Episode 56 continues the observation of present world conditions in an effort to determine how close we are to the events of the end times.

 

—
Transcript
—

 

The Future of the Teachings of Jesus
37. The Time of the End–Part 4 (Ep. 56)
How Close Are We to the End Times (continued)?
August 2025

How close are we to the events of the end times? How close are we to the events of the end times? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is not clearly revealed in prophecy. However, we may gain insight into this question by asking if present conditions point to the end times. The last podcast discussed two conditions that appear to make the end times more likely. These are first, the materialism of modern times, and second, the international unsettledness of today’s world. This podcast discusses several other negative conditions that also point to a problematic future. These include the unceasing changes of modern times and the resulting transition difficulties, spiritual stagnation, secularism, and totalitarianism.

The world is undergoing continuous change. We live in a time of continuous change. The popular song, “The times they are a changing,” well expresses the times in which we live. The prophet Daniel provided a striking picture of modern times when prophesied that this would be a time when, “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Dan 12:4) This constant change in our world is the result of numerous mechanical inventions, beginning with the printing press and running through the inventions of the industrial age and culminating in the amazing advances of today’s computer age. The second major factor in the continuous changes of modern times is the widespread dissemination of knowledge. This began with the printing press, advanced through the telegraph, telephone, radio, and television, and reached new heights with the computer and modern smart phones.

A new order of society is coming into being. A new order of society is coming into being and it will not settle down complacently for many years, perhaps even a millennium. We live in a time of transition from one phase of civilization to another and from one level of culture to another. We must reconcile ourselves to an ongoing procession of changes, adjustments, and readjustments.

Transition difficulties. Such times of transition are both difficult and dangerous. Society is becoming more mechanical, more compact, more complex, and more critically interdependent. These new and intimate interassociations may easily become mutually retrogressive or destructive. The new social relations and economic upheavals that result from these changes fosters uncertainty, unrest, animosity, and even conflict.

The need for genuine religion in today’s world. In such times of great change, the need for the stability and guidance of personal spiritual religion is greatly magnified. These new social relations and economic upheavals can result in peace and brotherhood only by the ministry of religion. Religion must become a forceful influence for moral stability and spiritual progress in the midst of these ever-changing conditions and never-ending economic adjustments. The high mission of religion is to stabilize the ideals of mankind during these dangerous times of transition from one phase of civilization to another.

Civilization is at a standstill in spiritual development. In this world of constant change the necessity for true religion, the religion of Jesus, is paramount. In his original gospel of the kingdom Jesus introduced humanity to a new social order rooted in the concept of the brotherhood of man. Unfortunately, the world has little known this new social order because it has refused to practice the principles of Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom. His teachings provided for the continuous spiritual transformation of both individuals and society. However, our failure to practice these principles has resulted in the fact that civilization is at a standstill in spiritual development.

Spiritual stagnation and philosophic chaos. This lack of spiritual development can be most clearly seen in the loss of faith and decline of religion in West, especially in Europe. The philosopher Nietzsche characterized this phenomenon in his famous declaration that “God is dead.” In the face of unprecedented scientific achievement and mechanical development there is spiritual stagnation and philosophic chaos. This does not augur well for our future. Our lack of spiritual progress opens the way for the rise of powerful secular leaders with evil intentions.

Secularism. When we look at present conditions and wonder whether these conditions point to a negative or positive future it is important to realize that we live in a world that is dominated by secularism. For 400 years the climate of thought in both Europe and America has become progressively secularized. Even many professed Christians of Western civilization are actually secularists in their daily thought and action. Modern secularism began with a revolt against the totalitarian ecclesiastical domination of the medieval Christian church. At that time this was a positive development, but, as time passed this revolt went too far and lost sight of God and true religion. Modern secularism has now assumed a more militant attitude and seeks to take the place of the religion whose totalitarian bondage it once resisted.   

Liberties and the blighting of spiritual experience. It is true that secularism has brought us many liberties including tolerance, social service, democracy, and civil liberties. However, secularism has also brought in its wake great disaster. Most critically, this modern secularistic and anti-religious attitude of society has blighted the spiritual experience of millions of unsuspecting souls. Many have little or no experience of genuine religious living; they know only a secular way of life that recognizes only the material world and ignores or denies the validity of a transcendent world of spiritual values and ideals.

Secularism results in disintegration.  The secularization of science, education, industry, and society leads directly to disintegration and disaster. Our modern secularistic society, notwithstanding its great material achievements, is slowly disintegrating. We witness this on all levels of society from marriage and family life to communities, churches, religions, nations, and the super national grouping of the European Union. The chief cohesive force resisting this disintegration is nationalism, and nationalism is the chief barrier to world peace. Here again we find present conditions in our world that foster the rise of secular and evil authoritarian leaders and make the tyranny, suffering, and war of the end times more likely.

God is the glue that holds society together. Modern secularism tends to deny that man needs God; but this is a great deception. This godless philosophy of living leads only to unrest, animosity, unhappiness, war, and worldwide disaster. Nothing can take the place of God in human society. The belief that God is our Father, and we are all brothers and sisters, acts as a glue that holds society together. A lasting social system without a morality predicated on such spiritual realities can no more be maintained than could the solar system without gravity.

Totalitarianism and the denial of individual liberty.  Closely related to the growth of secularism is the rise of totalitarianism. The modern totalitarian state is the direct result of philosophic secularism combined with materialistic and atheistic science. Totalitarian governments flourished in the twentieth century and continue their growth in modern times. These secular and totalitarian governments exert a godless mastery over the hearts and minds of their citizens. This attempt of authoritarian governments to deny our God given liberties and replace them with an imposed control over our thought, speech, and lives is a great evil. And it is obvious that this modern tendency towards totalitarianism is fertile soil for the rise of the antichrist conqueror and the time of the end.

Conclusion. In summary, we find many modern conditions that point to a future that is ripe for the end times and the rise of the antichrist conqueror, whose appearance signals the time of the end. These conditions include materialism, international unsettledness, unceasing change, transition difficulties, spiritual stagnation, secularism, and totalitarianism. However, the recognition of such troubling conditions must be balanced by our faith in Jesus’s teachings that our universe was created by an all-good and all-loving God. The black patches of evil we see appear against a background of ultimate good; we do not observe small patches of good that show up miserably against a black background of evil. God will bring these negative world conditions and the evil rule of the antichrist to an end and replace them with a bright new spiritual future. We may be comforted by the knowledge that God has sent His Son to show us the way. And we may be assured that Jesus’s original gospel of the kingdom is destined to ultimately triumph over the problems and deceptive secular teachings of our dark and confused world.

 

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download