Signs of the Times

Kenneth E. Hagin

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Electronic Edition Published 2014

ISBN-13: 978-1-60616-824-0-X

Copyright © 1986 Rhema Bible Church aka Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Faith Shield is a trademark of Rhema Bible Church, AKA Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc., registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and therefore may not be duplicated.

Chapter 1

‘Foolproof Scriptures’

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. —Luke 21:25–28

I believe we’re living in the last days. The Word of God has much to say about the end times and what will happen in them.

Sometimes we get into the Book of Daniel or the Book of Revelation and try to figure things out, and about the time we get it figured out and we put our interpretation on it, something else happens, and we see that our interpretation was wrong.

But there’s one thing you can be sure of—what I call “foolproof Scriptures.” These are the things Jesus said, and James, Peter, Paul, and the other New Testament writers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote about the last days.

You’ll notice in that last verse of our text, Luke said, “. . . for your redemption draweth nigh.” Some may ask, “Well, I thought we already were redeemed.” We are as far as our spirits are concerned, but there also is going to be the redemption of our body when Jesus comes again.

Now turn to Romans 8 and notice the twenty-third verse: “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit . . .” We have the “firstfruits” of the Spirit. You see, we have the Holy Spirit in the New Birth, and we have the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.

This verse continues, “. . . even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

This is talking about signs of the times—things that shall come to pass in the last days, when our redemption shall be consummated and our body shall be redeemed.

Another example is this passage of Scripture from James:

JAMES 5:1–5

1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. [Notice he’s talking about “the last days.”]

4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

You can see that James identifies heaped-up treasure as one of the signs of the last days.

At the time James wrote his Epistle, they didn’t have the New Testament in the form we have it today. They just had letters that were written to the Church. James, not knowing what Paul wrote, spoke of something which would happen in the last days—heaped-up treasure. Paul, not knowing what James wrote, also talked about the “last days.”

Notice what Paul said in Second Timothy 3:1–2. Keep in mind that Paul was not talking about the Church and what would happen in it; he was talking about what would happen in the world “in the last days.”

2 TIMOTHY 3:1–2

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. [Perilous times!]

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. . . .

In my whole life, I’ve never seen the disobedience to parents I’ve seen in the last 20 years. When I was young, even people who didn’t go to church had respect for their parents. But, you see, this is a sign of the last days.

2 TIMOTHY 3:3–5

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

I never have been able to understand some people in charismatic circles. They get born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, healed by the power of God—and go back to some old dead church.

These churches—right here in the United States—tell them that speaking with tongues and “that healing business” are of the devil! They only have “a form of godliness . . . denying the power thereof,” and the Scripture plainly says, “. . . from such turn away.” It doesn’t say, “Go join up with them”; it says, “Turn away!”

Furthermore, it’s beyond my comprehension that Spirit-filled people will put their money into a church like that. I know people who do. They say, “Well, momma and grandma were members of this church.”

Thank God, momma and grandma walked in all the light they had and God blessed them. And probably back when momma and grandma were members of that church, they had a certain amount of the move of the Spirit.

I remember Grandpa telling me about church services in the little country church down the hill from the family farm. They called it Friendship Baptist Church. It was a Southern Baptist church, but it was the only church in the community, so people from many denominations attended.

After I was healed and raised up from the bed of sickness, I was out there on the farm for a number of days—my uncle lived there—and I went down the hill to attend one of their church services.

Dr. J. Ben Snyder was preaching. Those were Depression days, so he just came out twice a month.

This was 1934, and I’d just been healed. In fact, I hadn’t been up for more than two or three months, and the devil was still fighting me. I had nobody to stand with me in faith or power.

I remember walking down the hill, and I remember the old gentleman who preached that service. He was about 70 years of age, and he preached on prayer.

He mentioned that he received word one day that a young woman in the church had given birth to a child, but something had happened, and she had been given up to die by medical science.

Babies were born in the homes in those days, so Dr. Snyder went to visit her. She said to him, “Brother pastor, I’m not afraid to die—I’m saved—but my baby needs me. I have a 3-year-old child, I’m just 28 years old, and my husband needs me.”

And I will never forget it. I heard that old Baptist preacher say, “I told her, ‘You don’t have to die. Not at 28. When I get home, I’m going to go out in the smokehouse and get alone with God and pray.’” (In the old days, a smokehouse was the place where they smoked their meat and hung meat up to cure.)

So he said, “I prayed for her there, but when I got back to my house, I went immediately out to the smokehouse, and I pled her case. I said, ‘Lord, she’s only 28 years old. I know the doctors have done what they could, and they said she has to die. But You’re the Great Physician.’”

And he said, “I refused to give up.” One hour went by, and two hours went by, and three hours went by, and four hours went by, and five hours went by. He said, “I had it. I knew I had it!” (He meant he knew in his spirit, on the inside of him, that he had the answer.) And he said, “That woman lived and didn’t die.”

