Jesus said: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another food shortages and pestilences.” (Luke 21:10, 11) Like the lines that form a fingerprint, all these events together form an unmistakable sign. And just as a fingerprint identifies a person, these events happening at the same time identify that “the Kingdom of God is near.” Have such events occurred together and become visible on a worldwide scale? Consider the evidence.

2. EARTHQUAKES

Every year there are about 100 earthquakes that are large enough to cause “substantial damage,” says Britannica Academic. And the United States Geological Survey reports that “according to long-term records (since about 1900), we expect about 16 major earthquakes in any given year.” Though some might attribute the apparent increase in earthquakes to better detection, the fact is that great earthquakes around the world are causing suffering and loss of life on an unprecedented scale.

3. FOOD SHORTAGES

Food shortages occur worldwide because of war, corruption, economic collapse, poor management of agriculture, or lack of planning for extreme weather. The World Food Programme’s “2018 Year in Review” states: “Across the world, 821 million people are going hungry​—124 million acutely so.” Malnutrition has contributed to the death of about 3.1 million children each year. In the year 2011, this was the cause of about 45 percent of all child deaths worldwide.

4. DISEASES AND EPIDEMICS

A World Health Organization publication states: “The 21st century has already been marked by major epidemics. Old diseases​—cholera, plague and yellow fever—​have returned, and new ones have emerged​—SARS, pandemic influenza, MERS, Ebola and Zika.” The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest. Even though scientists and doctors have learned much about sicknesses, they have not been able to find a cure for all diseases.