Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives when His disciples came to Him privately with two questions.
When will the Temple be destroyed?
And what will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?
Jesus answered both.
And what He described over the next several chapters of Scripture is the most detailed prophetic roadmap ever given by anyone in human history.
Written down.
Confirmed by multiple gospel writers.
Echoed by the Old Testament prophets who came before Him.
And unfolding in real time right now.
Jesus Said It Would Be the Worst Time in Human History
Before we get to the signs, we need to understand the destination they are pointing toward.
Jesus described something no human being has ever experienced and nothing in history can compare to.
“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” Matthew 24:21-22 (NIV)
Not equaled from the beginning of the world. Never to be equaled again.
The Holocaust killed six million people. World War II killed over seventy million. The Black Death wiped out a third of Europe.
Jesus said what is coming will make all of that look small by comparison.
And He said it not to terrify His people but to prepare them.
Because He also told them exactly what to watch for before it arrives.
Sign 1: False Christs and Mass Deception
The very first sign Jesus gave was not a war or an earthquake.
It was a warning about being deceived.
“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.” Matthew 24:4-5 (NIV)
Mark records the same warning:
“Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.” Mark 13:5-6 (NIV)
Luke confirms it:
“He replied: ‘Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.’” Luke 21:8 (NIV)
Scholars have identified approximately 86 historical figures who have claimed to be the Messiah. That number only accounts for those documented.
And Jesus said it would get worse near the end.
“For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24 (NIV)
People performing signs and wonders convincing enough to fool even genuine believers.
That level of supernatural deception is not possible through human means alone.
Something more is at work. And Jesus warned us about it two thousand years before social media made deception globally scalable.
Sign 2: Wars and Rumors of Wars
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Matthew 24:6-7 (NIV)
Mark echoes it:
“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Mark 13:7-8 (NIV)
Luke adds:
“When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” Luke 21:9 (NIV)
Jesus was describing a pattern of global instability that would increase over time like birth pains, each wave more intense and more frequent than the last.
The 20th century alone produced two world wars, the Korean War, Vietnam, and dozens of regional conflicts.
The 21st century has not slowed down.
And the specific alignment of nations we are watching form right now, Russia partnering with Iran, Turkey, Libya, and Sudan against Israel, is described in Ezekiel 38 as the coalition that triggers the war leading into the Tribulation.
We will come back to that.
Sign 3: Earthquakes, Famines, and Pestilences
“There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” Matthew 24:7-8 (NIV)
Mark records the same:
“There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.” Mark 13:8 (NIV)
Luke expands it:
“There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.” Luke 21:11 (NIV)
Birth pains.
That phrase is critical to understanding the timing.
Birth pains do not start all at once. They begin slowly, infrequently, and far apart. As the birth approaches they become more frequent, more intense, and closer together.
Every generation has experienced earthquakes and famines.
But the frequency and intensity of seismic activity has been measurably increasing. Global food insecurity is at levels not seen in decades. And the world just lived through a global pandemic that fits Luke’s description of pestilences in ways that would have seemed impossible twenty years ago.
Jesus said these are the beginning. Not the end. The beginning.
Sign 4: Persecution of Believers
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” Matthew 24:9 (NIV)
This is not a future sign. This is already happening.
Open Doors, an organization that monitors Christian persecution globally, reports that over 360 million Christians currently live in places where they face high levels of persecution.
More Christians were martyred in the 20th century than in all previous centuries combined.
That number continues to rise.
Jesus said His followers would be hated by all nations because of His name.
This is a documented global reality right now.
Sign 5: The Love of Many Growing Cold
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12-13 (NIV)
Paul described the same moral deterioration in 2 Timothy 3:1-5:
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” 2 Timothy 3:1-4 (NIV)
Read that list and then look at a news feed.
Not one item on that list requires imagination to recognize in the world we are living in right now.
Sign 6: The Gospel Preached to All Nations
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 (NIV)
This is one of the most remarkable signs because it is almost completely fulfilled.
Wycliffe Bible Translators reports that the Bible has been translated into over 3,600 languages. Satellite television, the internet, and social media have carried the gospel to places no missionary could physically reach.
Jesus said this would happen before the end comes.
We are living in the generation where it is being completed.
Sign 7: The Abomination of Desolation
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel, let the reader understand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Matthew 24:15-16 (NIV)
Jesus pointed His disciples directly back to Daniel.
He was referencing Daniel 9:27 and Daniel 12:11, which describe a ruler who sets up a desecration in the Temple and stops the daily sacrifices.
This has not yet happened in its final fulfillment.
It requires a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem.
And the conversation about rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem is happening right now among Jewish leaders and organizations in Israel.
Sign 8: Signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars
“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” Luke 21:25-26 (NIV)
Mark adds:
“The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” Mark 13:24-25 (NIV)
Nations in anguish and perplexity. People fainting from terror. The sea roaring in ways that confuse and overwhelm.
This is a description of cosmic and atmospheric events that have no natural explanation and that will cause widespread panic on a global scale.
What the Old Testament Prophets Said
Jesus did not invent these signs.
He was confirming what the prophets had been saying for centuries.
