it. Like frogs in boiling water, society has adjusted to the burn. Jesus said it would be like the days of Noah. People eating, drinking, marrying, not realizing the flood was coming until it was too late. That's the danger. Not just the events, but the dullness they bring. But here's what we must understand. Birth pains aren't signs of death. They're signs of imminent life. Which means all this
shaking, all this breaking is leading somewhere. And scripture is clear on that, too. Paul writes in Romans 8:22, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Even creation knows what's coming. Even the earth can sense the closeness of redemption. These are not just disasters. They're declarations. Something is being pushed forth. The return of Christ is near. The King is at the door. But before the crown, there's the labor. Let's not pretend this process is easy. Birth is violent, painful, loud, and it always
brings pressure before release. And if we are in that place now, if these contractions are happening more often and with greater force, then the question isn't, is Jesus coming soon? The question is, how close are we to the final push? Some believers have felt the weight of it personally. anxiety without a source. Weariness that doesn't fade. A strange urgency in the spirit that something's coming, but they can't quite name it. That's not paranoia. That's prophecy stirring. Daniel 12 said that knowledge would increase and people would go to and fro in the time of the end.
And here we are swiping through endless information, moving faster than ever, but growing more exhausted by the minute. We are plugged into the noise of the world, but numb to the whisper of the spirit. And yet, birth pain is merciful because it reminds you something's coming. It doesn't let you forget. It wakes you up. And every wave demands a response. Will you prepare for delivery or will you drift into spiritual slumber? Jesus didn't give us these signs to scare us. He gave them so that when they came, we wouldn't be caught off guard. He said
in Matthew 24:25, "See, I have told you beforehand. He didn't want you confused. He wanted you ready." Let's take a deeper step into scripture. In 1 Thessalonians 5:3, Paul echoes the words of Christ. While people are saying peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman and they will not escape. The world will think it's getting better. It will cry for peace. But in that very moment, the labor will reach its climax. And what is born? the return of Christ, the revealing of the sons and daughters of God,
the judgment of evil, the reward of the faithful, the end of tears, and the beginning of a kingdom that will never be shaken. We are not just watching news. We are watching prophecy unfold. And as the church, we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines or sleep through the contractions. Every shaking is a signal. Every storm is a reminder. We are not in an age of leisure. We are in the final stages of labor. And that means we must live like it. Are you carrying oil in your lamp? Are you watching the signs or ignoring
the labor? Are you holding on to the world or letting go to make room for what's coming? Because when the water breaks, there will be no more time to prepare. That's why we're here. That's why Deep Bible Stories exists. to awaken a slumbering bride. To remind you that prophecy isn't just a distant hope, it's a present reality. These aren't just signs of the end. They are signs of the beginning. And soon every pain will be swallowed by joy. Because when the last contraction hits, the sky will split. And the Son of Man will come, not
as a teacher, not as a carpenter, but as a king with fire in his eyes and justice in his hand. Until then, feel the labor, hear the contractions, and let them stir your soul awake. Because we are not waiting for birth pains to start. We are minutes from delivery. If the labor pains are already shaking the world, then what should alarm us even more is what Jesus said would accompany those pains. Not just the physical signs, but the spiritual ones. Not just earthquakes and famines, but deception. Not just chaos outside the church, but corruption within
it. Because the most dangerous sign of the last days isn't the shaking of the ground. It's the soft voice that leads hearts away from truth while claiming to speak for God. Jesus was crystal clear in Matthew 24:5, "Many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many." And just a few verses later, he repeats the warning with even more urgency. False prophets will appear and deceive many people, so persuasive that if possible, even the elect could be deceived. Matthew 24:11:24. Let that sink in. The deception of the last days will
be so effective, so convincing, so close to truth that even sincere faithful believers could fall for it if not grounded. That's not hyperbole. That's a divine warning. And it's not just Jesus who warned us. Paul told the Corinthians that Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. 2 Corinthians 11:14 to 15. In other words, endtime deception will not look evil. It will look righteous. It will sound holy. It will quote scripture, but it will carry a twisted agenda designed to drag people
away from the cross. We're seeing it everywhere. Open your eyes and you'll see the slow and subtle rise of a false gospel spreading like a virus. It's not built on outright denial of Jesus, but on distortion. It's not the anti-gosspel of atheism. It's the sugar-coated gospel of comfort. Messages that once pierced hearts with repentance are now replaced by motivational speeches that affirm every lifestyle, every sin, every idol. Entire ministries are built on making you feel better, not making you holy. The cross is no longer the symbol of surrender, but a backdrop to self-help slogans. And
preachers no longer say, "Take up your cross and follow him," but instead, "Follow your dream, and God will bless it." Paul saw this coming. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, he warned, "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear, they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." That time is now. This is not theoretical. It's visible, measurable, and devastating. We have celebrity
