The Signs of Christ's Return

“Are We Living In the Last Days”

The Signs Of The End

At regular intervals throughout history there has always been someone that feels prompted to make a prediction concerning the return of Jesus Christ or the end of the world.

Back in 1843, A New Englander named William Miller believed in the imminent return of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, he began to speculate about the date of that return using dubious mathematical calculations. He collected mounds of data, analyzed it, and was certain he had made on mistakes. He therefore confidently announced the followers that on March 21, 1843. Jesus Christ would return to earth.

Historical records tell us that a comet streaking across the night sky helped to confirm Miller in his delusions. At midnight on the appointed day, his devoted followers donned their ascension robes, trekked into the mountains, and climbed towering trees to get as high as possible so they would have “less distance to travel through the air” when the Lord returned to take them home.

But the day came and went. The Lord did not return. And the trees became awfully uncomfortable.

And so the dejected band of Millerites trudged home to a late breakfast on March 22, accompanied by the jeers and catcalls of their neighbors. It was a sad and bitter day for these deeply disappointed men and women.

But William Miller was not a man to give up easily. He immediately went back to the Scriptures and found a “mistake” in his calculations. Why, he had miscounted by one year! So it was that, 365 days later, the Millerites once again robed themselves, climbed trees, and awaited the Lord’s return.

And once again, they were disappointed. After this, most of his disciples turned their hearts from their sincere but deluded leader – and infinitely more tragic, turned their hearts away form God.

Williams Miller was not the first nor will he be the last to speculate on the return of our Lord to the earth. Why then are we so interested in exactly when Jesus Christ will return to the earth. Could it be because Jesus own disciples wondered the same thing and asked Him in His final week of His earthly life.

In Matthew 24:3 the disciples ask “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

We need to realize that the disciples believed in the soon return of Jesus and most felt that He would return within their lifetime.

1. The Preliminary Signs Of Christ’s Return

Jesus told the disciples to be careful not to be deceived. The things He shared with the disciples are good for us to know also. He told them to “Watch Out”. In other words keep your eyes open! Don’t be gullible – test those who claim to speak for God. Demonstrate godly skepticism to keep from being confused and deceived.

Jesus called these preliminary signs - “Birth Pains” meaning these things are not the actual signs but let us know that things are getting close.

· False Messiah’s - Matthew 24:5

The apostle John wrote at the close of the first century, "Even now many

antichrists have come. . . . They went out from us, but they did not really

belong to us" (1 John 2:18-19). The term antichrist does not indicate someone

who is openly against Christ, such as an atheist or a pagan. Rather it is a

person who subtly undermines true Christianity by substituting a false and

deceptive "Christianity." An antichrist is a counterfeit Christ, a false

messiah. ("Christ" is the Greek form of the Hebrew word "Messiah.")

it is a mistake to think that antichrists are found only in such obvious places as the pseudochristian cults. They are sometimes found in the highest levels of our oldest and most prestigious Christian denominations. It is exactly as Peter predicted when he wrote that "there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves" (2 Peter 2:1).

Individuals, groups, and churches that seem outwardly Christian in their talk

and behavior, yet reject the true Jesus Christ of the Bible, are

antichrists--counterfeit christs, false messiahs. Any person or organization

that purports to be Christian but does not present the biblically complete and

accurate picture of Christ is antichrist.

Wars and Rumors of Wars - Matthew 24:6-7

Clearly, Jesus is not predicting any one specific war or revolution. He is

characterizing the general course of the age. It will be marked by continual

turmoil among nations, producing a torrent of fear, death, horror, terror, and

misery. His words telescope together all the effects that war can produce in the

human heart. We are certainly seeing more and more of the fulfillment of this prediction in our world today.

Natural Calamity – Matthew 24:7-8

Natural catastrophes have occurred for as long as history has been recorded.

Famines are described in Genesis, Ruth, and elsewhere in the Old Testament. And

earthquakes are mentioned in 1 Kings, Amos, and other Old Testament books.

Natural calamities have always been a part of human existence. They are not

"signs of the times." In the Olivet discourse, Jesus states that during the

intervening age in which we live, there will be famines, pestilence,

earthquakes, and other natural disasters. Whenever such events occur, they are a

threat to faith in God.

We can definitely see an increase in this prediction by our Lord. If we just look at the damage done by the Tsunami or Hurricane Katrina this past year.

Persecution – Matthew 24:9

The persecution of Christians began shortly after the

day of Pentecost, when Stephen and James were slain and the disciples scattered.

In the ensuing twenty centuries, Christians have been thrown to lions, burned as

human torches, mangled by wild beasts, killed by gladiators, drawn apart by

horses, and martyred in numerous other dreadful ways.

