Discerning the Times
(That We Are Currently In)
April 1, 2022
by Dan Li
“Yea, the stork in the heaven knows her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.” Jer 8:7
“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired Him that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said unto them, “When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.” 3 “And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” 4 “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them, and departed.” Matt 16:1-4
This Scripture teaches us that Jesus requires of us all, each of us, to discern the times.
Jesus Gives Us the Signs of the Times of the End, to Discern Also
Matt 24
30 “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” 31 “And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” 32 “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:” 33 “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” 34 “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” 35 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.” Matt 24:30-35
Sometimes when I am talking with other Christians about the wild and crazy times we are in, I’m expecting some camaraderie, some like-thinking from the other Christian about these times. But instead they tell me that according to the Bible, one cannot know when Jesus will return. They most of the time fail to fully quote the verse they are attempting to use, but this is it:
“But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matt 24:36
Do they not realize that this verse is the very next verse to the parable given prior? Does Jesus’ words in Matt 24:36 nullify the previous verses Matt 24:30-35? Absolutely not, so why do Christians use the Bible that way? – Why do they handle the Word of God like that? Verse 36 modifies (not nullifies), or brings balance to the previous verses, but does not take them away. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”
When I point out the previous verses, so that it is in context to these Christians, the next thing they say is that when it says “this generation…” the meaning of that is unknown or controversial, as to muddy the clear reading of Jesus’ words, another attempt to nullify the words and direction Jesus is giving for us end-days saints.
I will discuss why these Christians are doing that in a minute. But Jesus clearly meant for us Christians to know what He was talking about, because we are supposed to read them, understand them, and then correctly discern the times we are in- these words were written for us. Jesus did use a parable, yes, but that is to shield the interpretation from those who do not have ears to hear, for those who are not Christ’s or have parted from Christ: “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because you hear” (Matt 13:14-17). Hearing comes by revelation by the Father, through the Holy Ghost who dwells in us. Again I say, these words from Jesus are for us, today, to read and to understand them.
Our times today (as of April, 2022), are very unprecedented. Things are occurring rather quickly that are aligning the world for the end.
1) The rise of Ezekiel 38-39 countries in unison, Gog/Magog (Russia and region), Persia (Iran), etc. Russia has since the fall of the Soviet Union, been mostly in the background and of little threat to other nations in the world. Iran has been, until recently, isolated from other major countries – this is no longer the case, they are allied with Russia and China, signed agreements, and soon to make an agreement with the U.S.. These countries have to be in the correct configuration and standing for the very end-days’ events to occur. The exact timing of Ez 38-39 are not known, but we know they occur towards the very end, and they have not yet happened- they are near future. All the players, the nation pieces are coming into correct position.
2) Economics. The world economic situation that will be necessary for a one-world economy that the mark of the beast would function under (must have it to buy or sell), is now coming together. Digital inter-operable currencies world-wide are in the process of being created, some have already been rolled-out and in full use. First the traditional fiat currency systems must be eliminated/destroyed in order for these digital currencies to become necessary to supplant it. For many decades now, the US Dollar was the world’s trading currency, and before that it was the British Pound, and so on and so on. Gold was also very useful then. Once digital currencies come into effect, everything will change. The affect of digital currencies will alter world powers, effectively sidelining the U.S. from being the dominant world power. To implement digital currency, digital ID must also be implemented, in order to control money accounts. Once the money is digital, it can not only be tracked real-time, knowing where a person is and what they are buying, but it can also allows very fine-grain control of how, where, on what, by whom, and at the times that are allowed or denied. Accounts can be shut off with the flick of a switch, and there is only one account per person, thus this gives full control over a person via control of their money (the ability to buy or sell).
