Many people - including Pope John Paul II, Billy Graham, other Protestant Scripture scholars, and Orthodox and Messianic Jews - believe that we are at the threshold of a period of time referred to over 300 times in the Scriptures as the Day of the Lord. In Matthew 24 it is described in the following manner: "For then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Christ spoke these words to His disciples a few days before His death, in response to their asking Him, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the Age?"

In answering their question, He said there would be false Christs; wars and rumors of wars; famines; pestilences; earthquakes and other unusual weather; great signs in the heavens; the Jews would return to Israel; violence as in the days of Noah; blatant homosexuality as in the days of Lot; and the gospel would be preached to the whole world.

He went on to say that "All these (famines, earthquakes, etc.) are the beginning of sorrows." The Greek word for "sorrows" in the above passage is correctly translated "birth pains" or "labor pains." The signs of the end of the Age will occur like labor pains - starting out mildly and spaced widely apart and, as time goes by, becoming closer together and more intense.

Christ also said that "When you see all of these things begin to happen, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near." So when the genuine believers alive in that day begin to see all of these signs occurring simultaneously, they are to take heart, for their redemption is virtually at hand. However, the signs will only be accomplished gradually, increasing in intensity as the months and years go by, like labor pains. At the last of this period, the cataclysmic occurrences described so graphically in the book of Revelation will occur, culminating finally in the second advent of the Messiah.

All of these signs - plus others mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments - have begun to occur in our day. Since you're not likely to hear about any of this on CNN, what follows is an attempt to pull together in one place the evidence indicating the fulfillment of these signs.

FALSE CHRISTS

When the apostles asked Christ about what the signs would be before His Second Coming, He told them that one of the signs would be that many would come in His name, claiming to be Christ. "Jesus replied to them, 'See that none misleads you; for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.'" Matthew 24:4,5

Although there are many men of lesser reknown who have usurped the title of "Messiah," some who have laid claim in recent memory include the following:

Jim Jones in Guinea;

Charles Manson in California;

the Rev. Sun Moon from Korea;

Lord Maitreya of England;

the Black messiah, Yahweh ben Yahweh of Florida;

the Dalai Lama, leader of the world's Buddhists;

Baha Ullah, leader of the world's Bahais;

Krishnamurti, the Hindu messiah of India.

Collectively, their followers number in the millions.

WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS

Addressing the disciples, Jesus warned that another sign of His return would be wars and rumors of wars "... you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom..." Matthew 24:6,7

The Greek word used here for war is "ethnos," meaning ethnic or racial conflict.

Bosnian "ethnic cleansing" continues to claim tens of thousands of lives. During the week of July 17, 1995, at least 10,000 Moslems disappeared from the U.N. "safe area" of Srebrenica and a mass atrocity was feared. On August 4, the Associated Press reported that a Dutch U.N. peacekeeper had sighted tractor-trailerloads of dead bodies being prepared for burial in a mass grave. Thousands of refugees from Srebrenica fled for their lives and other "safe areas" are endangered.

In Rwanda, the Tutsis and the Hutus have engaged in mass slaughter, leaving at least 500,000 dead over the past year.

In Chechnya, the Russians have confronted one of their former Islamic republics, brutally putting down the rebellion and in the process warning other former satellites of the consequences of restless and rebellious behavior.

In Israel, another suicide bomber blew up a crowded commuter bus July 24, 1995, during Monday morning rush hour, the latest atrocity in the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. Six people were killed and 33 injured.

In Chiapas, a southern republic of Mexico, Indians continue to rebel against oppression by their Spanish overlords. Gun battles have erupted periodically during the spring and summer of 1995.

The Pacific Rim is heating up as Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei experience old fears of Chinese aggression.

Racial disharmony simmers in the United States.

God also says to the Prince of Rosh (Russia) in Ezekiel 38:15-16 "And you will come from your place out of the remote parts of the extreme north, you and many peoples with you...a great assembly and a mighty army. And you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It will come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land..."

Vladimir Zhironovsky, Russian nationalist zealot, has authored a book entitled Last March to the South, in which he outlines plans for a Russian military strike into the Middle East. The West looks at the 1996 Russian presidential election with trepidation.

