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Are We Living in the Last Days?
By Author Eli Kittim
Mt 24.6-14 (NRSV):
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of
wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this
must take place, but the end is not yet. For
nation will rise against nation [WW1], and
kingdom against kingdom [WW2], and
there will be famines and earthquakes in
various places: all this is but the beginning
of the birth pangs. … Then many
will fall away, and they will betray one
another and hate one another [hate
crimes]. And many false prophets will arise
and lead many astray. And because of the
increase of lawlessness [civil unrest], the
love of many will grow cold. But the one who
endures to the end will be saved. And this
good news of the kingdom will be
proclaimed throughout the world, as a
testimony to all the nations; and then the
end will come.”
The 20th Century Was the Most Violent in Human History
Notice that Matthew mentions that “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (Mt. 24.7) as “the beginning of the birth pangs” (v. 8). And then he mentions another signpost, namely, “the increase of lawlessness” (v. 12). If we focus on these 4 prophetic markers——i.e. world wars, famines, earthquakes, and “the increase of lawlessness”——we will gain a better understanding of the specific *timeline* that Matthew has in mind. Francis P. Sempa, a prolific author and professor of political science, once wrote:
“The optimists among us who believe in the
inevitable progress of man, either forget or
ignore the fact that the twentieth century
was the bloodiest, most destructive century
in human history. The century’s two world
wars resulted in the deaths of at least 60
million people. The Russian Civil War of
1917-21 killed another 5-6 million. Between
them, the tyrannical regimes of Hitler,
Stalin, and Mao killed at least another 60
million of their own citizens. Many millions
more were killed in dozens of other, smaller
conflicts.”
Not to mention the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed almost a quarter of a million (226,000) people! Author Matthew White (Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century, 2010) has even higher estimates of the total number of victims of collective violence in the 20th Century, which indicate that over 200 million people perished due to war, oppression, famine, and disease. No other century even comes close.
The Deadliest Famines in History Occurred in the 20th Century
According to an article in Wikipedia:
“During the 20th century, an estimated 70 to
100 million people died from famines across
the world, of whom over half died in China,
with an estimated 30 million dying during
the famine of 1958–1961, up to 10 million in
the Chinese famine of 1928–1930, and over
two million in the Chinese famine of 1942–
43, and millions more lost in famines in
North and East China. The USSR lost 8
million claimed by the Soviet famine of
1932-33, over a million in both the Soviet
famine of 1946-47 and Siege of Leningrad,
the 5 million in the Russian famine of 1921–
22, and other famines.”
Some of the Deadliest Earthquakes Ever Recorded in History Occurred in the 20th Century
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_20th-century_earthquakes
A Significant Increase of Lawlessness in the 20th Century
Lawlessness also implies civil unrest. The civil unrest that the world has seen in the past century is unparalleled. It would be beyond the scope of this paper to furnish the reader with an exhaustive list of crime figures and statistics of the past century. One thing is certain. The 20th century ushered in, particularly with the advent of two global conflicts, an unprecedented increase of lawlessness and destruction on a scale unimaginable only a few centuries ago. There was also a significant increase in crimes against humanity in the past century, especially due to the rise of fascist and totalitarian regimes (e.g. Nazism, Stalinism, Maoism, etc.). Never before have there been war crimes, murders, massacres, genocides on such a massive scale where, for example, in the case of the Holocaust, approximately 6 million Jews were exterminated. Today, we still hear of hate crimes being perpetrated on large populations and minorities (e.g. ethnic cleansing, police brutalities, terrorism, etc.). Given that society is becoming increasingly lawless, more and more people are being armed with concealed weapons either to perpetrate crimes or to defend themselves and their loved ones.
Conclusion
It is worth noting that there is a prophecy in the Book of Daniel that suggests an *increase in knowledge* in the last days (which would include modern innovations, such as smartphones, computers, satellites, self-driving cars, laser surgery, the internet) as well as *transportation efficiency,* such as increased speed in sea, road, rail, and air transportation, unlike anything we had ever seen or even imagined before. Up until the 20th century people still used traditional means of transportation, such as Horse Carriages to get around. But with the twentieth century came an explosion of knowledge and innovation, from cars to high-speed trains to airplanes to jet engines to space shuttles to computers to nuclear weapons, you name it. Anticipating all that, Daniel 12.4 (ESV) reads:
“But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal
the book, until the time of the end. Many
shall run to and fro [fast travel], and
knowledge shall increase.”
There are also numerous Old Testament prophecies regarding the future restoration of Israel, which became a reality in 1948 (cf. e.g. Ezek. 36.24; 38.8)! Therefore, it cannot be denied that the 20th century offers the best explanation of the historical causes that give rise to the phenomena of the Little Apocalypse (Mt. 24), which foretells of a worldwide tribulation just prior to the coming of the Son of Man. The 20th century saw the most destructive global conflicts in human history, the Nuclear arms race, as well the highest surge in famines, earthquakes, lawlessness, and deaths on a scale unimaginable only a few centuries ago. That these global wars and disasters have been doubly intensified in the last century is borne out by the aforementioned figures. Thus, there is compelling and irrefutable evidence that we’re living in the last days!
She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice. And she knew that. She wore dark red lipstick the colour of blood, and not just any blood, but period blood. She wore smokey eyes and didn’t bother hiding the dark circles from insomniac nights and had a perfectly winged eyeliner that she had read in sixth grade made you look like a cat and she loved cats though she was, as she begrudgingly admitted to her animal lover friends, afraid to touch them. Her nose was radically different from what the rest of her family had and someone said it made her look like a Greek sculpture. She refuses to wear high heels unless it is a wedding and she loves standing taller than the people who used to look down on her. She practically lives in her well-worn sneakers that she bought with the money from her first salary because the heels prescribed by the boss at work were ergonomically stupid and anyway, she would like to have her spine and muscles intact in old age. She had a small little birthmark right beneath the outer of her left eye, on her high cheekbones that her uncle had told her resembled her country. She has two very slightly crooked front teeth, hardly visible unless you are asked to look at them because though she intended to, she never could bring herself to take the initiative and wear braces because it hurts and she hated things that brought her pain. She always carries a picture of her parents in her purse and a bottle of perfume. She goes to the movies without buying popcorn because she hadn’t been to the theatre for five years once and the first time after, she forgot to buy them and anyway, it’s difficult to hear with the constant chewing. She writes little letters and half-finished stories, pores over ancient texts and is a treasure trove of little facts. She knows all the Greek stories, despises Zeus and the gods and adores mythology, be it Celtic, Indian, Chinese, Norse or Japanese but loves folklores the best. She knows suspiciously too much about Unit 731, Operation Nightingale, the Nazca lines, poison, the history of chocolate, the world wars and Europe after the French Revolution for a medical student but who cares, she’s fascinating. She appears cold but those who have known her for years would tell you that she’s an empath and her fault is caring too much. She speaks bits and pieces of several languages, all influenced by the books and series she’d seen and loved. You could ask her what ‘What’s for dinner?’ was in Thai but she wouldn’t be able to tell you the classes of tones in it. She is a fashionista and abides by the teachings of her father who taught her what fashion really is and made her see how even a small wardrobe is enough to last you years because he never seemed to buy himself something unless his existing clothes were too worn and that was rare because he took extremely good care of his belongings, good enough to still be able to use the same sunglasses he wore during his college days. She is a wonderful cook but rarely cooks her native dishes because she’s a picky eater who thrives on pasta and Chinese and the fish curries her mother makes are still the best things that graced her mouth. She is a mosaic of information and experience. She is everything and nothing, all at once. She is human, and perfection is her flaw. She is art.