pastors building empires, not altars. Preachers who go years without mentioning sin. Churches that fly every flag except the banner of Christ. And believers who know more about self-love than self-denial. Just this past year, several prominent megaurch leaders were exposed. Some for abuse, others for fraud. Still more for compromising scripture under cultural pressure. But even more dangerous than the scandals are the sermons. Sermons that avoid offense, that neuter the gospel, that promise heaven without holiness. And what makes this even more chilling is how many embrace it. Because Jesus didn't just say false prophets would arise. He
said many would follow them. Matthew [Music] 7:13-15. Why? Because deception feels good. It gives you the benefits of religion without the burden of obedience. It offers grace without repentance, heaven without a cross, blessings without surrender. It is the wide road and many are walking it. And it's not just in pulpits. It's in worship music where lyrics now center the listener instead of the Lord. It's in Christian books that promise your best life now instead of your eternal life in Christ. It's in influencers who call themselves faith-based but never mention scripture. The deception is dressed in
Christian language but empty of Christian power. And here's where it gets even more strategic. This rise of false teaching isn't just about popularity. It's about preparation. Because the enemy isn't just trying to distract believers. He's building a path for something bigger. a global religious unification. Revelation 13 speaks of a false prophet who will perform signs, call down fire, and deceive the nations into worshiping the beast. And how does he do it? Through miracles, through spirituality, through the illusion of peace. We're not far from that world. Right now, world leaders are already gathering around interfaith alliances,
movements that claim to bring peace by blending Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other worldviews into a unified global religion. At first, it sounds beautiful. Peace, unity, tolerance. But dig deeper and you'll see the price. Truth must die. Just last year, the Abrahamic family house opened in Abu Dhabi. A complex with a mosque, a synagogue, and a church all side by side. And while the intention may seem noble, the undercurrent is chilling. A subtle erasing of exclusive truth. Jesus is no longer the way, just one of many ways. And that is the deception. Because Jesus didn't come
to coexist with lies. He came to destroy them. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." John 14:6. That's not a negotiable truth. That's the cornerstone of the gospel. But we're watching a generation trade that cornerstone for sand. And it's not just happening in other countries. It's here in the West, in the church. The rise of religious tolerance at the expense of biblical conviction is exploding. Even now, there are Christian leaders praising false religions in the name of unity, endorsing ideologies that openly deny
Christ's divinity, preaching a love that has no boundaries, no commandments, no truth. Jesus warned about this spirit in Matthew 7, saying, "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. They look like us. They talk like us, but they devour faith from the inside out." That's why First John 4 tells us to test the spirits to see whether they are from God. Not every voice that says Jesus is speaking truth. Not every miracle is from heaven. Not every revival is real. So how do you know the difference? Truth
will always lead you to the cross, to repentance, to holiness, to scripture, to Jesus. Not as a brand, but as Lord. Anything less, no matter how beautiful, how spiritual, how popular, is deception. This is the hour we're living in. The pressure to compromise has never been higher. But neither has the calling to stand. And if you feel the tension, if something in your spirit has been uneasy, if you've sensed the drift in the church, if you've wept over the watering down of the gospel, you are not crazy. You are awake. Stay awake because deception is
not coming. It is here. But so is truth. And those who love the truth, who cling to it no matter the cost, will not be shaken. Let the world follow fakes. Let the crowds chase comfort. But as for you, stay rooted because the king is still coming and he's coming for a bride that knows his voice. Deception might be the fog that clouds our world in these final days. But if there's one place where God's prophetic timeline cuts through the confusion like a lightning bolt, it's Israel. Because while false prophets blur the lines, while global
systems distract and deceive, there is one physical location on this planet that remains a blazing signal fire in the darkness. One city that scripture never lets us forget. One nation that holds the heartbeat of prophecy. And it's not Washington. It's not Rome. It's not even the Vatican. It's Jerusalem. If we truly want to understand the signs of the times, we must lift our eyes and look toward the land that God called his own. Because Israel isn't just a modern state. It's the epicenter of redemptive history, a living prophecy, a divine countdown clock. Jesus himself pointed
to this in Matthew 24:32. He gave a parable that often slips past casual readers. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer's near. Then he adds, "Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door." The fig tree in scripture consistently symbolizes Israel. And Jesus was saying that when you see this tree, this nation begin to blossom again, know that the end is near. For nearly 2,000 years, Israel was scattered, desolate, without
a homeland. But in 1948, against all odds, after centuries of exile and persecution, the fig tree began to bloom. Israel was reborn. That moment wasn't just political, it was prophetic. Isaiah 66:8 asked a question that sounded absurd at the time. Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? And yet on May 14th, 1948, that very thing happened. After World War II, after the Holocaust, after centuries of dispersion, the Jews returned, not just spiritually, but physically to their land, and the world watched prophecy unfold on live radio.