“15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, except he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Rev 13:15-17
3) State of People. People have to be of a state that they will readily accept the coming world system. Previous generations would not have gone along with all these things that are coming- such as giving up your freedom of carrying cash, speaking freely, tolerance in society for variation in ideas and approaches. Divisions came first. Today, especially since Covid happened, people now no longer tolerate your choice to not be injected with something you don’t approve of, wearing a mask when you don’t want to, everywhere. They no longer tolerate you having a different set of values or ideas from them – marxism and fascism of today now force ideas upon all others – group-think is now a thing and required, else coercion comes into effect (cancel culture, BLM, etc). “Say all black lives matter” or else! “Don’t say ‘All lives matter’”. Remember all the taking one-knee and bowing in humbling and in subservience to the BLM crowds. This is forced speaking, forced group-think, or else. Society is now prepared for the coming very end-days, to force the mark of the Beast on everyone, and to persecute Christians who speak against LGBT stuff, even if it pertains to your own children. This has never happened before on a world-scale like it is today. There is quickly becoming no country you can flee to from this that is coming upon the world today. America and Europe are leaders in all this. Global coercion techniques have been refined:
a) Beneficial/Protective. This new thing is good and beneficial for you, convenient and fun, get on board, this is helpful, it is even protective.
b) Experts agree. You should get on-board with this, the experts have spoken, it is a fact that it is good for you. They are smarter and wiser than you. You don’t want to be dumb and stubborn, do you?
c) Peer-pressure. You cannot participate in the same things your friends and others are involved with, if you don’t get on-board. You don’t want to be an outcast do you?
d) Societal Pressure. Using same tactics as they did to nearly eliminate smoking cigarettes in the ‘90’s and 2000’s in the west. You are being a load on society when you don’t get on-board with the rest of society. You are causing others difficulty, even making yourself a danger to others somehow. They now hint about the next step (they threaten) that if you don’t get on-board there will be consequences.
e) Economic Coercion #1. If you don’t get on-board, you will not be able to participate in some of the nicer parts of life, no entertainment, no crossing borders or travel, no normal life for you, only for those who are on-board.
f) Economic Coercion #2. You will lose your job and your ability to pay for the things you need and use, if you don’t get on-board. At this stage, they are willing to lose the worker (you) for the sake of forcing you. If you can’t work, you are going to have a very hard time living. You’ve now been canceled. Possibly even deny you medical care.
g) Economic Coercion #3. You can no longer buy the things you need, you can no longer sell either. Not even essentials are allowed to be purchased. You cannot get medical care at all. If you don’t comply now, you will lose all you have, and you and your family will die of starvation. They will now attempt to wait you out. Who can go very long without being able to buy food for their family? This is the strongest passive coercion they can use.
h) Death Penalty. Somehow you have survived for some time without having to buy food or pay for your housing, heat, etc. Perhaps you have prepared for this possible eventuality and have put food back, have a place you can go and live that you don’t have to pay for (maybe stay on with someone else, or something like that). Now, they are forced to bring the ultimate penalty to you for not getting on-board with this – they now want to kill you. You are stunned that they have gone this far- who would have thought people would become this horrible?! Why don’t they just leave you alone and let you live- I mean, you are no burden to them, you have provided for yourself. Most people who have lived in the more free societies of the world would never think this stage could/would ever happen, but it will – the Bible has foretold that they will kill anyone who doesn’t take that Mark.
Covid measures were the test-run for this. They never went to stage h anywhere, in a few places they went to stage g, and many countries went to stage f.
When the end comes soon, people are now trained to expect some governmental coercion, and to accept it as a society as a whole.
– With the jabs, they got about 50% compliance by selling the benefits (stages a,b, and c).
– When they added societal pressure (stage d), they got another 20-25% compliance, for a total of 70-75% of society now complying. Now everyone left is now an outsider. Now that they have the majority in compliance, now they can add more coercion without much kick-back by society as a whole.
– So they now can add economic coercion #1&2 (stages e & f) and that will yield another 20% or so, for a total of 90-95% compliance. Now 90-95% of the world is against you.
– Now they add economic coercion #3 (stage g) – you cannot buy food now (or anything else, nor sell either)- this will yield a final compliance of 98-99%. Now they try to wait you out.
– In time, if you still don’t comply, and haven’t yet died of starvation, they will kill you. They will accept nothing short of 100% compliance.
