In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus showed His disciples that the period leading up to the Great Tribulation (the beginning of birth pangs) would be marked by spiritual confusion and a proliferation of disasters:

“In reply, Jesus said to them, ‘See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ!” and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for all these things must take place. But the end is not yet. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines and plagues. But all these things are only the beginning of birth pains. Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and put to death; you will be hated by all nations because of My Name. Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many. And because lawlessness will increase, the love of most will grow cold. But whoever endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:4–13).

The Lord Jesus said that the time before His coming would be marked by wars and rumors of wars, false prophets, natural disasters, famines, and plagues, and that His true disciples would be persecuted.

That is why we consider it necessary to examine each event individually and see whether the times we are living in are truly those described by the Lord Jesus as the beginning of birth pangs.

1. Wars and Rumors of Wars

The Lord Jesus informs us that when we hear of wars and rumors of wars, these events are not yet the end, but merely prepare the way for the end. He goes on to say that the increase in wars marks “the beginning of birth pains.” The expression used for birth pains refers to the labor pains a woman experiences—an image frequently used in prophetic scriptures. When a woman goes into labor, she experiences a series of contractions. Once they begin, the labor pains will continue and become more intense as the moment of the child’s birth approaches. The same will happen when these events begin: they will continue in one form or another and will lead to a final period of tribulation before the end of this age and the second coming of the Lord Jesus.

Over the past century, we have seen this process unfold before our very eyes. During World War I, from 1914 to 1918, approximately 9 million people died on the battlefield. This war gave rise to the Russian Revolution, which brought communism to power in the Soviet Union—an event that would have a tremendous influence on the events of the entire past century. Based on atheistic teachings, communism became a major source of persecution against Christians in the Soviet Union and China, fulfilling Jesus’ words about the last days.

The peace terms imposed on Germany after the war made the Germans feel humiliated and contributed to the financial crisis of 1929, when chronic inflation and unemployment plunged people into poverty. This created the conditions that brought Hitler to power in Germany in 1933 and laid the groundwork for World War II, from 1939 to 1945. Hitler was a leader influenced by demonic powers, having been initiated into the mysteries of the demonic world, which, when put into practice, led to the atrocities of the Nazi regime in Europe.

Hitler’s hatred of Jews led to the Holocaust and the murder of 6 million Jews. Less well known is Hitler’s and the Nazis’ hatred of true Christianity and their intention to replace Christianity with a new form of paganism had they won the war. Hitler plunged humanity into the most devastating war to date, with approximately 55 million people killed directly as a result of this war. The war spread throughout Europe, to Great Britain and Russia, and when Japan entered the conflict, it drew in China, Southeast Asia, and the United States. Countries of the British Empire around the world were involved, so this conflict can truly be classified as a world war.

Moreover, Stalin’s “Red Error” was responsible for the deaths of approximately 13 million people in the Soviet Union, including during the Holodomor, when millions of Ukrainians died during the famine for which the Soviet government is held responsible.

In the wake of World War II, another form of war emerged, known as the Cold War, and Europe was divided between NATO countries aligned with the U.S. and the Warsaw Pact countries aligned with Moscow and the Soviet Union. Communism spread, taking control of China in 1948 and sparking a series of revolutions and wars in places such as Korea, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Cuba. During this time, both the East and the West built up a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons, capable of destroying the world several times over if used in war.

In the 1980s, communism in Europe began to crumble, and in 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved. This marked the end of the Cold War, but the next conflict was just around the corner. In 1991, the first Gulf War, triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, brought a U.S.-led coalition to the Middle East. Hostility toward America in the Muslim world gave rise to Al Qaeda and the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York. Responding with the “War on Terror,” the U.S.-led coalition waged wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We have thus witnessed the emergence of another anti-Christian force, as jihadist Islamists have sought to impose their religion on the world.

In 2011, the Arab Spring sparked a series of uprisings in Arab countries against their dictators. The most severe, in Syria, led to the Syrian civil war, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of refugees, but also the involvement of Russia, Iran, and Turkey in this strategically located country, situated north of Israel, and the possibility that the conflict might spread from there into Israel.

