Signs of the Times

Signs of His Second Coming

(All Scripture quotations are from the KJV Bible.)

"He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"

(Matthew 16:2-3)

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

(Matthew 24:34-35)

"Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?"

(Luke 12:56)

"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night…

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief."

(I Thessalonians 5:2, 4)

"And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment."

(I Chronicles 12:32)

"...a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment."

(Ecclesiastes 8:5)

"Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD."

(Jeremiah 8:7)

The Spine of End Time Prophecy

(Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17 & 21)

Be watchful!

(Heb. 2:3, 9:28; Luke 12:34-40, 21:36; Matthew 24:42, 44, 25:13)

The News Headlines (Matthew 24:6-8)

· "Wars and rumors of wars" & "distress of nations, with perplexity" (Matthew 24:6; Luke 21:9, 25)

o Iraq War, world wide nuclear proliferation, and as of 2/23/07 74 nations in war or contemplating war.

o Iran's threatening against Israel and the United States.

o The communist regime of North Korea.

o The race towards Armageddon (Ezek. 38 & 39; Rev. 9:16, 16:12-16; Zeph. 3:8; Joel 3)

1. Revitalization of Russia after the Cold War.

2. Explosion of China's economy and population is the largest nation that could field the huge army described in Revelation 9:14-16 as "the kings of the east" (Rev. 16:12).

· "Kingdom against kingdom"

o Shiite vs. Sunni Muslims, North and South Korea, etc.

· "Famines, and pestilences" (see also Revelation 6:8)

o Population explosion the last 40 years from 3 billion to 6 billion.

o Pestilences (AIDS, Bird Flu, SARS, West Nile, Swine flu [cf. Lev. 11:7], etc.)

o Colony Collapse Disorder.

o Gas prices rising, ethanol using corn to make fuel, environmentalists lobbying against domestic oil drilling.

· "Earthquakes, in divers places" & "sea and waves roaring" (Matt. 24:7; Luke 21:25)

o Tsunamis, hurricanes, typhoons, floods, etc.

· "Fearful sights" & "Men's hearts failing them for fear" (Luke 21:11,26)

o 9/11 NYC

o Economic pressures causing strain on men.

o Real estate foreclosures and the mortgage crisis working ruin to personal finances and stress on families.

· "All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:8)

o Though none of those events are the specific sign of the end of the age, collectively they are a sign. When Jesus described these calamities as the beginning of sorrows He literally called them the beginning of labor pains. Just as is true with labor pains, we should expect that the signs mentioned - wars, famines, earthquakes, and so on - would become more frequent and more intense before the return of Jesus.

False Christs (Matthew 24:5, 24; Mark 13:22)

· Jesus is not on the earth right now. He's at the right hand of the Father! (Acts 2:33; Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2; 1 Pet. 3:22)

· And when He comes back it will be with unmistakable power and glory! (Matthew 16:27, 24:30, 25:31, 26:64; 1 Thes. 4:16-18; 2 Thes. 1:7-10; Acts 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:51,52; Titus 2:13; Rev. 1:7; Zech. 14:4)

· There is no other salvation than through Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) and His sacrifice on Calvary was a finished and complete work! (John 19:30; Col. 2:10)

· Many false religious leaders and secular people have promised men freedom, but none can do it because aren't God.

Church Apostasy, Occultism, False Religion, and Spiritual Deception (Amos 8:11; 2 Thess. 2:3, 9-12; 1 Tim. 4:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:1-9, 13, 4:1-4; Revelation 3:14-17)

The church of Laodicea in Rev. 3:14-17 is the seventh and final church Christ addresses in the Book of Revelation. Not only an admonition to the Laodiceans of the 1^st century but also to all Christians thereafter: and prophetically symbolic of the seventh and final church of the Church Age.

The root is laodikeia, which means "people ruling." It is a compound of laos (people or a group of people), and dike (usage; right or just; also used a judicial term). That's people ruling: and not God, woe!

The church described was an unbelieving church in which the people declared what was right, and the people decided doctrine. They were convinced that since they were rich and well clothed (the city was known for its textiles) they must be righteous. The water the city used had to be brought in by aqueduct and was lukewarm when it arrived, often causing nausea. Colossae had cool, pure water. Hierapolis has hot waters that had medicinal properties. Thus Christ uses the example of being lukewarm and "spewed" as a literally being rejected.

This is how we know the "church" was not a true church, as Christ does not reject His children:

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." (John 6:37-39)

Even though there have been churches like this throughout the age, it is more common today - especially in those churches that believe and teach that wealth is a sign of godliness and faith.

