Why the Constant Need to Sensationalize What’s Already Sensational?

In my lifetime, people have made a number of sensational claims regarding the end times and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, most of these claims turned out to be (at best) misleading and oftentimes false.

For instance, take The Bible Code. I remember walking through the local mall back in the mid-1990s, passing the bookstore, and seeing The Bible Code book featured in a window display. It piqued my curiosity. The book claimed the Bible contained secret codes, and until the invention of modern computers, those codes remained hidden. But under scrutiny, The Bible Code’s claims didn’t hold up. Once you examine the methodology used, you realize you could find these types of “secret hidden codes” in almost any book ever written.

Another “event” capturing the popular imagination was the appearance of “the blood moons.” In the years 2014 and 2015, a tetrad (four consecutive lunar eclipses) appeared on Jewish feast days. Many people linked these celestial events with Joel 2:31, a prophecy concerning the Day of the Lord. Needless to say, the blood moons came and went, and the world didn’t enter the end times as some suggested, nor did the rapture of the church take place.

This past April, an eclipse took place over the United States, and its path of visibility intersected with another eclipse path from seven years earlier. The two paths formed an “X” over the continental United States, and yet again, many people made fantastic claims – this was a sign of God’s impending judgment on America, the beginning of the Tribulation, or the rapture of the church. Yet, like the blood moons, the April eclipse came and went – no rapture, no Second Coming, and no massive destruction of the United States.

We could catalogue page after page of similar claims from the past that came to nothing. People love to tout or sensationalize these types of “new teachings” or “new prophecies.” For some reason, we have a need to sensationalize what’s already sensational. It’s important to be alert and vigilant against such claims. We must examine them in light of what the Bible says. When we do, the overwhelming majority of these claims don’t survive scrutiny. Yet, these sensational claims grab headlines and capture attention. This is odd because we don’t need to sensationalize Bible prophecy. It’s already sensational. What do I mean by that?

Define “Sensational”

Look at the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of “sensational.” When you do, you find this:

1) of or relating to sensation or the senses

2) arousing or tending to arouse (as by lurid details) a quick, intense, and usually superficial interest, curiosity, or emotional reaction
sensational tabloid news

By this definition, the example they provide is perfect – “sensational tabloid news.” Think of all the sensational headlines you see as you walk down the checkout aisle in the grocery store – headlines like “Kamala has Trump’s Love Child” or “Alien Baby Found in Kansas.”

These types of headlines are “sensational” – meaning superficial (and most of the time, false). They’re meant to evoke an emotional reaction, but when you dig into the facts of the story, there’s nothing there.

But this isn’t the only definition of “sensational.” Merriam-Webster offers a third:

3) exceedingly or unexpectedly excellent or great
a sensational talent

Think of a gold medal winner in the Olympics, a world-famous artist, or a renowned musician. By this definition, “sensational” means the pinnacle of excellence.

This third definition applies to the Bible. The prophecies in the Bible aren’t sensational in a tabloid sense. They’re sensational in a “pinnacle of excellence” sense. The Bible’s track record when it comes to predicting future events is 100% accurate.

The Bible doesn’t contain vague prophecies. It’s filled with detailed, specific prophecies made hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of years in advance. Prophecies recorded by men from different time periods and life circumstances who claimed to be moved by God’s Spirit. Yet despite their diversity in both time and circumstance, the words of those men fit together in perfect harmony. How is this possible? Because none of these men prophesied on their own; they simply recorded God’s Word as it was revealed to them (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Bible prophecy doesn’t need to be sensationalized. It’s already sensational.

Here are just a few examples:

1) Israel Back in the Land

In A.D. 70, Roman soldiers put down a rebellion, sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and carried the Jewish people to the farthest corners of the Empire to serve as slaves. They tried to eliminate every trace of the nation of Israel, even renaming the land Palestine in honor of Israel’s historical enemies, the Philistines. Rome intended to erase the memory of Israel forever.