After the fall of communism in 1989 and 1991, all the countries that had been under Moscow’s control as a result of the Warsaw Pact, as well as the Baltic states, joined the EU and NATO. In 2014, Ukraine, a former part of the Soviet Union, signaled its desire to join NATO and the EU. For Russian President Putin, this was the last straw, and he has now invaded Ukraine, seeking to restore Russia’s power and reclaim the territories controlled by Moscow during the Soviet era.

The Russians have threatened a nuclear conflict, since the West is using the conflict in Ukraine as a means to bring Russia to its knees. Now, it considers the Donbas region, as well as Crimea, to be part of its territory. Putin has ordered demonstrations of his nuclear capabilities to intimidate the West. He announced his withdrawal from START, the nuclear arms reduction treaty signed between Russia and the U.S. in 2010, and signed a decree “placing the new strategic ground-based systems on combat alert.” For the first time in nearly 30 years, Russia has deployed ships equipped with tactical nuclear weapons.

China and Russia are growing ever closer, while countering the West’s “world order agenda” with their own vision for a new world order. China is preparing for war and developing all branches of its military, while gearing its economy toward a large-scale conflict. The leadership speaks openly about the need to “strengthen war preparedness” and to lay the groundwork for a “nationwide mass mobilization of young people.” Many analysts believe that China is preparing for an assault on Taiwan to bring the island under its control and to “reunify” China—a central element of Xi Jinping’s strategy to make China great again. Given the U.S. commitment to defend Taiwan, this would bring the United States and China into a state of war.

Aside from the enormous dangers of such a war, this would also trigger a massive crisis in the global economic system, as the flow of goods manufactured in China would come to an immediate halt. In addition to the technical components needed for the industrial system, this would also include pharmaceuticals manufactured in China, a major supplier to the U.S. and Europe. Once Taiwan were attacked, the factories located there would no longer be able to supply semiconductors, which would affect industry worldwide.

North Korea has conducted a series of ballistic missile tests off its east coast, some of which landed in Japanese territorial waters. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, referred to the Pacific as a “firing range.” This prompted the United States to conduct joint military exercises with South Korea and Japan and to condemn the missile launches as a “serious provocation” that must cease immediately. Kim responded by threatening war if anyone attempts to halt their missile program. Last year, North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking anywhere in the United States.

Iran has enriched uranium to 84%, just 6% short of the enrichment level required to produce nuclear bombs, which could take another year to manufacture, which is considered an existential threat from a hostile nation that has made no secret of its intention to destroy Israel. Iran has warned of severe consequences, including the destruction of Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Dimona, should Israel attack. It has armed its allies, Hezbollah in Lebanon, with missiles ready to strike Israel. It also warns of an attack on Jews in the diaspora.

2. False Prophets

Jesus warned us that in the last days false Christs and false prophets would appear: “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)

Such false prophets have appeared with increasing frequency in these last days. From “Muslim prophets” with their messages encouraging the rejection of the biblical version of the New Testament in favor of the Islamic religion, to Christian churches that reject the Lord Jesus’ clear commands regarding ecumenism and homosexuality, and even to Orthodox priests who justify war in the name of the Lord Jesus—true believers are today besieged by a flood of false prophecies.

The goal of “Muslim prophets” is to create the illusion that Isa—as described in the Quran—is the same as the Lord Jesus of the Bible, claiming that the Quran offers a more authentic portrayal of the Lord Jesus. However, the so-called Islamic Jesus undermines the core Christian faith and supports Muslim claims that Muhammad is the last and greatest prophet. Islam does not respect the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible, nor the Christian faith, nor His followers; it is opposed to all three. The Quran specifically denies the Lord’s crucifixion, death, and resurrection, replacing them with a story that claims the Lord Jesus was too holy to be put on the cross and was therefore taken directly to heaven. This teaching contradicts the essential message of the Gospel that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again on the third day.  According to Islamic teaching, Isa (the Islamic Jesus) will return at the end of days, “destroy the cross,” and abolish all religions except Islam.

