We are speedily approaching the Day of the Lord.

How can we be so sure? Because our Lord and Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) helped us understand how to recognize the season of the end times.

We will touch on some of these signs here so you, too, can recognize how world events and technology are helping to fulfill this prophetic season.

End-Time Technology: Man, Beast, and DNA Editing

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 24:37)

When we think about the end times being like the days of Noah, we often consider the rise of homosexuality and other kinds of rebellion against God, and we will see later how that is certainly happening.

But what has not been mentioned much is what we read about in the ancient Hebrew book of Jasher, a book referred to in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18. In Jasher, we read:

“The sons of mankind in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixing of one species with another, in order therewith to provoke the Lord, and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, both men and animals.”  (Jasher 4:18)

If this account in Jasher is accurate, how did the people in the early days of creation know how to mix species?

A species is often considered the family level of an animal.  For instance, cats, tigers, lions, and leopards are all part of the Felidae family. Mixing a cat with a tiger is not a big deal, but mixing a cat with a coyote, bird, or human would be.

Some believe that the fallen angels under the supervision of Satan as their chief technologist, married women and taught mankind advanced knowledge, both of which created giants and other kinds of creatures (Genesis 6:1–4).

Today, a precise DNA editing tool known as CRISPR could be helping us get back to those days of Noah.

CRISPR is certainly making great strides for mankind:  it is eradicating malaria in mosquitoes and curing Leukemia in some cases, even restoring sight to some that are blind.  The life-enhancing applications are tremendous.

And yet, in this effort to save lives and advance medical technology beyond current limits, it is also being used to bio-engineer virus-immune organs in animals for implanting into humans.

What does God think of intermixing animal with man?

“You are not to eat their flesh or even touch their carcasses.  They are to be unclean for you.”  (Leviticus 11:8)

Heart valves from pigs (which are unclean animals) have been used in humans for many years.  Some would say that if we are not to eat a pig for its uncleanness, then certainly living with the organ of a pig inside of us would make us unclean.

But what about implanting organs from clean animals, such as sheep and cattle? Would that make us kosher?

Perhaps we can look to Genesis 1–2 for an answer:  in the beginning, men and women were created in God’s image for the purpose of multiplying the earth and giving Him glory; animals were not.

This divine inequality between man and animal is why bestiality is such a perversion to our Creator it carries the death penalty.

“If a woman approaches any animal to have sexual relations with it, both the woman and the animal are to be put to death. Their guilt will remain their responsibility.”  (Leviticus 20:15–16; see also Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 18:23)

Does CRISPR technology violate God’s law or safely allow us to get around it?

Regardless, science is moving forward.  It is only a matter of time when scientists will merge one species with another or even revive a lost species from ancient DNA (just like in the movie Jurassic Park) and really bring us back to the days of Noah (Genesis 6:1–4).

End-Time Rebellion Against God

“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.”  (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Another end-time sign that sets the stage for the “man of lawlessness” or anti-Messiah is rebellion against God, which today is all around us.

Even many so-called Christians believe that the earth “evolved” from nothing. Therefore, they are discarding God’s eternal law and His standards of love and holiness.

“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.”  (Matthew 24:12)

The Word also says people in the end times will despise what is good (2 Timothy 3:3).  Marriage, which God created to be good, is another area in which profound change is occurring, as in the days of Noah.

A downward trend away from marriage in the US from 1970 to 2014 means that in 2014 barely half (54%) of adults over age 25 were married. Instead of marriage, couples are increasingly choosing to cohabitate or are trying other adult-living arrangements.  (Pew Research)

Choosing to live with a partner instead of marrying them is often the result of fear that love will not last and a divorce will result.  Sometimes it is a political statement against the institution of marriage, among other reasons or excuses.  But that doesn’t fit into God’s design for us.

“They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.”  (1 Timothy 4:3)

Despite this downward trend in marriage, there is a global rise of legitimacy for same-sex marriage.

On June 25, 2015, the US Supreme Court required all 50 states to legalize same-sex marriage—even the 13 states that had banned it by state law must comply.

