More Reasons It Isn’t the End Times

Christianity gets excited every time anything happens in the world. There are entire ministries devoted to old ladies crossing the street, being a sign that we’re already in the End of Days. Facetiousness aside, this light-hearted joke isn’t far from the truth.

I know people who preach the gospel should make their living from the gospel.

Got it.

That’s fine.

But adding to Scripture things that aren’t signs means you’re just prognosticating based upon personal interpretation.

That’s called eisegesis. Reading into the text what you want to see or want it to say.

The Bible gives us many events and political structures to follow that show us when we’re at the doorstep of the End Times.

I hate to break it to Christians, but we aren’t even close to fulfillment of the End Times prophecies. Now, things could escalate quickly, but we would have to shift into something drastic for any of this to happen in our era.

This article ties into my other article titled “No, Johnny Christian, We Aren’t in the End Times.”

What follows are some more reasons we cannot be there yet.

A Time for Kings

God makes much of the monarchical structure of the End Times political climate. There is a large amount of Scripture devoted to the notion of crowns, having crowns, royal power, and kingly wars.

Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

Revelation 17:12 “And the ten horns that thou saw, are ten kings, who a kingdom did not yet receive, but authority as kings the same hour do receive with the beast.”

Notice in the literal translation of the Greek it doesn’t say the kings rule for one hour, but they rule at the same time as the Beast for a short while.

These leaders are not democratically elected. They are not presidents, prime ministers, or anything of the sort. These are kings, monarchs, royal rulers. They will likely rule by blood.

Daniel 7:24 “As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones and shall put down three kings.”

This is a kingdom, not a democracy. Notice the Antichrist arises some time after the ten kings. That could be ten years, five hundred years, or three thousand five hundred years. We are not told.

What we know is the angel introduced the Antichrist in Daniel 11:21 as the Willful King of the North.

So, this future enemy of the saints will be a king of a nation or kingdom that doesn’t even exist yet. Because Daniel 8 and 11 are the chapters that warn us of the Antichrist’s rise to power before it ever happens. They aren’t about Alexander the Great. Stop letting traditions define the Bible when the Bible can speak for itself. Gabriel says it is about the End Times. Let him have the say.

Jesus also placed Daniel 11’s events as future to Him around the time of His Second Coming in His Olivet Discourse.

Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and wears many crowns. But He also seems to wear a literal crown in Revelation.

Revelation 14:14 “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.”

The ten kings and the Antichrist are also said to have a crown and crowns multiple times. See Revelation 6:2 “And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.”

This is a reference to the rise to power of the Antichrist in Daniel 11:21. The Vile Person, the Man of Lawlessness, the King of the North, the Beast. The man who will fight Jesus Himself in the distant future.

Crowns and royalty are especially important in the End Times. This is not the case in our world today. We run by elections and there aren’t too many monarchies.

The Four Beasts of Daniel Seven Aren’t Here Yet

I know what most people are thinking. These beasts are the same as Daniel 2’s kingdoms. I don’t find that case to be compelling in the least. The angel says they will arise (to be fair it could be more like are arising or have arisen in the original language). But Babylon was already on Earth when the angel made this statement. And these beasts are also on the Earth when Jesus takes His seat, and the thrones are cast down.

Daniel 7:9 “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.”

Daniel 7:12 “The other three beasts had their authority taken from them, but they were allowed to live a while longer.”

You must jump through some major hoops to say that these kingdoms are past kingdoms. They exist in the eschaton when Jesus sets up His rule on the Earth. Notice that thrones are cast down, or in the literal translation it says the thrones are thrown down in favor of the Ancient of Days. These kings will have thrones in the End Times. Again, they aren’t leaders of today.

Since these kingdoms exist when Jesus returns, and they aren’t here now, this means we aren’t in this time. Maybe the world will look like this in five hundred years, or a thousand years. Maybe the End Times will begin after 2100. We’re closer than earlier generations, but only in the sense of every day that passes will lead to the Day of the LORD.

We can’t say that these kingdoms are here now. You can try using national animals to name these kingdoms, but since they’re ruled by singular kings, I doubt they exist today.

Egypt Will Be Prominent and Wealthy in the End Times After Disaster

Egypt will become a prominent nation in the political climate of the End Times, even having a monarchy that fights with the Kings of the North over many generations.

Daniel 11:43 “He will get control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and Cushites will also be in submission.”

The Antichrist will take the riches of Egypt in the ending wars of the End Times. The problem is Egypt isn’t a major player today. Not in this sense.

We can’t say Egypt is at this level of prominence. And here’s the real kicker.

Ezekiel 29: 6-12 “And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the House of Israel. When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou break, and made all their loins to be at a stand. Therefore, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee. And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: because he hath said, ‘The river is mine, and I have made it.’ Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. And I will make the land of Egypt desolate amid the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them through the countries.”

This has not happened yet. Egypt was never empty of people for forty years, and there was no Tower of Syene in existence back then. And we have yet another problem to face.

Egyptians will be in Egypt when Jesus returns riding on the clouds.

Isaiah 19:1 “This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.”

The Egyptians will see the Son of Man who rides the clouds, and they will be in great fear. So, not only do the Egyptians have to leave for forty years, but they also must become prominent and wealthy enough for the Antichrist to take over their riches, and then be back in the land to fear Jesus’s return after their dispersion.

These events could take centuries.

Edom Needs to Have Massive Cities

During the Day of the LORD, when Jesus returns to save His people, we see He judges Middle Eastern nations and areas that are empty today.

Ezekiel 35:1 “The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say to it, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the LORD. Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it all who come and go. And I will fill its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall. I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”

Notice this is an End Times prophecy, because it is at the time of Israel’s last punishment. The problem?

No lavish cities exist there yet.

But that’s going to change soon.

Look at what Saudi Arabia is doing with NEOM and their other projects. This place will be a bustling metropolis when Jesus returns.

Isaiah 63:1 “Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.”

God is judging Edom here, when Jesus returns, and His robes are stained with the blood of His enemies. Edom is where Saudi Arabia is building NEOM. And that’s not yet built.

What’s the sense in judging hordes of His enemies in a place without people?

These events can’t happen yet, and don’t look likely in the next five decades at the least.

We Have Time to Save the Lost

This might be heartbreaking to those of us who long for the Second Coming to set all things right. I mean, I want to pet lions and have a perfect, immortal body, too. But God’s timeline is often not our timeline.

I only covered a few bases here. I didn’t even touch on the Seven Churches of Revelation likely being End Times churches that exist in the End Times, rather than church ages. Yes, they existed at the time of John, but if he was in the Spirit on the Day of the LORD before he wrote of them, that means they will likely exist at the time of the Messiah’s return to Earth.

I didn’t cover the futuristic nature of the Antichrist’s wars from Daniel 8, the change in warfare from modern weapons, and many other issues to say we’re in the End times now.

This is still good news, though, because we have time to save the lost. We have time to show people the love of Jesus.

We have time to do the work He would have us to do here on this Earth.

May the Son come quickly, in the time He has appointed, to set all things right.

In the meantime, serve the King and serve others.

God has given the gift of time.

Let’s use it.