But God had other plans. Thousands of years ago, He foretold the long exile of His people. He promised to call them from “among the nations” (Ezekiel 39:28), from “the farthest corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12), and from “north, south, east, and west” (Psalm 107:3). He promised to welcome the Jewish people home from the lands where they were scattered (Ezekiel 20:34), and He promised to restore them to the land of Israel from distant lands (Jeremiah 30:2, 10). And this is exactly what He did. Every person on earth is an eyewitness to the modern miracle of Israel.

Think about how sensational this fulfilled prophecy is. Previous conquered and scattered people assimilated into other nations and cultures. For example, Rome and Carthage fought three wars known as the Punic Wars. After more than one hundred years of fighting, Rome finally conquered Carthage (both the city and its empire), salting the earth so nothing would ever grow again. Rome’s goal was to completely and utterly destroy Carthage as a nation, people, and culture. Did they succeed? I think so. Have you ever met a Carthaginian? I haven’t either. But I’ve met quite a few Jewish people.

Despite the mighty Roman Empire’s best efforts, the Jewish people miraculously retained their distinct racial, religious and cultural identity for centuries while living as exiles among the nations of the world. How? Why do the Jewish people thrive to this day while other conquered ancient peoples have assimilated among the nations? Where are the Hittites, Ammonites, Edomites, Jebusites, and Philistines? The answer is found in the Bible.

The Jewish people are still around because of the God of Israel – the same God who promised Abraham his descendants would number more than the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5). He’s the same God who promised over and over again to bring His people out of exile and back into the land of Israel, and He did it in our day and time. We’re all witnesses to what happened in 1948. The rebirth of a nation almost 2,000 years after its destruction is nothing less than sensational – and the Bible foretold it.

2) Israel With An Exceedingly Great Army

In his Valley of the Dry Bones vision (where God breathes life back into the Jewish people), the prophet Ezekiel saw the Jewish people come to life and stand up as “an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10). Zechariah repeated this promise, speaking of a day when Israel is like a fire among sheaves of grain, burning up the neighboring nations (Zechariah 12:6). In fact, he claims even the weakest soldier among them will be like David (Zechariah 12:8). Do we see this today? We do.

What are the odds of Israel winning four conventional wars in a 25-year period? Israel barely cracks the Top 100 nations in terms of population, but its military consistently ranks among the most powerful in the world. The whole country is less than 13,000 square miles (approximately the size of New Jersey). That’s less than one-tenth of one percent of the land mass of the surrounding nations that wish to destroy her. Does this sound like a recipe for “an exceedingly great army”?

Yet, that’s exactly what the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is. Surrounded on all sides, a brand-new nation that didn’t even have a formal military emerged victorious in a multi-front war in 1948. With Syria, Jordan, and Egypt preparing for war, the Israelis struck preemptively in 1967. The result? They achieved overwhelming victory in just six days.

Caught by surprise on Yom Kippur in 1973, her enemies almost cut Israel in half within 48 hours. But the IDF quickly won back all the territory it lost in the opening days of the war, and the world brokered a truce with the IDF at the gates of Cairo and Damascus. Against all odds, Israel always seems to come out on top.

3) The Gospel Preached Throughout the World

When His disciples asked Jesus to describe the signs of His Coming and the end of the age, Jesus described many signs to look for. Among them, He said this: “And the Gospel will be preached throughout the entire world, so that every nation will hear it – and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Many people today take this sign for granted. They fail to recognize how sensational it is.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, a Jewish carpenter with some fishermen as followers claimed His message would be preached throughout the entire world. That’s a bold proclamation. His disciples didn’t know whole continents existed. Jesus wasn’t a wealthy, earthly king. He never wrote a book. He never led a nation in military conquest. Nothing up to that time or since would suggest such a person would achieve fame throughout the centuries. Jesus even said in reference to a woman who poured expensive perfume on His head, “I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed” (Matthew 26:13).