This wasn't just a fulfillment. It was a warning because once the fig tree blossoms, the countdown begins. Israel's rebirth was the trigger. Jerusalem's status was the next bell. In 1967, during the 6-day war, Israel reclaimed East Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount for the first time in nearly 2,000 years. And again, it wasn't just a military victory. It was a prophetic milestone. Luke 21:24 says, "Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." That word until signals a turning point, a shift, a moment when God's redemptive focus returns with
force to his covenant people. And we are living in that moment right now because even today, as I write this, tensions around Jerusalem are escalating. Nations are gathering. Global leaders are pressuring Israel to divide the land. Something God explicitly warned against in Joel 3:2. I will enter into judgment with them because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land. Yet, that's exactly what we see happening. Just in recent years, we've watched the Abraham Accords shift alliances in the Middle East, seeming peace agreements that, while historic on the surface, may lay the
groundwork for what Daniel called a deceptive covenant. Daniel 9:27 speaks of a ruler who will confirm a covenant with many for one week, a 7-year period that most scholars link to the tribulation timeline. Is it possible we're seeing the scaffolding of that covenant forming? We must remember scripture is not western. God's prophetic lens doesn't revolve around America, Europe, or economic powerhouses. It revolves around Israel, his covenant people, his chosen nation. Zechariah 12:2-3 gives a sobering prophecy. I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. I will make Jerusalem an
immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. And what do we see today? Nation after nation trying to move Jerusalem, redefine its borders, undermine its sovereignty, pressure its leaders. But God has declared this city is immovable. Not because it's politically strong, but because it's prophetically anchored. And that's why we must pay attention. Because Jerusalem is not just a tourist site. It's not just the capital of a small Middle Eastern nation. It is the epicenter of past, present, and future revelation. It's the city where Abraham met Melkisedc, where David
reigned, where Solomon built the temple, where Jesus taught, bled, and rose. And it's the city to which he will return. Yes, he's coming back. Not to London, not to Manhattan, but to Jerusalem. Zechariah 14 paints the picture vividly. On that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him. Zechariah 14:4-5. The same mountain where Jesus gave the Olivet discourse. The same mountain from which he ascended. He will return physically, gloriously to that very place. But before that return
comes trouble. Jerusalem will be surrounded, betrayed, attacked. Revelation 11 speaks of the two witnesses who will prophesy in Jerusalem. Revelation 16 describes armies gathering at Armageddon in the land of Israel. The final battles of human history will not be fought in Washington or Beijing, but in the Valley of Jehoshaphat just outside Jerusalem's walls. And so when we see nations aligning, when we hear world leaders speak of peace and security, when we see increasing pressure to divide Israel or redefine Jerusalem's status, we are not watching politics. We are watching prophecy. Even natural disasters in Israel have
begun to stir. Earthquakes, fires, droughts in the negv, all reminders of what the prophets foretold. Amos 9 speaks of the rebuilding of ruined cities. Ezekiel 36-37 speak of a nation restored from dry bones. We're not waiting for that restoration. We're witnessing it. And for those who love the Lord, this should not be a source of fear, but awakening. Because if Israel is the clock of God, then the hourhand is trembling. The deception we spoke of earlier, it becomes lethal when believers ignore the one nation God said would signal his final move. Replacement theology claiming the
church has permanently replaced Israel has robbed many of clarity. But Romans 11 couldn't be clearer. Has God rejected his people? By no means, and for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:129. Israel is still in the story, still in the plan, still the clock and the minute hand, Jerusalem. So what does this mean for us? It means we must pray for the peace of Jerusalem, not a political peace, but a spiritual one. It means we must bless what God has blessed even when the world condemns it. It means we must read our
Bibles with Israel at the center, not the margins. And above all, it means we are closer than ever. Because once the fig tree blooms, once the city is reclaimed, once the world gathers in rage around this tiny strip of land, you can be sure the king is near. So look to the east. Stay awake. Keep your eyes on the mountain where his feet will soon stand. Because Jerusalem is not just a city. It is the countdown, the clock, the trigger. And when it chimes, heaven will open. If Jerusalem is the clock of God ticking louder
with every headline, then Revelation 13 is the alarm that shakes the soul. Because once the fig tree blossoms, once the land is restored and the city becomes a global burden, something else begins to rise, not out of the soil, but from the shadows. A system, a counterfeit kingdom, a beast with no conscience, hungry not just for land or armies, but for souls. And if you've been watching closely, you'll know we're not waiting for this system to arrive. It's already being built quietly, efficiently, globally. John the Apostle, exiled on the island of Patmos nearly 2,000 years
ago, saw things that didn't exist in his day. Beasts rising from the sea, global worship of false power, and a world where no one could buy or sell without a mark. When he wrote Revelation 13, he wasn't crafting religious poetry. He was documenting future headlines. And now, today, those headlines have started printing themselves. Let's walk slowly through his vision. John wrote, "It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they