4) Widespread perversion of God’s creation is also becoming a world-wide phenomenon. The family has been destroyed through prolific divorce, immorality, pornography, child-abuse, and LGBT stuff. People don’t even know the difference between male and female anymore. The very definition of what a family means is different now than it has ever been in the history of the world. Right is now called wrong, and what is wrong is now called right – on a global scale (America and Europe are leaders in this). Division between all normal and natural connections is now happening world-wide: national origin (black/white/asian/etc), families (husband / wife / children against one another), sex (male-female hatred and division, friends (lifelong friends suddenly hating one another), among “Christians” (divisions and false-doctrine promoting a false unity amongst Christians), nations (war, nation rises against nations, people against people, etc). This has never before happened on a world-wide scale.
5) Increasing wickedness of all sorts, especially violence. 2 things cause destruction of nations – widespread sexual immorality and widespread violence. Even small rural countries that rarely had a murder at all ever, are now having many in a single year, even multiple ones in a single month. Wickedness seems to be in the air, flowing over the face of the earth affecting all it touches. People are not repenting of these things either – they are increasingly recalcitrant and resistant to efforts to curb its spread. Riots and uprisings are now rule-of-thumb, and they aren’t protesting wickedness, they are causing wickedness- bands of lawless persons robbing, hurting others, and even killing. They bring a feeling of lawlessness to the air. The government is increasingly letting the criminals go free, while severely punishing those who stand up against wickedness. It is now a more severe offense to speak the truth than to kill someone, at least in application of the law. The increase in wickedness and lawlessness causes the love of many to grow cold.
6) Drug use. Suddenly, there is a new permissiveness towards drug use. Starts with marijuana and then the ‘harder’ drugs. Marijuana use is now widespread in the U.S. and some other western countries. It is also now beginning in Thailand and other parts of Asia. Fentanyl and other opiate drug overdoses are now a leading cause of death in the U.S. This is part of the increase in wickedness.
7) World-killing Weapons (Weapons of Mass Destruction). Nuclear weapons and biological weapons are now becoming more common world-wide. Nuclear weapon accessibility is now in many more countries than before, including now North Korea, India, Pakistan, and probably soon Iran. China is increasing its nuclear arsenal by hundreds of warheads. Biological weapons are the next big thing – probably Covid was one of these. The capability to make these and make them more lethal (gain-of-function) is not too difficult, and is much less controlled than nuclear, yet could very well be much much worse. The ability for man to destroy itself is now everywhere.
8) Computer technology. We used to think we would all be driving flying cars and doing space travel. That is not really the direction technology went. Instead, it took a straight path towards things that enable mass people tracking and control. Technology is not the freedom making thing (eg flying cars), but rather a freedom taking thing (biometric facial scanning at airports and at other mass transit). Technology is now at the place where, for the first time ever, that there can be a world-wide economic system and the Mark of the Beast. New technologies, such as blockchain and AI (artificial intelligence), were just not there before. To enhance all this is new technologies in reading DNA instantly and fully-connected cameras everywhere with facial recognition technologies. The ability of the few to control the whole world is now possible like never before. My grandparents rode horses and mules, like people had done for thousands of years prior. This time we are now in technologically, is unparalleled in the world, and its use is not in a few select countries, but it is everywhere, world-wide. The whole world is on-board technologically, even in very remote and rural places.
9) The Current State of “Christians”. If not blind, one can see that the state of those who call themselves Christians, as a whole, is not good.
– Many have in truth, parted from Christ, have turned to logic, pragmatism, and systems, and away from the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit.
– Wickedness is as widespread within a lot of churches, as much as it is in the world. There is little visible differences between the world and those inside the church doors.
– Pastors are going apostate, committing immoralities and commiting suicide.
– False-doctrine, false-teachers, and false-prophets are thick and everywhere but yet unseen, unnoticed by most inside the church doors.
– Divorce and immorality are rife.
– Christians are turning to psychologists and psychiatrists for help, take psych meds for their depression, fear and anxiety, and group meetings with non-Christians who are also suffering the same symptoms, for support.
– Pastors openly teach principles of man as if these are the word of God, such as financial guidance principles, and psychological principles, as if these are on-par with the Word of God.
– The power of God is denied, as the things of the natural are the replacement, due to the absence of God’s genuine presence in their midst. “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away”. They even deny God speaks to and leads His people.