But the greatest time of persecution of Christians was not the first century or

the sixteenth. It was the twentieth century! More Christians have died for their

faith in our own time than in any other century in history. More Christians were

tortured and slain in one twelve-month period during World War II than died

under Rome in all the early centuries. Some authorities estimate the death toll

of Christians under communism (including the Soviet Union, the Eastern bloc in

Europe, China, and other Asian communist nations) at over 15 million souls!

Since Christianity began, no generation has seen such worldwide persecution as

has been taking place in our own lifetime.

There is an ongoing attack on many of the signs and symbols that have carried us as a people for over two hundred years. We see corporations changing their Christmas greeting from Merry Christmas to Happy Holidays or others attempting to remove “One nation under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance orn “In God We Trust” from our currency. I see all of these as subtle persecution of our Christian faith.

Apostasy _ Matthew 24:10-12

Now it becomes clear that we are seeing signs of the approaching end of the age.

The symptoms Jesus has listed for us demonstrate a gradually increasing

manifestation of evil. We see in these words of Jesus the very same thing we see

on our TV screens and read about in our newspaper headlines. Standards that were

once respected and upheld are now sneered at and held in contempt.

The pressure of apostasy is as severe now as it ever was. This world offers many

seductive pleasures and many antichristian pressures. It is harder than ever

before to maintain standards of moral and sexual purity. The belief in moral

relativism is rampant in our society. Few remain who believe in absolute

standards or absolute truth. The church is rapidly accommodating itself to the

world rather than setting the standard for holiness and godliness.

Cynicism – Matthew 24:10-12

Jesus warns of the peril of cynicism--that cold and unfeeling indifference that arises out of increasing wickedness and the teaching of false prophets and counterfeit Christs.

What do these secular false prophets teach? They may teach the sanctity of the

self, the religion of me-ism, the dogma of insisting on "my rights." The true

prophet insists on the rights of God, but the false prophet serves the deceptive

message of Satan, with which that serpent first deceived Adam and Eve: "ye shall

be as gods" (Genesis 3:5, KJV). In other words, elevate the self, seek your own

interests above all, look out for Number One! We see this kind of selfish

cynicism pervading our society, producing an avalanche of wickedness,

lawlessness, and lovelessness throughout our society.

If you are old enough, you likely remember the furor that arose in 1966 when

Beatle John Lennon announced, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink.

We're more popular than Jesus now."

But few people know what was going on inside John Lennon's mind at the time he

made that statement. In his book The Quarrymen, British journalist and Beatle

biographer Hunter Davies describes a strange incident that took place about the

same time Lennon made his "more popular than Jesus" statement. John Lennon and a longtime friend, Pete Shotton, had been sitting in an apartment taking drugs and

listening to music. "Pete," Lennon said, "I think I'm Jesus Christ."

"You what?" asked Shotton. He thought the Beatle was joking.

"I'm Jesus Christ," said Lennon, completely serious. "I'm back again. I've got

to tell the world who I am."

The next morning, Lennon had Shotton call an emergency meeting of the board of

Apple Records, the recording company founded by the Beatles. The other three

Beatles--Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr--showed up, along with

various members of the Apple organization. They found Lennon sitting behind his

desk.

"I've something important to tell you all," Lennon said. "I am Jesus Christ. I

have come back again."

Everyone was stunned. No one said a word in reply. Finally, someone suggested

that they go to lunch.

The overthrow of moral boundaries always destroys love. Those who feel they can

live without moral boundaries invariably grow hard, callous, and cynical. They

become people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Their

lives become an endless quest for new pleasures, new experiences, because that

is the drug they use to numb the pain of their meaningless, empty existence.

2. The Primary Signs Of Christ’s Return

The Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world. - Matthew 24:14

The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that Christ is coming to set up His kingdom on earth, and that those who receive Him by faith during the Tribulation will enjoy the blessings of His Millennial Reign.

Matthew 24:14 is often misused to show that Christ could not return for His church at any moment because so many tribes have not yet heard the gospel. The difficulty is removed when we realize that this refers to His coming with His saints, rather than for His saints. And this refers to the gospel of the kingdom, not the gospel of the grace of God .

This prophecy takes place during the time of Great Tribulation upon the earth and will be carried out by the 144,000 end-time evangelists. Many people have in error believed that the gospel of Jesus Christ must be preached to everyone before the end comes but this is not what is implied here.

The Abomination that causes Desolation – Matthew 24:15-22

The Lord's language here is the most somber He could employ. He speaks of a time

of trouble that is coming, the like of which has never been seen in human

history. It will be a time of unprecedented death, destruction, suffering, and

terror. There have been many catastrophic moments in history, but never like

this one. For those who will be living in Judea, the region in and around

Jerusalem, it will be a time to act promptly and flee the city.

