Signs of the End Times: The 5 Biblical Signs Jesus Told Us to Watch

Curated insights from Armageddon Approaching by David Cooper, The Last Hour by Amir Tsarfati, Biblical Prophecy by Jack Deere, and The Beast or the Lamb by Derek Prince  

The Bible’s clearest list of end times signs comes from Jesus in Matthew 24: false prophets and false christs, wars and global chaos, the persecution of believers, a cooling of love and faith, and the gospel preached to every nation. Together they signal that Christ’s return is drawing near. 

Jesus gave these signs not to frighten His followers but to steady them. The point of knowing the signs is not to set dates, but to stand firm. 

Where the signs of the end times come from 

Every list of end times signs traces back to one conversation. After Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple, His disciples asked Him three questions: when these things would happen, what would signal His coming, and what would mark the end of the age (Matthew 24:3 NIV). 

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 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.” (Matthew 24:4–14 NIV) 

In Armageddon Approaching, author Dr. David Cooper points out that Jesus opened not with spectacle but with a warning against deception, and described famines and earthquakes as “the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:8 NIV), labor pains that grow more frequent as the time approaches. Amir Tsarfati makes the same point in his book, The Last Hour: Jesus told His followers plainly what to watch for, rather than pointing them toward blood moons or novelty. As Cooper writes, “The signs of Jesus’ return are all around us”. 

The 5 signs of the end times Jesus named 

Here are five prophetic signs to watch for. 

1. False prophets and false christs 

Cooper calls this “the most frequent sign Jesus gave of the last days”, citing Jesus’s warning that “false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24 NIV). The danger is not crude error but convincing counterfeit. 

Author Jack Deere, in his book Biblical Prophecy, argues that as genuine prophetic ministry grows, counterfeits will multiply, and that this rise of counterfeits is itself “a sign that the end of the age is drawing near”. His test for discernment is twofold: a false minister ultimately denies a foundational truth of God’s written Word, and, because the enemy cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit, lacks real spiritual life and fruit. Winsome power alone proves nothing. 

2. Wars and global chaos 

Under what he names the Sign of World Chaos, Cooper points to Jesus’s words that “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,” with “great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places” (Luke 21:10–11 NIV). He offers the coronavirus pandemic as a modern example of “pestilences,” noting that it was distinct in being severe and global rather than local. 

Tsarfati sharpens the seismic piece of this sign. In The Last Hour he describes “more and more earthquakes of ever-increasing intensity” and ties the pattern to Jesus’s image of “the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8 NKJV): like birth pains, the signs are meant to intensify, not stay constant. 

3. The persecution of believers 

Jesus told His followers they would “be handed over to be persecuted and put to death” and “hated by all nations” for His name (Matthew 24:9 NIV). Cooper names this the Sign of Persecution and frames it not as cause for despair but as the cost of bearing Christ’s name faithfully, following the One who prayed for His executioners. 

4. Spiritual coldness and rising lawlessness 

The Sign of Spiritual Weakness, as Cooper calls is, rests on Jesus’s words that “because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12 NIV). The end times are marked not only by external crisis but by an internal drift, a faith and love that cool under pressure. 

Derek Prince, in his book The Beast or the Lamb, connects this to a force already in motion. He points to Paul’s statement that “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work” (2 Thessalonians 2:7 NKJV) and argues that a great “falling away,” or apostasy, precedes the Antichrist’s appearance. The cooling Jesus described and the lawlessness Paul named, in Prince’s reading, are the same current running through the last days. Cooper notes the same undertow, observing that “the spirit of antichrist is already at work in the world” (1 John 4:3). 

5. The gospel preached to all nations 

The final sign points forward with hope. Cooper names it the Sign of Global Missions, built on Jesus’s promise that “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 NIV). He sees it advancing now through global media, satellites, and online churches carrying one message far beyond any single congregation. 

The five signs at a glance 

Sign	What Jesus said	What to watch for
False prophets	“False messiahs and false prophets will appear” (Matthew 24:24)	Convincing counterfeits; denial of Scripture without spiritual fruit
Wars and global chaos	“Nation will rise against nation” (Luke 21:10–11)	Conflict, famine, pestilence, earthquakes of rising intensity
Persecution	“Hated by all nations because of me” (Matthew 24:9)	Hostility toward believers for the name of Christ
Spiritual coldness	“The love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12)	Drifting faith; the mystery of lawlessness at work
Gospel to all nations	“Preached in the whole world . . . then the end” (Matthew 24:14)	The good news reaching every nation, now via global media

What the signs mean together: the lesson of the fig tree 

The signs are not meant to be read one at a time, but as a pattern. Jesus pointed to the fig tree, whose budding leaves announce that summer is near (Matthew 24:32–35 NIV). Cooper’s reading is that the fig tree’s main lesson is assurance: when we see the signs converging, we can be confident the promise of Christ’s return is certain and close. The Apostle Paul saw the same pattern from the first century: ‘the mystery of lawlessness is already at work’ (2 Thessalonians 2:7 NKJV). The signs Jesus named were not only coming—they were already in motion. 

How we should respond to the signs 

Knowing the signs is meant to produce steadiness, not fear. Cooper turns each sign into a call to stand: when false christs appear, stand; when we hear of wars, stand; when famines and earthquakes come, stand; when love grows cold, stand. The signs are an invitation to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world while we wait, watching without date-setting and living ready rather than alarmed. 

Frequently asked questions 

What are the signs of the end times in the Bible? 

The clearest list is found in Matthew 24, where Jesus names false prophets, wars and natural disasters, persecution, a cooling of love and faith, and the worldwide preaching of the gospel. These signs come from His answer to the disciples’ question about the end of the age. 

What did Jesus say are the signs of the end? 

Jesus said there would be deception by false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, persecution of His followers, increasing lawlessness, and the gospel preached to all nations (Matthew 24:4–14 NIV). He called the early signs “the beginning of birth pains,” suggesting they intensify over time 

Are earthquakes a sign of the end times? 

Earthquakes appear in Jesus’s list of end times signs alongside famines and pestilences (Luke 21:11 NIV). In The Last Hour, Amir Tsarfati notes a pattern of earthquakes of increasing intensity, though Scripture frames these as part of a larger picture rather than a standalone countdown. 

How should Christians respond to the signs of the end times? 

The biblical response is to stand firm in faith rather than to fear or to predict dates. As David Cooper frames it in Armageddon Approaching, the signs are a call to remain faithful witnesses, confident that Christ’s return is certain 

This article was drafted with an AI research tool and reviewed and verified against the source manuscript by Joyce Perez, Marketing Manager.