The cover of my copy of McDowell’s book from 1972 looks like this!
My copy of Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict, first published in 1972 still resides on my bookshelf. It has been a great source of information ever since my college days.
Just as the proof of Jesus’ resurrection and the Bible’s integrity leads us to an inescapable conclusion, so the evidence that we live of the last days demonstrates the nearness of the Lord’s intervention in the world. The signs unmistakably point to the close proximity of the seven-year Tribulation and thus to the even sooner Rapture of the Church.
Similar to what Josh McDowell wrote in his book, when I place the weight of today’s signs of the last days on a scale, they tip the balance overwhelmingly in favor of this being the last moments before we meet the Lord in the air.
Please allow me to take you through the mountain of evidence that allows for no other verdict than the one that says we live in the season of Jesus’ appearing.
The Nearness of Daniel’s Seventieth Week
Israel’s miraculous reemergence as a nation in 1948 sets this era apart from all others since AD 70. In the early 1900’s, many Christians mocked Bible teachers who predicted the future existence of the Jewish nation, but in 1948 it happened precisely in the ways God said it would happen (see Isaiah 66:8). Furthermore, Scripture predicted that most of the Jewish people in the revived Israeli state would reject Jesus as their Messiah until just before His return to the earth (Zechariah 12:10-13:1), which is exactly what we see today.
But there’s even more verification of Israel’s prophetic role in the last days.
Long ago, the prophet Daniel also wrote that a future “prince” would make a seven-year peace covenant with “the many,” which of course includes Israel (Daniel 9:27). In my article, The Biblical Necessity of the Seven-Year Tribulation, I demonstrate that Daniel’s seventieth week has never occurred in history, which means that according to Daniel 9:24, God’s purposes for the Jewish people and Jerusalem remain incomplete.
What does that have to do with today? Many of the world’s nations will meet at the UN during June 2-5, 2025, with the intent of imposing a two-state solution upon Israel via a seven or ten-year peace accord. The plan is to formally ratify this covenant when the UN meets in session during September 2025. The world’s obsession with Jerusalem, along with its plans to divide the Land, are precisely what the Lord said we would see in the last days (Zechariah 12:1-3; Joel 3:1-3).
How is it possible to ignore the world’s determination to divide the Land when it precisely mirrors what the Bible says will happen just before Jesus returns to the earth? The world’s mad rush to fulfill the words of Daniel 9:27 via a seven-year peace covenant alone tells us we live in the last days of human history before the seven-year Tribulation begins.
But there’s so much more!!
The Riders of the Apocalypse
I often think that it takes more faith to ignore the myriad of signs pointing to the approaching Tribulation than it does to recognize them for what they are. This is particularly true when it comes to what John wrote about the riders of the apocalypse in Revelation 6:1-8. Every time I write about our nearness to the fulfillment of these verses, I assume we can’t get much closer without them galloping across planet earth. However, I’m frequently proven wrong as even more signs appear.
Consider the following brief listing of the evidence for the nearness of these conditions to occur:
Rider one, antichrist, rises to power while promoting peace. Klaus Schwab at the World Economic Forum (WEF) demonstrates how it’s possible to exert total control over many nations without firing a single shot or possessing an army.
Rider two spreads war across the planet. It’s rare that a day goes by when we don’t hear warnings of WWIII or of a devastating nuclear exchange with Russia, China, or North Korea. We hear such threats fill almost every day.
Rider three brings economic devastation. The collapse of the American economy under the massive government debt load should’ve happened several years ago. When it does, the entire world will experience the conditions described in Revelation 6:5-6.
Preparations for the fourth rider, death, are well under way. Conditions are ripe for deaths of one-fourth of the world’s population via the means listed in Revelation 6:8.
I could write many paragraphs supporting the nearness of each one of these riders starting their trek across the earth and have done so in the past. The denial of the proof regarding the approaching Tribulation either stems from unbelief in the words of Scripture or an unhealthy obsession with the aspirations of this life. I wrote about those who ignore the many threats to our future wellbeing in Don’t Look Outside the Window.