FAMINES

Christ said in Matthew 24:7 that one of the signs of His coming would be famine. "There will be famines," He said, during the time leading up to the seven-year period of tribulation and during the tribulation itself.

In the 1980s the world's conscience was seared by the heartrending pictures of thousands of men, women and children starving in Ethiopia.

In 1993 the United States sent soldiers to Somalia to help the people there who were suffering the same plight.

Today, famine has come to Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Somalia, and Sudan.

More than 35 million people living mostly in the southern states of Africa suffer from acute hunger and are threatened with imminent death.

Approximately 750 million people living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa suffer from chronic hunger.

More than a billion more face serious malnutrition.

About two billion of the world's 5.5 billion are malnourished in some way.

This situation is being further exacerbated by a worldwide grain shortage, according to the August 1995 VI Intelligence Report. Strong demand for food in China is causing a dwindling supply of grain for the rest of the world. Over the next year, the International Wheat Council is warning that stocks could drop to an 18-year low. Droughts in Australia and North Africa and heavy rains in the United States are contributing to the problem. But the huge demand in China represents an unprecedented crisis, according to Lester Brown of the Worldwatch Institute. He describes China as "a huge sponge," buying up for its developing population every food commodity the rest of the world can produce.

PESTILENCE

Another sign leading up to the end of the Age is pestilence. Christ said in Matthew 24:7 that "There will be pestilences."

AIDS--The International AIDS Center at Harvard predicts as many as 110 million people worldwide will have contracted HIV by the year 2000. The CIA calculates that by the mid-1990s, approximately 75 percent of Africa's population south of the Sahara could be infected with the disease.

EBOLA--This viral disease killed more than 100 people in Zaire in May 1995 and caused concern throughout the world because of the ease with which such a disease could be spread in an age of transcontinental flight. A previous outbreak occurred in the late 1980s. "We probably are seeing only the tip of the iceberg in the number of viruses that can exist in humans," says Prof. Stephen Morse of Rockefeller University, an expert on Ebola. "AIDS and Ebola may be just cautionary warnings of many other killer viruses that could suddenly flash through the human population as a result of genetic mutation or social changes that favor the disease." And Prof. Richard Courtney of Pennsylvania State University maintains that "Emerging viral diseases are becoming more frequent, not less."

NECROTIZING FASCIITIS (flesh-eating virus)--Researchers in the Canadian province of Ontario are mystified by the recent surge in cases of the so-called flesh-eating disease, a trend that is also showing up in parts of the U.S. and Europe. An outbreak of six cases of necrotizing fasciitis in Gloucestershire, England in early 1994 horrified the public and triggered concern in the medical community. Researchers are concerned that since last fall, the number of cases involving necrotizing fasciitis has increased five to 10-fold in Ontario. Anecdotal evidence suggests that similar trends are showing up in several U.S. states and parts of Europe and could presage a global trend in developed countries.

STSS (streptococcal toxic shock syndrome)--In the mid-1980s severe forms of strep A infection mysteriously reappeared in North America and Europe after deaths associated with variations of the disease plummeted to near zero in the mid-1930s. In 1993 the number of cases increased dramatically, especially in Canada.

CHOLERA--A strain of cholera resistant to all known vaccines has appeared in Asia and is claiming thousands of lives. By the mid 1990s it is expected to spread into Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

MALARIA--the World Health Organization in 1955 announced the disease would soon be completely eradicated. Malarial parasites now infect an estimated 270 million people every year, killing up to 2 million and causing at least 10 million cases of acute illness.

ENCEPHALITIS--Eighty children died from encephalitis during the second week in June of this year in the impoverished eastern state of Bihar, India, and 210 children have been hospitalized with the disease. Unofficial counts put the death toll at about 150.

