BIBLE PROPHECY

SIGNS OF JESUS' COMING

When Jesus Christ was preparing to leave this world and return to the glories of heaven, He comforted His disciples by proclaiming – 

“Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3

As He ascended up into the heavens, two angels also comforted the disciples’ hearts by saying –

“Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, Who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11

These two passages actually deal with Jesus’ return on TWO different and future occasions:

#1 First of all, Jesus will return, to remove His followers from this earth before the horrendous events of the seven years of Tribulation. We read about this event that we often refer to as the “Rapture”, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them who are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.”

The words “caught up” actually means to pluck up or take away suddenly. That is where we get the word Rapture.

No man knows the time of Jesus return to rapture or pluck away His followers. Jesus responded to His disciples’ questions about the timing of His return and He gave them a number of indicators to look for when the time would be near. But He told them very clearly – “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matthew 24:36  Anyone who claims to know when Jesus will return for His Bride doesn't know what they are talking about! But the prophetic scriptures and the teachings of Jesus do tell us how to recognize the seasons of His return (Matthew 24:32-35). We all recognize the change of weather and seasons here on planet earth . . . so we should be aware when the "seasons" are changing and Jesus' coming is near!

#2  Sometime in the future, Jesus will also return in power and great glory to establish His long-awaited kingdom on earth. The Bible says that "every eye will see Him" when He returns! This spectacular event is often referred to the “Revelation” or the glorious appearing of Christ.

“And I saw heaven opened and, behold, a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a Name written that no man knew, but He Himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and His Name is called the Word of God. And the armies that were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a Name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11-16

Whereas the day and hour of the Rapture is totally unknown, the day of the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ will be on the Jewish feast day of the Feast of Trumpets seven years after the Rapture (see the Feasts of Jehovah in Leviticus chapter 23 and note that Jesus fulfilled the first four feasts on the very day):

Jesus died as the Passover Lamb at the same time the lamb was dying at the Temple.

Jesus was in the tomb on the day of Unleavened Bread.

Jesus rose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits which speaks of resurrection.

Jesus sent His Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost.

Likewise, Jesus will fulfill . . . on the very day . . . the future Feasts of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles.

The Revelation or appearing of Christ will not be hidden but every eye shall see Him as we read in Matthew 24:27 and 30:

“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be . . . And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

TAKE THE QUIZ! (Some of the questions have more than one answer.)

#1  In John 14:6 Jesus comforted His disciples by telling them He was going to Heaven to prepare a ___________ for them.

#2  Jesus also said He would come again to _____________ all believers.

#3  The next thing to happen in God's prophetic calendar is the ______________.

#4  To "Rapture" means to ___________.   (Two answers.)   

#5  Can we know the day and hour of Jesus' coming for us at the Rapture?

#6  Jesus will one day come in power and great glory and every eye shall see Him. We call this event the ______________.

WHAT WILL THE WORLD BE LIKE WHEN JESUS RETURNS?

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4

1.  The Lord told the Prophet Daniel about “the times of the end” and declared that “many shall run to and fro.” This may be referring to end-time WORLD-WIDE TRAVEL.  A hundred years ago people could not have even imagined getting up in America and having supper that evening in London . . . or Moscow!

Or consider the morning and evening commutes that most of us witness as people “run to and fro” every day!

2.  In fulfillment of Daniel 12:4, KNOWLEDGE HAS GREATLY INCREASED during the past 100 years. This end-time increase of knowledge has occurred in two areas:

a) God has “opened the book” and released knowledge of the prophetic Scriptures during the past century. We understand so much more about Biblical prophecy than believers understood before the 1900’s . . . partly because the end-time nations and events are now on stage and many current events that appear to line up with the prophetic Scriptures are occurring right before our eyes!

b) During these modern times, technical knowledge is literally exploding before us. Professionals in all walks of life have to be continually updated about new information just to remain current. Books could not possibly keep up with this explosion of knowledge so we turn to Google and the internet for updated and changing information.

