When Jesus was asked what would signal His return and the end of the age, He said to look for a number of signs. One of those signs was the appearance of earthquakes (Matthew 24:7). But what does that mean? After all, earthquakes have been a part of human life since Adam and Eve. They aren’t rare. The Bible says they appeared in the days of Amos (Amos 1:1) and King Saul (1 Samuel 14:15). They appeared in the days of Paul and Silas (Acts 16:26). And non-biblical history tells us earthquakes shook ancient China, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, and other nations. In 1906, a devastating earthquake hit San Francisco. It toppled almost every building in the city and killed over 3,000 people. In short, earthquakes have been a part of life since the beginning of human civilization.

So if we’ve always had earthquakes, how can they possibly be a sign of the Second Coming? That’s a great question. Fortunately, Jesus gave us the answer. Earthquakes in general are NOT a sign of His return. But according to Jesus, earthquakes occurring in a certain pattern are…

Signs Like Labor Pains

Jesus cited a number of signs to look for. Among them are the appearance of earthquakes, famines, wars, and false messiahs. Jesus knew these signs had always been present. So He wasn’t saying their appearance alone will signal His return. Instead, He said to look for them in a distinct pattern. He said they would arrive like “birth pains.” But what does this mean? What could these general signs possibly have in common with birth pains?

Only this – birth pains, or labor contractions, are sharp pains. They increase in both frequency and intensity right before birth. In other words, the signs Jesus mentioned will appear with greater frequency and intensity right before His return.

Looking for the Pattern

This means earthquakes (or even what seems to be a numerical increase in the number of earthquakes) are NOT a sign of the Second Coming. Instead, Jesus said to look for an increase in the frequency of large earthquakes. Such an increase will fit the pattern Jesus described – a pattern of more frequent intense events rising toward a climax.

So how do we measure an increase in the frequency and intensity of earthquakes? We don’t have accurate data going back to the beginning of time. We don’t even have accurate data going back to the time of Jesus. After all, advanced instruments for detecting and measuring earthquakes are relatively new. The Richter Scale didn’t even exist until 1935, and most seismographs at the time failed to detect any earthquakes under a magnitude of about 3.0. But today?

Today’s devices routinely measure earthquakes with negative magnitudes. Because of this, looking only at the frequency of earthquakes is meaningless. Obviously, with better instruments, we can detect smaller earthquakes. But that doesn’t mean more earthquakes are occurring. It just means for the first time we’re able to measure them.

But let’s take a different point of view. What if we look only at modern data from the last one hundred years? And what if we look only at earthquakes registering a magnitude of 8.0 or greater? This will give us a much more accurate picture. Why? Because most instrumentation from that time period could detect an earthquake of such enormity. This eliminates all the small quakes detected in more recent times. And even though the sample size is still small (only about 120 years), it should give us enough data to spot a recent trend. If these are the times Jesus told us to look for, we should expect to see an increase in the frequency (number) and intensity (magnitude) of earthquakes.

Is this what we see today? Yes. It is.

The Increasing Frequency of High Intensity Earthquakes

According to the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) composite catalog, recent years have seen a marked increase in the number of earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.0 or greater:

1900’s – 3
1910’s – 0
1920’s – 1
1930’s – 1
1940’s – 1
1950’s – 1
1960’s – 3
1970’s – 2
1980’s – 3
1990’s – 7
2000’s – 13
2010’s – so far

The 20^th Century witnessed 22 with a magnitude of 8.0 or greater, but already the 21^st Century has seen 21 such quakes. If that pace continues, we’ll see 116 earthquakes of 8.0 magnitude or greater by the end of this century!

In 2014, I cited this same data in my book Signs of the Second Coming. While writing the book, my original draft showed six earthquakes for this decade. I had to revise the book before publication because of another 8.0 earthquake in April 2014. After the book was published, another earthquake struck in September 2015. And during that same time, we’ve had three other earthquakes later revised to 7.9.

Is it possible this is just a coincidence? Sure. We’ve only had the tools to measure earthquakes for a small portion of human history. It’s possible we’re looking at a small sample size and drawing an incorrect conclusion. Perhaps these earthquake patterns have appeared before. Some might argue we’ve only recently had the instrumentation to measure all 8.0 magnitude earthquakes – that such technology didn’t exist in the early 20^th Century. I find that hard to believe. But even if that’s true, we’ve nevertheless seen a notable increase since that time.

Jesus Is Coming

Absent any other signs, the rise in earthquakes would be nothing more than a footnote of history. But earthquakes aren’t the only signs. They aren’t the only events increasing in frequency and intensity. The other signs Jesus said to look for are also increasing in frequency and intensity – the appearance of famines, wars, and false messiahs. And even those aren’t the only signs.

Travel and knowledge have increased significantly (Daniel 12:4)… Israel is a nation again (Jeremiah 23:7-8)… The Jewish people control Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)… The Gog of Magog alliance is forming (Ezekiel 38-39)… The Gospel is being preached to the ends of the earth (Matthew 24:14)… Sin is everywhere, and the love of many has grown cold (Matthew 24:12)… These are all signs Jesus and the prophets said to look for. And our generation is the first ever to witness these signs. Still think this is mere coincidence? I don’t either.

Jesus Himself said, “When all these things begin to happen, look up for your salvation is near!” (Luke 21:28). These things are happening. And Jesus said the generation witnessing them will not pass away before He returns (Matthew 24:34). The signs are clear. Jesus is coming! So don’t waste any opportunity to share the Good News.