PNEUMONIC PLAGUE--A serious outbreak of this disease occurred in India in 1994

TUBERCULOSIS, PNEUMONIA, MENINGITIS--Diseases considered conquered are becoming unstoppable. "Over the past five years or so it seems to be taking on somewhat of an epidemic proportion," says Dr. Philip E. Coyne, medical review officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's division of anti-infective drugs. Scientists expect "Nothing short of a medical disaster," according to Dr. Alexander Tomasz of Rockefeller University, addressing the 1994 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The emergence of bacteria strains that cannot be killed by the current arsenal of antibiotics could become a public health threat worse than AIDS, these experts warn. Doctors eventually could have to resort to pre-antibiotic treatments: draining, or even cutting off infected wounds. Nationwide the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta found a 20-fold increase from January 1989 through March 1993 in the reported percentage of nosocomial infections by enterococcus bacteria resistant to treatment by vancomycin, today's antibiotic of last resort. "It feels to us like an accident waiting to happen," says the CDC's Teresa Horan.

HEPATITIS A--Closer to home, a hepatitis A outbreak is occurring in northwest Missouri. In Independence, Missouri, 103 cases have been reported during the first seven months of 1995, compared to a total of four cases in 1994.

HANTA VIRUS, H.G.E., & A "MYSTERY VIRUS"--There are other viruses that have both national and international health officials concerned: The hanta virus in the "Four-Corner" region of the American Southwest; H.G.E., another virus carried by the deer tick that causes Lyme disease and that has recently claimed four lives in the United States; and an unnamed "mystery" virus that has killed four in a remote Andean village in Argentina.

DIPHTHERIA--An epidemic of diphtheria is sweeping the former Soviet Union. It's so serious, say public health officials, it could have a destabilizing effect on countries already hit with severe economic and social dislocation. The outbreak began in Moscow and St. Petersburg and spread to all regions of Russia. Now it is hitting Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The disease kills 10 percent of its victims and is already infecting hundreds of thousands of people.

INTESTINAL PARASITES--Intestinal worms are killing far more people around the planet than either AIDS or EBOLA, according to the World Health Organization. More than 1.5 billion people are afflicted with multiple intestinal parasites. In 1994, 16.5 million people died of infectious, parasitic diseases--one-third of all the world's deaths that year.

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES--The vast majority of women around the world who develop cervical cancer acquire it from sexually transmitted viruses. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide and the most lethal in developing countries. There are about a half-million new cases every year.

EARTHQUAKES AND OTHER UNUSUAL WEATHER

In warning the apostles of the signs of His coming, Christ said in Matthew 24:7 that "There will be...earthquakes in various places" and "There will be bewilderment at the roaring of the sea and waves, men swooning from dread and apprehension about events that are about to take place in the world." (Luke 21:25).

The September 1993 issue of Life magazine says this:

"This is how weird our weather has been: The three most powerful damaging climatic disasters in U.S. history happened in the past 12 months. First, Hurricane Andrew devastated south Florida in September of 1992. Then on March 12 a giant blizzard--which the National Weather Service calls 'the single biggest storm of the century'-- swept from Florida to Maine, releasing more snow, hail, rain and sleet than any other storm since 1888. Finally, the relentless rain flooding the Midwest brought on what may be the costliest weather disaster of all."

This last statement proved to be inaccurate, however, because just three months after this article was written, on January 17, 1994, the Northridge, California earthquake occurred, the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history at $30 billion. And at the time of this writing Hurricane Erin was pounding Florida with rains and 100 mph winds.

Not all of the bad weather has occurred in the United States, however. The worst deluge in 60 years recently left thousands dead in Nepal and millions homeless in India and Bangladesh. Serious rains and flooding have occurred in the past few years in Russia, Japan, Korea, Mexico and the United Kingdom. In the spring of 1995 Europe experienced serious flooding in several countries, as did China in July of '95.

Many meteorologists believe that one of the factors contributing to the weird weather is El Niño, a condition caused by warming waters in the western Pacific. An El Niño (which, incidentally, means Christ Child in Spanish because this condition frequently occurs in South America during the Christmas season) normally lasts only 12-18 months. The present one that's brought hurricanes to Hawaii, floods to the Midwest and disrupted lives around the world has been going on now for five years. Gerald Bell, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, confirmed that this El Niño is by far the longest ever recorded.

The strange weather has also been influenced by the violent volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in June 1991. This was the most powerful tropical eruption since Krakatoa near Java in 1883. After Mount Pinatubo's eruption, South Africa had its worst drought in 100 years and the Mideast had its coldest winter in 50 years.

