The Bible shows that True Worshipers would be able to confidently discern that time period while the obdurate would "take no note" and even claim that things are continuing as always (Mt. 24:39; 2 Pt. 3:3,4).When his apostles asked him about his parousia, Jesus gave a "sign" that would enable his followers to recognize the period of his "presence" as well as "the conclusion of the system of things." (If he was going to physically and noticably return they clearly wouldn't have needed a "sign.") This "sign" would be made up of 39 different facets or events (Mt. 24; Mk. 13; Lk. 21; Cf. 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pt. 3:3, 4; Rev. 6:1-8; 11:18; 12:10-12).
All the facets would be things that would have global impact and would affect all mankind, not just certain areas. It would be like a "beginning of labor pangs" and signal a beginning of "woes for earth"; each would get worse as time went on and not cease until the end.
We can conclusively demonstrate that all 39 facets have been fulfilled since 1914 but here we can only look at a brief review of several:
One irrefutable evidence that Christ "returned" in 1914 is the increase of warfare (Mt. 24:7) .
"World War I ushered in the century of Total War, of—in the first full sense of the term—global war.... Never before 1914-1918 had a war ... covered so large a part of the earth.... Never had the slaughter been so comprehensive and indiscriminate."—World War I, by H. Baldwin.
The Worldwatch Institute states: "Three times as many people fell victim to war in [the last 100 years] as in all the wars from the [previous 2000 years]."
Starting with the first WORLD War in 1914 "peace was taken away from the earth" (Rev 6:4). Since then, it has been said that the world has known only 26 days of peace.
Another facet of the sign would be increasing "food shortages" unmatched by any time in human history (Mt 24:7).
Famine in many countries has become commonplace during recent decades. Although the earth produces enough food for everyone, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 840 million people worldwide suffer chronic hunger.
Look magazine years ago reported, "A fourth of the world is starving today. Tomorrow will even be worse... There are now more people hunting desperately for food than at any other time in history."
Today hunger is so common [it is] not even news-worthy.
Another irrefutable evidence that Christ "returned" in 1914 is the increase of disease (Lk. 21:11).
At the end of World War I, in one year the Spanish influenza alone killed more than the war did. No recorded pestilence has ever equaled the Spanish influenza of 1918-1919. It struck at least 500 million persons; over 30 million died." In all history there had been no sterner, swifter visitation of death," said Science Digest.
One official document states: "Twenty well-known diseases have reemerged, often in more virulent and drug-resistant forms. At least 30 previously unknown diseases have been identified since 1973 for which no cures are available."
A Stanford medical expert stated: "At the extreme, the global contamination of our species by disease is hypothetically possible."
Scientists have documented a dozen different dangers that threaten life on the earth.
We could go on and cover all events of Mt. 24 as well as the dozens of facets recorded in other scriptures, but this should be enough evidence for any reasonable person to admit the point has been proven.
1914Former U.N. General Secretary Konrad Adenauer: "before the year 1914 there was real peace, quiet and security...when we didn't know fear...Security and quiet have disappeared from the lives of men since 1914."
"Civilization entered on a cruel and perhaps terminal illness in 1914."--Frank Peters, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1980
Philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote: "Ever since 1914, everybody conscious of trends in the world has been deeply troubled by what has seemed like a fated and predetermined march toward ever greater disaster."
From 1914 onward, ALL the facets of the "sign" denoting Christ's presence have escalated to an unprecedented degree worldwide. No other time in history has seen all these things come on one generation in such overwhelming measure.
Without a doubt, we live at the time of Jesus' "presence" in Kingdom power.
Those who question the fact that 1914 marks the return of Christ are like a woman in her ninth month questioning whether she is pregnant!!
SOURCE: This is an answer provided by BAR_ANERGES to a question at Yahoo Answers.
For more, see:
Last Days (Category) (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
- Is There a Possibility That the Nations Might Completely Ruin the Earth in a Nuclear War? (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
- The King of the North, the King of the South and the "Time of the End” (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
- LAST DAYS - Links to Information (INDEX; Watchtower Online Library)
- LAST DAYS (Insight-2 pp. 205-207; Watchtower Online Library)
- Are We Living in “the Last Days”? (bh chap. 9 pp. 86-95; Watchtower Online Library)
- Are We Really Living in “the Last Days”? (w06 9/15 pp. 4-7; Watchtower Online Library)
- The Last Days - When? (g 4/08 pp. 4-7; Watchtower Online Library)
- The Bible—A Book of Accurate Prophecy—Part 6 “The Last Days” (JW.ORG)
- Are these the last days? Is this the end of the world? (JW.ORG)
1914 (Category) (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
- Dates (1914; 1975) (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
- Number of years between 607 B.C.E. and 1914 C.E. “The appointed times of the nations” (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
- 1914 - Links to Information (INDEX; Watchtower Online Library)
- 1914—A Significant Year in Bible Prophecy (What Does the Bible Really Teach?; JW.ORG)
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