The confusion Satan has sown within the church is not limited to the manipulation of Muslims; it even deceives “Christian pastors” who today assert—in a manner completely contrary to the Bible—that the Church should consider Muhammad a prophet, that the New Testament allows for prophets to come after Jesus, and therefore Muhammad should be recognized as a prophet by Christians. In reality, the New Testament is the Word inspired by God, and anyone who adds anything to it is cursed by God (Revelation 22:18–19). Since the Quran asserts that the Lord Jesus did not die on the cross and is not the Son of God, the Quran falls into the category of teachings that qualify as “antichrist” (1 John 2:22-23).  The ecumenism of these people who seek to unite Christianity and Islam into a false religion known as “Crislam” is in clear contradiction to the Bible.

Furthermore, in many evangelical churches, homosexuality and same-sex unions are permitted, even though the Bible is clear on this matter and unequivocally states that the only permissible context for sexual intimacy is the relationship between a man and a woman united in marriage, with all other forms of sexual intimacy—including homosexual activity—being condemned as immoral. The Apostle Paul says, “Let us not be deceived” regarding the gravity of such immorality and warns us that those who do not repent of it will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9–10). And one of the behaviors he specifically names is homosexual activity. Elsewhere, the New Testament specifically warns against false teachers who promote sexual immorality in the church (2 Peter 2:1–3, Jude 3–4, Revelation 2:19–24) and instructs us not to listen to or pay attention to their words.

But the work of deception does not stop there. Jesus is even portrayed as a recruiter in Russia’s war. What blasphemy! Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Jesus organized His disciples into an army and sent them to fight over historically disputed territories. On the contrary, the Lord Jesus clearly showed that He does not want to get involved in people’s disputes over possessions: “Who made Me a judge or divider over you?” (Luke 12:13). Putin, inspired by an unclean spirit, declares that he wants to protect Russia from the West’s “woke” values, especially from the propaganda of homosexuality, which he described as an attempt to “destroy our traditional values and impose their false values on us, which lead to degradation and degeneration and are contrary to nature.” 

The irony is that, after 70 years of communist atheism that fought against the church, Putin wants to promote Russia as the torchbearer of Christian civilization following the West’s descent into materialism, secularism, and lawless individualism. What hypocrisy! He is supported by Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in this endeavor, which upholds an anti-LGBT stance and the war in Ukraine—a conflict he claims is being fought for “God and Mother Russia”— and asserts that soldiers who die in war are making a sacrifice in the line of military duty and that through this they are cleansed of all sins. 

God will judge all those who have misinterpreted Scripture. However, as for us, the Lord Jesus teaches us to reject all these false prophets who deny the truth of the Gospel and to hold fast to sound doctrine in the Lord Jesus Christ as it is set forth in the Bible, the only one that will produce the good fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives and save us from the coming wrath. 

3. Natural Disasters

Today we are witnessing an increasing number of natural disasters, from earthquakes to hurricanes.The Bible often shows us that God intervenes in nature through His judgments to warn people, but more often than not—just as happened in ancient times—people misinterpret His signs. And today, people behave the same way; they are unwilling to listen to God’s voice calling them to repentance and, as a result, develop various so-called scientific theories, such as the theory of global warming.

However, as even some scientists acknowledge, not all natural processes are influenced by humans; most of the phenomena occurring on Earth can be explained by changes taking place in the solar system and in the oceans, such as increased seismic and volcanic activity. Thus, the rise in ocean temperatures is attributed to massive fields of hydrothermal vents discovered on the deep ocean floor that release material “hot enough to melt lead.” In fact, the intensification of volcanic activity, which releases large quantities of ash into the atmosphere, ultimately leads to global cooling, not warming.

4. Famine and Economic Crisis

The global food supply continues to become increasingly problematic, and global hunger has reached alarming levels. Last year, nearly a quarter of the world’s population did not have enough to eat. Food prices are rising worldwide, with harvests affected by natural disasters and unusual weather patterns. The war has halted grain exports from Ukraine and Russia, while India has banned rice exports due to domestic shortages.

But even the economies of the major powers are facing economic collapse. For example, U.S. government debt now stands at $33 trillion. Interest rates and unemployment are on the rise. Housing prices and rents are rising, creating social conditions conducive to crime, drug addiction, and delinquency. On the other hand, Russia and China are working on an alternative world order through the BRICS alliance. If they succeed in eliminating the petrodollar, it could trigger the collapse of the dollar and the U.S. economy—including that of Europe. Thus, famine in Europe cannot be ruled out.