· The blasphemous, ecumenical, antichrist new age Bible perversions

· UFO Phenomenon (1 Tim. 4:1; Eph. 2:2, 6:12; Matthew 24:23-26)

Christ, speaking on end-time false Christs, specifically said "Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not." (Matthew 24:26). This relates to all the UFO crazies meeting in the Mojave Desert, Roswell, Los Alamos desert, or Area 51 to communicate with 'extraterrestrial beings' which are really demons they're channeling. The secular media has been influence by this as well with shows such as Fox's 'X-Files'.

"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24) And these strange phenomena are wicked deceptive devices. (See II Tim. 3:8; Ex. 7:8-13; 2 Thess. 2:9-12)

False Teachers

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Manifestation of the Wheat and the Tares

"Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn… He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Matthew 13:30, 37-43)

It may also be noted that these tares never truly partake in any nourishment from the Word of God (cf. John 6:35, 48).

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world (Matthew 24:14, 26:13, 28:19-20; Mark 13:27,16:15-16; Luke 13:29; Acts 1:8)

· There are now Christians in all areas of the world. And many different people being saved from divers ethnic backgrounds.

· Last days outpouring of the Holy Ghost referred to in scripture as the Latter rain (see Joel 2:23; Acts 2:16-21; James 5:7; Song 2:11).

· Calling of the Gentiles in this Church Age. (cf. Matt. 12:18, 21; Acts 9:15, 11:18, 13:47, 15:7, 17, 22:21, 26:17, 23, 28:28; Rom. 1:16, 15:9-12; Deut. 32:43; Eph. Ch. 3; Col. 1:24-27; Is. 11:10, 42:1, 6, 49:6, 60:3; Ps. 18:49, 117:1; Luke 2:32, 4:25-27; Zech. 9:10)

The Movement towards a One-World Government & Religious Ecumenism (Revelation 13, 17; Ezra 4:2,3)

The Jewish Diaspora & the Rebirth of Israel (70 A.D. – 1948 A.D.)

· The Diaspora (or dispersing [see Lev. 26:33; Deut. 28:64]) began in 70AD when Roman Emperor Titus evaded Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple (see Ps. 79:1-3; Daniel 9:26; Luke 19:43-44, 21:20-24, 23:28-31)

· "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1-2)

· "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:24)

· "When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory." (Ps. 102:16)

· "The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel." (Ps. 147:2)

· "Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." (Isaiah 66:8)

o The Declaration of the Establishment of the State

May 14^th, 1948 Israel becomes an official nation again! (see Matthew 24:32-34; Jer. 24:5; Song 2:13; Joel 1:7; Hosea 9:10; Ps. 80:14)

o The Victory of the Six Day War (June 5^th, 1967–June 10^th, 1967)

o 'The land of Israel would again become fruitful after being a desert land. In Deuteronomy 29:23, the Bible said Israel would become a wasteland. This prophecy certainly was fulfilled. The land has been described many times as having been a sparsely populated wasteland, as recently as the late 1800s. American writer Mark Twain wrote this, in 1867, about the land of Israel, which at the time was called Palestine: "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes… the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies… Palestine is desolate and unlovely… It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land." —from Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad. Because the land was a wilderness until the time of the Jews return. And Isaiah also prophesied the land would yield fruit for the whole world. Now Israel is a wondrous producer some of the world's finest fruits. Since Israel became a nation, the Israelis, by God's grace, have developed a sophisticated water distribution system where water is transported from the Sea of Galilee to the desert regions of the land. And now, in these desert regions marvelous agriculture is being produced.' (see Isaiah 27:6, 35:1-2, 43:20)

o Restoration of the Hebrew language from Yiddish to the pure Hebrew. (Zeph. 3:9)

o Captivity turned. (cf. Ps. 14:7, 53:6; Deut. 30:3; Job 42:10; Zeph. 2:7, 3:20)

o Fullness of the times of the Gentiles. (see Luke 21:24; Rom. 11:24)

The Return of the Jews (Deut. 30:1-5; 1 Chr. 16:35, 17:9; Neh. 1:8-9; Ps. 53:6, 68:22, 107:2-3, 147:2; Is. 11:10-12, 43:5-6, 66:8; Jer. 12:14-17, 16:14-16, 23:3-8, 30:3, 10-11, 31:37; Ezek. 11:17, 20:34, 28:25, 34:13, 36:24, 28, Ch. 37, 38:8, 16; Amos 9:14-15; Zech. 8:4-8)

o "Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land." (Jeremiah 23:7-8)

o "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days." (Hosea 3:4-5)

Parted Land Prophecy (Joel 3:2)

Talks already have taken place about dividing Jerusalem for Palestinians. And this is the goal of militant Muslims to completely take over and control Jerusalem. But God want allow it, Amen!
"I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land." (Joel 3:2)
"And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God." (Amos 9:15)

Jerusalem the Centerpiece & The Middle East Conflict

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (Zech. 12:2-3)

"For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city." (Zech. 14:2)

o "Israel must be wiped off the map." —Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 10/26/2005

· "They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." (Ps. 83:4)

o The Pope and the United Nations have put constantly pressured on the Jews to 'divide up the land for peace'. United States has sent ambassadors against Israel to frustrate them with a so-called 'roadmap to peace'. Why? Because it's God's sovereign plan for them to be haughty.

