In my fifth post on the return of Jesus Christ, let us go through some of the signs to look for. The Bible tells us to watch and be ready, so let’s explore what to watch for. There are many authors and people with their ideas of today’s world events and how they tie in to the signs talked about in God’s Word. With the Super Blue Blood Moon occurred this morning, I am sure they will be talking about that. While this is intriguing, I am going to stick with scripture as far as things to look for. Jesus’ tells us that it is not for us to know the hour but to watch, but we can know when the time is near and I believe we are now in that time.
Matthew 24:36-39
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Luke 21:25-28
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
Most people will be going about their business, worrying about life and doing the things that please themselves. Meanwhile they may miss the signs that the time is near. Have you seen any weird weather lately or above normal frequency of storms and earthquakes? Are these some of the signs?
Others are worried that they missed it. Some think we are already in the tribulation and that some of the seals have been open. We know, though, that things will get harder before they get better, but when He comes, it will be worth living for Him. It will be a glorious day for those who know Him. Our prayer is that no one would have to go through the tribulation, but that all should come to repentance that they can have eternal life and look forward to the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
We will conclude this post with the words of Jesus who tells us of that time. There are many prophecies in the Bible of times to come. Prophecies spoken of in the Bible have come to pass as they have said, and they will when the time comes. But, this is a time for hope, not for fear. For God loves us and wants to be our God and wants to share His love with us for eternity.
Matthew 24:4-31
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.
“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
To learn more of what the scriptures say about signs and events to come before the coming of Jesus Christ, here are a few scriptures:
- Zechariah 14
- Ezekiel 38-39
- Joel 2:28-32
- Revelation 6-9: The seals and trumpets
- Revelation 11: The Two Witnesses and the 7th trumpet
- Revelation 12-13: Satan (The Dragon), the antichrist (The Beast from the Sea), and the false prophet (The Beast of the Earth) and the mark
- Revelation 15-16: Bowl judgments
- Revelation 17-19: Restored Babylon and the marriage feast of the Lamb
- Revelation 20-22: The Millennial Reign, the Great White Throne judgment, The New Jerusalem and Heaven
My Daily Scriptures 