Mark of the Beast Preparations
Perhaps the most astonishing testimony to the nearing of the prophesied Tribulation is that of the preparations for the beast system and his mark as described in Revelation 13. Fifty years ago, the beast’s ability to deceive the world in such a way and control worldwide buying and selling probably seemed like extreme science fiction to many, but that’s not the case anymore.
Not only is all the necessary technology readily available to exert such domination, but the globalists now brag that it will happen. They boast that a centralized Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will someday give the government the ability to monitor and thus control all financial transactions.
As in the Days of Noah
When the Twelve heard Jesus compare the conditions before His coming with the “days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37-39), they scarcely could’ve imagined all the ways in which today would resemble that ancient time.
What caused God to wipe out humanity apart from Noah and his family? In Genesis 6, we read about the extreme wickedness of mankind during this time combined with “violence” that filled the earth. However, the Lord first lists the presence of the “Nephilim” as His motivation for bringing judgment upon all the earth. The Nephilim were giants who came into being through the union of fallen angels with the women of that day. Satan’s intent was to corrupt the DNA of all of humanity in order to prevent the birth of the One God promised would defeat him (Genesis 3:15).
Satan’s objective remains the same. It’s too late for him the stop the Messiah’s birth and subsequent death on the cross and resurrection. However, he is seeking to eliminate the human race through AI (artificial Intelligence) and transhumanism in order to stop Jesus from returning to a repentant Israel and reigning over nations of humans with their DNA intact.
Just like the days of Noah, today we witness Satan’s repeated attempt to subvert the Lord’s purposes by eliminating humanity before He returns to rule over the nations. The Lord said His intervention into the world would begin in times precisely like these and that the timing of His return to earth would save humanity from extinction (Matthew 24:22). We are fast approaching this tipping point.
Other Matthew 24 Signs
During the week before His crucifixion, the disciples asked Jesus about the signs concerning the end of the age and His Second Coming. His words concerning the soon destruction of the temple sparked their curiosity into these matters (Matthew 24:1-2). Jesus’ answer in Matthew 24:3-28 provides us with a roadmap into which many of the other New Testament prophecies fit.
Jesus’ words in verses 3-12 define our day in many ways; it’s as if He had a laptop and was reading to the Twelve from current news stories. The key is that these signs are the “beginning of birth pains” (v. 8). These things will continue to increase in intensity until they reach their peak during the coming day of wrath, which John describes with more detail in Revelation chapters 6-18.
In verses 15 to 28, Jesus describes the final three and a half years of the Tribulation, which will start with the antichrist’s desecration of the temple (Daniel 9:27; 12:11). Israel’s current passion to build the third temple points to the nearing fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.
The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has spent the last forty years planning the construction of the temple that Jesus says will fulfill Daniel’s prophecy regarding its desecration (24:15). This group has prepared all the temple furnishings except the ark of the covenant, acquired the architectural designs needed to start constructions, prepared the robes for the priest and high priest, and already trained Levites to serve as priests in the temple. The nation of Israel is constructing infrastructure for its opening.
Many in Israel believe that President Trump will facilitate the temple’s construction.
The United Nation’s Unsatiable Quest for World Domination
At its annual meeting in September 2024, the member nations of the UN voted to greatly enhance the power of the UN in what they termed: “UN 2.0.” There’s a sense among the globalists that they must accelerate their efforts in order to complete the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 in the next five years.
The good news is that Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency and his withdrawal of America from UN’s World Health Organization have for the moment, continued to hinder their designs to enslave humanity.
The bad news for the world is that the Bible predicted long ago, in the books of Daniel and Revelation, that just such a New World Order will exist in the last days. It’s delayed, but only for the moment.
Paul wrote that in the last days, the Holy Spirit would restrain the antichrist until after Jesus appears to take us home (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8). Isn’t it amazing that both the UN’s quest for world domination and their current frustrations at their lack of progress fulfill the words of Bible prophecy. What we see today is precisely what God’s Word predicted would happen in our day.