Daniel
Daniel 12:1 describes the exact same period Jesus called the worst time in history:
“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.” Daniel 12:1 (NIV)
Daniel 4 described a sealed book that would be opened at the time of the end.
“But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” Daniel 12:4 (NIV)
Many will go here and there and knowledge will increase.
The internet alone has increased available human knowledge by a scale that would have been incomprehensible to every generation before ours.
Ezekiel
Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe a massive military coalition coming against Israel in the last days led by a nation from the far north.
“I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.” Ezekiel 38:22 (NIV)
The coalition Ezekiel named includes Rosh, widely identified as Russia, along with Persia which is modern Iran, Cush which includes Sudan and Ethiopia, Put which is Libya, Gomer and Togarmah which are identified as Turkey and regions of Central Asia.
Russia. Iran. Turkey. Libya. Sudan.
These exact nations are formally aligned against Israel right now for the first time in history.
Ezekiel wrote this 2,600 years ago.
Isaiah
Isaiah 2:19 describes what people will do when the LORD rises to shake the earth:
“People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth mightily.” Isaiah 2:19 (NIV)
People hiding in the ground from something so terrifying it drives them underground.
Revelation 6:15-16 describes the same moment when kings and generals and the rich and powerful all hide in caves and among rocks and call on the mountains to fall on them.
Zechariah
Zechariah 12:3 describes Jerusalem becoming a heavy stone for all the nations:
“On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to lift it will injure themselves.” Zechariah 12:3 (NIV)
Every nation gathered against Jerusalem.
Look at the United Nations voting record on Israel over the last decade. No other nation on earth receives the volume of condemnation directed at Israel.
Zechariah wrote this 2,500 years ago.
What Revelation Says
John was given a vision of what the end will actually look like when the seals begin to open.
The first four seals release the four horsemen: conquest, war, famine, and death given power over a quarter of the earth. Revelation 6:1-8.
The fifth seal reveals the souls of martyred believers crying out for justice. Revelation 6:9-11.
The sixth seal brings a great earthquake, the sun turning black, the moon turning blood red, and stars falling from the sky.
“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth.” Revelation 6:12-13 (NIV)
And then kings and generals and every person on earth hides in caves and calls on mountains to fall on them rather than face what is coming.
The seven trumpets and seven bowls that follow describe increasingly severe judgments including a third of the earth burning, water turning to blood, the sun scorching people with intense heat, total darkness, and hundred pound hailstones falling on the earth.
All of it pointing toward one moment.
The return of Jesus to the Mount of Olives. The mountain splitting in two. The King of Kings arriving to reign from Zion.
Why These Signs Matter Right Now
Jesus described these signs as birth pains.
Birth pains that start slowly and become more frequent and more intense as the birth approaches.
Look at what is happening in real time.
Wars and rumors of wars accelerating. Nation rising against nation. Earthquakes increasing in frequency. Famines and food insecurity at record levels. Pestilences sweeping the globe. Persecution of believers rising worldwide. The gospel reaching every nation through technology that did not exist a generation ago. The exact coalition of nations Ezekiel described formally aligned against Israel for the first time in history.
Jesus said when you see these things begin to take place, look up.
“When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:28 (NIV)
If you’re wondering whether Jesus really was who He claimed to be, that’s the question this entire website explores.
Start at the beginning with, Did Jesus Lie?
More Questions About Jesus
Did Jesus tell the truth about Isaiah 61?
Yes. When Jesus read Isaiah 61 in the synagogue, He declared that the prophecy was being fulfilled in Him. He fulfilled the first part of Isaiah’s prophecy at His first coming, while the remaining promises point to His future return and reign. Learn more in Did Jesus Tell the Truth About Isaiah 61?
Did Jesus say the Tribulation would be the worst time in history?
Yes. Jesus warned that a future period of suffering would be unlike anything the world has ever experienced or ever will again. He gave this prophecy to prepare His followers and assure them that His return would bring that time to an end. Read more in Did Jesus Say the Tribulation Would Be the Worst Time in History?
Why did Jesus give signs of the end times?
Jesus did not give these signs to create fear or encourage speculation. He gave them so His followers would recognize the season of His return, remain faithful, and avoid being deceived.
What was the first sign Jesus gave?
The very first warning Jesus gave was about deception. Before mentioning wars, earthquakes, or famines, He warned that false messiahs and false prophets would arise and deceive many people.
Did Jesus say anyone knows the day or hour of His return?
No. Jesus taught that no one knows the exact day or hour of His return. Instead of setting dates, believers are called to stay watchful, faithful, and ready at all times.
Are Christians supposed to watch for the signs of the end?
Yes. Jesus repeatedly told His followers to watch, stay alert, and recognize the signs He described. While no one can predict the exact timing of His return, believers are encouraged to live with expectation and confidence in His promises.
Why does this website ask, “Did Jesus Lie?”
Every article on this website examines a different claim, prophecy, promise, or prediction made by Jesus. Together they answer one central question: Was Jesus telling the truth? If you’re beginning your journey, start with Did Jesus Lie? to see how the evidence fits together.
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