"There will be...earthquakes in various places" Matthew 24:7

I have often heard that today's extreme weather is a sign of the times. Matthew 24:7 is one of the scriptures that is often used to help lend weight to this idea. So what does the evidence show?

Many times during a religious discussion someone will mention to me the recent increase in earthquake activity around the globe. Now, although I find the potential for living in the end days quite compelling, I am not sure we should run with ideas without first looking into them with a skeptical mind. For instance:

Has there been an increase in earthquake activity?

That is the million dollar question now isn't it. The only problem is we haven't been actively monitoring and recording earthquakes for very long so we really don't know. Think about it, if some earthquake swallowed up some village a thousand years ago then all we would have to show for it today would be some 'stories' from 'superstitious' natives about an angry earth. Something most westerners would most likely ignore anyway.

Are there more earthquakes or do we now simply have access to better monitoring equipment? Well, one thing is for sure, we certainly do have better equipment. This equipment, or at least the results, is not just available to the scholars among us, anyone can monitor real time global earthquake activity by keeping an eye on the IRIS seismic monitor. Tools such as this will eventually put these types of questions to rest.

Are we in the end days?

I really don't know. 'Signs' such as wars, famines and natural disasters don't do much to convince me. I certainly hate sounding like a scoffer [2 Peter 3:3,4], but really...these things have been a daily event for ages. People talk about the modern atrocities of war; The Assyrians (the individuals Noah was to sound God's condemnation) would play games after battle with the heads of their fallen enemy. Ancients have committed many atrocities that would stifle most people living in today's modern cultures. Now, imagine those living in Europe during the 'dark ages', or even try to imagine this more recent scenario:

Millions are killed in the worst war in recorded history. As soon as the war ends a major epidemic runs rampage over earth killing hundreds of millions of people. Shortly afterwords there is a major collapse of the global economy then within a few years another global war.

Now, had you been born in 1909 this would have been your reality as a young one growing up. It would have been very easy to think the world was ending...but it didn't.

I was thinking the other day about those young investors who committed suicide due to the collapse. Had they just weathered the storm they could have completely recovered their losses and still retired well off. Is this present hardship simply another birth-pang or is it the big one? I really don't know, but I can tell you I am left with this thought running through my mind, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Who knows, maybe the two are one in the same.

What makes our time in history unique?

This is a good question. One that deserves an answer! It's true, the scoffers do seem to have some ammunition at their disposal, but all is not lost. So what is unique about our time that could indicate we are living in the last days:

• An increase of knowledge: The information sharing capabilities of our world are unparalleled to anything even dreamt of throughout history.


• Transportation is global and very fast: For thousands of years man could move no faster than a horse could run.

The leaps in both knowledge and transportation have been mind blowing to say the least. In 1909 the write brothers took the first powered flight. In 1969 man first walked on the moon. That's progress! From gliders to space travel in less than a generation. Tell me that isn't unique to our time. [Daniel 12:4]

I would not conclude from these events that we are in the last days. I am simply pointing out some facets of our time that are unique to us and also line up with prophecy. Biblical prophecy says more about these matters, namely the timing of the end days. One might also find the beasts from Daniel and Revelations quite interesting. I find the scripture at Revelation 17:10-11 very intriguing.

"They are also seven kings [or kingdoms]. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction."

Now, the early kingdoms known to the ancient world are: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medea-Persia, Greece and Rome. Yes there were other kingdoms such as the Ottoman Empire that, for all intents and purposes, rivaled the more infamous kingdoms. The reason such empires are excluded from this list is they had virtually no influence over God's people and really don't qualify as a global empire as they also did not spread their language and culture over the know world etc...

Now, the angel tells John that 5 of these kings have fallen. This could be referring to Egypt-Greece. Then the angel tells John that one kingdom, the sixth, is active in his time. The kingdom active in Johns day was Rome. Then after this we are to expect one more global empire. This empire would establish an 8th king of sorts. It will be this with king that will be destroyed in the day of wrath. There are different ways to approach this, being that I am an American of European decent I naturally take a Christian view/slant/bias of these writings. I am aware that other religions (Judaism and Islam) have their own takes on these scriptures not to mention the many disagreements even among Christians regarding these matters. But never the less, we look and read and search... For instance:

• Was Great Britain the seventh king; Therefore making us the eighth king that came from the seventh? U.S.A. technically is not a kingdom, and we are essentially a faction of the British Empire.


• Is the U.S.A. this 7th empire and we will establish some global cabal to govern the ten kings. In modern speak I guess I am referring to the new world order.

In Daniels prophecy, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has a dream that his wise men could not interpret. Daniel was called in to interpret the king's dream and in doing so gives the king (and us) a glimpse into God's over all plan. This dream featured a statue that was comprised of different elements. I have heard many interpretations to this vision so it's really hard to say for sure what the kingdom of the toes represents. It speaks of a divided people. This could represent a kingdom comprised of varying global power blocs, the new world order if you will. This could also represent America. Being that we truly are a nation without a people. Americans are from all over. "Give us your poor and your masses" was the great call from our land a century ago, and many people heeded that call. America is the great melting pot. The grand experiment in democracy, and now our divisions could aid in our ultimate demise. We don't stand for anything anymore except SUVs and overall excess and waste.

So what does all this mean?

Who knows...but it sure is interesting! I do find it interesting that now, at the near collapse of our system, that major global players are calling for globalization. At the very least, a globally regulated monetary system. The world is being united...slowly being gathered together. I just wonder what our common cause will be? The last time in recorded history that all humans were one people we started to build a huge tower in defiance of God. When we unite this time will it be in defiance against God? [Revelation 19:19]