When that service was over, I don’t even remember climbing back up that hill. I think I flew back up it!

Grandpa told me that in days gone by, when he and Granny had lived out there on the farm, they only had part-time preaching in that country church, but they always had Saturday night services, whether they had a preacher or not. One of the deacons, Sunday School teachers, or somebody else would conduct the service.

Grandpa said, “In those days in the Baptist church, we always had a testimony meeting. People would stand and testify about what God had done for them, and how He had heard and answered prayer. We were the only church in the community, so everybody came.”

And he said, “I’ll tell you, the power of God would fall, and people would shout up and down the aisles. And when the service was over and we were walking home—some came in wagons—we could hear people shouting and praising God two miles away.”

Now these weren’t Pentecostals, Full Gospel people, or charismatics. These were Baptists, Methodists, Disciples of Christ, and Christian church members. They knew something about the power of God and the move of the Spirit. But in this day and age if somebody got up to shout in some of those churches, they’d throw them out, saying, “We’ve got a form we go by, and we don’t allow things like that.”

So many churches have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof; from such turn away.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come,” Paul said. We’re living in that time.

Chapter 2

Distress of Nations

Notice what Jesus said in Luke 17:28–30.

LUKE 17:28–30

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Before Jesus comes it will be as it was in the days of Lot. What happened then? “They did eat, they drank. . . .” You’ve never seen so many eating places in your life as there are today—and they’re building more. “They did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded.” That sounds like today, doesn’t it? That’s another sign of the times and the day in which we live.

Let’s look again at Luke 21:25. “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring.”

You do not understand that kind of language unless you understand the Bible. “The sea and the waves” represent people. Water is also a type of the Holy Spirit. What causes this distress of nations with perplexity? The sea and the waves roaring means people of the earth are in upheaval. And we’re there! Heads of nations don’t know what to do. They can’t find the answers. Luke goes on:

LUKE 21:26–27

26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Distress of nations—a sign of the last days!

Now turn over to Matthew and see what Jesus said about the last days: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled . . .” (Matt. 24:6). Ever since World War II we’ve heard of wars and rumors of wars; there has been constant fighting. The verse continues, “. . . for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” What things must come to pass? Wars and rumors of wars must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Verse seven says, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines [have you heard anything about famines anywhere?], and pestilences, and earthquakes [have you heard anything about earthquakes?], in divers places [that means different places].”

Now listen to the eighth verse: “All these are the BEGINNING of sorrows.”

Dear friends, this passage is another “foolproof” sign of the time in which we live; it doesn’t need any interpretation.

Now turn to Second Peter 3:3. “Knowing this first, that there shall come IN THE LAST DAYS scoffers, walking after their own lusts.” What do they scoff at? We find the answer in verse four: “And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

In other words, Peter says there would be those who would mock and scoff at the visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We’ve got them on every hand. It’s another sign of the times.

Chapter 3

Perilous Times

In the second chapter of Second Peter, we read about another sign of the end times. Can you read the signs? That’s what they’re for. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you . . .” (v. 1).

I want you to see something here. When Peter says there shall be false teachers among you, he means right among the people of God. The passage continues, “. . . who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not” (vv. 1–3).

False teachers!

There also are predictions about terrorist groups, immorality, and crime waves.

Let’s read again Second Timothy 3:1. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” That means there is peril on every side. It’s no wonder at all that in these last days terrorist groups have arisen. Paul said there would be perilous times.

I want you to notice there is a prediction of a crime wave in this passage: “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection . . .” (vv. 2–3).

Do you know what Paul is talking about when he’s saying “without natural affection”? He’s talking about homosexuals and lesbians. They’re without natural affection. It’s unnatural for a man to want a man. It’s unnatural for a woman to want a woman. They are without natural affection.

Turning back to Romans, you’ll find that Paul has discussed this subject before. In Romans 1:26 we read, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections . . .” What does “vile affections” mean? Without natural affection. “. . . for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.” It’s against nature. It’s not natural for a woman to want a woman.

Verse twenty-seven, “And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”

Notice Paul is saying that in the last days, among the other things he listed, there also is going to be a rise of homosexuality. Have we seen this in our day? Certainly we’ve seen it.

“Well, doesn’t God love those people?” some will ask. Yes, He loves all sinners, but He doesn’t love their sin. The Bible says that God hates sin. However, He sent Jesus to redeem all of us, including homosexuals. Many homosexuals are being saved, and their lives are being turned around.

But what Paul is saying here is that there is going to be an increase of these things in the last days. In our own country, we can certainly see it, can’t we? Things that people wouldn’t even talk about publicly a few years ago are now everywhere.

