READING 2 – Signs of the Times

By Humberto Avellaneda

Human beings have always wanted to know what will happen in the future. When will the world come to an end? What signs do we have of the end of the world?

And there are other questions. In the Old Testament, when the people of Israel needed to go to war, they looked to the prophet for confirmation or asked God directly for an answer, as did King David. “… Wilt Thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand.” 1 Chronicles 14:10.

In the New Testament, Jesus rebuked the Jews because they knew how to discern appearances in the sky but were ignorant concerning the signs of the times. That is, they did not recognize the signs of His visitation. “The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired Him that He would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matthew 16:1-3.

“At the time of Christ’s first advent the priests and scribes of the Holy City, to whom were entrusted the oracles of God, might have discerned the signs of the times and proclaimed the coming of the Promised One….

“All the people should have been watching and waiting that they might be among the first to welcome the world’s Redeemer. But, lo, at Bethlehem two weary travelers from the hills of Nazareth traverse the whole length of the narrow street to the eastern extremity of the town, vainly seeking a place of rest and shelter for the night. No doors are open to receive them. In a wretched hovel prepared for cattle, they at last find refuge, and there the Saviour of the world is born.” –Maranatha, p. 10.

What we should work on

The words of the Lord are for us as well. They show that it is very important to know the signs of the times. Jesus emphasized that, just as there are signs in the sky, we must know the signs of the times, the prophetic signs, and cur- rent events. That is how we can recognize where we are and where we are going so that we will not lose our way.

I read a story recently about a young man who was traveling by train. He was totally focused on what he was reading when the ticket inspector came down the aisle and asked him for his ticket. The man searched his pockets nervously again and again without being able to find the ticket. Finally, the ticket inspector told him, “Sir, don’t worry. When you find it, you can send it to the company. I am sure that you have it.”

Totally dismayed, the young man replied, “The ticket is not the problem, but that I do not know where I am going! I do not know where I am going!” The poor man had forgot- ten his destination.

The same thing can happen to us. It is possible to be so focused on the present that we forget where we are going. We forget the prophecies, even as they are being fulfilled around us, the prophecies that inform us of His soon coming. “Satan invents unnumbered schemes to occupy our minds, that they may not dwell upon the very work with which we ought to be best acquainted.” –The Great Controversy, p. 488.

For example, have we ever wondered what all the shootings that are happening mean? How is it possible for a per- son to take a gun and go to a school or a shopping center and start shooting without mercy, snuffing out the lives of innocent people?

Another concern today is the tremendous economic cri- sis that the world is going through. The following item appeared in an international newspaper: “Inflation is shooting up to 7% in the United States, and prices have risen to the highest level in the last four decades.” With the current crises brought on by war, we do not know how high inflation will rise in the world. This is the reality in 2022, and it is not a problem just for the United States but for the whole world.

Diseases

“And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” Luke 21:11.

The diseases that are everywhere today have found medical science with few remedies. Thousands and millions of people are dying without being sealed for heaven. The coronavirus pandemic, in addition to changing the world in many aspects, has caused many deaths. This is how Satan works. The Spirit of prophecy says: “Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quick- ly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer….

“While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cy- clones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous.” –Counsels on Health, p. 460.

Few understand the signs

All of these signs of the times show in what moment of history we are living, for Satan is now working in every possible way. Have you ever wondered about the sophisticated means of communication that have been developed while, unfortunately, there is a lack of communication between husbands and wives, parents and children? How is it possible that the many communications systems and devices in the world have stolen communication from the family? Do you see this as a problem that is destroying thousands of homes? One of Satan’s primary targets is the family. This is why we see such attacks multiplying in that direction within his destructive arsenal. He has perverted the marriage institution as God established it in Eden to the point where governments allow and promote the legalization of different types of marriage. The same thing is happening with the legalization of abortion in numerous countries. Every time such issues advance, it is like an ever-worsening terminal cancer is destroying families and society. Governments consider such things as positive advancements for the people, but the Scriptures say: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20.

Dear brothers, sisters, and friends, I believe that we need to carefully and prayerfully study the signs that are for our time, otherwise what happened to the people of Israel in the time of Jesus can happen to us, as the inspired pen says: “Oh, how few know the time of their visitation! How few, even among those who claim to believe present truth, understand the signs of the times or what we are to experience before the end! We are under divine forbearance; but how long will the angels of God continue to hold the winds, that they shall not blow?” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 426.

“God’s people must take warning and discern the signs of the times. The signs of Christ’s coming are too plain to be doubted; and in view of these things every one who pro- fesses the truth should be a living preacher. God calls upon all, both preachers and people, to awake. All heaven is astir. The scenes of earth’s history are fast closing. We are amid the perils of the last days. Greater perils are before us, and yet we are not awake.” –Christian Service, p. 37.