The downside of this great end-time explosion of knowledge is that man can now destroy an entire nation in just one hour as was graphically prophesied in Revelation 18:10, 17, and 19. Nuclear warfare seems to be clearly described throughout the Scriptures (see Revelation chapter 18, Isaiah chapter 13 and Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51.

3. Daniel the prophet was also told that END-TIME EVENTS WOULD COME SUDDENLY LIKE A FLOOD (Daniel 9:26). This would indicate that the unfolding of end-time events will be sudden and unexpected . . . like a flash flood, once the prophesied events begin they will come quickly, one right after the other and with increasing intensity.

4. Europe is trying to form an ECONOMIC CONFEDERACY known as the European Common Market with headquarters in Brussels.

(This economic league of nations appears to be in fulfillment of Daniel chapter 2 and Daniel 7:7-8 and what has come to be called the REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE eventually consisting of ten nations that will control the entire world.

Note: Man is now developing a world-wide electronic identification system as described in Revelation chapter 13:13-17. This mandatory ID will be “in their right hand or in their foreheads” (see Revelation 13:16) and without this mark “no man might buy or sell.”

5. We are in the midst of a WORLD-WIDE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL BREAKDOWN where all authority will be defied.  We have witnessed societies all over the world (including our own) throw off all restraints of right and wrong as they live in great immorality, perversion, and defiance of that which is right. (These “perilous days” of lawlessness and ungodliness are described in detail in 2 Timothy 3:1-5). 2 Timothy 3:13 even declares that things will not become better in the world "But evil men and seducers shall become worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."

Note: Jesus also spoke of this increase of lawlessness in Matthew 24:37-39 and in Luke 17:28-29. He described world and cultural conditions as similar to the days of Sodom and Gomorrah where immorality, lawlessness and perversion ran rampant.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be FAMINES, and PESTILENCES, and EARTHQUAKES in various places.” Matthew 24:7

6. The possibility of worldwide FAMINE (hunger) is very real in today’s world. This condition has been greatly increased since the beginning of the Covid 19 world-wide pandemic. One of the most devastating famines in human history may very well be in the making in Africa right now as mandatory lockdowns are being enforced to the extent that people cannot leave their homes and go into their fields to tend their crops.

CNN reported that “The world is facing multiple famines of ‘biblical proportions’ in just a matter of months, the UN has said, warning that the Corona Virus pandemic will push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation.  David Beasley told the UN’s security council – “There is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of Covid 19 than from the virus itself.”

7.  PESTILENCE (disease) is now a daily reality. Pandemics are nothing new. The plagues of the past centuries were devastating beyond comprehension. The Bubonic Plague was one of the most horrible pandemics in humans history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people from 1347 to 1351.

But the Corona virus is nothing to be ignored as deaths continue to rise and the world economy is on the brink of utter ruin. Jesus declared that pestilence was one of the signs of the times of His coming . . . and because it is occurring at the same time as so many other prophesies, it should command our attention.

8.  EARTHQUAKES have continued to increase at incredible and escalating rates over the past fifty years.  During the 1900’s there was a major earthquake on the average of every six months. Since we have entered the 21st century a major earthquake now occurs about every 18 days! This increase of earthquakes should capture our attention and are an obvious harbinger or warning of things to come during the Tribulation.

Many scientists believe the increase in these tremors is in preparation for the “great earthquake” which will shake the entire earth during the Tribulation (see Revelation 11:13, Matthew 24:7 and Isaiah 13:13).

9. The people of ISRAEL are once again occupying part of their God-given land.  Their national rebirth was prophesied in both the Old and New Testaments (see Ezekiel 36:24-28) and will occur before their spiritual rebirth. (Ezekiel 37:1-10 and Matthew 24:32-35)

Note: Jesus said that the “generation” living at the time of Israel’s national rebirth would not pass away until ALL of the end-time prophetic events would be fulfilled. (Matthew 24:34) Most Bible scholars agree that a Biblical generation consists of approximately 40 years however we must remember that that the generation living during those days “will not pass away” or die until these things are fulfilled! Life expectancy on earth is now approximately 70+ years. Even with this knowledge, we are wise NOT to set dates of Jesus’ return!