In Joel 3:31 God proclaimed that "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come." These are the conditions that would be present if there were a major volcanic eruption.

Seismic activity is also on the upswing. From 1890 to 1899 there was only one "killer" earthquake--6.0 or greater--recorded anywhere in the world. As you can see from the following meteorological records published in a recent issue of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, this has been gradually increasing:

From 1900 to 1910 there were 3

From 1910-1920 there were 2

From 1920-1930 there were 2

From 1930-1940 there were 5

From 1940-1950 there were 4

From 1950-1960 there were 9

From 1960-1970 there were 13

From 1970-1979 there were 51

From 1980-1989 there were 86

In the five years of the 1990s there have already been more than 100

GREAT SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS

Christ also warned that signs in the heavens would mark the times leading up to His Second Coming. "Great signs shall there be from heaven," He proclaimed in Luke 21:11 and "...there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars" (Luke 21:25) and, finally, God revealed in Joel 2:30,31 that "...I will show wonders in the heavens...before the great and terrible day of the Lord come."

In July 1994 Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, a string of space rock, hurtled toward Jupiter at 130,000 miles per hour. In 21 separate explosions, the comet slammed into Jupiter with the force of 200,000 megatons of TNT, many times larger than any nuclear bomb ever exploded on earth. The explosions triggered fireballs more than 1500 miles across and rising more than 600 miles above the Jovian clouds.

In Christian symbolism, Jupiter has always been a representation of Christ because it is by far the largest planet in our solar system and is known, therefore, as the king of the planets. The 21 explosions seem especially significant in light of the fact that there are exactly 21 judgments determined upon the earth in the book of Revelation--seven trumpet judgments, seven bowl judgments, and seven vial judgments.

JEWS RETURN TO ISRAEL

Another sign of the end of the Age is that after almost 2,000 years of persecution and wandering from nation to nation, the Jews are returning to their homeland. God said through the prophet Isaiah that "It shall come to pass in that day [the Day of the Lord], that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left...And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." Isaiah 11:11,12

In 1948 there were only 800,000 Jews living in Israel

By the beginning of 1993, there were 5.2 million Jews living in Israel

Forty percent of the world's Jews have now been re-gathered to Israel

Jews have arrived in Israel from 120 nations

Jews in Israel speak 83 different languages

It is predicted that the majority of the world's Jews will live in Israel within 10 years

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God also said, "Therefore, behold, the days come, sayeth the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north." (Jeremiah 23:7,8). This prophecy is being fulfilled today. With the fall of communism in the USSR, (Moscow is directly north of Israel), Jews are finally free to emigrate to their ancient homeland, and the following numbers indicate that many are taking advantage of the opportunity.

Jews leaving Russia:

From 1971-1979, 250,000

From 1980-1986, only 7,200

In 1987, 8,500

In 1988, 18,000

In 1989, 71,000

In 1990, 185,000

In 1991, 170,500

In 1992, 64,000

In 1993, 8,000-10,000 per month

Many more Jews are expected to leave Russia as anti-Semitism increases and Russia continues to deteriorate.

VIOLENCE--AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH

Christ also said that the days prior to His appearing would be characterized by violence, as in the days of Noah. In Matthew 24:37, He explained that "...as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." To understand this comparison, we must turn to the book of Genesis, which says about the days of Noah: "...and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt...And God said unto Noah, 'The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence..'." (Genesis 6:11-13)

Since 1960 there has been a 560% increase in violent crime in the United States.

The teen-age suicide rate has increased 200% in the past few years.

Since 1976 the number of reported cases of child abuse increased from 670,000 cases to nearly three million in the early 1990s.

Juvenile arrests are skyrocketing not only among the "disadvantaged minority youth in urban areas," but "all races, all social classes and lifestyles," according to the FBI.

Because the population group of 10-to-17-year-olds is going to increase significantly throughout the 1990s, authorities expect the level of violence to escalate dramatically.

In Germany, a record 6.1 million crimes were reported in 1992, up from the previous high of 5.3 million in 1991

In Japan, a poison gas attack on the Tokyo subway in March sickened thousands and proved fatal to many.