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.

A series of recent news stories has highlighted the massive advances made in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Several of those focus on China’s Yitu Technologies, a company at the forefront of AI development. Yitu created a technology called Dragonfly. Dragonfly can search and analyze billions of photographs and locate a single person in a matter of seconds. Connected to cameras in the Shanghai Metro, it identified over 500 criminals in a three-month period. It’s so powerful it can recognize people wearing disguises. And it can identify people using pictures that are more than 30 years old.

Think of the power this gives the Chinese government. As Dragonfly connects to every camera in the nation, criminals will have nowhere to hide. Unfortunately, no one else will either. Chinese dissidents, political activists, ethnic minorities, Christians, and other “enemies of the state” will also have nowhere to hide. And it’s quite unlikely China will be the only state to take advantage of this technology.

The Rise of Big Brother

In George Orwell’s novel 1984, we’re first introduced to “Big Brother” – an omnipresent, all-powerful and “well-intentioned” totalitarian regime. The book’s hero, Winston Smith, lives in a world where every citizen is under 24/7 surveillance. Personal privacy doesn’t exist. Government controls every part of life. Monitors in Winston’s apartment spy on him when he’s home. Other devices spy on him when he’s not home. Hidden cameras and microphones capture his words, deeds, and even his facial expressions. His mail is opened, and “thought police” search for and arrest any citizens who dare to have thoughts or feelings outside of those sanctioned by Big Brother and the ruling elite.

Winston’s world is a place of absolute government control. No conversation, movement, or transaction goes unnoticed. The government is watching – always.

In the decades since Orwell first released 1984, people have marveled at what they see as great insight into our future. And they’re right to do so. Because 1984 is becoming our reality. And unfortunately, Yitu Technologies and Dragonfly are just a small part of what’s coming. Why do I say that? Because we’re only in the first stages of the AI revolution.

What’s Coming?

In the near future, technologies like Dragonfly will be commonplace. And the ability to see and hear everything will be even easier for government. Unfortunately, while most people object to this type of surveillance and invasion of privacy, their everyday actions bring it closer and closer to reality. How?

Many people voluntarily reveal the most intimate details of their lives. They upload pictures of themselves and their friends to Facebook, and they tag them so AI systems can recognize them. They reveal personal information on Snapchat and Twitter. And they set up devices like the Google Mini and the Amazon Echo in their homes. These devices respond to voice commands and make life easier. But they also have a downside. By definition, they’re always listening. That means a microphone is in your house listening at all times. And some of the newer devices feature cameras as well.

As time goes by, these devices will become smaller and cheaper. And as they become smaller and cheaper, they’ll become ubiquitous. They’ll be everywhere. How much smaller and cheaper will these devices become? Imagine trillions of HD cameras and microphones – each one the size of a dust particle. Some might be so small the naked eye can’t see them. These cameras and microphones will constantly record everything. How will they be placed? They won’t. Like dust, they’ll spread across the earth and settle on every surface. They’ll be everywhere.

They’ll settle on your clothes. They’ll come in through the ventilation in your house. They’ll stick to the bottoms of shoes, and they’ll blow through the streets. And this “nanodust” will send raw video and audio content straight to the government.

“But wait,” you might say. “How will the government sift through all this data? It would take legions of intelligence analysts a century or more to listen to just one day of global conversations, right?” That’s true. But humans won’t comb through all this data. AI will.

Technology similar to Dragonfly will search and analyze everything – not just faces. In the same way Dragonfly analyzes faces, AI systems of the future will search audio recordings for specific phrases and undesirable language. They’ll analyze video to find certain patterns of movement or behavior. And AI systems will be able to identify common traits shared by enemies of the state. With the ability to process mountains of information at high speeds, AI systems will analyze information with a much higher level of precision than any human analyst ever could.

A global network of such technologies will have the ability to “listen” to every conversation on earth. No one will be able to escape the ever watchful eye of “Big Brother.”

The Coming Global Empire

So why does all this matter? Because two thousand years ago the Bible said a single government will rule all the people of the world (Revelation 13:7). It also said the leader of that government will exercise such total control he’ll be able to decide who can buy or sell anything (Revelation 13:17). Think about those statements. A global government will have total and complete control over all commerce. To achieve this feat requires a police state the likes of which the world has never seen.

Was such a state possible in the 1^st Century? No. Was it possible in the 20^th Century? No. How about in this century? Yes. It will be. And it won’t just be a possibility. It will be reality. Government won’t be able to resist the temptation AI offers. It’s just one more sign we’re nearing the end of the present age.

Remember, global government isn’t the only sign of the end. But it’s appearing at the same time as the other signs Jesus and the prophets said to look for. Israel is back in the land (Jeremiah 23:7-8)… The Jewish people once again reside in Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)… Though small, Israel has an exceedingly great army (Ezekiel 37:10)… Europe is unifying (Daniel 2:31-45)… And the Gospel is being preached to the ends of the earth (Matthew 24:14).

These are all signs Jesus and the prophets said to look for. And our generation is the first ever to witness these signs. Think this is mere coincidence? I don’t either.

Jesus Himself said, “When all these things begin to happen, look up for your salvation is near!” (Luke 21:28). In fact, He said the generation witnessing these signs will not pass away before He returns (Matthew 24:34). The appearance of these signs is the #1 indicator the end of the age and the Second Coming of Jesus are near. For the first time in history, we see those signs. They’re all around us. So don’t doubt it. Jesus is coming!

Amen. Come Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20)!

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.