Five Warning Signs Jesus Warned Us About

A lot of attention is given to headlines, world events, and possible prophetic signs. But Jesus also calls us to pay attention to what is happening in our own hearts, homes, and churches.

These signs are not a way to predict the day or hour of the Lord’s return. They simply help us to examine our lives, return to God’s Word, and stay spiritually awake.

Sign One: Exhaustion

Daniel’s vision speaks of an enemy who would “wear out the saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:25). That is a sobering picture. The enemy does not always try to pull people away from God all at once. Sometimes the pressure is to wear them down until prayer, scripture meditation and spiritual attentiveness feel like too much.

That does not mean every tired believer is under spiritual attack. People face real demands, health struggles, and seasons of burnout. But we should notice when constant noise and distraction are leaving no room for us to seek God and keep Him center of our lives.

“Let us not become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9)

As a Christian Content Creator, I sit with God, His word and research things to share. In doing all of that, sometimes I can associate working for God to spending time with Him. I fight the temptation to tap out and zone into mindless scrolling because I think about and work on deep things. The superficial is a literal break from the heaviness of it all.

I’m learning that I can discipline myself in the joy of the Lord by saying no to what my flesh wants and feeding my spirit through worship and song; it not only changes the atmosphere inside myself, it’s practicing the presence of God while also bypassing my intellect, which can be draining.

Not all social scrolling is bad, but the Lord will press on my heart when I’m indulging a little too long and I have to be sensitive to stop when He does point it out.

Sign Two: A Famine of Hearing

Amos warned of a famine “of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). Today, many of us have the Bible app but still rarely stop to listen, read carefully, or let Scripture shape our choices.

The issue is not how many Bible resources we own. The question is whether we are receiving God’s Word. How do we know when we are receiving? When our lives are responding to it with change and formation.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27)

Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

I’ve taken that scripture literally. It goes against the grain of a society which hails, “Do what you want!” But, I’ve examined the fruit of lives that are run by the idea of fulfilling immediate desires. I see temporary pleasure and a lifetime of regret.

We must decide right now to live a life we will not regret when we face our God, who is righteous, merciful and here to help us. He does not expect perfection but He does expect us to turn to Him for assistance, guidance and mentorship.

Sign Three: The Gospel of Selfish Obsession

Paul warned that people would become “lovers of themselves” (2 Timothy 3:2, NIV). Our culture often tells us to make our own feelings the highest authority: “my truth,” “my way,” and “my peace” above everything else.

There is a difference between caring for our well-being and making self the center of our lives. Jesus calls His followers to surrender and follow Him.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23)

I’ve shared this many times, God has revealed I must dethrone my feelings and emotions. It’s easy for me to go into blame, self-pity and judgement, especially when I’ve been wronged.

The hardest part is to choose forgiveness and to actively pursue blessing the very people who have hurt me.

Sign Four: Counterfeit Kindness

Isaiah warned against calling “evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Kindness matters deeply to God, but kindness separated from truthcan easily become a way for us to avoid hard conversations or affirm what Scripture actually warns against.

The Bible does not ask us to choose between truthand love. It calls us to speak truth with love.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15)

I had a Christian girlfriend who was going through such a hard time, she began to turn to ‘Christian Witchcraft’, praying at certain times because the stars and moon aligned. She claimed it was not astrology but astronomy. The reality was, my friend was trying to manipulate God and her outcome.

If we’ve searched our hearts, have followed the leading of His spirit, then prayer alone should be enough. If it was good enough for David, Paul and Moses, it needs to be enough for us.

Witchcraft is a serious offense against God. I did my best to warn her and share the truth as loving as I could. That warning cost me a friend.

My warning was an act of genuine care and kindness because I saw a friend barreling down a road that was not of God. If I were to ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit, just to placate my friend and keep the peace, this would be a ‘false kindness’ that would have me partner with her destruction. There is no guilt on my hands for warning her.

Sign Five: Scoffers Inside the Church

Peter warned that “scoffers will come” in the last days, asking, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?” (2 Peter 3:3–4). We may expect mockery from outside the church, but Scripture also warns that people can reject sound teaching from within religious communities.

Paul wrote that “the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3). That should make us examine our own hearts too: Do we welcome Scripture even when it challenges us, or only when it agrees with what we already want to hear?

The best example I can think of is the ‘Pastor/Prophet’ who is living in sin, taking on another ‘wife’ and telling his congregation that this was sanctioned by God. I also believe Prosperity ministers who collect thousands of dollars to build buildings to promote themselves and forget to care for the flock are not only missing the point of the church, but they are also mocking God’s design for it. The state of the church today, is rife with unholy leaders doing acts that would make a prostitute blush, violating the Jesus they claim to serve. There is NO fear of God in this.

Jesus did not give us prophecy to make us live in fear. He calls us to watch, pray, and remain faithful.

“Be always on the watch, and pray” (Luke 21:36). We do not know the day or the hour, but we can choose to stay close to Christ, grounded in Scripture, and ready to obey Him.