In Russia, Boris Yeltsin is considering putting army troops into Moscow and other cities to serve as anti-crime patrols

South Africa is experiencing record numbers of murders and every category of crime is up.

St. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 that in the last days perilous times would come, for men would be selfish, greedy, ungrateful, unloving, without self-control, reckless, and lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

BLATANT HOMOSEXUALITY -

AS IN THE DAYS OF LOT

Genesis 19:4,5 records the following about a visit to Lot and his family by two angels of the Lord in the city of Sodom: "But before they lay down [Lot's family and the two angels] the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them carnally."

The angels of the Lord instructed Lot to take his family and leave Sodom, "For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has become great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord has sent us to destroy it." (Genesis 19:13)

Christ told His disciples that as it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be at the time of His coming: "And as it was in the days of Noah...likewise also as it was in the days of Lot;... the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed." (Luke 26, 28, 29, 30)

The days of Lot were characterized by blatant and out-of-control homosexuality.

The Associated Press recently reported on the annual homosexual pride march in New York City, held during Sunday morning Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral:

"...tens of thousands of men and women began the annual homosexual pride march down Fifth Avenue and past St. Patrick's Cathedral, celebrating their homosexuality... The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights had asked city officials to move the parade route so the marchers wouldn't pass the cathedral, saying they would commit acts offensive to churchgoers (there were rumors that marchers might disrobe in front of the church), but Mayor Rudolph Giuliani refused to overrule the police permit for the march and participated in the parade... One woman briefly bared her breasts...and two men on a float simulated a sex act, seeming to particularly relish performing in front of about 15 counter-demonstrators..."

APOSTASY

In II Thessalonians 2:3,7 St. Paul reassured the persecuted Christians at Thessalonica that the Tribulation had not yet begun: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the Day of the Lord] shall not come, except there come a falling away [apostasy] first, and that man of sin [the Antichrist] be revealed, the son of perdition...for the mystery of iniquity doth already work."

According to Malachi Martin, a former Jesuit priest and professor at the Vatican's Pontifical Biblical Institute and close personal friend of Pope John Paul II, that apostasy has begun in the Roman Catholic Church. He writes the following in his 1991 book, The Keys of This Blood:

"St. Paul used the phrase 'the mystery of iniquity' when writing to the Thessalonians about the universal apostasy that will precede the appearance of the Antichrist, in the last days... Such an overall manifestation of the once latent power of that iniquity, now rampant within the Church...surely orients the mind to at least the beginnings, if not the actual beginning, of that universal apostasy among believers that St. Paul explicitly foretells and insists is the direct prelude to the climactic arrival of the Man of Destiny, the Antichrist."

He continues:

"The Desertion of Christ by the apostles once Christ was arrested finds its mystical parallel in today's Churchmen: They deny they know Him as the Son of God, or even that they know Him or stand with Him; and many good Churchmen--orthodox in belief and pure of life--flee from any strong reaction to the destruction of Christ's Church.... Pope John Paul's apprehension only increases as he registers the disappearance of Roman Catholic faith among his clergy and people and their quite obvious assimilation to New Age ideals and goals."

In I Timothy 4:1 St. Paul wrote that"...in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons."

What formerly was known as necromancy or spiritism and was conducted by mediums is now called New Age channeling and brings humans into contact with "spirit guides."

Reverend Mitch Pacwa, a Jesuit priest, wrote in his 1992 book, Catholics and the New Age, that "At the 1991 National Assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, 900 mother superiors of religious orders from throughout the United States opened the conference with a Wiccan [witchcraft] rite and chanted, 'Come into the darkness' as they descended into their 'kiva,' the name of secret society lodges of Southwest Native Americans."

Father Pacwa emphasizes the great similarity between New Age beliefs and Hinduism and also claims that because of New Age influence, many Catholic parishes are conducting "workshops on the enneagram, astrology and even channeling [communicating with spirits through a medium]." The Roman Catholic Church has forbidden these occult practices for almost 2,000 years.

Dr. Jack Van Impe, Protestant Scripture scholar, claims that the apostasy that the Roman Catholic Church is presently experiencing began around the turn of the last century in many liberal Protestant denominations. New Age practices have penetrated Protestant and Jewish congregations, as well.

UNIVERSAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

In Revelation 13:16,17, John the apostle wrote the following about the man of destiny known throughout Western tradition as the Antichrist: "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

At one time such a universal system of commerce--with the power to prevent a person from buying or selling--would have been unthinkable. With computers, however, the unthinkable is now feasible. Consider the following quote from a book entitled Toward a New World Order by former intelligence agent Donald McAlvany regarding smart cards:

"Smart cards are the next leap in technology for the cashless society. They are the size of a conventional credit card, but most contain tiny computer memory chips capable of storing up to 1,000 pages of data, and have tiny metal contacts on the cards, connecting the chip to the outside world, like plugging in a cable. Smart cards are already being used for making phone calls, paying parking meters, buying lottery tickets, doing electronic banking, buying groceries, etc. Smart cards were used for buying almost everything at the 1992 Olympic games at Barcelona, Spain.

"Linking smart cards and the worldwide telecommunications network will open the door to universal electronic transactions in all walks of life. The era of paper money and coinage is rapidly drawing to a close and the new age of a cashless society is dawning...

"But cash is freedom. A man without money is free to do very little. If modern electronic credit and debit cards can be substituted for cash, then every financial transaction of our lives can be catalogued and stored for future reference, and those with the power to cut off access to electronic money can strangle us in a heartbeat. The potential for totalitarian blackmail and control is incredible..."

The ultimate step, however, toward the fulfillment of the mark prophesied in Revelation 13 ("...no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark") is alluded to in the following excerpt:

Government Technology, a publication for state and local government in the information age, published an article entitled "Health Card: A Technological Tattoo," in December 1993. The article described the card as "an ingenious device for keeping track of the personal lives of Americans" and "designed to keep permanent, accessible records of all aspects of your health care, including the details of every doctor visit, every drug store prescription, and every hospital treatment."

Other potential uses for the card outlined by the article included cracking down on welfare fraud, tracking down deadbeat dads, supplanting Social Security cards and passports, and controlling voter fraud. Since the card "will become so ubiquitous, so necessary in order to comply with government regulation...we will be obliged to carry it with us at all times."

The article goes on to suggest that since carrying the card with one at all times might be inconvenient, a "Tiny microchip the size of a grain of rice" and containing identification data might be implanted in the skin. The data could be accessed and digitally displayed when the microchip passed over a scanner.

"True," the article concludes, "an implanted transponder can't yet hold anywhere near as much material as a smart card. But if the desire is there, larger-size implants and tiny microchips could soon increase its data storage capacity."

The February 12, 1992 issue of Time magazine also alluded to this new technology in an article entitled, "The Soldier of the Future," which stated that "Dog tags... will be replaced by a microchip embedded in a molar... Scanners will read bar code data off the tooth..."

THE MAN OF DESTINY

Almost 2,000 years ago, John the apostle wrote in Revelation 13:18: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred three-score and six--666".

The book of Daniel refers to him as "the prince that shall come." In the New Testament he is known as the "man of sin," the "son of perdition," "the man of destiny," "that wicked [one]," and "the beast" whose number is 666. Throughout Western tradition, however, this evil man has always been called the Antichrist. John the apostle went on to say this about him in Revelation 13:7: "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."

This last part of Revelation 13:7 is one of the passages from Scripture that leads scholars to believe that during the period of the tribulation there will be a global government ruled by this man: "and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."

Such a global government has been discussed openly in the writings and speeches of the power elite since World War II. Consider a small sampling of quotes from their pronouncements:

"We shall have world government whether or not you like it--by conquest or consent." James Warburg, international banker, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 17, 1950.

"The ultimate goal of a supranationalist world community will not come quickly...but it is not too early to prepare ourselves for this step beyond nation-state." Henry Kissinger, speaking in 1965.

"In short, the 'house of world order' will have to be built from the bottom up rather than from the top down... An end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece, will accomplish much more than the old-fashioned assault." Richard N. Gardner, former deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, writing in Foreign Affairs, the journal of the Council on Foreign Relations, April 1974.

