12 FOUNDATION STONES
INTRODUCTORY NOTES 2
THE ENDTIME 

Bible Study on the Endtime
> 	 Bible prophecy
	The Bible is full of thousands of detailed prophecies, describing specific people, places, times, situations, and events hundreds of years before they happened or came into being. 
	Many of these prophecies have already been fulfilled. We don't have time to go into examples here, but if you'll look in Activated magazine #3, pages 8–9, you'll find a fascinating article, "Proof at Last," which details some of the outstanding prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in His life on earth. 
	Many of the prophecies in the Bible are about the final period of world history just before Jesus returns to put an end to all of today's injustices and to set up His Own kingdom of love and peace on earth. These last final days of man's kingdoms on earth are known in the Bible as the "Time of the End," the "Latter Days," the "Last Days," the "Endtime," etc.—the time in which you and I are now living! 
	We are going to study about the Endtime by looking at the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 24. 
	This chapter begins with a prophecy by Jesus that was fulfilled roughly 40 years later: 
	 Prophecy fulfilled: Destruction of the Temple (in 70 A.D.)
	Matthew 24:1–2—Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. (2) And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
	As Jesus prophesied, the temple was thrown down—actually torn apart stone by stone.
	The event is recorded in secular history. In 70 A.D. the armies of Roman emperor Vespasian marched into Israel under General Titus and crushed a rebellion of the Jews, destroyed Jerusalem, and burned the temple. The fire caused the gold leaf on the temple ceiling to melt. The melting gold flowed down the walls, settling into crevices. The Romans then pried apart the stones to remove the gold, until literally "not one stone was left standing upon another"! 
	Just as this prophecy by Jesus was fulfilled, the remainders of Jesus' predictions in Matthew 24 are now being fulfilled before our eyes. (Note: The "Wailing Wall" in Jerusalem is not a remaining portion of the temple, but rather part of the retaining wall of the temple mount.)

> 	 Signs of the Times
	Matthew 24:3—Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
	When Jesus' disciples wanted to know the future and asked Him, "What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?" He didn't tell them of only one sign, but many! In fact, the Bible gives us scores of "signs of the times," signs and signals that we are to look out for so that we can know exactly how close to the very end we are. 
	We are going to look now at some of the signs and how they are being fulfilled today. 

* 	 Wars
	Matthew 24:6–7—And you will 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. (7a) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…  
	 No period has witnessed an escalation in the number and intensity of wars as has the 20th century.  (This 21st century is off to a similar start.) The century came to a close with a third of the world's 193 nations embroiled in conflict.
	 Over 100 million people were killed in wars during the 20th century (International Red Cross).
	 Up until 1914, war had never been universal, but in both World War I and II, total war was waged. 
	 The death toll in conflicts since the end of World War II topped 23 million before the end of the 20th century. 
	 There have been over 130 major wars since the end of World War II.
	 In  1999 there were 65 armed conflicts. 
	 "Nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" could more accurately be translated as "ethnic group rising against ethnic group"—a prophecy dreadfully fulfilled in former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Somalia, Burma, and other trouble spots around the world. 

* 	 Famines
	Matthew 24:7b—And there will be famines…
	 18 million people die of starvation, malnutrition, and related causes every year (Johns Hopkins University study).
	 More than 800 million people are chronically undernourished (UN statistics).
	 It is estimated that one-third of the world is well fed, one-third is underfed, and one-third is starving (World Health Organization). 
	 Of the millions who go hungry every day, it is estimated that only 10% are victims of disaster (World Food Program).
	 For the price of one cruise missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years. 
	 Water shortages in parts of the world in the next 25 years will pose the single greatest threat to food production and human health. 1.3 billion people worldwide have no access to clean water (World Bank).