2 TIMOTHY 3:3–5

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Now look at that thirteenth verse: “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

When you put it all together, Paul is talking about an increase of sin and an increase of crime in the last days: another sign!

Then notice in First Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly [the Spirit he refers to here is the Holy Spirit], that in the latter times [the end of time, before Jesus comes back to the earth] some shall depart from the faith. . . .”

This isn’t talking just about sinners. Even among Christendom, some shall depart from the faith. Doing what? “. . . giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” Now what is Paul saying? Paul is saying that in the latter times there will be an increase in spiritualism. In our own country we’re seeing things in the area of spiritism and spiritualism that we didn’t see a few years ago.

Paul continues in verse two, “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” You see, you can follow the devil, and your conscience—which is the voice of your spirit—can become so seared it won’t bother you. You’ll think you’re all right. (A lot of times lying spirits get ahold of people like this.)

I’m reminded of a story which illustrates this principle of searing the conscience with a hot iron. I sometimes tell about an elderly man I met during my first pastorate, which was out in the country from McKinney. I’d go out there and preach Thursday night and again on Sunday. I’d usually stay overnight. Because I didn’t have a car in the beginning, I had to walk or thumb a ride.

Sometimes I’d stay in the home of Mr. R.O. Cox. He was one of three brothers in this community. They called them the three Cox boys. When I first went out there, Mr. J.W. Cox was 91; Mr. R.O. Cox was 89; and Mr. Babe Cox (the baby of the family) was only 72.

Mr. R.O. Cox was a fine Christian gentleman, a leader of the community spiritually and in every other way. It seemed like the whole community followed him. We had great times of fellowship, even though I was just a boy in my late teens and he was 89.

His son-in-law and daughter, who lived with him, would get up early—sometimes before daylight—to milk the cows, slop the hogs, and feed the horses. His son-in-law was out plowing before Mr. R.O. and I ever got up—somewhere around 7 or 8 in the morning.

He and I would eat breakfast together. This was in the mid-30’s, and in those days, out in the country, they still cooked on an old wood stove. Mr. Cox’s daughter would have an old-fashioned coffeepot sitting on that stove. He drank coffee; I didn’t.

He’d stir up the fire, maybe put another stick of wood in it, and get that coffee virtually boiling. When he poured it into a big, thick mug, that mug would be shaking and the coffee inside would be simmering. Then he would turn the mug up and drink the whole thing.

The first time I saw him do it, I started hollering! I felt like I burned all the way down, just from watching him. I said, “Man, if I drank anything that hot, it would kill me!”

But he couldn’t do that the first time he tried it. He’d drink his coffee a little hotter, and a little hotter, and a little hotter until he finally seared the tissues of his throat, mouth, and esophagus, and it didn’t bother him anymore.

That’s the way it is with people who continually sear their conscience. At first, their conscience is tender to wrongdoing. But as they continue to persist in their sin, their conscience becomes more and more seared until they are unable to hear from the voice of their own spirit. Then, no sin—no matter how bad—bothers them anymore. Their sin, just like the hot coffee, no longer affects that once tender area—the conscience.

Chapter 4

The Time of the End

God called me to teach His people faith, so I specialized along that line, but that’s not all I preach. Even as a pastor I was strong in teaching faith, but I didn’t just teach faith. I was strong in teaching prayer, but I didn’t just teach prayer. I was strong on the subject of healing, but I didn’t just teach healing. I’d preach on other subjects, too, because the Bible teaches such things as the subject we are discussing now—signs of the times—plus holiness, consecration, commitment, etc.

In my opinion, if there is one thing lacking in the charismatic move, it’s consecration and commitment to God. We need people with backbones like crowbars. Too many have a backbone like a thread. Anybody can twist them around their finger. These people give up too easily. I don’t understand that kind of thinking.

I got saved when I was 15, and was healed when I was almost 17, and I left that bed of sickness preaching. The thought to give up never entered my mind. I sometimes had to work on the side to supplement my income (Paul made some tents), but the thought never entered my mind to do anything but obey God. I said, “Here I go, live or die, sink or swim, go under or over” (and it looked like I was going to do all of them). But I didn’t look back, praise God. I just kept going. I just kept plowing, even when it looked like it was not working. Why? Because I had made a commitment, a dedication, a consecration, and I didn’t make it over again; I stayed with it. We need people like that today. Those are the people who will turn the world upside down for Jesus.

So we saw where the Holy Spirit said that in the latter times some would depart from the faith; there would be a rise of spiritualism; and people would speak lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared. We’ve had some sad experiences along that line. Not everybody who comes to Rhema turns out marvelously. But where we’ve had one bad report, thank God we’ve gotten several dozen good ones.