This topic is so important to our understanding of the end-times events that we will be discussing it in detail on our last night.

The Sign of the Son - Matthew 24: 30-31

We are not told what this sign will be. His First Advent was accompanied by a sign in heaven—the star. Perhaps a miracle star will also announce His Second Coming. Some believe the Son of Man is Himself the sign. Whatever is meant, it will be clear to all when it appears. All the tribes of the earth will mourn—no doubt because of their rejection of Him. But primarily the tribes of the land will mourn—the twelve tribes of Israel. “... then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn” (Zech. 12:10).

Then “they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” What a wonderful moment! The One who was spit upon and crucified will be vindicated as the Lord of life and glory. The meek and lowly Jesus will appear as Jehovah Himself. The sacrificial Lamb will descend as the conquering Lion. The despised Carpenter of Nazareth will come as King of kings and Lord of lords. His chariots will be the clouds of heaven. He will come in regal power and splendor—the moment for which creation has groaned for thousands of years.

3. The Precise Time Of Christ’s Return

No One is to Know – Matthew 24: 36

As to the exact day and hour of His Second Advent, “no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” This should warn against the temptation to set dates or to believe those who do. We are not surprised that angels do not know; they are finite creatures with limited knowledge.

While Jesus proclaimed that He did not know the day or the hour either He was obviously speaking from the vantage of His human knowledge (cf. Luke 2:52), not from the standpoint of His divine omniscience.

While those living prior to Christ’s return will not know its day or hour, it seems that those familiar with the prophecy may be able to know the year. They will know, for instance, that it will be approximately three and one-half years after the Abomination of Desolation, Christ has promised to return.

Like the Days of Noah - Matthew 37-39

Why would our Lord use the illustration of the days of Noah to explain why no one would know the exact time of His coming.

I do not think it has anything to do with the vileness of the days of Noah but that the people were going around unaware of the seriousness of the message of Noah during the 120 years that he preached to them while building the ark. When Noah entered the ark and the rains came only then did they realize it was too late.

4. The Principle Sign of Christ’s Return

The Rapture of the Church

I put this last because it was not openly discussed in our Lord’s Olivet Discourse. The verses in Matthew 24: 40-41 may give us some hint at this phenomena.

It is my belief that the removal of the Church of Jesus Christ from the earth (that means the born again believers in Christ) will be the sign to usher in the final period of planet earth. I will explain more about that tomorrow but for now I will give you the Scriptures relating to this event.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be

changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the

trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be

changed,

The whole point of our Lord's revelation of this fantastic event is summed up in

these words from the Olivet discourse: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not

know on what day your Lord will come." Do not be deceived. Do not be swept off

your feet by the satanic propaganda of this age. Don't become infected by the

mindset of this dying world.

The great removal of the church could take place at any moment. Are you waiting?

Are you watching?

5. The Preparation For Christ’s Return

At this point, you may be thinking that this is a grim picture of the

future--and indeed, it is! Isn't there any ray of comfort and light to shine

through these storm clouds of prophecy? Yes, there is. In fact, there are three

rays of light to encourage us as we face the full implications of this

remarkable prophecy of Jesus.

The Hour Has Not Yet Arrived

We may be near, very near, but the hour of God's grace has not yet expired. I am not attempting to frighten anyone into believing in Jesus Christ. I am simply stating that it is wise to face what Jesus Himself has said, He told us that He came into the

world not to condemn it but to save.

No one knows if this will be the night that our Lord returns for His own setting the stage for the cataclysmic events that will come upon the earth. You have tonight to trust Him as Lord and Savior and not be fearful but rejoicing when He does appear.

Israel Is The Focal Point

We must realize that most of the prophecies listed in God’s word concern the nation of Israel. There are certain aspects relating to the end of the age that must happen with Israel before the end will come.

a. Israel will be at peace before the time of the end.

b. The Jewish temple will be rebuilt.

Everything is happening on schedule and according to

God's sovereign plan.

It has all been anticipated and predicted. Perhaps the most comforting word Jesus ever spoke to His disciples is found in John 14:1-2: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house [the universe] are many rooms [places to live; earth is one of these rooms, but there are others]; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." That is a comforting word indeed!

Jesus came to set the record straight, to correct our misunderstandings, and to

reveal the outline of future history for us so that we can know the truth. These

strange and frightening events He has foretold will certainly come to pass--and

when they do, they will not be a surprise to God. He has seen the end from the

beginning. Even the time of the Great Tribulation is fully known to Him--and God

has promised that the Tribulation will not be the end of the story.

Beyond the darkness lies the dawn of a new day for this weary, suffering, beaten

world. As people of faith, we lift up our eyes, we strengthen our hearts, and we

rejoice. Let the future come. We have no fear.

Our God is in control.