The Bible On The Signs Of The End Times Also Known As The Last Days

[Holly3278]

Hey everyone. I wanted to create this thread which will talk about references in the Bible to the end times or the last days. I was hoping that we could discuss these Bible references and compare what it describes to the time we are living in now. Here are the references to get us started:

And Jesus being come out of the temple, went away. And his disciples came to shew him the buildings of the temple. And he answering, said to them: Do you see all these things? Amen I say to you, there shall not be left here a stone upon a stone that shall not be destroyed. And when he was sitting on mount Olivet, the disciples came to him privately, saying: Tell us when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the consummation of the world? And Jesus answering, said to them: Take heed that no man seduce you. For many will come in my name saying, I am Christ. And they will seduce many. And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that ye be not troubled. For 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 pestilences and famines and earthquakes in places. Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be scandalized and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall seduce many. And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations: and then shall the consummation come. When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand. Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains: And he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house: And he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat. And woe to them that are with child and that give suck in those days. But pray that your flight be not in the winter or on the sabbath. For there shall be then great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be. And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved: but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say to you, Lo here is Christ, or there: do not believe him. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. Behold I have told it to you, beforehand. If therefore they shall say to you, Behold he is in the desert: go ye not out. Behold he is in the closets: believe it not. For as lightning cometh out of the east and appeareth even into the west: so shall also the cowling of the Son of man be. Wheresoever the body shall be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together. And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be moved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. And then shall all tribes of the earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty. And he shall send his angels with a trumpet and a great voice: and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them. And from the fig tree learn a parable: When the branch thereof is now tender and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even at the doors. Amen I say to you that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass: but my words shall not pass. But of that day and hour no one knoweth: no, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone. And as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For, as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark: And they knew not till the flood came and took them all away: so also shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then two shall be in the field. One shall be taken and one shall be left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill. One shall be taken and one shall be left. Watch ye therefore, because you know not what hour your Lord will come. But this know ye, that, if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch and would not suffer his house to be broken open. Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come. Who, thinkest thou, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath appointed over his family, to give them meat in season? Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come he shall find so doing. Amen I say to you: he shall place him over all his goods. But if that evil servant shall say in his heart: My lord is long a coming: And shall begin to strike his fellow servants and shall eat and drink with drunkards: The lord of that servant shall come in a day that he hopeth not and at an hour that he knoweth not: And shall separate him and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(Matthew 24:1-51 DRB)

 

[Holly3278]

Now of the fig tree learn ye a parable. When the branch thereof is now tender and the leaves are come forth, you know that summer is very near. So you also when you shall see these things come to pass, know ye that it is very nigh, even at the doors. Amen, I say to you that this generation shall not pass until all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away. But of that day or hour no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray. For ye know not when the time is. Even as a man who, going into a far country, left his house and gave authority to his servants over every work and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore (for you know not when the lord of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning): Lest coming on a sudden, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch.
(Mark 13:28-37 DRB)

Now the Spirit manifestly saith that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils, Speaking lies in hypocrisy and having their conscience seared, Forbidding to marry, to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful and by them that have known the truth.
(1 Timothy 4:1-3 DRB)

I could only find these three references. So do you think that what the Bible is describing here would be accurate to what we are experiencing in the 21st century? I think that at least some of it is indeed accurate.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

You should read this brief article on “Are we living in the Last Days?” The article references the 10 or so times the term “Last Days” appears in the Bible. What many think are the “Last Days” is not at all what the Bible means by it.

 

[centurionguard]

Now of the fig tree learn ye a parable. When the branch thereof is now tender and the leaves are come forth, you know that summer is very near. So you also when you shall see these things come to pass, know ye that it is very nigh, even at the doors. Amen, I say to you that this generation shall not pass until all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away. But of that day or hour no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray. For ye know not when the time is. Even as a man who, going into a far country, left his house and gave authority to his servants over every work and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore (for you know not when the lord of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning): Lest coming on a sudden, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch.
(Mark 13:28-37 DRB)

Now the Spirit manifestly saith that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils, Speaking lies in hypocrisy and having their conscience seared, Forbidding to marry, to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful and by them that have known the truth.
(1 Timothy 4:1-3 DRB)

I could only find these three references. So do you think that what the Bible is describing here would be accurate to what we are experiencing in the 21st century? I think that at least some of it is indeed accurate.

Hello Holly;
Haydock’s Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859 edition gives an interesting explanation in verses Mark 13: 20-33. I get to thinking that not unlike the days of Noah before the Great Flood, only a select few devout people in God’s favor will know the nearness of God’s Second Coming or Parousia.

I strongly feel that there’s a “Crisis of Faith” in today’s Catholic Church. Except references that Jesus made in scripture I am neither sure or confirmed with anything about all the human conjecture surrounding

End Times

All I can say is that something is not morally right in the world today on a huge scale. Jesus did say that in the End Times the Signs of Nature both on the Earth and Celestial would be upheld in disturbance as never before seen when mankind, (Adam & Eve) first made their appearance upon the world. I try not to let all this concern me. My Focus needs to be centered on God and His Commandments and mortifying (self-denial) of all things attached to the immense weaknesses of the human flesh and its five senses in merciful love of God my Creator in Jesus Christ.

In Christ’s Peace
Chris

 

[Holly3278]

You should read this brief article on “Are we living in the Last Days?” The article references the 10 or so times the term “Last Days” appears in the Bible. What many think are the “Last Days” is not at all what the Bible means by it.

Thanks for the article. I’ll check it out.