· "For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:" (Ps. 83:5)

· "Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia." (Ezra 4:4-5)

o The End-time War of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38 & 39)

Establishment of Revived Roman Empire a/k/a European Union (Daniel 2:23, 4:41-43, 7:7, 20)

"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay." (Daniel 2:41)

o We see the rebirth of Israel and the Revived Roman Empire coming together at the same time, both being end-time prophecies.

o The RCC, EU, and UN organizations all have “iron” (viz. Roman) rudiments.

Nuclear Warfare

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:" (Matthew 24:29)

"And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come." (Joel 2:30-31)

"And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth." (Zechariah 14:12)

· With the invention of nuclear weaponry we can now see modern day wars having the capability to produce massive-scaled destruction as described in Revelation 6:8 with a fourth part of the Earth's population destroyed and a third in Revelation 9:15,18.

· 2 Peter 3:10-12 describes the destructive power of atomic weaponry. Consider the phrases from the King James English Text linked to this massive ‘A-bomb’: (1) “elements” (2 Pet. 3:10, 12). All the “elements” on the periodic table have an atomic number. That’s what an atom is: a particle of a chemical element. (2) Look at the results of an atomic blast described: “...the heavens shall pass away with a great noise...” (2 Pet. 3:10) and, “...the elements shall melt with fervent heat...” (2 Pet. 3:10, 12) again, “...the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up...” (2 Pet. 3:10) and again, “...the heavens being of fire shall be dissolved...” (2 Pet. 3:12). We’ve seen pictures of the mushroom cloud bursts; and you may recall Hiroshima and Nagasaki—the heat degree° from these blasts utterly MELTS AND DISSOLVES anything in its path. In these last hours before which “...the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night...” (2 Pet. 3:10) and “...the coming day of God...” (2 Pet. 3:12), men have harassed this power which the Holy Spirit spoke of 20 centuries ago, and the prophecy is sharply preserved in the 1611 King James Holy Version. (See ‘11:59: The Countdown’ by Dr. Jack Van Impe, pages 60-61, 133.)

Transportation, Knowledge, and Technology Explosion

· "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)

· "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 3:7)

· Not since this generation have we seen automobiles (see Nah. 2:3,4; Is. 9:5), airplanes (see Ps. 66:12; Is. 11:14, 31:5, 60:8; Ezek. 27:8, 27, 28, 29; Matt. 24:20), telephones, cell phones (see 2 Sam. 3:17; 1 Cor. 15:33), fax machines, sky pagers, satellites and satellite television (see Rev. 1:7, 11:9), robotics (see Rev. 13:15), global digitized commerce (see Rev. 13:17), computers (“count” [Rev. 13:8]), CD & DVD, internet, fiber optics, laser beams, etc. Even space cities are being discussed by scientists! (see Rev. 21:2)

· The Antichrist will utilize modern technology and the incredible calculation speed of supercomputers to rule over and control the population of the world.

o Commerce will be controlled with microchips (Rev. 13:16-18) as the world continues to move in a cashless direction.

o Also with global satellite positioning systems the Antichrist will be able to track the movement and location of individuals.

o We now see the push for a one-world government forming in Revived Roman Empire (UN, EU, and RCC): thus providing the platform for the Antichrist to emerge (see Dan. 7:8) and rule the world (see Rev. 6:2) with modern technology. (see Rev. 13) See the ten “toes” (Dan. 2:41,42) and “ten horns” (Dan. 7:7, 20, 24; Rev. 12:3, 13:1, 17:3).

Worldwide Longing for Peace (Matt. 10:34; Luke 12:51; I Thess. 5:3; Jer. 6:14, 8:11; Ezek. 13:10, 16)

· The peaceful emergence of the Antichrist (Dan. 11:21,24)

· False prophets and humanists lying about there being peace

· There will be no peace until the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ shows up! Amen.

The Days of Noah (Matthew 24:37-39)

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually… The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." (Genesis 6:5, 11-13)

Moral Decline of Culture (2 Tim. 3:1-9; Romans 1:18-32)

· "Men's hearts failing them for fear…" (Luke 21:26)

· "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." (Matthew 24:12)

· Betrayal (Matthew 10:21, 34-37, 24:10; Luke 21:16; Mic. 7:6)

The Scoffer & Mocker (2 Peter 3:3; Jude 18)

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:" (2 Peter 3:3-6)

Corrupt Economic Systems

"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain." (James 5:1-7)