The Bible speaks of signs. Jesus was asked for the sign of His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3). Earlier, the Jews tempted Jesus in asking Him for a sign from heaven (Matthew 16:3).

On July 22, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik, a lone extremist, exploded a bomb in Oslo, Norway, and then massacred others on the tiny island of Utoya. These twin attacks together took 77 lives.

These terrible acts show a sign of our times. Over the past few decades we have witnessed many extremist and terrorist bombings, the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., being the most memorable and most horrifying. Your Bible says that the end times will be very dangerous (2 Timothy 3:1). People will become even more savage or fierce (verse 3).

There's a source behind these violent acts. Jesus Christ said the devil was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44) and that he influences the whole world without our being aware of it (Ephesians 2:2-3; Revelation 12:9). Christ said that Satan will unleash his pent-up wrath against human beings immediately before and during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 12:12; Matthew 24:21-22). That time begins the countdown toward the end of his rule on earth, concluding with the Messiah's return.