"...the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march toward a world government... The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national self-determination practiced in the past centuries." David Rockefeller, chairman of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations and president of Chase Manhattan Bank, addressing the Bilderberger Group in 1991.

"It is the sacred principles enshrined in the United Nations charter to which we will henceforth pledge our allegiance." President George Bush, addressing world leaders at the United Nations on February 1, 1992.

"The United Nations has the obscene delusion of becoming a one-world government." Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, in an interview with the Associated Press, soon after assuming the Speakership in 1995.

There is a well-known world statesman who accompanied Shimon Peres and Yitzak Rabin of Israel and Yassar Arafat of the PLO to a European prize ceremony in late 1994 honoring the three leaders for their efforts to establish peace in the Middle East (this was not the Nobel Prize ceremony). What's interesting is that the Antichrist, according to Daniel 9:27, will negotiate a seven-year peace treaty between Israel and her enemies.

Revelation 19:20 and Revelation 13:11-15 also allude to the "false prophet," a churchman who aids the Antichrist in persecuting Christians and Jews during the time of tribulation. The Roman Catholic Church has for some time referred to this man as the Antipope and has reluctantly concluded that the last pope will be a renegade - one who completely departs from the faith. Pope John Paul II has, in recent months, tried to stack the College of Cardinals with ultraconservatives like himself to forestall the election of such an apostate pope. However, there is at present a very powerful cardinal of questionable motives who is being prominently mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II.

(Interestingly enough, each man's name adds up to 666. I do not feel comfortable, however, revealing their names, both because of libel law and also because there is no certainty as to whether they are the two leaders referred to in the book of Revelation.)

THE REBUILDING OF THE

JEWISH TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM

In Matthew 24:15 Christ tells the Jews that during the period leading up to His coming. "When you therefore see the abomination that causes desolation...set up in the Temple...then those in Judea should flee to the mountains..."

There is at present no Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, the site of the two previous Temples. Since Christ says in the passage cited above that the Temple must be rebuilt before "the abomination that causes desolation" can occur (this is when the Antichrist enters the Jewish Temple and declares that he is God), this is a condition that has not yet been fulfilled.

But the rebuilding of the Temple after 1900 years is the fondest dream of the world's Jews, and efforts toward that end have been proceeding throughout the 1990s. The utensils and vestments required for Temple worship and sacrifice have all been made; four thousand harps are presently being carved in Israel; the architects' plans for the building have been completed; a rancher in the United States has been contracted with to produce a herd of red heifer, the ashes of which are necessary to purify all the Temple vessels; and the builders promise that, with new construction techniques, the structure could be completed in six months.

All of the preparations are proceeding in this decade because Jewish believers, both Orthodox and Messianic, are convinced that the arrival of the Messiah is imminent. Although it would be awkward because of the presence of a Moslem mosque on Mount Moriah, the Jewish Temple could also be accommodated on the consecrated ground.

There are discussions underway in the Middle East peace negotiations regarding Jerusalem becoming an international city. It is feasible that one of the conditions that the Israelis would demand before agreeing to cede autonomy over the city would be the rebuilding of the long-awaited Temple on Mount Moriah, alongside the Moslem mosque.

Whatever the peace process finally produces, however, it will apparently be a false peace, for St. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 "For when they [the Jews] shall say, 'Peace and safety,' then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as birth pains upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."

THE WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN

In Revelation 12:1,2,5 John the apostle wrote the following: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars; and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered...And she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne."

Malachi Martin, the former Jesuit priest and close friend of Pope John Paul II, wrote in his 1991 book, The Keys of This Blood, that the pope is awaiting this event, which occurs during the seven-year period of tribulation which precedes the Second Coming of Christ. Martin writes:

"Pope John Paul II is a pope who is waiting... He is waiting for an event that will fission human history, splitting the immediate past from the oncoming future. It will be an event on public view in the skies, in the oceans, and on the continental landmasses of this planet. It will particularly involve our human sun... On the day of this event, the sun will not appear merely as the master star of our solar system. Rather, it will be seen as the circumambient glory of the Woman whom the apostle John describes as "clothed with the sun" and giving birth to "a child who will rule the nations with a scepter of iron."