* 	 Pestilences
	Matthew 24:7b— and pestilences...
	 Pestilences or plagues: Drug-resistant strains of microbes are having a deadly impact on the fight against tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, diarrhea, and pneumonia, which together kill more than 10 million people worldwide each year (Pan American Health Organization). 
	 At least 30 previously unknown diseases have appeared globally since 1973, including HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, Ebola hemorrhagic fever and others. Twenty well-known infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera have reemerged or spread since 1973, some reappearing in "deadlier, drug-resistant forms" ( U.S. National Intelligence Council).
	 Over 100 different kinds of cancer now kill over six million people every year. (World Health Organization)
	 An estimated 800,000 people died because of smoking in 1999.
	 As of the end of 2002, over 42 million people are living with HIV / AIDS. 5 million new HIV infections occurred in 2002, and 3.1 million people died of AIDS that year, bringing the total of AIDS-related deaths to 6.4 million. (UNAIDS) 
	 In the 45 most affected countries, it is projected that, between 2000 and 2020, 68 million people will die prematurely as a result of AIDS. The projected toll is greatest in sub-Saharan Africa where 55 million additional deaths can be expected.  (UN and other sources).

* 	 Earthquakes and natural disasters
	Matthew 24:7b—…and earthquakes, in various places...
	 The quantity of earthquakes is increasing: There were only 21 earthquakes of major strength recorded between the years 1000 and 1800. Between 1800 and 1900 there were 18 major earthquakes. In the next 50 years, between 1900 and 1950, there were 33 major quakes. Between 1950 and 1991 there were 93 major earthquakes, almost tripling the number of the previous half century, and claiming the lives of 1.3 million people around the world (The World Almanac) .
	 In an average year about 18 "major" earthquakes (with magnitudes between 7.0 and 7.9) occur around the world. On average, 10,000 people die in earthquakes annually. (U.S. Geological Survey). 
	 2001 was a particularly deadly year for earthquakes, with 65 significant quakes worldwide blamed for killing more than 21,000 people. (U.S. Geological Survey). 
	 11,000 people were killed by floods, earthquakes, storms and other extreme weather in 2002.  (Munich Re).
	 The Red Cross and Crescent have reported "a huge increase in the number of people needing our assistance due to floods and earthquakes. In recent years, it has risen from less than half a million to more than 5 1/2 million." 

* 	 A world of violence
	Matthew 24:37—But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
	How were things in the "days of Noah"? The Bible tells us the earth was filled with violence: 
	Genesis 6:11—The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
	 In the U.S., on average one person is murdered every 22 minutes; someone is raped every four minutes; a robbery is committed every 26 seconds (FBI).
	 In the past 30 years, 1.2 million people have died by murder or suicide in the U.S. (Washington Post). 
	 A survey of 900 fourth- through eighth-grade students in the U.S. found that almost half of the children said their favorite electronic games involve violence.
	 The average child in the U.S. will witness at least 8,000 murders on TV by the time he or she leaves elementary school, along with more than 100,000 assorted other acts of violence (American Psychological Association).
	 "The introduction of television in the 1950s caused a subsequent doubling of the homicide rate; i.e., long-term childhood exposure to television is a causal factor behind approximately one half of the homicides committed in the U.S., or approximately 10,000 homicides annually" (Journal of the American Medical Association). 
	 In England and Wales: One in five young men has committed a violent offence by the time they reach the age of 25. The number of violent offences committed by girls aged 10 to 17 has doubled since 1981. Among under-25s, 17% said they had at one stage carried a weapon, either in self-defense, or with intent to cause harm. Criminals under 18 are now responsible for 28% of all violent crimes, 40% of burglaries, 11% of drug offences, and 33% of criminal damage offences. 
	 Across Europe there is a spreading epidemic of juvenile crime, evidence of a continent-wide youth underclass growing up outside the law. According to news reports, in Germany juvenile crime rose 10% between 1998 and 1999. In Sweden the average age of male criminals has dropped over the past decade from 20 to 15.
	 More than 20 percent of Mexico City residents have been victims of crime in 1999 (The Autonomous Metropolitan University).

