Can we know when Jesus is coming back? No. No one knows the day or the hour of His return (Mark 13:32). However, we can know the general season of His return. Why do I say this? Because Jesus told us so in the Gospel. He said certain signs will indicate His return is near. And today, we see them. Those signs include (but are not limited to): the rebirth of Israel as a nation (Jeremiah 23:7-8)… The Jewish people in control of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)… A marked increase in travel and knowledge (Daniel 12:4)… and many more.

Centuries ago, Jesus and the prophets pointed to dozens of signs just like these. Jesus said when you see them, you should “look up, because your salvation draws near” (Luke 21:28). But I want to focus on just one of those signs. It’s a sign so obvious, people take it for granted. It may even be the most important sign. Yet, while it’s in full view of every man, woman, and child on earth, most people still ignore it. Hard to believe isn’t it? But it’s true. One of the foremost signs of the Second Coming is either ignored or dismissed by almost everyone in the world.

The Most Overlooked Sign of the Second Coming

So what is this sign? It’s the Gospel. That’s right. The spread of the Gospel is the most overlooked sign of the Second Coming. When Jesus was asked, “When will the end come? And what will be the signs of your coming?” He said, “the Good News will be preached to the whole world so all nations will hear it, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Our generation is on the verge of fulfilling this sign. Right now, the Gospel is being preached in every nation on earth. It’s an unmistakable sign of the times in which we live. Yet, it’s the #1 most overlooked sign. The world, and even many Christians, take it for granted.

Those people say, “What’s the big deal? Why wouldn’t the Gospel spread across the world? We live in an age of satellite TV, the Internet, and global travel.” True. Technology partially explains the recent explosion of the Gospel. Print books, ebooks, websites, television, radio, and more take the Gospel to millions on a daily basis. But is technology solely responsible? No. Technology alone will not make a message go global.

So what will? The power of the message. God is the one behind the spread of the Gospel. Don’t doubt it. As Gamaliel observed, “If the Gospel is not from God, it will soon fade away. But if the Gospel is from God, no one will be able to stop it” (Acts 5:38-39).

How many others have tried to spread a different message and failed? The Gospel has spread because it’s the Word of God. The Bible says the Word of God always produces fruit. It will accomplish all God wants it to and prosper everywhere He sends it (Isaiah 55:11). No one should take this for granted. After all, the global spread of the Gospel is nothing less than a miracle.

Think about it. A first century carpenter on the outskirts of the Roman Empire said His message would be proclaimed to the ends of the earth. He said “the whole world” and “all nations” will hear it. That’s a bold claim. Remember, Jesus only had a few followers at the time.

He had no great wealth. He didn’t hold a high or important government position. He wasn’t a conquering hero. He was a poor wandering preacher in an all but forgotten province of the mighty Roman Empire. He lived in a time when TV, radio, the Internet, and the printing press did not yet exist. Nothing indicated His name and message would spread to all nations. Yet, here we are today, where the name of Jesus is known throughout the world.

Do we really grasp the significance of this? When Jesus made this bold claim, His followers didn’t even understand what “the whole world” was. Perhaps they had heard of India and China, but Japan? Australia? North and South America? All these places were unknown to the disciples. No one at the time knew how large the world was or even how many nations existed. The idea of reaching them all was absurd. Yet Jesus knew. As God in the flesh, He knew how big the world was. And He said the global spread of the Gospel would be a sign of His return.

The Spread of the Gospel

Following the crucifixion, the Gospel spread throughout Israel. But it took several decades to reach the rest of the Roman Empire. For the first 1,000 years of Christianity, the Gospel rarely left Western Europe and the Mediterranean region. So for fifteen centuries, no Christian could point to this sign of the Second Coming. Many honored the Lord’s command to “go into all nations and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19), and they tried to fulfill this sign in their time. But only in recent years could anyone claim this sign is nearing fulfillment.

Today, the Gospel circles the globe on a daily basis. Missionaries take it to the most remote corners of the world. Radio and television transmit the Word of God into nations hostile to Christianity, and the Internet brings the Gospel to everyone with an electronic device. Yet, despite all this, the spread of the Gospel goes largely unnoticed. Jesus said this would be a sign of His return. He said in the days of Noah, people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all (Luke 17:26-30).

The people of Noah’s day did not believe a flood was coming. But the flood did come, and so will Jesus.

Remember, Jesus said, “The Gospel will be preached to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). He didn’t say, “The Gospel will be preached to all nations, and then I’ll come 50 years or 100 years or 1,000 years later.” No. He said, “And then the end will come.” Our generation is on the verge of seeing the Gospel preached to all the nations. That means Jesus is right at the door. He’s coming soon!

Britt Gillette is author of the free ebook Coming to Jesus as well as the books Signs of the Second Coming and Racing Toward Armageddon. Receive his book 7 Signs of the End Times for free when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.