It is obvious from the above passage that Pope John Paul II believes that the period of tribulation written about in the book of Revelation is very near, for the appearance of the Woman clothed with the sun occurs during that seven-year period. And he further believes that it will end with the coming of the One "who will rule the nations with a scepter of iron," the Messiah.

Pope John Paul II is not the only pope in recent times to believe that the signs prophesying the end of the Age are being fulfilled. In his Easter message of 1957, Pope Pius XII said that the only sign that had not yet begun to be manifested was the Jewish repossession of Jerusalem, the ancient capital city of Israel and the center of Jewish religious life.

This event did in fact occur on June 7, 1967, during the Six-Day War, and the pope at that time, Paul VI, speculated that this event might well signify that the "times of the Gentiles" spoken of by Christ in Luke 21:24 might be completed, fulfilling the last sign.

In that passage Christ said: "And they [the Jews of His time] shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:24)

On June 7, 1967, Jerusalem for the first time in over 2000 years was no longer "trodden down" by the Gentiles, and Pope Paul VI realized that the times of the Gentiles might well have come to an end.

What makes this especially significant is what Christ said immediately after the verse cited above: "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth near." (Luke 21:24-28)

It seems inescapably clear that Christ is saying that when we see the Gentiles no longer in possession of Jerusalem, when we see signs in the heavens and strange weather, etc..." when these things begin to come to pass," we are to look up, and lift up our heads; for our redemption draws near.

In Matthew 24:32-34, Christ gives a hint of what the time scale may be following the return of Jerusalem to the Jews and the time of His coming. In this passage He refers to the fig tree, a symbol used throughout Scripture to represent the nation of Israel. He says: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When its branch is yet tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So likewise you, when you shall see all these things [the return of Jerusalem to the Jews, false Christs, earthquakes, the waves roaring, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, etc.], know that it is near, even at the doors. Truly I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

This passage appears to say that within one generation's time from the return of Jerusalem to Israel and the manifestation of the other signs, Christ will return. A Biblical generation is 40 years, and Jerusalem was captured by the Jews in 1967.

THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO WHOLE WORLD

Christ said in Matthew 24:14 "...and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to the whole world and then the end shall come."

Both Pope John Paul II and the Reverend Billy Graham have preached the gospel to hundreds of millions of people in the recent past, both in person and via television and radio.

On March 5, 1995, in Costa Rica, Billy Graham began a week of broadcasts that were translated into every language on the planet and beamed by satellite around the globe.

OTHER PROPHECIES BEING FULFILLED

Many other endtime prophecies have begun to be fulfilled. Some of them are listed below:

The Hebrew language is recovered Zephaniah 3:9

The Ethiopian Jews return to Israel Zephaniah 3:10

Israel becomes fertile and blossoms Isaiah 27:6

Israel's rainfall increases dramatically Joel 2:23

The Roman Empire begins to revive (the European Union) Daniel 2:40-44

Russia rises as a military power Ezekiel 38:1-12

Television communications are now worldwide Revelation 11:9,10

Israel is surrounded by enemy Arab nations Psalm 83:4-8

Explosion of false prophets and heresies have begun Matthew 24:24

Worldwide anti-Semitism is arising Matthew 24:9,10

Asia is developing a 200-million-man army Revelation 9:14-16

The Euphrates River can now be dried up Revelation 16-12-14

A military highway is being completed, linking Asia to the

Middle East Revelation 9:14

Ecological devastation of the planet is occurring Revelation 11:18

Doomsday weapons threaten earth Joel 2:3

Levites and priests are training for Temple service Ezekiel 43:14,15

Jerusalem has been rebuilt in nine specific directions Jeremiah 31:38-40

Massive increases in wealth and possessions have occurred James 5:3

A hole in the ozone layer has developed Revelation 16:8,9

And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the Age?" And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you are not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows (Greek: birth pains)...

"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many... And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains... For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before... For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

"Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When its branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Truly I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only... Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord doth come."

- Matthew 24:3-42

Copyright © 1996 by Duncan Long. Readers are encouraged to share this article with others; all copying and distribution of this article must be done in its entirety and must include this notice.

E-mail Duncan at: duncan@kansas.net