The US is now one of 22 nations that have legalized same-sex marriage, with the first being the Netherlands in 2000.  So this rise in legitimacy is very recent. (Washington Post)

The Bible hints that at the end of the age, homosexuality will become increasingly evident (2 Timothy 3:3); indeed, “Gay Rights” has become a worldwide trend.

According to the Midrash Rabbah (Jewish commentary on Scripture), same-sex marriage was a characteristic of the immoral society of Noah’s generation, too:

“Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Joseph, ‘The generation of the Flood was not wiped out until they wrote marriage documents for the union of a man to a male or to an animal.’”  (Genesis Rabbah 26:5; Leviticus Rabbah 23:9)

The rise of homosexuality is one more symptom of a society that has departed from the teaching of God’s Word, which clearly denounces homosexuality.

“Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.”  (Leviticus 18:22)

That said, while being honest about what the Bible says regarding the end-times, we also want to be empowered by God’s Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to show love and compassion, combined with the fear of God.

The Bible tells us what our responsibility is toward those caught in the fire of the enemy:

“In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear.”  (Jude 1:18–23)

End-Time Persecution of Believers

“You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”  (Matthew 10:22)

Another end-time sign on the rise, but not so often reported in the press, is the persecution of Believers.

According to Open Doors, a ministry to persecuted Believers around the world, 19 countries have severe to extreme persecution of Christians, with North Korea, Iraq, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Syria topping the list.

Of course, the presence of ISIS in Iraq and Syria raises their rank on this list where the most extreme form of execution—beheadings and torching—are practiced even by children.

This execution style is not new.  John the Baptist was beheaded under King Herod’s rule and hundreds of Believers were torched on stakes to light the garden of Nero under his reign, just to name two examples

And such extreme persecution will be commonplace again during the Great Tribulation before Messiah comes to reign on earth.

The apostle John wrote what Believers can expect in the final days and the reward they will receive for persevering in the faith:

“I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Yeshua and because of the word of God.  They had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. They came back to life and ruled with the Messiah for a thousand years.”  (Revelation 20:4)

For too many Christians, Tribulation-style persecution is here and now.  And the mark of the beast that all Christians will one day be required to take is rapidly developing.

More End-Time Technology: The Mark of the Beast

“The second beast forces all people—important and unimportant, rich and poor, free and slaves—to be marked on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.”  (Revelation 13:16–17)

You may have heard that the mark of the beast will be placed on the right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell, but did you know that technology is already in use around the world?

“In the expo-hall of the Austin Convention Center, I laid my left hand flat on a sheet of sterile paper and let a very tall, friendly man insert an RFID chip into the space between my thumb and index finger,” said Rose Eveleth of Popular Science.

Why did she do that and what is RFID?

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is the kind of chip inserted into pets, not to track them but to scan them and retrieve their ID number if they get lost.

In humans, RFID chips can be programmed to do some minorly useful things that we do with passwords, FOB keys, bluetooth, and chipped cards, like unlock a cell phone, transfer data through phones, open a car door, or use an office copy machine.

For example, Argentina’s Tigre soccer fans can open a gate to their section of the stadium just by standing near it, if they are paid up.  Some Barcelona clubbers have been chipped since 2004, letting them quickly pay for drinks.

Since RFID is limited in range and capability, hi-tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and many start-ups are developing biometric tattoos, or tech tats, that can do much more than open a door.

They can store vital signs, personal ID data, credit card information, and more so that no one ever has to carry an ID or bank card.  One day, no one will be able to buy or sell anything through the new world market system ruled by the anti-Messiah without such technology.

Regina E. Dugan, former director of the US Defense research program, DARPA, praised tech tattoos as VP at Google. She said that the 10–20 year old age group may not want to wear a watch, but they will be “far more interested in wearing an electronic tattoo if only to p@$s off their parents.”  (YouTube)

Of course, promoting end-time technology as a form of rebellion against parents fits right into another end-time sign:

“In the last days difficult times will come. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unfeeling, uncooperative, slanderous, degenerate, brutal, hateful of what is good. …”  (2 Timothy 3:1–3)

Certainly, the next generation will function in the world with chipped debit cards, chipped cell phones, and even chipped tattoos as a natural extensions of themselves.  And it might not be long after that when chipped hands or foreheads are a natural reality, too.