If you wanted to catch a glimpse of future warfare, you would’ve done well to watch the winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The opening ceremony featured a dazzling display of synchronized drones. They lit up the sky and arranged themselves to form various Olympic-themed images. If you missed it, go to YouTube and search for “2018 winter Olympics opening ceremony drones.” Previous generations would’ve thought this was nothing short of magic. But our generation? For us, it went largely unnoticed.

We’re used to seeing drones traverse the skies. Few people think twice when they see a single drone hovering in the air. Multiple drones moving in tandem and quickly shifting directions might catch our attention for a moment, but we don’t give those much thought either. Maybe we should. In fact, as you watch video of the Olympic drones, ask yourself this question – what if those drones were armed?

The Future of Warfare

Synchronized drones let us see the future of warfare. Why do I say that? Let me ask you another question. Have you ever seen a large flock of birds flying in unison? They look like a cloud. And the whole flock can shift left, right, up, or down – all in a split second. Despite their quick shifts, these birds act as one. They aren’t disorganized or disjointed. They fly in perfect harmony as if they have a single mind. We observe similar behavior in schools of fish, bees, locusts, gnats, and all sorts of animals.

Now, imagine one of these groups is coming to get you. That’s right. Imagine a swarm of bees is coming after you. Would a shotgun do you much good? Not really. You can fire into a swarm of bees, and you might take out one or more. But you know what? The swarm will keep coming. This is because the power of a swarm is decentralized. A single strike won’t stop it.

Sound scary? It should. Because this is the future of warfare. It’s called swarm technology. As technology advances, synchronized drones will get smaller and smaller, faster and faster, and ever more powerful. In the near future, one nation will use them to attack a nation only armed with conventional weapons. What do you think will happen when combat drones traveling like a swarm of bees attack a conventional army? How effective will tank fire or heat seeking missiles be when directed at a swarm? That’s right. They’ll be just as effective as firing a shotgun at a swarm of bees.

Have no doubt, this is where our world is headed. Those nations who are first to develop swarm technology will rule over those nations who are slow to adapt. History has proved this lesson time and again. Think about it. Charging columns of soldiers were effective once – until machine guns arrived. Racing soldiers on horseback were once effective too – until armored tanks arrived. We can all cite countless examples of new military technologies making tried-and-true weapons and tactics obsolete. The same will prove true with swarm technology. And it will completely transform the world’s current balance of power.

World War III

For years, we’ve heard the next world war will be the final war on earth. Conventional wisdom says it’s impossible for any nation to survive WWIII. Conventional wisdom says WWIII will annihilate all of humanity. Conventional wisdom is wrong.

Why do I say this? Because conventional wisdom is based on the idea of mutual assured destruction (MAD). MAD is the belief no one can win a war between two nuclear powers. It’s the idea that fear of total destruction will restrain any nation from provoking war with a nuclear power. Conventional wisdom assumes the doctrine of MAD will rule the world forever. In the current era, that may prove true. But it won’t be true forever. Because a day is soon coming when MAD will be obsolete.

We’re about to enter a period of time marked by rapid technological change. If you think we’ve already been living in such a period, you’re right. But the past hundred years of progress pales in comparison to what’s around the corner.

Swarm technology is only one of many new technologies threatening to upset the balance of power and render MAD obsolete. Technologies like molecular manufacturing will allow nations to scale the size of their military forces. With molecular manufacturing, a nation could create billions of swarming drones at relatively low cost and in a short timeframe.

Technologies like artificial intelligence will give nations the ability to direct those swarms, analyze targets, and attack enemy networks. In such a world, the list of potential threats and attack scenarios will multiply, creating suspicion and distrust among the world’s superpowers. A digital or high-tech Pearl Harbor will prove fatal. And that makes the world much more dangerous. Because fear of such an attack makes a pre-emptive strike much more likely.

What the Bible Says

None of this should come as a surprise. Despite the idea WWIII will never come. And despite the idea WWIII will lead to complete global destruction, the Bible says otherwise. WWIII will take place. The Bible describes the Antichrist and his war of global conquest (Revelation 6:2-4), revealing there will be “war and slaughter everywhere” (Revelation 6:4). Yet the world survives this global conquest. How can this be? Because all eras come to an end. And the era of MAD will soon be over. New technologies will disrupt the foundation of international peace.

Swarm technology, molecular manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies will give unprecedented power to the one who wields them. Perhaps these technologies are the “great sword” described in Revelation 6 (Revelation 6:4). Perhaps not. Either way, the result will be the same. Emerging technology will put an end to MAD. The result will be a global war with death and destruction everywhere. And when the dust settles, a global empire will rule the world. The signs are everywhere. Jesus is coming!

Britt Gillette is author of the free ebook Coming to Jesus as well as the books Signs of the Second Coming and Racing Toward Armageddon. Receive his book 7 Signs of the End Times for free when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.