Dramatic Increases in Travel and Knowledge

Dramatic Increases in Travel and Knowledge

By Britt Gillette

Twenty-six hundred years ago, God provided the prophet Daniel with a number of visions concerning the future. In one of these visions, God revealed several events set to take place just prior to the Second Coming. But an angel told Daniel to seal up his vision until the end times, “when travel and knowledge will increase”(Daniel 12:4). That means one of the clearest indications of the end times (and thus, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ) is a general worldwide increase in travel and knowledge.

As we survey the world today, do we see such an increase in travel and knowledge? Absolutely. In fact, we see a dramatic and undeniable increase in travel and knowledge. It’s so dramatic, it’s best described as exponential.For thousands of years, the horse dominated land-based travel. Yet within the span of a single century, trains and cars completely replaced horses as the dominant mode of travel. And the speed and power of human travel continued to increase throughout the 20th Century and right up to our present day. Similar advances took place in both water and air travel.

The 20th Century witnessed an explosion of information via newspapers, magazines, radio, television, 24/7 cable networks, the Internet, and smart phones. Think of all the knowledge and information available on the Internet. In 1990, there was only one website. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Six years later, the Internet had over 100,000 websites. A decade later? One hundred million. As of right now, estimates say two billion websites are in existence. And that number will be out of date by the time you read this because each day sees another 500,000 websites come online. In fact, more information is added to the Internet every day than existed in the Ancient Library of Alexandria.

The world today features more than 25,000 universities. And according to University World News, over 30,000 scientific journals publish a total of two million articles each year. Think we’re witnessing a significant increase in knowledge? I think so, and the Bible says this means we’re on the cusp of seeing significant world events.

It’s clear the world we live in has transformed dramatically since the days of Daniel. Critics mock this idea. They say, “Oh, Jesus is coming back is He? Christians have been saying that for 2,000 years. Yet, the world goes on just the same as it ever has. What’s so different now?” This is the same argument Peter warned about almost 2,000 years ago (2 Peter 3:4). But it’s an absurd argument.

Do you believe the world of today is “the same as it’s always been”? I don’t. For centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus, the world was very much the same. Not one of the signs of the Second Coming Jesus and the prophets said to look for was present. But today?

It’s clear travel and knowledge have exploded. And all the signs Jesus and the prophets said to look for are present. They include, but aren’t limited to:

– The restoration of Israel (Jeremiah 23:7-8; Isaiah 11:11-12)
– The Jewish people in possession of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)
– The global spread of the Gospel (Matthew 24:14)
– Israel surrounded by enemies (Psalm 83:4-12; Ezekiel 11:14-17; Ezekiel 35:10)
– Israel fielding a great army (Ezekiel 37:10; Zechariah 12:6,8)
– The rise of a United Europe (Daniel 2; Daniel 7; Revelation 17)
– The rise of the Gog of Magog alliance (Ezekiel 38:8; Ezekiel 39:27)
– Increased calls for global government (Revelation 13:7)
– People acting the way Paul said they would act (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
– Widespread ridicule of the Second Coming (2 Peter 3:3-4)

These signs point to the soon return of Jesus. He’s right at the door. Jesus told us to “look up” when we see all these signs converge (Luke 21:28), and they’re converging right now. That means we’re on the cusp of the end times, and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is close at hand.

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