THE SIGNS OF THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST (#2)
Jul
18
Written by:
7/18/2010 12:00 AM
THE SIGNS OF THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST (#2)
July 18, 2010
(Mat 24:3 NIV) As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Mat 24:4 NIV) Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. (Mat 24:5 NIV) For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many. (Mat 24:6 NIV) 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. (Mat 24:7 NIV) Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (Mat 24:8 NIV) All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Mat 24:9 NIV) "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. (Mat 24:10 NIV) At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, (Mat 24:11 NIV) and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. (Mat 24:12 NIV) Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, (Mat 24:13 NIV) but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Mat 24:14 NIV) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
This is my second message on the signs of the second coming of Jesus Christ. In my first message I said the most important sign was the physical restoration of the nation of Israel. There are many other signs that Jesus gave concerning His second coming. Jesus referred to these signs of His second coming in the Gospel of Matthew as birth pains. The frequency of birth pains increases when a child is about to be born. In a similar way the frequency of signs of Jesus second coming will increase just before He returns.
The first sign I would like to consider are signs in nature. They include famines and earthquakes. In the 10 years from 2000-9 almost one half million people were killed in earthquakes. It was by far the worst decade in the past 100 years for earthquake deaths. In 2010 alone there have been about 225,000 deaths from earthquakes. There have been many famines in recent years. Several countries in Africa may soon be severely hit by a famine. Recently the weather has not been favorable for the production of crops. Some people are now predicting there will soon be worldwide shortages of food. Large acreages of crops in Canada could not be seeded in the spring because of wet weather.
Another important sign for the second coming of Jesus is in Paul`s second letter to Timothy. (2 Tim 3:1 NIV) But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. (2 Tim 3:2 NIV) People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, (2 Tim 3:3 NIV) without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, (2 Tim 3:4 NIV) treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- (2 Tim 3:5 NIV) having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. I think this is an accurate description of the situation in many countries of the world today. Before we left to be missionaries in Japan over 20 years ago my lawyer in Canada said most people were only concerned about themselves. The situation has only gotten worse. The greed of mankind is increasing greatly.
Peter said in his second letter that there would be doubters before the return of Jesus. (2 Pet 3:1 NIV) Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. (2 Pet 3:2 NIV) I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. (2 Pet 3:3 NIV) First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. (2 Pet 3:4 NIV) They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." (2 Pet 3:5 NIV) But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. (2 Pet 3:6 NIV) By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. (2 Pet 3:7 NIV) By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. Today many people do not even believe there is a God.
For most people in the world it is good Jesus has not returned yet. God does not want anyone to perish! (2 Pet 3:8 NIV) But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (2 Pet 3:9 NIV) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Pet 3:10 NIV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Another very important sign of the second coming of Jesus is the preaching of the Gospel. (Mat 24:14 NIV) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. The Gospel was preached throughout most of the world after the church was started in the first century. However, there are many places in the world today where people have not heard the Gospel. Bible translations are now available in all the major languages of the world and most of the minor languages. Soon, there will be at least a New Testament for all the people groups of the world. Unfortunately, preaching of the Gospel in many countries in prohibited. The penalty for preaching the Gospel is death. In some cases people have been receiving the Gospel supernaturally in dreams, etc. However, the Gospel will be preached in all the world. Over 10 years ago while my wife and I were on a holiday in Fiji I heard an interesting story of how many people in Fiji heard the Gospel. We were on a one day cruise to some small islands off the coast of Fiji. On our way back I suggested to my wife we try to talk with two of the crew members about Christianity. My wife talked with a woman, but she was not interested in talking about Christianity. However, the man I talked to told me a very interesting story. About 150 years ago a woman in a village had a dream. In the dream she was told a foreigner would come to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the foreigner came to the village almost everyone became Christian after hearing the Gospel. The man and many people in Fiji are now Christians because of the foreigner who came to preach the Gospel many years ago. I have heard of similar stories that happened in other countries.
There are many other signs for the second coming of Jesus Christ that could be discussed. However, the most important thing is we should live our lives as if Jesus were returning tonight. The return of Jesus is near. Many of the scriptures concerning the return of Jesus have been fulfilled. However, we must continue to work until Jesus returns. (John 9:4 NIV) As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. There are many more things that can be written about the signs of the second coming of Jesus Christ, but I will close with two scriptures from the Book of Revelation. (Rev 22:12 NIV) "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. (Rev 22:20 NIV) He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.