In fact, I’ve still got the letter on my desk from a businessman here in Broken Arrow who sent $10,000 to Rhema. I asked Ken if he knew the man, but he didn’t. The man wrote a little note, explaining that he felt led of the Lord to sow some seed and invest in Rhema. He said he’d had two students and their wives work for him. The first couple is now pastoring a church in Ohio, and the second couple is still in school.

He said, “In honor of these four people, I’m giving $10,000.” He saw the fruit of their lives. Thank God we are producing people like that.

Paul continued in First Timothy 4, “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth” (v. 3). Have you run into anybody like that? Isn’t it good to believe and know the truth? The rise of those teachings is a sign of the times in which we live, and indicates to us that we must be living in the latter times.

God said a number of things to Daniel about the last days, so let’s go back to the Book of Daniel and notice the fourth verse of chapter twelve: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even the time of the end . . . .”

There’s that expression again—time of the end, last days, latter times. What about the time of the end? The rest of verse four says, “. . . many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

Daniel is not talking about churches; he’s talking about men, the world, people in general, running to and fro. People travel more today than ever in the history of the world. And it says knowledge shall be increased. He’s not talking about the knowledge of God; he’s talking about the knowledge of the world.

I come from the old Model T days. And I can remember the time everybody would run out of the house if just one of those little single-engine airplanes flew over. Think about the cars we have today and think about the improvements they have made in airplanes. Man has even gone to the moon and back!

Knowledge shall be increased. When? In the time of the end. And men shall run to and fro. When? In the time of the end.

Paul said, writing to the church at Corinth, “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:5).

Let’s look again at the last verse of our text, Luke 21:28, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

When these things begin to come to pass, look up! Lift up your heads! Glory! Is it time for us to be downcast; to look down? No! Lift up your heads. Look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

Paul said “When these things BEGIN to come to pass. . . .” Brother, sister, these signs we’ve just looked at have not begun to come to pass; they have come to pass. The end is at hand.

1 JOHN 3:1–3

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God [now], and it doth not yet appear what we shall be [we haven’t arrived yet]: but we know [I like that, don’t you? That’s positive. What is it we know?] that, when he shall appear [that’s when He comes], we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

That’s a strange statement. “I thought God was going to purify us,” many will say. “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself.” There are some things you have to do for yourself.

All the signs point to the fact that Jesus is coming! We have that hope, and it is a purifying hope. People who are living recklessly, carelessly, and impurely are not expecting Him to come. But every person who has this purifying hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I thank You for your holy written Word. As we have studied the Word together, we have seen that many of the signs of the times the Lord Jesus gave us and the Holy Spirit gave us through the apostles point to the fact that these are the last days and this is the latter time.

Thank You, Father, that we know that when Jesus shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

I have that hope in me, and it is a purifying hope. I lay aside everything that is unlike You, Lord.

Thank You for the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin. And as Paul said, we lay aside not only every sin, but every weight—those things that are not necessarily sinful, but are weights that hold us back in the Christian race.

We believe Jesus is coming. We believe these are the last days. We believe there’s a work that must be done. We believe there’s a harvest that must come. So we’re getting ready for it. We’re moving on in prayer and intercession.

Thank You, Lord, for that day that is coming when the last enemy, physical death, shall be put under foot and our full redemption shall become a reality.

About the Author

Kenneth E. Hagin ministered for almost 70 years after God miraculously healed him of a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease at the age of 17. Even though Rev. Hagin went home to be with the Lord in 2003, the ministry he founded continues to bless multitudes around the globe.

Kenneth Hagin Ministries’ outreaches include The Word of Faith, a free magazine; Rhema Bible Training College; Rhema Alumni Association; Rhema Ministerial Association International; Rhema Correspondence Bible School; and the Rhema Prison Ministry. Rev. Hagin’s son and daughter-in-law, Kenneth W. and Lynette Hagin, co-host Rhema Praise, a weekly television broadcast; Rhema for Today, a weekday radio program; and Living Faith Crusades held around the world.

A Sinner’s Prayer to Receive Jesus as Savior

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to You in the Name of Jesus.

Your Word says, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37), so I know You won’t cast me out, but You take me in and I thank You for it.

You said in Your Word, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). I am calling on Your Name, so I know You have saved me now.

You also said, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9–10). I believe in my heart Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that He was raised from the dead for my justification, and I confess Him now as my Lord.

Because Your Word says, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness,” and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) . . . And I am saved!

Thank You, Lord!

Signed____________________________

Date______________________________

Table of Contents

Signs of the Times

01 'Foolproof Scriptures'

02 Distress of Nations

03 Perilous Times

04 The Time of the End

About the Author

A Sinner's Prayer

More About Kenneth Hagin Ministries

Table of Contents

Signs of the Times

01 'Foolproof Scriptures'

02 Distress of Nations

03 Perilous Times

04 The Time of the End

About the Author

A Sinner's Prayer

More About Kenneth Hagin Ministries