had the mark." Revelation 13:16:17. This was not symbolic. This was strategic. A global economy that required compliance. No mark, no access, no worship of the beast, no participation in daily life. What John saw wasn't just religious persecution. It was economic coercion on a worldwide scale. Now, pause. Let that settle. Because what once seemed impossible in John's world, where markets were local and economies disconnected, is frighteningly possible in ours. In fact, it's not just possible, it's in progress. We now live in a digitized age where your money isn't cash, it's code. Transactions are tracked, flagged, suspended,
or denied with a single keystroke. In nations like China, citizens are assigned a social credit score that controls everything from travel to loans to school access. One wrong post on social media, one refusal to align with government policy, and you're frozen, silenced, erased. That's not science fiction. That's present tense. In 2023, the World Economic Forum and several global banks rolled out pilot programs for central bank digital currencies, CBDC's, programmable money controlled by the state. These aren't just digital dollars. They can be programmed to expire, restricted by location, monitored for behavior. If governments can turn your
access on and off at will, then Revelation 13 is no longer a prophecy waiting for fulfillment. It's an infrastructure waiting for a trigger. And that's not the end of it. Right now, companies are pushing biometric verification. Your face, your fingerprint, even your heartbeat as the new password. In Sweden, thousands have already implanted microchips in their hands to access buildings, pay for groceries, or store medical data. The chip is marketed as convenience, but its potential is control. Think about it. What begins as optional quickly becomes standard, then necessary, then required. And let's not ignore the rising
call for global solutions in the name of pandemic safety, climate regulation, or economic stability. We're watching sovereign nations increasingly submit to international agreements that override national laws. The world is being synchronized technologically, economically, even morally. We are not just becoming one planet. We are being shaped into one system. Daniel saw this too. In Daniel 7, the prophet described four beasts rising from the sea, culminating in a final terrifying power. He wrote, "It was different from all the former beasts, and it had 10 horns." Daniel 7:7. Revelation echoes this imagery. The beast John saw had 10
horns, too. A symbol of 10 rulers, 10 regions, 10 authorities. In Revelation 17, these 10 kings receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. It's coordinated, unified, willing. Now, step back and ask yourself, how close are we? We live in a world where global summits are no longer optional. They're demanded. Where tech giants filter information for billions. Where surveillance isn't hidden, it's embraced. From smart TVs to digital assistants to phone apps that track your every move, we have traded privacy
for speed, control for comfort. And the beast isn't coming with horns and fire. It's coming through code, cameras, and consensus. And the deception, it will look like safety. John wrote that the beast will perform great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven in full view of the people. Revelation 13:13, miracles, spectacle, wonders that seduce. What if the system that enslaves the world doesn't come through tyranny, but through seduction? What if it promises peace, promises justice, promises progress? That's the danger. It won't look evil. It will look good, necessary, inclusive. And that's why Jesus
warned even the elect could be deceived. What are we seeing now? A world where values are inverted. Evil is called good. Good is canled. Truth is silenced. Every belief is tolerated except scripture. And the greatest pressure is not to be evil, but to stop standing apart. The beast system doesn't just want your compliance. It wants your worship. Revelation 13:8 says, "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast. All whose names have not been written in the lamb's book of life." This is the line in the sand. The system isn't neutral. It demands loyalty. And
it will punish the faithful. We're already seeing shadows of this in nations where believers are jailed for preaching the gospel, where churches are monitored, where scripture is re-ransated to remove offense. The soil is ready. The winds are shifting. The foundation is set. And the only thing that will keep us from being swept away is the word of God written in our hearts, not just read on a screen. We must know the real to recognize the counterfeit. Because this beast system isn't coming tomorrow, it's being built today. Every digital shift, every global crisis, every call for
centralized control, these aren't isolated events. They're birth pains, warnings, road signs that the pages of revelation are no longer distant. They're present. But hear this. While Revelation reveals a terrifying beast, it also reveals a conquering king. Because just a few chapters later, we read of another mark. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:4. Two marks, two systems, two destinies. The beast offers power but leads to destruction. The lamb offers life but requires surrender. So choose now before the pressure rises, before the lines are drawn, before buying and
selling become tools of submission. This is not fear. This is truth. This is urgency wrapped in love. And the king is coming. Stay awake because the mark is no longer a theory. It's a threshold. And heaven is watching who will kneel. If the system of the beast is forming around us digitally, economically, ideologically, then the culture required to embrace that system must also be in place. And that culture, Jesus told us plainly, would be eerily familiar. Not futuristic, not cyberpunk, but ancient. as ancient as the days of Noah and the fire that fell on Sodom