As a result of the war, Russia is facing bankruptcy, and China is grappling with a growing economic crisis. There is even a danger of escalating conflicts in the Middle East, as well as a possible conflict between the U.S. and a potential China-Russia alliance, which could lead to famine in many countries around the world or even across entire continents.

5. Plagues

Jesus warned that epidemics would also precede His return. We have already experienced something similar with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. That is why we should be alarmed by the fact that various organizations continue to develop dangerous pathogens in biological laboratories, with the possibility that these could get out of control or be released, triggering new pandemics. Even experiments to develop vaccines to counter potential health risks and mass deaths are not without danger. All these signs foreshadow the beginning of the tribulation.

6. The Persecution of Believers

But the most obvious sign of the Great Tribulation and the coming of the Lord Jesus is the persecution of Christians. Christianity is already the most persecuted religion in the world, and the most aggressive attacks on Christians occur in Muslim-majority countries and in communist countries, such as China and North Korea.

According to Open Doors, a Christian organization that monitors the persecution of Christians globally, approximately 360 million Christians live in countries where persecution is “significant,” where they are attacked, kidnapped, or imprisoned for their faith, and where churches and places of worship are demolished.

Moreover, the anti-Christian movement is gaining momentum in so-called “Christian” nations in the Western world, where true Christians are accused of hate crimes and there has been a sharp increase in violent incidents and social hostility toward Christians, including acts of vandalism and arson targeting churches. Church buildings are being attacked throughout Western Europe, including in countries such as Austria, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and France. 

Several European countries are violating Christians’ religious freedom through so-called “hate speech” legislation, under which Christians can be prosecuted for the free expression of their Christian faith in public.  Alarming violations of Christians’ right to freedom of expression have included the criminalization of Christians for preaching or praying outdoors.

Furthermore, the rights of Christian parents to educate their children have been undermined by legislation that criminalizes parents for expressing views that differ from the prevailing views on gay or transgender rights, or for discouraging their children from undergoing sex-change treatment through “hormone therapies” for gender dysphoria.

One of the main sources of anti-Christian aggression is radicalized members of extreme political groups, with the majority of cases originating from far-left political groups, radical feminist groups, or LGBTIQ groups, as well as from radical individuals within far-right groups, satanic groups, and radical Islamist groups.

The ultimate goal of radical Islamist groups is the “planned conquest of the world” in the spirit of jihad, advocating the massacre of millions of people. In fact, verses from the Quran clearly state that Muslims must “fight against the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) who do not believe in Allah or the Last Day, nor do they forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth.”

It is clear that our world is heading toward an extremely tense and dangerous period, which was prophesied in the Bible in connection with the approach of the Great Tribulation that will precede the second coming of the Lord Jesus.

Everything happening around us reminds us that the Lord’s coming is near and shows us the urgency of making a decision—to be reconciled with Him so that we may be ready for His coming. At the same time, we remember the words of the Lord Jesus, who said, “When you see all these things, know that the Son of Man is near, right at the door.” (Matthew 24:33)

Before the Lord Jesus returns to earth, all believers—that is, those born again of His Spirit—will be supernaturally taken from the world in the event known as the “rapture” to be with Him forever: “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. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18).

The believers who are caught up will receive new bodies of glory that will never get sick, never grow weary, and will never die (1 Corinthians 15). They will accompany the Lord Jesus when He comes to earth and will reign in righteousness on earth for 1,000 years.  (Revelation 19–20). Finally, God will create a new heaven and a new earth for all believers, where righteousness will reign forever. (Revelation 21).

If we want to enter the kingdom of God, we must repent of our sins and believe the Gospel—that is, the good news that the Lord Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead to bring eternal life to all believers.

When He comes again, He will come to judge the world with justice, according to how we have responded to His call to repentance and faith in God. Therefore, let us examine our own hearts today to see if we have truly received Jesus as Savior and Lord, lest we find that we have come too late and be told: “I never knew you; depart from Me, all you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).