Signs, Signs, And More Signs

Are there signs for the second coming of Christ that we as Christians should be looking for? Matthew 24:3-8 tells us, “3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

There are dozens of passages in the New Testament of the signs God gives of the second coming of His Son; some are spoken by Jesus, and the Apostles write others, but this list in Matthew 24 is the go-to list.

The second coming of Christ is twofold. First, there is the rapture, when Christ appears in the air and removes all the redeemed, those who have been washed in His blood through faith. The second occurs at the end of the seven-year tribulation period when Christ sets foot on Mt. Olivet, ending the battle of Armageddon.

The signs listed in the passage above all happen before the rapture. This belief is due to V8, “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Once these signs come to fruition, much more sorrow comes; in other words, the tribulation period begins.

Sign number one – false teachers, deceiving many.

The apostasy in the church today is undeniable. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 tells us that “that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first…” Even though preachers talk a lot about Jesus, they speak many half-truths. For example, ministers will tell congregations how Jesus can help them with their problems, anxieties, financial woes, broken relationships, difficulties raising children, and a plethora of other things. They will tell people that God loves them. All of this is one hundred percent true. They will give the congregation a ray of hope, but it is a hope based on the individual’s feelings. We all live in a spiritual situation where good feelings can relieve the symptoms, to a point, temporarily, but the eternal solution is found in grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). The eternal solution is rarely, if ever, mentioned because the preachers want to avoid upsetting the congregation by talking about sin.

John 3:16 is the most known and used verse of the Bible. It speaks of God’s love and the gift of His Son. Twenty verses later, John 3:36 tells us of our standing before God without faith. John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

False teachers are leading millions to hell by telling them God loves them but not explaining the current spiritual condition in which people without Christ find themselves.

Back to the list.

Next up is “wars and rumours of wars.”

How long have we heard that we are heading to WWIII? Maybe, maybe not; time will tell, but currently, WWIII is a rumor. Iran attacked Israel last week, and the world sits on edge awaiting Israel’s response, another rumor of war.

Meanwhile, there is war in Gaza, Lebanon, and Israel. Because our media is paying more attention to events in Israel than in Ukraine, to us in the United States, it seems like the war between Russia and Ukraine is on the back burner. Still, for those in that part of the world, having bullets fly by, rockets falling, and dead bodies piling up in the streets, fields, and forests the war is on the front burner.

What about famine? We know there are places in the world that are less fortunate than we are, but how bad is it?

From the World Food Program USA, “Right now, there is a global food crisis – the largest one in modern history…Nearly 350 million people around the world are experiencing the most extreme forms of hunger right now.” Here is the link for more details.

When it comes to pestilences, we all remember COVID. Currently, there is a polio outbreak in Zimbabwe caused by a mutation of the live virus used in their polio vaccines. Here is the link for that story. 

Last on the Matthew 24 list of signs before the rapture are earthquakes.

Just this past Sunday, October 6, 2024, California broke its record for the number of earthquakes in a year, and it is only early October. Here is the link for that.

Scoffers will say that all this has happened since the beginning of time. The fact that there is ridicule over the signs of Jesus’ coming is something Christians should realize will come. 2 Peter 3:3-4, “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.”

Christians, know the signs; share them as you see them in the daily news. Let people know that John 3:36 applies until the blood of Christ is applied through faith.

It would take a book, not just a column, to show all the details, but unlike at any time before, the players, events, and prophecies are all lining up.