God has not given the signs of the times to be an end in themselves but to direct the people’s attention to that which is much better and greater. These signs are like road signs placed on a highway. Imagine a person traveling by car in an unknown country; if he does not have a GPS device and if the road does not have signs, he could hardly reach his destination. In His great love for people traveling from this world to the heavenly Canaan, God has provided the signs showing where His people are now in reference to the final events of the world’s history.

Wars and rumors of wars

The signs of the times declare that we are on the thresh- old of great, solemn events. In this world, everything is in motion and agitation. Before our eyes, the prophecy is being fulfilled in which the Saviour told what would hap- pen just before His coming: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be 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 divers places.” Matthew 24:6, 7.

As I am writing this article, the morning’s newspapers carried the following headlines: “Russia Attacks Ukraine,” “Conflict in Eastern Europe,” “Russian Bombing of Ukraine.” In the last few days, the whole world has had its attention drawn not to the pandemic but to countries at war. People wonder, Will other countries intervene in Europe? Will the conflict turn into a world war? Where will all of this stop? Because of this war, the economic crisis will get worse throughout the world. No one knows how much humanity can endure as thousands of people are dying and millions of others are fleeing to other countries in search of a safe place. Brothers and sisters, there is something I want to mention at this time. Just as the pandemic brought about significant changes especially in the political world that will probably never be removed, so this war will cause changes throughout the world that will affect everyone in numerous different ways. People will also suffer hunger, anxiety, and anguish, as the sacred Scriptures say: “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:…” Luke 21:26. That’s right, dear brothers and sisters! The prophecies are being fulfilled in every direction that we look.

The Spirit of prophecy tells us: “We are standing upon the threshold of great and solemn events. Prophecies are fulfilling. Strange, eventful history is being recorded in the books of heaven. Everything in our world is in agitation. There are wars and rumors of wars. The nations are angry, and the time of the dead has come, that they should be judged. Events are changing to bring about the day of God, which hasteth greatly. Only a moment of time, as it were, yet remains. But while already nation is rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, there is not now a general engagement. As yet the four winds are held until the servants of God shall be sealed in their foreheads. Then the powers of earth will marshal their forces for the last great battle.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 14.

“The great controversy is nearing its end. Every report of calamity by sea or land is a testimony to the fact that the end of all things is at hand. Wars and rumors of wars declare it…. The Lord is coming. We hear the footsteps of an approaching God.” –(Review and Herald, November 12, 1914) Our High Calling, p. 346.

“The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude. The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.” –(Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 11) Christian Service, p. 52.

A call to the church

We could give a whole list of events that are happening in the world that fulfill prophecy and are signs of the end times; but right now, as we are about to end another year, I want to call the attention of my brothers and sisters around the world to the words of the Lord Jesus: “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28.

The question is: What should we be doing as a people? What is our duty as a church in these last times? It is true that the end will not necessarily come immediately, or in a few days or weeks; but we have to understand that the signs are being fulfilled in front of us.

Dear ones, we cannot be indifferent when we see that we have what the world needs and that we have what our relatives, neighbors, and friends lack in these times of affliction. We cannot dedicate ourselves to the things of the world more than we do to the things of the kingdom of God! The Lord has given us a very important responsibility that no one else can fulfill for us.

The signs of the times tell us that Christ is at the door, and that also means that much more difficult times are ahead. “We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 11.

God invites everyone, ministers and laymen alike, to wake up. All heaven is shaken. The scenes of this earth’s history are rapidly drawing to a close. “What shall I say to arouse the remnant people of God? I was shown that dreadful scenes are before us; Satan and his angels are bringing all their powers to bear upon God’s people. He knows that if they sleep a little longer he is sure of them, for their destruction is certain.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 262.

“We are nearing the most important crisis that has ever come upon the world. If we are not wide awake and watching, it will steal upon us as a thief. Satan is preparing to work through his human agencies in secrecy.…” –Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 414.

“In the last scenes of this earth’s history, war will rage. There will be pestilence, plague, and famine. The waters of the deep will overflow their boundaries. Property and life will be destroyed by fire and flood. We should be preparing for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for them that love Him. There is a rest from earth’s conflict.” –(Review and Herald, October 19, 1897) Maranatha, p. 174.

To the scribes and Pharisees who demanded signs be- fore they would believe in Him, Jesus told them that the only sign they would be given was the sign of Jonah. But the Lord has loved us so much that He has given us much more than one sign so that we may believe Him. Let us understand the importance of the times in which we live.

“And, behold, I come quickly,” Jesus said. “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:12, 20.

God help us to say, as did John, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Amen.