Have any aspects of end times prophecy been fulfilled?

Answer

Revelation 4:1 introduces a section of Scripture that details “things which must be hereafter.” What follows are prophecies of the “end times.” We have not yet reached the tribulation, the revelation of the Antichrist, or other “end-time” events. What we do see is a “preparation” for those events.

Jesus said that the last days would be preceded by several things: many false Christs would come, deceiving many; we would “hear of wars and rumors of wars”; and there would be an increase in “famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:5-8). Today’s news is full of false religions, warfare, and natural disasters. We know that events of the tribulation period will include all that Jesus predicted (Revelation 6:1-8); current events seem to be a build-up for greater trouble ahead.

Paul warned that the last days would bring a marked increase in false teaching. “In later times, some will abandon the faith, and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” «Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; », (1 Timothy 4:1). The last days are described as “perilous times” because of the increasingly evil character of man and because of people who actively “oppose the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-9;also see 2 Thessalonians 2:3). The list of things people will be in the last days—lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy.Without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power—(2 Timothy 3:1-5) seems to fit our modern age precisely.

Is there any doubt that the prophecies regarding apostasy are coming true? Our 21st-century world has embraced moral relativism, a philosophy that is corrupting even the church. For instance, many denominations struggle to define marriage as between one man and one woman, and numerous religious leaders openly endorse homosexuality today. The Bible has taken a back seat to the modern church’s pursuit of a more appealing “truth.” These are truly “perilous times” spiritually.

The establishment of the European Union—and the reunification of Germany—is intriguing in light of biblical prophecy. The “ten toes” mentioned in Daniel 2:42 and the ten-horned beasts in Daniel 7:20 and Revelation 13:1 allude to a “revived” Roman Empire that will wield power before Christ’s return. While the exact political structure is yet to be formed, the pieces seem to be falling into place.

In 1948, Israel was acknowledged as a sovereign state, which also holds significance for students of Scripture. God pledged to Abram that his descendants would inherit Canaan as “an everlasting possession” «And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. », (Genesis 17:8), and Ezekiel prophesied the revival of Israel both physically and spiritually (Ezekiel 37). The existence of Israel as a nation in its own territory is crucial in the context of end-time prophecy, given Israel’s significance in eschatology (Daniel 10:14; Daniel 11:41; Revelation 11:8).

While there is no biblical proof that the events mentioned above are fulfilled prophecies, we can observe how many of these occurrences resemble what the Bible portrays. Nevertheless, we should remain vigilant for the fulfillment of prophecies because Jesus instructed us that His return for His followers will happen unexpectedly, like a thief in the night “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”, (2 Peter 3:10), without warning. “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”, (Luke 21:36).