"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
â Matthew 24:12-14
Quick Answer
Jesus and the apostles listed several signs preceding His return: wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, false messiahs, persecution of believers, widespread apostasy, global gospel proclamation, and increasing lawlessness (Matthew 24:4-14; 2 Timothy 3:1-5). These describe the general character of the entire age between Christ's ascension and return, calling believers to watchfulness rather than date-setting (Matthew 24:36).
Why We Look for Signs
It is natural to want to know what is coming, especially when the world feels unstable. The disciples felt the same pull; when Jesus predicted the temple's destruction, they immediately asked, "What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3). Jesus' answer, the Olivet Discourse, remains the single most detailed passage on end-times signs in the Gospels, and it is worth reading slowly rather than mining for isolated proof-texts.
It helps to remember that Jesus was not trying to satisfy idle curiosity. Every sign He gives comes wrapped in a pastoral purpose: keeping His followers alert, faithful, and unshaken, not anxious or obsessed with calculations.
Signs in Creation and Nations
Jesus describes wars, rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, famines, and earthquakes "in various places," but he explicitly calls these "the beginning of birth pains," not the end itself (Matthew 24:6-8). That phrase matters: birth pains recur, intensify over time, and are genuinely painful, but they are not the same as delivery. In other words, these signs mark the whole church age, not a single decade.
This is important because every generation since the apostles has faced war, famine, and disaster, and many have concluded, wrongly, that their own era must be the final one. The pattern Jesus describes is meant to prepare disciples across centuries, not hand any one generation a countdown clock.
This does not mean the signs are meaningless for us today; Jesus intends His followers in every generation to read their own times honestly through this lens, neither ignoring genuine turmoil nor treating every crisis as decisive proof that the end has finally arrived. The point of birth pains is that they intensify as the appointed time draws nearer, so believers are called to grow more watchful, not less, as history unfolds, without ever presuming to know exactly how close the delivery is.
Signs Within the Church
Jesus also warns of false christs and false prophets performing great signs, deceiving many if possible even the elect (Matthew 24:11, 24). Paul echoes this in his letter to Timothy, describing "terrible times" marked by people who are lovers of self, lovers of money, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding "a form of godliness" while denying its power (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
Alongside deception, Jesus foresees persecution, betrayal, and hatred of believers because of His name, and a resulting "increase of wickedness" that causes love to grow cold in many (Matthew 24:9-12). Paul similarly speaks of a coming "falling away" or apostasy before the man of lawlessness is revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
One Sign With a Promise Attached
Amid the difficult signs sits one genuinely hopeful marker: "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). Unlike wars and disasters, this is a sign the church actively participates in fulfilling every time believers share the gospel across language, culture, and geography.
It is a striking reminder that God's plan for the end times is not simply something that happens to the world; it involves the church's faithful witness as part of how history moves toward its appointed conclusion.
Living Wisely With These Signs
Because these signs have described the entire church age, believers should resist two opposite temptations: dismissing prophecy altogether as irrelevant, or obsessively matching every news cycle to a chart. Jesus' own conclusion to this teaching is not a timeline but a call to watchfulness: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (Matthew 24:42).
The healthiest response to end-times signs is not fear or speculation but faithful, steady living: staying rooted in Scripture, sharing the gospel, loving others well, and trusting that the God who holds the future also holds you (Matthew 24:13).
It also helps to remember that Jesus gave these signs to disciples who would go on to face real hardship, imprisonment, and martyrdom, and He intended the teaching to strengthen them, not paralyze them with fear. If it strengthened believers who faced lions and swords, it can steady you too, whatever specific anxieties the news cycle stirs up in a given week. The signs tell you the shape of the age you live in; they were never meant to become a substitute for simply trusting and following Christ one day at a time.