Faith Builders Special Edition “Signs of Second Coming of Christ ”
In Matthew24:3 Jesus was asked, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” Jesus told his apostles to look for the following signs prior to his second coming and the end of the age.
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end (conclusion) is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.” (Mat 24:6-8 WEB) *Birth pains come quicker and harder! Are these things happening in our world at an increasing speed and intensity?
1. Wars- Currents conflicts at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/index.html
2. Famine- In 2006=850 million starving, in 2009= over 1 Billion! (worldhunger.org) 1 out of every seven people in the world.
3. Diseases- (healthmap.org/en)
4. Earthquakes (check out all the earthquakes at- iris.edu/seismon)
5. Persecution- (christianpersecution.info)
Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake. (Mat 24:9) Severe persecution in N. Korea, Iran, China.
6. Backsliding-• 86% of American adults identified as Christians in 1990 and 76% in 2008. (american religious survey=aris.org)
Then many will fall away, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. (Mat 24:10)
7. False Prophets
Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. (Mat 24:11), Mat 7:15, 2 Pet. 2:1
8. Lack of Love
Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. (Mat 24:12-13)
9. Gospel Preached to All Nations-
This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Mat 24:14)
“The Christian Almanac for 1990 reports that the Gospel has been preached to over 4 billion people, and Christian churches now exist in all 251 countries of the world.
Every year about four billion Gospel tracts are distributed around the globe and over 120 million Bibles. The entire Bible, or portions of it, have now been translated into some 2,062 different languages, and is available to around 98 percent of the world’s population.
The Gospel is also preached from over 2,000 Christian radio and television stations, and religious shows can be seen on many more thousands of secular stations.
Never in the entire course of history has the Gospel been preached in all the world to all nations as it is right now! Every nation on the face of the earth today has heard the Gospel as Jesus prophesied they would before the end comes.”- Countdown.org
10. Like the Days of Noah & Lot
As it happened in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise, even as it happened in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all. It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:26-30)
The sin of Noah’s day was violence. The sin of Sodom was sexual sin and homosexuality.
11. Knowledge Shall Increase-
But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run back and forth, and knowledge shall be increased.” (Dan 12:4)
Computers, Robots, Space Stations, Cell Phones,etc.
12. Jews Return To Jerusalem-
They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luk 21:24)
Israel became a nation again in 1948 and took over Jerusalem in 1967.
13. Signs in Nature
There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: 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. But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near. (Luk 21:25-28)
Tsunamis, hurricanes, global warming, strange weather.
14. Nations Worried- UN, Global Summits, world problems.
15. People living in Fear- Terrorism, economic collapse, H1N1
***A study of these sign will show that we are getting very near to the return of the Lord Jesus! It is not a time to fret, worry, or backslide. It’s time to look up! Lift up your heads for Christ is coming soon. He will save us from this present evil world and bring us into His eternal Kingdom! Praise God, He’s coming again!