by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio

July 26, 2025

Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Saturday, July 26, 2025, and this is episode #10 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “Sounding the Alarm.”

For the past few years, watchmen all over the world have been watching for the return of Jesus Christ in the cataclysmic event known as the Rapture. But not only have they been watching, they have been warning the world as the Lord has been revealing more and more signs of His soon return.

In the Old Testament Book of Daniel, chapter 12, verse 9, the prophet Daniel inquired of the angel as to how the end of the world would transpire. The angel replied, “Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end.”

Well, my friend, we are now in that time of the end! And the Lord is revealing to His watchmen, day by day, the meaning of the signs the world is experiencing.

Perhaps the most significant of these signs is what is happening in the Middle East. Keep your eyes on Israel. Israel is God’s timepiece. As goes Israel, so goes the world.

Let’s take a look at some of these endtime signs that were sealed up in Daniel’s day but are now being revealed in ours. These signs indicate our Lord’s return in the Rapture is at hand.

1. MASS DECEPTION. When the disciples asked Jesus what would be the signs of the endtimes, the first thing Jesus listed was deception. Let’s read the passage in Matthew 24: 23-24:

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you.'” (Matthew 24: 23-24 NIV).

We are living in a day when it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish the truth from the lie. With advances in Artificial Intelligence, we are now able to manipulate images, voices, faces, and everything else in such a way as to distort who or what they really are and make them into what we want them to be. We create avatars, pictures of ourselves as we would like to look, not as we truly look. I find it very disturbing that one of the chief definitions of avatar is the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition that calls an avatar “the incarnation of a Hindu deity” A false god. This is DECEPTION.

We are witnessing an increasing number of people claiming to be the Messiah and offering solutions to the problems of the world. In a desperate attempt to find answers, people are turning to spiritists, mediums, mystics, psychics, New Age leaders, and other occultists, not realizing that they are playing with fire and opening their lives to the demonic realm.

2. WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. To my knowledge, there is currently a war or a threat of war in each of the four corners of the earth. Jesus warned us that this would be the case in the end times. Each day we hear increasing threats of a third world war, and, from the looks of things, we wonder if World War III has not already begun.

3.WIDESPREAD LAWLESSNESS. If you’ve watched the news lately, you’ve seen incidences of rioting in the streets, explosions on private property, and acts of arson that ignited widespread forest fires. Recently, a gang from a major nearby city invaded my small town and raced down one of our main streets on motorcycles. There were about 100 of them, and their exhibitions of lawlessness were beyond the pale. Their belligerent, rebellious actions forced other drivers off the road. The gang went through red lights, while doing flips, spins, and twirls with their motorcycles that would defy the most experienced stunt man.

But as if obstructing traffic and endangering lives was not bad enough, the gang also assaulted an elderly couple who own a convenience store in our area, robbed their beverage case, and destroyed their property. This kind of behavior is an example of the lawlessness Jesus predicted would occur in the last days.

4. NATURAL DISASTERS. I don’t know about you, but never in my life have I seen the severe kind of weather we are experiencing today. Monster storms are striking every continent with increasing frequency and intensity. The seeding of clouds and other methods of controlling the climate are backfiring on us, disrupting the way God created the earth. The hefty price we are paying for usurping God is starting to leave its toll.

Scripture warns us in Galatians 6: 7 that God cannot be mocked. A person will reap what he sows. To believe that what we do will not catch up with us is deception.

5. FAMINE. I recently saw a news report that Asia is experiencing a severe shortage of rice. Climate challenges have caused the rice crop to dwindle, resulting in conditions that could lead to widespread famine, not only in Asia but also throughout the world. Also, food prices are skyrocketing, so that people can no longer afford to feed their families. In many parts of the world, the situation is dire.

I read this quote on the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) website: “The scale of the current global hunger and malnutrition crisis is enormous. A total of 1.9 million people are in the grips of catastrophic hunger – primarily in Gaza and Sudan but also in pockets of South Sudan, Haiti and Mali. They are teetering on the brink of famine. In Zamzam camp in northern Sudan, famine has been confirmed.“

Jesus warned us that famine would occur in the last days, and that famine would be one sign of His imminent return. Based on what we are seeing in terms of world famine, our Lord will return very soon.