because he said, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." Matthew 24:37. And again, it was the same in the days of Lot. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. Luke 17:28-30. So if we want to understand the end, we must look backward, not just forward. Because before the return of Christ comes a repeat of ancient patterns, patterns of corruption, violence, sexual perversion, mockery of righteousness, and above all, total apathy toward judgment. Jesus wasn't vague. He
didn't say the last days would feel bad or seem difficult. He pointed us directly to two time periods that triggered divine wrath. Noah's flood and Sodom's fire. And in both cases, the sin wasn't just present. It was normalized, celebrated, embedded into daily life so thoroughly that righteousness looked strange and warnings felt offensive. Now look around. We are living in days when violence is no longer hidden in shadows, but celebrated on screens. where entertainment is drenched in blood, revenge, and cruelty. So much so that we've become addicted to destruction. We scroll past war footage as if
it's just another update. Children reenact shootings in schools. Teenagers beat strangers in the street for Tik Tok likes. In 2024, reports of 10year-olds stabbing classmates made international headlines and barely caused a ripple. This isn't just evil. It's numbness to evil. And that's exactly what Genesis 6 described before the flood. Now, the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. Genesis 6:51. That word only evil all the time isn't exaggeration. It's a warning of what happens when sin becomes
embedded. When conscience is seared. When evil doesn't visit occasionally, it lives in us. And Noah, he was mocked, ridiculed, laughed at for building a boat in the sun, for believing a storm was coming, for trusting a God the world no longer feared. But Hebrews 11:7 says, "By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear, built an ark to save his family." Holy fear, the very thing the last days lack. Now, fast forward to Lot. Jesus told us the last days would also mirror his time. Genesis 19 is clear. The sins of
Sodom were not merely alternative lifestyles. They were aggressive, violent, and militant. When two angels came to warn Lot, the men of the city surrounded the house and demanded sexual access to them. And when Lot tried to reason with them, they said, "This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge. Will treat you worse than them." Genesis 19:9. Do you see the parallel? Anyone who speaks against sexual perversion today is labeled a bigot, a hater, or worse. Righteousness is offensive. Holiness is seen as harmful. Those who stand for truth are
told, "Don't judge." While the world plunges deeper into moral collapse and the sin is no longer private, it's paraded literally. We now have months dedicated to celebrating identities that scripture calls sinful. We have drag performers reading to toddlers, funded by public libraries. Pornography is accessible on schoolisssued devices. Children are being taught not just to tolerate, but to experiment. And anyone who raises a voice is silenced, cancelled, fined, or fired. This isn't tolerance. It's lawlessness. And again, Jesus said this would happen because lawlessness will abound. The love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:12. That's where
we are. We've gone from sin to pride, from pride to legislation, from legislation to persecution. Not someday. Now, and yet life goes on. Jesus said, "In the days of Noah and Lot, people were eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, building." In other words, they weren't panicking. They weren't expecting judgment. They were living life, normal life, right up until the flood came, right up until the fire fell. That's the deception of comfort. That's the blindness of a world on the brink. And if we're honest, many in the church are asleep in that comfort, too. We have
sermons on destiny, but not repentance. Conferences about leadership, but not intercession. Worship songs that stir emotion, but not surrender. We've lost the fear of God. And Proverbs says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Proverbs 9:10. Which means if we've lost that fear, we've also lost wisdom, discernment, urgency. We're living in days where even pastors are rewriting scripture to fit cultural trends. Where believers twist grace into a license for sin, where Lot's own wife, who was warned, who ran still looked back. And that's not just history. That's us. We say we're leaving
Sodom, but we long for it. We say we want holiness, but we keep glancing over our shoulder. Jesus said, "Remember Lot's wife." Luke 17:32. It wasn't just her body that turned. It was her heart. She couldn't let go of what God was trying to destroy. So, what do we do in this age of lawlessness? When immorality is rebranded as identity, when violence is a spectacle, when God's word is mocked and his people marginalized, we build the ark anyway. We preach righteousness even if no one listens. We raise our children in holiness, even if the schools
teach otherwise. We walk with integrity even when the world calls it intolerance. We endure like Noah. We resist like Lot. We stay awake because the same fire that fell before is coming again. But this time the fire won't just fall on cities. It will fall on nations. 2 Peter 3:7 says, "By the same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly." And Peter reminds us in the same passage, if he rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the