* 	 Religious persecution
	Matthew 24:9–10—Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. (10) And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
	 "This century [the 20th] is known as ‘the martyrs' century' because more people have lost their lives for Christianity since 1900 than in all the previous centuries together"  (mission agency Open Doors).
	 Nineteen European countries violate religious liberty, according to the 1998 report of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). Subsequent annual reports describe an increase of intolerance and repression of minority religions. 
	 The average number of Christian martyrs per year worldwide is 163,000 (International Bulletin of Missionary Research).

* 	 False religions
	Matthew 24:11—Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
	 In a five-year time span, the number of witches in England increased from 60,000 to 80,000 (Manchester England Guardian Weekly).
	 There are about 2 million Americans who adhere to some form of paganism. 

* 	 Love grown cold 
	Matthew 24:12—And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
	 According to a Gallup social survey, 72% of the population in Britain think that the country is getting more selfish. 
	 Worldwide, over 46 million unborn children are aborted every year. 
	 Despite a US$30 trillion global economy, 600 million children live on less than a dollar a day. Child laborers number 250 million. And millions of people are targeted by military action that increasingly focuses on civilians  (UNICEF).
	 Sixteen percent of the world's population is consuming some 80 percent of its natural resources (World Resources Institute).
	 Throughout the 1990s more than 100 million children died from illness and starvation. Those 100 million deaths could have been prevented for the price of ten Stealth bombers, or what the world spends on its military in two days.
* 	 The Gospel preached worldwide
	Matthew 24:14—And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
	 There are Christians and Christian churches in every country of the world (The Almanac of the Christian World).
	 Over 50 million Bibles are distributed every year, plus nearly 80 million New Testaments.
	 Four billion Gospel tracts are printed every year. 
	 The Bible has been translated partially or entirely into more than 2,000 languages, making its message available to about 98% of the world's population. 
	 The Gospel is preached from over 2,100 Christian radio and television stations worldwide. 

* 	 One-world government
	1 John 2:18—The Antichrist is coming.
	One of the final signs of the end is the rise of a one-world government headed by a Devil-possessed tyrant known as the Antichrist or "the Beast." The 13th chapter of the book of Revelation says that the world is going to actually worship Satan in the person of this bestial world leader. 
	Revelation 13:4—So they worshiped the dragon [the Devil] who gave authority to the beast [the Antichrist]; and they worshiped the beast.
	This man will come to power with a seven-year agreement, a "covenant," in which he will promise world peace and religious freedom. He will also be instrumental in rescuing the world from its present worsening economic crisis, which many predict will soon escalate into a full-scale global financial crash.
	The stage is rapidly being set for the world to accept global leadership. 
	 Famed British historian Arnold Toynbee (1889–1975) said, "The nations are ready to give the kingdoms of the world to any one man who will offer us a solution to our world's problems." 
	 The first president of the United Nations General Assembly, Paul-Henri Spaak, who was also a prime minister of Belgium and one of the early planners of the European Common Market, as well as a secretary-general of NATO, affirmed, "We do not want another committee, we have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all the people and to lift us up out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man, and whether he be God or devil, we will receive him."
	 U.S. President George Bush (senior) popularized the term "New World Order" when he said in a speech before the U.S. Congress during the Gulf War, "We stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment. … Out of these troubled times a New World Order can emerge. … Today that New World Order is struggling to be born." 

