Signs Of The Second Coming
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Introduction
1 One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. 2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!
Jesus rebuked them because they knew how to discern the signs of weather, but they couldnʼt connect the dots from the OT prophecies and the incredible fulfillments developing right before their eyes!
The OT prophets had said so much about the coming of the Anointed One.
But now that He was in their midst, they didnʼt recognize and welcome Him.
They rejected Him instead.
John 1:10-11
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Therefore, the only thing left for them was coming judgment.
Luke 19:43-44
The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of Godʼs coming to you.”
All because they didnʼt recognize the signs of Christʼs first coming.
Similarly, we are to know and watch for the signs of Christʼs second coming.
When the disciples questioned Jesus about His return they specifically asked Him for a sign of His coming. They wanted to know if there was something they should be watching for.
3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
(Matthew 24-25) is the Olivet discourse
Because He was sitting on the Mount of Olives when He delivered it.
DECEPTION
Jesus began His answer to the disciplesʼ request for a sign. The first words out of His mouth were …
Matthew 24:45
Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,ʼ and will deceive many.
Jesus used the word ‘deceiveʼ twice, and He warned His followers of being deceived.
This implies that believers can indeed be deceived, which He reemphasized a little later on.
Matthew 24:24
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
Deception was the first thing Jesus warned them to watch out for, as it would be so strong that it could even deceive the elect, if they werenʼt vigilant.
Jesus is saying here that there will be a great escalation of deception in the latter days.
Exemplified by extroardinary Church division recently
Trump
Significant because the only reason he was elected was because white Christians voted for him.
Is he a good person or bad person? - Does not matter
I was personally confronted by senior Christians who were ANGRY that I did not honor Trump
What is significant is that Christians were putting their hope/loyalty in a man
Covid
The division in the church that said Covid was a hoax
That it was a way the government can control us.
I know of a church locally that would not associate with other churches who did not agree with them.
Truckers
A certain vocal segment of Christians in Canada supported the truckers
What is important about these incidents?
How easily the church was divided by them
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN BE DECEIVED/DIVIDED
WE NEED TO KNOW HOW WE CAN BE DECEIVED
God will bind Satan for the duration of the 1000-year Millennium so that he cannot deceive the nations during that age.
Revelation 20:23 BSB He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.
And Paul says that Satan has many servants who masquerade as servants of righteousness, but that they are false apostle and deceitful workers.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.
Many of the Satanʼs workers masquerade as religious clergy and disseminate their deceptions in this way, so that they deceive – yes, ‘even the elect,ʼ as Jesus said they would .
Paul warned Timothy that in the later days some of the elect would abandon the faith because of the false teachings of those he called “liars.”
1 Timothy 4:12
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.
In his second letter Paul said that the time will come when people do not put up with sound doctrine.
2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
Peter concurred, saying false teachers will cleverly introduce destructive heresies.
2 Peter 2:1
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
Heresy:
Doctrinal departures (error) from revealed truth; erroneous views or doctrines not in line with the accepted teachings of the Church.
Paul directed Timothy about his doctrine
1 Timothy 4:16
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Signs that deception and doctrinal error has infultrated the church
First:
Televangelists who prey on the masses for money
Following are several of many examples.
One of many examples is the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG). This cult or false religion was founded in Brazil by Bishop Edir Macedo.
spread into 172 countries and owns huge temples in cities like New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo.
Their annual income donations is roughly $800 million, and the money comes from almost 8 million followers.
They are being prosecuted for fraud.
Peter warned about such saying …
3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
These false teachers, who preach the prosperity gospel, are present in the West too.
Second: Pastors and churches who embrace and promote LGBTQ ideology
Matthew Vine,brought 50 Christian leaders together in what he called the Reformation Project conference.
His goal was to train these leaders how to harmonize what the Bible says about homosexuality with the gay agenda and then send these pastors back into their churches to reform these churches to become gay-affirming.
On October 1, 2023, Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church,
Hosted the Unconditional Conference put on by Embracing the Journey to learn how to minister to youth who identify as LGBTQ.
Two of the conference speakers, Justin Lee and Brian Nietzel, are both “married” to other men.
Other speakers included David Gushee, who wrote, “Changing Our Mind,” a book that calls for the inclusion of LGBT Christians and advances a fresh interpretation of the Bible supporting this view.