lawless, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials. Second Peter 2:79. God sees, God judges, God saves, but we must decide, will we go the way of Noah and Lot or the way of the crowd? And the question is no longer, are we near the end? The question is, have we grown too comfortable in Sodom to leave? Because judgment is not a threat. It's a promise. And mercy is not automatic. It's a choice. Let us be the ones who choose rightly, who walk uprightly, who warn boldly. Because the days of Noah and
Lot are no longer coming. They're here. If the days of Noah and Lot are here again, marked by moral collapse, spiritual apathy, and brazen rebellion, then it's easy to point at the world and shake our heads. It's easy to call out the chaos out there, to mourn the sin of culture, to grieve over lawlessness on the news. But what if the most dangerous signs of the last days aren't outside the church, but inside it? Because the sobering truth is this. While many believers are busy watching the world for signs, they are ignoring the rot quietly
spreading through the sanctuary. And that's exactly what scripture warned us would happen. The deception of the end times isn't just a rise in sin among unbelievers. It's a drifting of the church away from truth. A slow, subtle, deadly slide into compromise, comfort, and cultural religion. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul says plainly, "That day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed." That word rebellion in the Greek is apostasia. It means falling away, not of the world, but of those who once stood in the truth. It's happening right now. Across
the globe, churches once known for gospel- centered teaching are now silent on sin. Entire denominations are rewriting scripture to align with cultural trends. Pastors are applauded for inclusivity, but never for holiness. And millions of believers sit in pews each week, entertained, affirmed, inspired, but not convicted. Jesus warned about this. He told the church of Leodysia in Revelation 3, "I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Lukewarm,
tepid, emotionally moved, but spiritually unmoved. Doesn't that describe much of the church today? We attend conferences with smoke machines and light shows, but leave with no hunger for scripture. We sing about surrender with hands raised high, but live the rest of the week as practical atheists. We say we believe the Bible, but only the parts that don't cost us anything. We want resurrection power without crucified flesh. We want revival, but without repentance. And that right there is the danger. Paul saw this, too. He warned Timothy with haunting clarity. The time will come when people will
not endure sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3. Look around. The time has come. We now have Christian leaders teaching that hell is metaphorical, that God whispers approval over our sin, that holiness is toxic, that doctrine is divisive, preachers who never mention judgment, churches that never call for repentance, movements more concerned with relevance than reverence. In 2023, a prominent pastor told his congregation that the church needs to unhitch from the Old Testament as
if God's character has changed, as if grace erases his holiness. In the same year, multiple ministries released statements redefining sexuality, marriage, and gender, all to better love people where they are. But here's the truth. Love that refuses to tell the truth is not love. It's sabotage. It lulls people into comfort while their souls slip into eternal danger. Jude warned of this kind of distortion. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality. Jude
4. That phrase slipped in among you should arrest us because these individuals don't stand outside the church. They preach from its pulpits. They lead worship. They write best-selling devotionals. And yet they've turned grace into permission. And most people never notice. Why? Because they're not anchored in the word. They've built their faith on personality, not scripture, on vibes, not truth. And when the shaking comes, when the deception rises, they won't stand. Jesus said the last days would be marked by deception so strong that even the elect could be deceived, if possible. Matthew 24:24. That if is
important because it means we can endure, but only if we are rooted, grounded, awake. The book of Hebrews gives this warning. We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1. That's the threat, not sudden rebellion, drifting. It's quiet, slow, comfortable. You stop reading the Bible daily. You stop praying with urgency. You skip church more often. You compromise here and there. You justify sin with God understands and before long you've drifted so far from truth you don't even recognize it anymore and yet outwardly
nothing looks wrong you still serve still give still smile but inside the fire has dimmed and the fear of the Lord is gone. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." Matthew 24:12. And it's not just love for others. It's love for God, for holiness, for truth, for his presence. Is your love growing cold? Are your convictions still burning, or are they melting under the heat of culture? This is what the church forgets in the last days. That the greatest threat is not outside persecution
but internal erosion. The enemy no longer needs to burn churches down. He just needs to make them popular, entertaining, [Music] nonoffensive. But the gospel is offensive. It confronts sin. It calls for surrender. It divides soul and spirit. It saves, but it slays pride first. If your gospel never offends, never convicts, never challenges, it's not the gospel of Jesus. And that's why we must wake up the letters to the seven churches in Revelation. Weren't written to pagans. They were written to us, to believers. And five out of seven were rebuked. Not because they abandoned the name
