Are we living in the End Times?

As a pastor, when I talk about the End Times, I know what some people think. Their minds conjure up images of wild-eyed fundamentalists huddled in a basement rearranging newspaper clippings to reveal when the world will end. Or they picture someone holding a sign that says The End Is Near! while shouting into a bullhorn on a street corner.

History is littered with cult leaders and charlatans who convinced others (and sometimes even themselves) that they had cracked the code and figured out when Jesus Christ will return. Time has shown that all of them were wrong.

The truth is, we don’t know when the world will end. Jesus said, “Of that day and hour no one knows” (Matthew 24:36). Even when the apostles asked after His resurrection, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority” (Acts 1:6–7).

So why do I insist on asking, as I have in my new book, Are We Living in the End Times? And why do so many people have a sense that we might be? A recent study by Pew Research found that almost 40% of Americans believe the world will end soon. Everywhere we look, things seem to be spinning out of control. I believe this feeling of chaos is both a warning and a mercy: God is warning us that we need to be ready for the end to come at any time, and He is inviting us to be reconciled with Him today through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Though Jesus doesn’t want us to speculate about the exact time He will come, He gave us guidance on how to discern when His return is approaching. The Bible compares the coming of the End Times to the birth of a baby. We don’t know precisely when the baby will arrive, but we know the pangs of labor will intensify as the birth approaches.

The “birth pangs” that will precede the End Times, as identified by Jesus in Matthew 24, include widespread spiritual deception, international conflict, natural disasters, persecution of Christians, and apostasy from the Christian faith. Jesus wants us to watch for these signs so we can “be on the alert” and “be ready” (vv. 42–44). And as we scroll through today’s headlines, we see that the frequency and intensity of all these events have been ramping up in recent days.

Christians also know from the Bible that God has unfinished business with the nation of Israel. In Genesis 12:1–3, God made an eternal covenant with Israel about the land they would occupy, the nation they would become, and the blessing they would enjoy. This covenant has not yet been fully realized, but we know God is always faithful to fulfill His promises.

Jesus and His apostles made it clear that Israel is central to the events and purpose of the End Times. That’s why questions about the end of history inevitably arise whenever Israel faces existential threats, as they have in nearly every generation. The apostle Paul, himself a Jew, reminded the Romans that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (11:29).

We can be certain that God will do what He said. He will preserve those to whom He made His irrevocable promise. As Christians, we support Israel not only because of the justice of their cause but also because of our hope for their salvation. They are experiencing a “partial hardening” now (v. 25), but we believe many will come to know Jesus as Lord through the events of the End Times.

So, if you’re not asking, “Are we living in the End Times?” — you should be. These increasingly extreme events are God’s way to get our attention. This world is temporary. Your life is brief. Consider who Jesus is. Consider your relationship with Him.

And if you’ve been curious about Are We Living in the End Times? — I believe we could be, sooner than you think.