Jamie sighed, she thought of the untold billions of people who would burn for all eternity in the lake of fire. Dear G-d, she prayed silently, please don't let my friend Brian be one of them. Help him to see his need for a savior.

Darryl continued the discussion. "The angel told Daniel to seal up the book until the time of the end. We have a better understanding than Daniel about the prophecies he was given because most of them have come to pass and the ones still to come are so close to being fulfilled we can make educated guesses about them."

Elizabeth agreed, "That's right. I think the signs of the end that the angel gave Daniel are two of the most exciting prophecies in the Bible. We can see these prophecies being fulfilled today."

"How Mom?"

"The angel said 'many shall run to and fro.' This is talking about an increase in travel. In the last 100 years, we have gone from riding horseback to traveling to the moon and back. It is now possible to fly across the world in a matter of a few short hours."

"I never really thought about it before," Brian mumbled.

"The angel also told Daniel knowledge would increase. From the year 4000 B.C. until the year 1 B.C. knowledge doubled once. It took 1780 for it to double again. Today, knowledge is doubling every 22 months!"³

"Amazing! We really must be living in the last days," Jamie exclaimed.

"Does G-d give anymore signs in the Bible?" Brian asked.

"Plenty of them," Darryl replied as he turned to Matthew 24. "The disciples asked Jesus for signs of his coming, and of the end of the age. 'Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."' Luke recorded a little additional information in chapter 21:11. 'There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilence's in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.'"

"That sure was a big list!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Wait a minute!" Brian cried out. "There have been wars, famine, earthquakes, and all the other stuff since time began! I don't see why you think they indicate Jesus will be back any minute!"

Darryl tried to calm Brian down. "You are absolutely right, Brian. All of these things have been happening for thousands of years. However, Jesus said that they would be like birth pangs."

"Brian," Elizabeth said. "I don't know how much you know about childbirth, but let me tell you a little bit about it. First, the woman has some slight cramping and then for a good while, nothing will happen. Then she has another cramp. Slowly the cramps become more and more severe. They also occur closer and closer together until she finally delivers the baby. The pain at the end is unbearable. What we are experiencing now are the things Jesus spoke about occurring more often and with greater intensity. As an example, earthquakes are occurring more often, all over the world, and they are causing greater devastation."