of Jesus, but because they tolerated sin, lost love, grew prideful, or became lukewarm. So ask yourself, have I tolerated what God hates? Have I traded depth for excitement? Have I silenced truth to keep peace? Because the judgment of God doesn't start with the world. It starts with his house. 1 Peter 4:17. The beast system may be forming. The days of Noah may be upon us. But the greatest question remains. Is the church awake? Or have we forgotten that before Christ returns for a bride, he purifies her? Let us return to our first love. Let us
rebuild the altars. Let us repent, not with fear, but with fire. Because the king is not coming back for a crowd. He's coming for a remnant, holy, burning, set apart. So let us be found faithful. Not famous, not fashionable, just faithful. If the church is forgetting what's happening within, if we're drifting, dulling, and mistaking relevance for righteousness, then the real question is no longer just are we in the last days. It's are we ready? Because the point of prophecy isn't fascination. It's preparation. Jesus didn't tell us about deception, wars, lawlessness, and the beast system so
we'd become obsessed with signs. He told us so we'd stay awake. And in one of his most urgent parables, he painted the clearest picture of what readiness actually looks like. It's not about sensational headlines. It's not about memorizing timelines or decoding conspiracy theories. It's about oil. Jesus said, "At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were foolish and five were wise." Matthew 25:1-2. All 10 were invited. All 10 were waiting. All 10 had lamps. But only five brought oil. What
does this mean? First, understand the context. In ancient Jewish weddings, the bridegroom would come at an unexpected hour, often in the middle of the night, and the bridal party had to be ready, lamps lit, prepared to join the procession. If your lamp wasn't burning, if you had no oil, you were left behind. Jesus was using this image to awaken his followers. The virgins represent the church, not the world, not unbelievers. All 10 looked like they were waiting for the bridegroom, all 10 assumed they would enter the feast. But when the moment came, when the cry
rang out at midnight, half of them were unprepared. And it was too late. And here's the part that haunts me. The foolish ones weren't wild, rebellious sinners. They were casual believers who didn't prioritize intimacy. They carried the appearance of devotion, but they had no oil, no fire, no prayer life, no surrender. They had lamps, but no light, form, but no substance. And when they realized they were out of oil, they asked the wise, "Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out." But the wise couldn't give it to them. That detail matters. You
cannot borrow intimacy. You cannot share your personal preparation. You cannot ride into the kingdom on your pastor's faith, your parents' prayers, or your church's liveream. Oil is personal. It costs something. This is the forgotten urgency of the last days. It's not enough to know the signs. You must be burning. Look at our generation. So many carry the lamp of Christian identity. We wear the label. We go to the events. We listen to the worship. We repost Bible quotes, but our lamps are dim. Our secret lives are dry. Our faith doesn't cost us anything. We haven't
trimmed the wick in months, maybe years. We're running on fumes, hoping someone else's fire will carry us into the feast. But Jesus says the door was shut. Later the others also came. Lord, Lord, they said, "Open the door for us." But he replied, "Truly I tell you, I don't know you." Matthew 25:11-12. That's the dividing line of the end. Not whether you knew about prophecy, but whether you were known by him. The word know here isn't casual. It's intimate. It's relational. It echoes Matthew 7 when Jesus said, "Many will say to me on that day,
Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you." Knowledge of God isn't the same as intimacy with God. This is where urgency and holiness collide. Because holiness isn't legalism. It's oil. It's the overflow of love that burns away compromise. It's the evidence that your heart is his. That your time is his. That your desires are shaped by his spirit. Hebrews 12:14 says, "Without holiness, no one will see the Lord." That's not optional. That's eternal and urgency. That's not panic. It's clarity. It's living like the bridegroom
could arrive tonight because he could. Let's get real. Have we forgotten that Jesus is coming back? That one day soon the sky will split, the trumpet will sound, and everything we called normal will end in a moment. Have we dulled our ears so much with entertainment, opinions, and updates that we no longer hear the whisper, "The bridegroom is coming." We live in a generation that knows how to build platforms, but not prayer lives. We know how to go viral, but not how to go low. We know how to speak, but not how to listen. And
Jesus is calling us to wake up. Right now across the earth, birth painans are intensifying. Economies are shaking. Nature is groaning. Violence is surging. And many are still asleep believing they have time. That oil can wait. That repentance can come later. But if the cry comes at midnight, it's too late to go looking for oil. Personalize this. Don't just think of the church at large. Think of you. Is your lamp burning? Are you trimming the wick, removing distractions, sins and idols that dim the flame? Are you storing oil in the secret place through prayer, fasting,
worship, obedience? This is what Jesus was teaching. That the most dangerous condition in the end won't be rebellion. It'll be casualness. The spirit of the age says there's time. Jesus says, "Be ready." Paul echoes this in Romans 13:11-12. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber. The night is nearly over. The day is almost here. So, let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. That's urgency. That's holiness. That's readiness. We're not called to survive these last days. We're called to shine in them. Philippians