None of the presentations addressed the fundamental question of whether homosexual sex or same-sex marriage or transgender transitioning is a sin.
Instead, they assumed they are not a sin and carried on offering advice with that hidden premise.
Paul warned … Ephesians 5:35
But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Global disasters
Matthew 24:6-7
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
However, we know that this isnʼt an exhaustive list:
Revelation John also included other catastrophes:
such as economic crashes
5 When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.”
plagues
8 I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.
hail
21 There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.
forest fires
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.
and polluted rivers, lakes and oceans
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs, and they became blood.
First: beginning of birth pains
a After Jesus mentioned three types of disasters in this category He ended by saying,
b Matthew 24:8 NIV All these are the beginning of birth pains. c We know that the signs Jesus listed here refer to what will happen in the tribulation because Jesus was referencing Isaiah when He referred to the signs as the beginning of birth pains. d Isaiah prophesied of a tribulation coming (26:16) when God would ‘disciplineʼ Israel (26:16) and ‘punish the people of the earth for their sinsʼ (26:21) in His ‘wrathʼ (26:20). And he likened it to the labor pains of a woman (26:16-17). e Some are dismissive about these signs because the world has experienced many such disasters throughout history. In other words, “thereʼs nothing new under the sun.” But they are mistaken. f While it is true that all of these particular signs have continued throughout history, Jesus plainly told us that there will be an escalation in the frequency, number, intensity, and scope of these disasters, just as happens when a woman experiences labor pains. g And since Jesus said that the signs He had just mentioned were just the beginning of these birth pains, He meant for us to understand that these events would increase in frequency and intensity. Second: believers will be hated in the whole world a Further, Jesus said they would be hated by “all” nations because of Him. (Mt 24:9) b Since the founding of the Church, believers have been hated around the world. However, these have essentially been local or regional phenomena, which is why Christian have often fled to more peaceful regions. What Jesus predicts here is world-wide in scope. There will be no where to flee. Third: increase in wickedness a Just a few verses later, Jesus warned that there would be an “increase in wickedness” (Mt 24:12). b Thatʼs a significant statement, because since the Fall, the world has always been wicked. c The OT records periods in human history where wickedness was so rampant, that God judged the world in those times and places. d Some examples include the Flood (Gen 6), confusing human languages to slow down the spread of evil (Gen 11), sending fire to consume Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18-19), the ten plagues in Egypt to deliver the Israelites (Ex 5-11), invading armies (Judges) and so on. e Yet here Jesus says there will be a pronounced increase in wickedness. Fourth: tribulation unequaled since the beginning of the world Signs Which Precede Jesus' Return - Part 1 6 First: wars Second: famines a Jesus said that the abomination of desolation in the temple at Jerusalem will mark the start of a tribulation period unequaled since the beginning of the world (Mt 24:21a). b And then He added, “and never to be equaled again” Mt 24:21b). When you consider some of the ‘tribulationsʼ of the past century, that means the intensity of the coming tribulation will be great. Not only did Jesus plainly tell us that the intensity and frequency of these disasters will increase, Johnʼs descriptions of these in Revelation make that abundantly clear as well. John says that at that in the future there will wars, famines, and plagues that will kill one-quarter of the earthʼs inhabitants (Rev 6:7-8). Revelation 6:78 NIV When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. A quarter of the todayʼs world population of 8 billion would be 2 billion people! And just two chapters later John talked about hail and fires that would kill another third of the worldʼs population! Revelation 8:7 NIV The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. Though such apocalyptic predictions are unthinkable, they arenʼt so unbelievable anymore! Below, weʼll look at some recent stats that demonstrate that the signs predicted by Jesus and John are already growing in frequency and intensity. By this, we do not mean to suggest that these are the birth pains of the seven-year tribulation. They arenʼt. But the present trends plainly demonstrate that the frequency and intensity of these events are increasing just like Jesus said they would. And that likely means weʼre getting close to the end times. Thereʼs another reason why a look at these trends is important. The end times catastrophes have seemed far-fetched to many. But todayʼs endless reports of heat records, melting polar caps and glaciers, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts and famines often include the word, ‘apocalypticʼ today!