Today, the Bible is available in hundreds of languages. Satellites broadcast Christian programming throughout the world. Every day, missionaries carry the Gospel to people who have never heard it before. And everywhere the Good News is preached, the woman’s deed is remembered and discussed. No need to sensationalize it. It’s already sensational.

4) Rise of the Gog of Magog Alliance – Six centuries before the crucifixion of Jesus, the prophet Ezekiel foretold a future invasion of Israel. He said a military alliance that includes Russia, Iran, Turkey, and a number of Muslim nations will attack Israel “from the north” (Ezekiel 38:15; Ezekiel 39:2) “in the latter days” (Ezekiel 38:8) when God brings His people home from among the enemy nations (Ezekiel 39:27).

Never before have these nations been in alliance. But today, we see them coming together. Russia and Iran have grown closer and closer, especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Turkey, a member of NATO and the first Muslim-majority nation to officially recognize the state of Israel, is breaking from its traditional Western allies on many issues. One of the nations, Afghanistan, is once again under control of the Taliban and antagonistic toward Israel. Libya and Sudan have developed close military ties with Russia. And Russia, Iran, and Turkey all have a military presence in Syria, putting them right on Israel’s northern border. Is all this a coincidence? I don’t think so. Who knows when they’ll ultimately attack, but rest assured, they will. The stage is being set in our day and time for the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39.

5) The Rising Mark of the Beast System

Ours is the first generation of Christians able to witness some of the events foretold in the Book of Revelation outside of a supernatural fulfillment. For example, the ability of the mark of the beast to determine who can buy or sell (Revelation 13:16-17) was, outside of the supernatural, impossible for past generations to implement. While a global government could have demanded such a system, it’s unrealistic to believe they could have implemented it and ended all black-market activity. But today? Such a system is waiting in the wings, preparing to roll out.

Right now, 134 countries, representing 98% of global GDP, are exploring the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Atlantic Council hosts a CBDC tracker where you can check the status of these rollouts. CBDC is centralized, digital fiat currency. But unlike the currencies of the past, CBDC will be fully programmable. This means central banks can manipulate it in real-time. They’ll have the ability to raise and lower interest rates on your currency in real-time. They’ll have the ability to put restrictions on your currency in real-time, such as where you can spend it and on what. And with CBDC, governments will have full insight into every financial transaction you make. Throw in tokenized assets and digital IDs, and you get a gated global financial system indistinguishable in function from the mark of the beast system.

In addition to these signs, we see many more, such as:

• The Jewish People Back in Control of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)
• Arrival of the Exponential Curve (Matthew 24:3‐8)
• An Increase in Travel and Knowledge (Daniel 12:4)
• Israel Surrounded by Enemies (Psalm 83:4; Psalm 83:12; Ezekiel 11:14‐17; Ezekiel 35:10)
• The Rise of a Revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2:43)
• The Rise of a Global Government (Revelation 13:7-17)
• The State of Mankind (2 Timothy 3:1-4)
• Denial of the Signs (2 Peter 3:3‐4)

All This is Sensational!

Our generation is witness to the emergence and convergence of so many specific and detailed events – events Jesus told us to look for – and that should command the attention of every Christian on Earth. Because for more than 1,800 years following the crucifixion, these signs were noticeably absent. But today? Today, we see them all around us. For the first time ever, each of these signs is present. The Bible foretold them all in advance. We’re witnesses to these things. Now that’s sensational!

So don’t get distracted by tabloid-like headlines telling you a comet, asteroid, eclipse, or any other imagining of man indicates Jesus is about to return. Instead, focus your attention on the Word of God. Jesus is coming, but the reason we know that doesn’t have anything to do with bible codes, blood moons, or crossing eclipse paths. We know Jesus is coming because the Bible told us to look for specific signs, and we see those signs in our day and time. They’re amazing and sensational. And there’s no need to sensationalize what’s already sensational.

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Britt Gillette is the author of several books on bible prophecy and the end times. You can find more of his work at brittgillette.substack.com.