Matthew 24:1-14 (Jesus Talks about the End)

¹ Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
 ³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
 ⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.  As Christians, we know that the end will come.  Christ is returning!  Here, Jesus is warning the disciples to be careful when "looking for signs" because quite often when we look for signs, we are easily deceived. The only sure way to keep from being decieved is to focus on Christ and His words.  Don't spend too much time looking for signs and listening to others words.  Instead, look at Christ. 

Yet, Christ wants to make sure we know the truth, and can recognize truth when we see it.  So, He does tell us what the beginning of birth pains look like as the end of this world approaches.  ⁶ 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. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains."  If there is anything to take away from this as we look at our world, and the destruction and evil all around us, I think it's clear to see that the birth pains have begun.  Below is a table of the major earhquakes at a 7.0 or higher in the past according to a research group in the UK.

DATES FROM & TO      PERIOD            NO. EARTHQUAKES (Mag. > 6.99) 
  ---------------------------         -----------             ------------------------------
 1863 to 1900 incl            38 yrs                   12
 1901 to 1938 incl            38 yrs                   53                                                                  
 1939 to 1976 incl            38 yrs                   71                                                                  
 1977 to 2014 incl *          38 yrs                 164 (to Mar. 2011)

I don't show you this date to scare you, but rather, so that we might know that Jesus isn't playing around.  It sure seems to me that wars, famines, and earthquakes are certainly not at a low.  May this be a reminder to us that we don't have forever.  Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies so far -- may we not doubt Him now.
 ⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ 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.  I don't know what it is truly like to be persecuted, but I know my brothers and sisters around the world do.  But even here in the U.S., have you noticed lately that Tim Tebow has received a lot of slack for giving credit to His Lord for his success?  The name of Jesus Christ angers people!  And He told us it would.  Yet, if someone wants to do a dance in the end zone for themselves, that's okay!  That shocks me, and yet it shouldn't.  This is the world we live in today.  This shouldn't shock me because Jesus told us it will only get worse before it gets better.

Let us press on, my friends!  Times of trial often sift the Christians from the non-Christians.  Stand firm to the end -- the one who stands firm to the end will be saved!  We need not be surprised by the condition of our world, but in the Hope and Knowledge of Jesus Christ, may we continue to live and love as He has called us.  We are the light to this dark world when we serve in Jesus' name, and we do not live as those who have no hope!  As we see the darkness and evil all around us, may we remember that Christ is coming soon.  The time is now to do the work He has called us to do, and may we be firm to the end, rooted in Jesus Christ.  As followers of Christ, we know where we will be when this is done.  Press on, brothers and sisters!