#7  Daniel was a __________.

#8   End-time people will "run to and fro" means  _________.

#9  The Prophet Daniel prophesied that knowledge would increase during the time of the end. What kind of knowledge will increase? (There might be more than one correct answer.)

#10  The end will come "come like a flood" means that end-time events will occur ___________.

#11  The economic confederacy in Europe is often referred to as ___________?

#12  All over the world, things are getting _____________.

#13  End-time FAMINE means that people will ______________.

#14  One of the signs of Jesus' soon return is an increase in ____________.

#15  WHAT IS THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC?

#16  ISRAEL WAS PROPHESIED TO ______________?

ALL OF THE GENTILE NATIONS ARE NOW IN PLACE IN FULFILLMENT OF END-TIME PROPHECIES. The stage is now set for end-time prophetic fulfillment:

10. The vast nation of CHINA now has the ability of fielding an army of 200 million soldiers as prophesied in Revelation 9:13-18. At the end of the seven-year Tribulation, they will be part of the huge army that opposes the Lord Jesus Christ at the Battle of Armageddon.

11.  RUSSIA (“Gog and Magog”) has become a major world power as prophesied in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 and they will someday lead a huge army of Islamic soldiers in an invasion of Israel. World wide dependence upon oil is making the Middle East one of the most important regions upon earth and a vast army from the far north will one day invade God’s land according to Ezekiel 38:8-12.

Note: The Land of Israel is described for us in Genesis 15:18 and includes all the land from Egypt up to the Euphrates River! The destruction of “Gog” may very well take place in the desert sands of Iraq or Saudi Arabia or even Jordan, all of which are east of present day Israel.

12. The Soviet military alliance with a vast ISLAMIC army consisting of soldiers from Ethiopia, Libya, Turkey and PERSIA could come together in a moments’ time.  The modern day countries of Iran and Afghanistan make up the ancient Persian Empire. (See Ezekiel 38:4-6)  The recent deployment of military units into Syria is a remarkable development that should alert us as to the times in which we live! Russia and the huge armada of Arab soldiers will one-day invade the land of Israel and will be destroyed as the Lord defends His chosen nation Israel.

13. Christendom is now characterized by UNBELIEF and SELF SUFFICIENCY.

The church of today is described by the Lord’s message to Laodicea which means “lukewarm.” Revelation 3:14-22  Jesus criticized the end-time "church" as being "not hot and not cold" and He said He would spit them out of His mouth! Revelation 3:16

14. Jesus declared that before the beginning of “the day of the LORD”, national, economic and religious leaders all over the world will proclaim “PEACE and SAFETY” in a world that is like a powder keg. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3

WHEN WILL THESE THINGS BE?

Jesus said that no man would know the exact time of His coming but we are to “watch and be ready.” Matthew 24:42-44 1 Thessalonians 5:6  To "watch and be ready" means we should be aware of the changes to world "seasons" just like we observe the changes between winter and spring.  Look up!  Jesus IS coming!

#17  China now has the ability to field an army of _________ soldiers just as prophesied in the Scriptures!

#18  Who is "Gog and Magog" in the Bible. (Ezekiel chapters 38-39)

#19  ACCORDING TO GENESIS 15:18, WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES OF GOD'S LAND ISRAEL?

#20 RUSSIA WILL INVADE ISRAEL WITH HELP FROM _____________?

#21  CHRISTENDOM (so called Christians) is characterized as __________?

#22  The world is like a dangerous powder keg but end-time world leaders with proclaim ____________ and ___________.

#23  No man can know exactly when Jesus will return to rapture His church, but Jesus told us to ________________.

#24  We should be aware of the changes to the _____________.

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