* 	 A savior turned sour
	For a while, most of the world will hail the Beast as a political savior; he will have brought peace, restored the world's economy, solved the Middle East crisis, etc. But suddenly, three and a half years after the enactment of the seven-year covenant, he will repudiate it, and will forbid and abolish all traditional religious worship, declaring that he himself is God and demanding that all the world worship him! (Daniel 9:27; 8:9–12; 11:21–24,28–31,36; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4,8–9; Revelation 13:2–7).
	He will also outlaw all religions, except the worship of himself and an image of himself that will somehow be empowered to speak and "cause those who refuse to worship it to be killed"  (Revelation 13:14–15). 
	Jesus warned:
	Matthew 24:15, 21—Therefore when you see the "abomination of desolation," spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), (21) For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

* 	 The "Mark of the Beast"
	Revelation 13:16–18—He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on [in] their right hand or on [in] their foreheads, (17) and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (18) Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
	During the Tribulation period—the second half of the Antichrist's seven-year reign—his government will adopt a universal credit system, replacing the cash system presently used. He will require that everyone be issued a credit number, referred to in the Bible as the "Mark of the Beast." 
	One theory is that this mark will be a microchip, containing your personal identification, medical and financial records, etc., which will be implanted under the skin of the right hand or forehead. 
	The technology for such a chip and credit system already exists and according to news reports is presently being tested in some American and European cities! 
	The Antichrist government can then use this new credit system to try to force everybody to worship the Antichrist or face starvation, because no one will be able to buy or sell without it. But the followers of God will refuse to worship him or receive his "mark."—And the Bible promises that the Lord will take care of them, even if He has to supernaturally drop bread from the heavens to feed them! (Revelation 12:6,14).

 This prophecy is truly remarkable. Given nearly 2,000 years ago, it predicts that a global economic system will one day be instituted in which everyone will be forced to receive a number, without which they will not be able to buy or sell. It is only since the advent of computers and electronic banking that this prophecy could be fulfilled.
	 Microchips used in plastic "smart cards" commonly used for banking, health, and identification purposes cost only a few cents each, yet can contain a vast amount of personal data. A similar chip could be inserted under the skin for instant identification. 
	 One example: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that implantation of the new Microdot Identification Project is already underway in Washington, D.C., and several other test cities. The tiny computer chips being used are no larger than the head of a pin, cost less than 25 cents each and are injected approximately 1/4 inch under the skin, usually in the dead space between the tendons of the middle and index fingers. They are activated by a small hand-held scanner and provide flawless identification of the person in whom it is implanted (Medical Technology Services Newsletter, July 1994, article by Hugh Watson).
	 
> 	 The Second Coming of Christ
	Matthew 24:29–31—Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (30) Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
	1 Thessalonians 4:16–18—For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (18) Therefore comfort one another with these words.
	The world's darkest period of tribulation and horror under the Antichrist will abruptly end with the dawning of the brightest dawn as Jesus Christ Himself returns to gather His children to be with Him! 
	Lights, trumpets, thunder, earthquakes, and gigantic meteor showers will all herald this climactic event! 
	God's children who have died throughout the ages will in one moment all be resurrected in new miraculous bodies and burst forth from their graves and ascend to meet Jesus in the air. 
	The living Christians will be transformed and will rise from the earth to meet the Lord in the air, floating right up through ceilings and buildings and cars and right up into the clouds to Jesus! 
	Such is the scenario of the Second Coming of Christ depicted in the Bible, where He snatches His children out of reach of their evil Antichrist persecutors and whisks them away to the grandest, most glorious, and thrilling victory celebration that's ever been held—the great "Marriage Supper of the Lamb" in Heaven!

* Getting ready for the future!
	As these awesome final events of the Endtime begin to unfold, you don't have to be in fear or confusion, wondering what's going on. We may not like everything that is happening now on earth, and some of it may look pretty bad, but at least we know the happy ending. Jesus made it clear that as the final signs of the end come to pass, His return to rescue His people will be that much closer:
	Luke 21:28—Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption [deliverance] draws near.
	The best way to be prepared for the future is to receive Jesus as your Savior, as He has promised to be with His children to protect and provide for them and be their Guide through perilous times. Jesus will give you the strength and courage to bravely face these future troubles and help you survive until the End of this world, after which He will reward you beyond your wildest dreams in the heavenly world to come!