Before you read: This article is part of a larger series that builds upon itself from the foundation up, with each study building on the last. If something in this article does not make sense to you or if you believe it to be incorrect, please ensure you have read the entire series before passing final judgment. Also, be sure to visit this page’s FAQ And Objections Page
At this point in our studies, you are most likely asking, “How are the first four seals different than any other part of history?” War, famine, pestilence, and death have been part of life from the very beginning. So what is God doing?
2 Peter 3:4
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
Yes, war, famine, pestilence, and death have been around from the beginning. There has always been a world empire trying to form. There has always been lawlessness. There have always been signs and wonders in the sky.
History doesn’t repeat itself for no reason. The repetition is intentional.
God has revealed judgment in measured cycles throughout history. He allows consequences to unfold as warnings—not because He is unable to act, but because He is merciful and purposeful. Even the flood of Noah followed centuries of warning.
History repeating itself is not evidence that God will not fulfill His word. It is evidence that He is merciful, patient, and actively warning us of what is coming.
1 Corinthians 10:11
11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
History does not merely move forward—it echoes. Each echo grows louder, more urgent, and harder to ignore. Each past judgment from God follows the same pattern.
- God lets people continue in sin.
- God warns them of judgment.
- God grants time to repent.
- God unleashes His judgment.
Today the world has been living as if God doesn’t exist. Up has become down, and down has become up. What God calls evil, the world calls good, and what He calls good, they call evil. Yet He has allowed people to continue without total destruction.
The entire world has been warned of judgment to come. The gospel has been preached in every corner of the world. That gospel includes not just the good news, but also the alternative.
Still, He has not cast judgment down on the world yet. Instead, He is granting us time to repent. And the closer to His judgment, the louder the alarm sounds to be saved. More wars, more famine, more earthquakes—more of everything.
Nothing in the pattern is new. And we stand in the day of being called to repentance before the final judgment is poured out on this world.
The Warning Before the End (Matthew 24)
When the disciples asked Jesus what signs would mark His return and the end of the age, He did not describe something entirely new. Instead, He warned them not to be deceived. This is exactly what we need to hear today.
When the world is in chaos, deception thrives. Rumors abound, and misinformation is spread everywhere. That is the kind of environment Satan is able to easily work in for any purpose—even to present a false messiah to the world.
Matthew 24:3-5
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Throughout history, people have proclaimed a Jesus that suits their desires over the Jesus we see in the Bible. Today, you can quote Scriptures telling people what Jesus said and did, yet they will deny Jesus would be like that. Their version of Him is different than the Bible’s version. They are presenting a false Christ, and they have deceived many.
Matthew 24:6-8
6 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. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
This should guard us against both fear and sensationalism. Not every war is the war. Not every famine or plague is the sign. These patterns are meant to warn us. Sin has consequences. All things continue as they were until judgment. It is the judgment we should be afraid of, not the warning.
Matthew 24:9-13
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
The fifth seal will begin a new time of persecution. We will cover it soon. But persecution, betrayal, false prophets, and lawlessness have also always appeared across the centuries. The love of many has grown cold before—and it will continue. Yet Jesus does not present these as the final marker either.
Instead, He gives one clear turning point.
Matthew 24:14-21
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Once the gospel has gone into all the world and everyone has been warned, God will let the end begin. Today, there is not a nation on earth that has not had the gospel preached in it. The message of Christ has reached the ends of the earth.
We stand in the final watch, waiting for the next sign—the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel. But there are still some things that must take place before that can happen. Before the abomination can be revealed, the one who commits it must rise. Scripture does not introduce the Antichrist suddenly—it traces his rise to power.
In our next study, we will begin to uncover who this man of sin is, and how we can recognize him when he comes.
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