In the US, only four states prohibit mandatory implantation of an RFID chip: California, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin (ncsl). But, as with state laws that once prohibited same-sex marriage, the US Supreme Court could overturn such a ban.

While all of these signs lead up to the coming again of our Messiah, His arrival will be much more monumental, accompanied by great signs in the sky and in the earth.

Great Signs in Heaven and Earth

“There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”  (Luke 21:11)

Every so often, we are able to see rare celestial events, such as the supermoon on November 14, which according to NASA was the closest full moon since 1948, the year Israel became a modern nation.

And in 2014 and 2015, we saw a very rare occurrence of a Blood Moon Tetrad: four consecutive lunar eclipses (called blood moons), each coinciding with the first Biblical festival (Passover) and the last Biblical festival (Sukkot).

Some say, this timing was just a coincidence, but in God’s timing, nothing is coincidence, especially when we see these celestial events coincide with major shifts in the world order.

For instance, a Blood Moon Tetrad occurred immediately after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.  Another occurred between 1949 and 1950, during Israel’s war of Independence.  Another occurred following the Six Day War, when Israel liberated Jerusalem and made it the capital of Israel again for the first time in 2000 years.

Each of these events shifted the Jewish People into a new stage of development in God’s overall plan of redemption.

What shifted at this last blood moon?

The last blood moon occurred on September 27, 2015, two days after Pope Francis addressed the United Nations endorsing a major step toward a new world order:

“The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the World Summit, which opens today, is an important sign of hope,” he told the UN General Assembly.

This Agenda will “shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path,” says the plan website, with 17 objectives toward peace, prosperity, education, and much more.

These objectives are on a 15-year fast track to world implementation, regardless of what individual nations may want.  

What does this mean for Israel?

Peace is objective #16, and prophecy dictates that the Anti-Messiah will arrange a seven-year peace treaty in the Middle East.  From his headquarters at a rebuilt Temple, he will not only rule a one world market system, he will break the peace treaty and begin the time of Great Tribulation three and a half years into the treaty (Daniel 9:27).

It so happens that the next Blood Moon Tetrad will be 2032–2033, three years after the 2030 Agenda is complete when, perhaps, a peace plan will be in place. Only God knows what actually awaits Israel at that time in His prophetic plan.

Thousands of landslides resulted from New Zealand’s 7.8 earthquake
on November 14. (Photo Source: New Zealand Defense Forces)

Messiah’s Great Quake

“There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are only the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matthew 24:7; see also Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11)

Prophecy watchmen often declare that great earthquakes are increasing in frequency, which is a sign of birth pains leading to the great Day of the Lord.

In fact, it seems that Great earthquakes (above 8.0 magnitude) around the world are slightly on the rise according to US Geological Survey data:

• 2010–present: 8
• 2000–2009: 13
• 1990–1999: 6
• 1980–1989: 4
• 1970–1979: 7
• 1960–1969: 9
• 1950–1959: 7
• 1940–1949: 9
• 1930–1939: 7
• 1920–1929: 5
• 1910–1919: 5
• 1900–1909: 8

Does this data suggest that we’re in the beginning of birth pains as Yeshua (Jesus) foretold?

If His analogy is meant to resemble pain that increases with intensity and frequency, then the answer depends on which magnitude and which time frame we use, as well as the quality and quantity of seismic sensors in the world.

If His analogy means that we must suffer through these events in great anticipation for the final great quake when our Lord returns to establish His unshakable Messianic Kingdom, then the answer is a resounding Yes! (Romans 8:18–25; Hebrews 12:28)

The prophet Zechariah describes this momentous day:  “His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. Then the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a very large valley, with half of the mountain moving toward the north and half toward the south.”  (Zechariah 14:4)

The Bible tells us we will not know the time of Yeshua’s (Jesus) return, but it does give us many signs of the approaching of the end of the age.

Time is short. The adversary to the Jewish People is working hard to prevent them from fulfilling their destiny as a light to the nations, and we at Bibles For Israel are working even harder to make sure the Word does go forth from Jerusalem to Jew and Gentile alike.