– People are looking for things to boost their faith, they “seek a sign” such as a story of someone’s healing or a trip to heaven and back, because “a wicked and adulterous generation seeks a sign and none shall be given it…” instead of just holding firm to their faith in Christ Jesus, and recalling the former things of God (Heb 10:32-37; 2 Pet 1:9,3:1; Heb 12:12-13).
– Repentance and truth are rarely spoken of from the pulpits, lest they drive away parishioners (and funds). The Bible says in the last days people would heap up teachers that itch their ears instead of preaching the saving truth and repentance from sin, they won’t tolerate solid teaching anymore. In 2 Thess 2, the Bible says there will be a falling away first (of those who profess to believe upon Jesus), before the coming of Jesus.
– Hating the truth, these folks have become their own self idol, and they hold their own life most precious, not denying themselves daily and taking up their cross, but rather denying Jesus, His commands commands and requests.
This all has happened now- this one is completely fulfilled prophecy at this point. We are now just waiting only for the revealing of the Anti-Christ (2 Thess 2).
10) Wars, Rumors of war, Famines, Pestilence, and Earthquakes. These are listed by Jesus to be signs of the end coming upon the earth. The increase in earthquakes is well documented by the US Geological Survey (USGS) – and they will explain it with some sort of “scientific” rationale- probably “climate change”. They will turn the Lord’s warnings, the environment of the whole earth, and earthquakes, into an instrument of further oppression, as they are doing with the so-called “climate change”. Wars have always been around, but these wars are much more plentiful, else Jesus would not have listed them as a significant sign of the coming end. Famines have also been around throughout history, including many during biblical history accounts. But again, these are different from the ones previous in some significant way, else Jesus would not have listed them as a significant sign of the impending end. Famines in modern times have always been in 3rd world countries. But famines of the future will affect more modern places on the earth. Also, the famines will affect the whole world in some way, not just some region that suffers some lack of rain or other calamity. This one is world-wide. The more wealthy will fair better during these but they will affect the richer countries as well as the poorer ones. Pestilence has happened throughout the history of the world also, but the ones coming are of greater significance, else Jesus would not have mentioned them as being a sign of the times. I would anticipate future diseases that will kill higher percentages of people, on a world-scale, than there ever was before. If Covid caused all this trouble with economics and people’s freedom, diseases that are worse will have much worse effects- mass fear and death. People will hate and fear one another, and governments will heave people control. Vaccine passports gel super well with digital identities, digital money, and people control.
6 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.“7 “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.“8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows.“
9 “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.“10 “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.“
11 “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” 12 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.“13 “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.“
In Conclusion
These signs are all signs of the times. They all say one thing – the end is nearly upon us, even at the door. They all line-up perfectly with the Bible and the end of time. How can we be so blind, as to not now know at what era, what time we are in now today? Just a little bit of perspective tells us so.
Now to the question of why people keep not wanting to talk about it, why they keep muddling the truth about discerning these present days – these are Christians that are doing this especially. Why? The Bible tells us this:
“This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 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. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy manner of life and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 2 Pet 3:1-12
There has been great effort to discount the signs of the times that the Lord Jesus has given us so that we would know the general time frame of these things, yeah, not the exact day or hour, but the overall time frame, and even in sequence in Matthew 24, where Jesus says, “.. and then, … and then… and then…” – it is in sequence.
So much effort has been made to say these times are like other times of distress that has come upon the earth – normal. Jesus said these times coming are far from normal, but they are the worse than ever was before or ever will be again. Normalizing all these things that are far from normal is being ‘a scoffer, who walks according to his own lusts’ who is “willfully ignorant”, according to 2 Peter 3:3,5, and “hypocrites”, according to Jesus (Matt 16:3).
God forbid that we should call this normal, or “new normal”, as to obscure the truth of where we really are in our time.
As far as what the ‘generation’ is, it is simple, it is the generation of people who are alive when all these things begin (not when Israel became a nation in 1948, nor the 1967 war). That is now, now when all these things are beginning- now, and none of those things mention Israel becoming a nation, not pertaining to the generation that does not pass until all these things are fulfilled that Jesus speaks of in Matt 24. “All these things” includes all the time of the great Tribulation, all the time up and to Jesus returning to rule the Earth personally. We know the generation, this one, by discerning the times we are in.