Hello Holly;
Haydock’s Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859 edition gives an interesting explanation in verses Mark 13: 20-33. I get to thinking that not unlike the days of Noah before the Great Flood, only a select few devout people in God’s favor will know the nearness of God’s Second Coming or Parousia.

I strongly feel that there’s a “Crisis of Faith” in today’s Catholic Church. Except references that Jesus made in scripture I am neither sure or confirmed with anything about all the human conjecture surrounding All I can say is that something is not morally right in the world today on a huge scale. Jesus did say that in the End Times the Signs of Nature both on the Earth and Celestial would be upheld in disturbance as never before seen when mankind, (Adam & Eve) first made their appearance upon the world. I try not to let all this concern me. My Focus needs to be centered on God and His Commandments and mortifying (self-denial) of all things attached to the immense weaknesses of the human flesh and its five senses in merciful love of God my Creator in Jesus Christ.

In Christ’s Peace
Chris

I totally agree with you Chris that the Church is facing a major “crisis of faith”. I also totally agree with you that something is not morally right in this world today on a huge scale. I mean it seems like every time you turn around someone is either murdering someone, caught in a financial scandal, stealing, etc etc etc. And besides that, there is also abortion which should be called unborn child murder and then there is also gay “marriage” and gay adoption. I honestly believe that at this point in time, Satan has a strong hold on our world. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we are living in the end times so to speak.

I do remember hearing something about Blessed Pope John Paul II saying something about a new springtime in the Church was coming. I am not sure where I heard that and I couldn’t provide you with the exact quote but I do recall hearing that somewhere. Its possible that he never even spoke it.

Finally, I am so glad that the Church is starting on this New Evangelization thing. We definitely need to evangelize the world. If we can do that, then hopefully we can get people to turn around and embrace true morality once again.

 

[InJesusItrust]

I would like to say that this is a minor apostasy we are witnessing, but the ones who are highly educated in the world and the media are passing off good for evil and evil for good. If religions teach one to abstain from certain actions they want to control you, religion is the root of all evil, religion will prevent us from creating a utopia. Only pluralist stances and stances that empower individuals are accepted as moral.

No one understands anymore. People are starting to think “mercy killing” is merciful–that the value of life comes from pleasure and the avoidance of suffering. If you argue that the unborn is actually human because it is living, has human genes, and will not grow up to be anything else but a child they don’t understand. They talk of the legal definition of person-hood without understanding that they are advocating for the murder of innocent humans to have some twisted approval of “woman’s rights”! We also think of morality in only terms of utilitarianism and consequentialism. Most basically subscribe to “if it harm no one do what thou willt.”

Truly our consciences are becoming seared and we can no longer discern good from evil. Instead of charity we are growing in sentimentalism.

 

[Holly3278]

I would like to say that this is a minor apostasy we are witnessing, but the ones who are highly educated in the world and the media are passing off good for evil and evil for good. If religions teach one to abstain from certain actions they want to control you, religion is the root of all evil, religion will prevent us from creating a utopia. Only pluralist stances and stances that empower individuals are accepted as moral.

No one understands anymore. People are starting to think “mercy killing” is merciful–that the value of life comes from pleasure and the avoidance of suffering. If you argue that the unborn is actually human because it is living, has human genes, and will not grow up to be anything else but a child they don’t understand. They talk of the legal definition of person-hood without understanding that they are advocating for the murder of innocent humans to have some twisted approval of “woman’s rights”! We also think of morality in only terms of utilitarianism and consequentialism. Most basically subscribe to “if it harm no one do what thou willt.”

Truly our consciences are becoming seared and we can no longer discern good from evil. Instead of charity we are growing in sentimentalism.

You are right. Colleges as well as many “intellectuals” claim that religion is a hindrance to us having a “utopia” in the future. Well, I can say this, we are definitely never going to have a utopia because life will never be perfect here on earth. There is always going to be sickness and war and stuff and this is because of sin. If Adam and Eve had not committed the original sin, we would probably be living in a Utopia. The Garden of Eden in the Bible sounds like it was a Utopia to me.

You are also right that so many colleges, intellectuals, and others teach evil as being good and good as evil. Here is what the Bible says about that:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
(Isaiah 5:20 RSV-CE)

Also, I agree with you on people having a wrong view of morality. There are a lot of people out there who honestly think that “mercy killing” which is actually murder is a good thing. Many also truly believe that abortion is a good thing. They are wrong no matter how sincere they are in their beliefs. There is only one truth and that truth is found in Catholicism in its fullness. It can be found in other religions to varying degrees but all other religions have less of the truth than Catholicism does. We definitely need to work hard at this New Evangelization so that we can bring people to the Gospel and show them the Truth of God.

I also agree with you that our consciences are being seared. I honestly think that television and other mass media communications have a lot to do with this. I really do believe that if popular television shows portray practicing homosexuals in a positive manner or if they portray a woman getting an abortion in a positive manner and they keep doing this over and over and over then eventually people will come to believe that there is nothing wrong with those things, especially if they don’t already have a firm grounding in true morality.

I think I read once about how the mass media started including practicing homosexuals in their shows and they were portrayed in a positive manner. Their lifestyle was endorsed. Well, apparently this has been going on for several years and people just became desensitized to it eventually and then some people probably started questioning whether or not the homosexual lifestyle is good or bad and because they were portrayed so positively in the mass media, they came to the conclusion that they are good. Now, don’t get me wrong, there were surely other factors that came into play as to how society went from seeing the practicing homosexual lifestyle as taboo to one that is embraced and accepted but I do believe the mass media played a big part in it.