6. PESTILENCE. Who of us will ever forget the COVID pandemic of 2020? Jesus predicted that in the last days, there would be major pandemics, including the rise of new diseases formerly unknown to humanity. COVID was one of these and, according to the Bible, more are to come. During the seven-year Tribulation itself, there will be a major rise in pestilence—pandemics in which large portions of the world population will die.

7. PERSECUTION. In various parts of the world, Christians are being martyred for their faith. Here in the United States, we have a good deal of what is called “soft persecution” in the form of lawsuits against Christians who adhere to the commands of the Bible in their businesses, the banning of Christian posts on social media, and the increasing and vociferous opposition to Biblical values.

So you see, my friend, all that Jesus predicted would happen in the last days is happening now, before our very eyes. Moreover, politically speaking, the Abraham Accords are fulfilling Daniel 9: 27 where the Prophet Daniel speaks of a “covenant with many.” It seems highly probable that this covenant will be signed by member nations of the United Nations this coming September.

Let’s read the actual reference to this event in the Bible, in Daniel 9: 27. The “ruler” referred to in this verse is the AntiChrist:

“The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.” (Daniel 9: 27 NLT).

Once this “treaty” or “covenant” is signed, the Tribulation will begin. What is the Tribulation? It is the seven-year period during which the Lord will pour out His wrath on the entire world for rejecting Him. It will be a time of unspeakable horror, fear, suffering, and death under the tyrannical and brutal rule of the AntiChrist. You do NOT want to be here during the Tribulation.

But, you may be asking, how can I escape the Tribulation?

There is only one way. You must believe with your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Who became a man, died for Your sins, and rose from the dead. Once you receive this truth with all of your heart, you will be saved. You will be born again, and you will escape the wrath of God to be poured out on the earth during the Tribulation.

Are you ready to choose Jesus Christ? Are you ready to place your faith in Him to save you from the Tribulation and, far more importantly, from the eternal fires of Hell? If you are ready, pray this simple prayer with me now:

Lord Jesus, I want to escape the wrath of God during the Tribulation. Most of all, I want to escape it forever by going to Heaven and not to Hell. I cannot save myself. So I come to You now and ask You to save me. I believe that You are the Son of God Who died for me and Who rose from the dead. I invite you now to come into my life to be my Savior and Lord. Make of me who You created me to be. In Your Name. I pray. Amen.

If you sincerely prayed this prayer from your heart, you are now a born-again child of God. You have been given an inheritance by God Himself that includes hope, peace, and joy. Write to me at drmaryannn@maryanndiorio.com, and I will send you a free PDF e-booklet titled After You’re Born Again.

In case you are not aware, I write heart-mending fiction that deals with the deepest issues of life. In my stories you will find characters just like you who struggle with what look like impossible problems and situations. Check out my books at my online bookstore at shop.maryanndiorio.com. That’s shop.maryanndiorio.com. 

Also, visit me on my other blogs, “The Relationship Road” and “The Reader Connection.” There you will find valuable information on creating and cultivating healthful relationships based on God’s Word and information on wonderful books for readers.

Winning with the Word is available on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast venues as well as on YouTube. Check out my YouTube channel at youtube.com/drmaryanndiorio.

Until next time, remember that God loves you just as you are and just where you are. Yet He doesn’t want to keep you there. As you live in Him, He will help you to keep on winning with the Word.

Dr. MaryAnn Diorio
_____________________________________________________________
Copyright 2025 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved.


Featured Book of the Week:

The Iron Saint: Preparing the Church for Persecution by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD

The Church in America is on the verge of a possible spiritual awakening, an awakening that will first be fueled by persecution unlike anything we have ever seen before in this land. Indeed, a prophetic word given in my home church during the month of November gave this warning to the Church: “Prepare for the fire of persecution!”

Are you ready to stand up for Christ, no matter what the cost? To find out, read The Iron Saint.