Deception
Pay close attention to the first words that Jesus spoke in response to the disciples, “See to it that no one deceives you” (24:4). I never thought I would see the level of deception and gaslighting that’s rampant in today’s world. The Internet, along with social media, has open the floodgates for an outpouring of misinformation into the public domain. Jesus’ warning gains new relevance each and every day.
It boggles my mind that according the Bible, this will get much worse during the seven-year Tribulation (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; Revelation 13:1-14). What we see today verifies Jesus’ words, but it’s just the start of the deceit that will grow exponentially after our departure. Oh my!!
Off the Charts Lawlessness
Paul designates antichrist as “the man of lawlessness” in his prophetic passage depicting his rise to power during the last days (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12). Although the Holy Spirit currently restrains both the antichrist and his upcoming tenure of anarchy, the apostle adds that “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work” (v. 7). We see this today like perhaps no other time in history.
Lawlessness in America now exceeds anything I once thought imaginable. Target and Walmart measure their shoplifting losses in the billions of dollars. How is that possible? In California, flash mobs routinely rob jewelry and clothing stores of merchandise worth tens of thousands of dollars. In San Francisco, the police don’t pursue and arrest thieves unless they steal more than $900 in merchandise. This is not going to end well!
But sadly, this is just the beginning of the mayhem that will characterize life in the Tribulation period. It is, however, enough to warn us that this day is rapidly approaching.
Blasphemy
The mocking of God that’s so prevalent today will reach its pinnacle during the final three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week:
And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. (Revelation 13:5-6)
Through words, policies, and behavior, many celebrities, governors, other government officials, and various groups routinely ridicule both Jesus and His Word recorded in Scripture. This is preparing the world to tolerate the great blasphemy of God that will pour forth from the lips of the antichrist.
The Scoffing of our Blessed Hope
Sadly, the ridicule of our belief in the Rapture not only comes from those who reject the truth of God’s Word. Many Christians mock our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing. If you have ever expressed your belief in a pre-Tribulation Rapture, you have endured such scoffing. The Apostle Peter long ago wrote that this would be another sign, proof that the last days have arrived:
Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
This day has arrived and is in full bloom.
The Coming Pole Shift
In Revelation 6:12-14, we find John’s eyewitness to what lies ahead for the world after the Rapture:
When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
What evidence does this provide regarding the nearness of the last days? Prophecy watchers such as John Traczyk and geologists warn that a terrifying pole shift will happen in the not-too-distant future. The descriptive warnings of the experts as to what to expect are eerily similar to the description of events in Revelation 6:12-14.
The Verdict
The clear and convincing verdict given the evidence of the great many end time signs of our day is this: Jesus will appear in the very near future to take His Church up to Heaven where He’s now preparing a place for us. We dare not predict the day or the hour, but we know these two things with total certainty:
Jesus’ surprising intrusion into the affairs of mankind will happen suddenly and unexpectedly (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3; Matthew 24:43-44). The signs shout with the message that we most certainly live in the season of when this will happen.
We have more than enough proof pointing to the imminent end of human history as we know it. The Lord has already provided us with an abundance of evidence telling us that His arrival on the world scene is imminent.
The verdict is compelling and irrefutable for all those who believe that Scripture is indeed the Word of God and its words inerrant: we live in the last moments that precede Jesus’ appearing to take us home to glory.
If you have not yet called upon the Savior in saving faith, please see my post, Jesus is the Only Path to Eternal life, where I explain how you can know that you have eternal life. The hour is late; please don’t delay in placing your future solely in Jesus’ hands. Yes, people will turn to the Savior during the horrors of the Tribulation period, but you have no guarantee you will have such an opportunity.
If you believe that the next event in God’s prophetic calendar is Jesus’ end-of-the-age return to judge the ungodly and inaugurate the eternal state, please heed what the Bible says about Jesus’ appearing, the judgment that’s coming to the world, and His millennial reign. Place your hope in the words of Scripture; not human wisdom, which will surely fail you someday.
My book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is available on Amazon. In it, I lay a firm biblical foundation for our hope in Jesus’ soon appearing to take us home. Please consider purchasing it, especially if you have doubts concerning the pre-Tribulation Rapture.
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