2:15 says, "We are to be blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky." Stars don't fear the night. They are revealed by it, but only if they're burning. Check your lamp. Check your oil. Trim your wick. The world is shifting. The signs are flashing. The cry is about to go out. And the only question that will matter when it does is this. Are you ready? If the oil is what we need and the midnight cry is closer than we
think, then there's only one way this message can end. By turning our eyes upward because everything we've studied, everything we've seen, everything we've sensed in the spirit has led us here. The signs are not approaching. They've arrived. And whether we're ready or not, one unshakable truth remains. The King is coming. Not a teacher, not a prophet, not a baby in a manger. A king with fire in his eyes, a sword in his mouth, and justice on his robe. The same Jesus who wept over Jerusalem, who bled on the cross, who rose from the tomb, is
about to return not in humility, but in glory. Revelation 19 says, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called faithful and true. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords." And that moment, that sound, that skybreaking entry, it is no longer far away. We've walked through the warnings. We've looked at the deception, the lawlessness, the rise of the beast system, the collapse of morality, and the fading fire in much of the modern church. But all of
these weren't the story. They were the setup. The story is this. Jesus is returning, and he's not returning to negotiate. He's not coming back to discuss theology. He's coming back for a bride prepared and burning with holiness, trimmed and ready, filled with oil and unashamed. And the question that must echo in our hearts is this. Will I be found ready? We live in a generation that laughs at that idea that mocks the return of Christ like Peter said they would. They will say, "Where is this coming he promised?" 2 Peter 3:4. But just like in
the days of Noah, just like in the days of Lot, just like in every prophetic moment, God will have the final word. And when he speaks this time, it will split time in two. Everything we know will stop and eternity will begin. The wars, the earthquakes, the digital control, the fading love, the mass deception, none of it is coincidence. its convergence. It's every prophecy, every warning, every trembling piece of scripture aligning like stars for the final scene. The trumpet will sound. The dead in Christ will rise. Those who are alive and remain will be caught
up with him in the clouds. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. And after that, judgment. Not judgment to punish the innocent, but to expose the truth, to reveal whether our lives were built on the rock or on sand. This is the hour to choose. And so I ask you, not as a voice behind a screen, but as a brother, a friend, a fellow watchman. Where is your heart? Not your platform, not your knowledge, not your tradition. Your heart, does it burn? Is it surrendered? Are you ready to see his face? Because that day is coming. And when it
does, there will be no more pretending, no more delay. The line between the wheat and the tears will be drawn by the hand of God himself. So if this message has stirred anything in you, don't ignore it. Don't wait. Don't say later. Because we have no guarantee of later. The only time that belongs to us is now. Hebrews 3:15 says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Let today be your turning point. Let it be the day you stop dabbling in religion and fully surrender to the lordship of Jesus. The day
you step out of compromise and into consecration, the day you stop watching the world passively and start living like a soldier of the kingdom. You don't need to be perfect. You just need to be willing. Right now, let's step into the holy presence of God, not with fear, but with fire. Let's pray. Father, we hear the trumpet in the distance. We see the signs all around us, and we acknowledge this is not normal. This is not just another decade, another season, another cultural trend. This is the hour. You warned us in your word, and you
were faithful to keep your word. You told us there would be deception, and we see it. You told us the love of many would grow cold, and we feel it. You said you would come like a thief in the night, and we believe you will. So, we don't want to be caught asleep. Right now, we repent. We turn from distraction. We turn from lukewarmness. We turn from every idol we've allowed to sit on the throne of our hearts. Whether it's comfort, reputation, ambition, or sin, we lay it down. Wash us, cleanse us, ignite us again.
We ask for oil. Oil in our lamps, oil in our secret place, oil in our worship, oil in our convictions. Let our hearts burn with holy fire, not because of hype, but because of hunger. Let us trim the wick of compromise, cut off what dims the light, and stand like watchmen, awake, alert, and ready. Jesus, we long for your appearing. We ache for the day you split the sky. But we don't just want to long, we want to live like it's coming. Help us carry this urgency not as fear, but as fuel. Let our lives
preach louder than our words. Let our joy, our holiness, our love reflect the glory of the one we're waiting for. And until you come, give us grace to endure. Give us boldness to speak. Give us purity that shines in the darkness. Make us the remnant. The ones who didn't bow to Babylon. The ones who kept their oil. The ones who didn't fall asleep. The ones who finished faithful. Marinata. Come Lord Jesus. We're ready. We're waiting. And we won't stop burning. This is deep Bible stories. And if this journey through the signs of the last days
has opened your eyes, don't keep it to yourself. Share it. Send it. Speak it because someone you love may not know how close we are. Let's live like eternity is moments away because one day soon it will be. Stay blessed.
