Certain Signs of
the Second Coming of Christ
In
this the year of our Lord, 2013, the signs of God’s working in the nation of
Israel are abundant. His people are being gathered into their land and have
become a recognized nation once again. The prophetic Scripture is abundantly
clear concerning these major events:
“And the Lord thy God will bring
thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shall possess it; and
He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the Lord thy God
will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God
with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou may live.” (Deuteronomy
30:5)
“And it shall come to pass in
that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the
remnant of His people…And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall
assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from
the four corners of the earth.”
(Isaiah 11:12)
“Behold, I
will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in My anger,
and in My fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this
place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be My people, and
I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may
fear Me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I
will make and everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from
them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall
not depart from Me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will
plant them in this land assuredly with My whole heart and with My whole soul.” (Jeremiah
32:37-41)
“For I will
take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will
bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye
shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I
cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will
give you and heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you
to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. And ye
shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people,
and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:24-28)
“Thus saith
the Lord God; Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to
come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel…Behold I will
take the children of Israel from among the heathen whither they be gone, and
will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. And I will
make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel”
(Ezekiel
37:12, 21, 22)
And, while the
Jews continue to return to their land, it is clear that God is definitely not
finished with them just yet, for as the above Scriptures indicate, in due time
He will perform His supernatural work of cleansing them and giving them “a new heart” when He returns at the end
of the 70th Week of Daniel:
“And the Redeemer
shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith
the Lord…And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come
out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Isaiah
59:20; Romans 11:26)
However,
before the Lord comes to redeem the nation of Israel at the end of the 70th
Week of Daniel, He will continue the preparation of His people as indicated in
the following twelve prophecies necessary for the completion of the Seventy
Weeks of Daniel and the coming of the Jesus Christ their Messiah:
1. The Jews have become a "people" (Daniel 9:24)
2. The
Jews are in their "own [promised]
land"
(Deuteronomy 30:1-18; Ezekiel 36: 24-26, 37:21ff)
3. The Jews control and are occupying their "holy city" Jerusalem (Daniel
9:24)
4. The
"prophet Elijah" will be
sent "first" to
revive/restore before the Day of the Lord
(Malachi 4:5, 6; Matthew 17:11; Mark 9:12)
5. The "holy
covenant" will be restored (Daniel 11:28-32)
6. The "temple of God"
will be rebuilt (II Thessalonians 2:1-4; Revelation 11:1, 2)
7. The “holy
place” included (Matthew 24:15)
8. The “regular
sacrifices" will be offered (Daniel 8:11, 12, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11)
9. The Jews will worship in "the temple of God”
(Revelation 11:1, 2)
10. "The Sabbath" will be honored (Matthew 24:28)
11. The sending of "prophets" to the Jews will
occur (Malachi 4:5, 6: Revelation 11:3-17)
12. The tribal system will be
restored as the twelve tribes of "the
sons of Israel"
(Revelation 7:3-8) will
eventually be sealed
and continue as the time of the end Priests unto God..
In addition
to the above prophecies the following pattern is now in process as the Lord
continues His preparation for the 70th Week of Daniel, the end of the
Church Age and the time which immediately follows which is called the Day of
the Lord:
The Pattern of Events Prior to the First Coming of Jesus the Messiah
1.
The Destruction of
Jerusalem/Temple-586 B.C. (II Kings 25:1ff; Jeremiah 29, 52)
2.
The Dispersion/Deportation of the
Jews-606 B.C., 597 B.C., 586 B.C.
3.
The Jews return to the Promised
Land-536 B.C. Zerubbabel/458 B.C. Ezra/445 B.C. Nehemiah
4.
The Holy City Jerusalem was
controlled by the Jews-516 B.C.
5.
The Temple of God
was finished-516 B.C. (Ezra 3:8-6:22)
6.
The Restoration of
Priesthood/Sacrifices/Temple Worship occurred 516 B.C. (Ezra 3:1-7)
7.
The First Elijah-like Prophet
(John the Baptist) was sent 29A.D. (Matthew 3:1-12)
8.
The First Coming of Jesus the
Messiah occurred 29A.D. (Matthew 3:13ff)
9.
The Lord’s 3-1/2 Year Public
Ministry came to pass 29-32 A.D. (Four Gospels)
10. The Judgment of
Jews for Rejection of their Messiah-The Diaspora/Destruction Jerusalem
A.D.
70
The Pattern of Events Prior to the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah
1.
The Destruction of
Jerusalem/Temple-70 A.D. (Matthew 24:2)
2.
The Dispersion of the Jews-70 A.D.
(Luke 21:21-24)
3.
The Jews return to the Promised
Land-1948 A.D. (Daniel 9:24)
4.
The Holy City Jerusalem is controlled
by the Jews-1967 A.D. (Daniel 9:24)
5.
The Temple of God
will be rebuilt-???? A.D.(Matthew 24:15; II Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 11:2)
6.
The Restoration of
Priesthood/Sacrifices/Temple Worship will occur-????A.D.
(Daniel 8:11, 21, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11; Revelation 11:2)
7.
The Second Elijah-like Prophet will be sent-???? A.D. (Malachi 4:5, 6;
Matthew 17:11; Mark 9:12)
8.
The Second Coming of Jesus-????
A.D. (Matthew 24:30, 31; John 14:3; I Thessalonians 4:13-18)
9.
The Lord’s 3-1/2 Year
Presence/Intervention/Last Half of the 70th Week of Daniel (Micah
5:5ff)
10. The Judgment of
the World for Rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 8-19)
It appears evident that the
Lord is bringing to pass the same conditions that prevailed during the first
sixty-nine weeks of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel (Daniel 9:24) for the remaining
week or seven years. This future time period (Daniel 9:27) called the 70th
Week of Daniel is just over the prophetic horizon.
And, as the history of the
world unfolds, God’s eye continues to be upon His people the Jews. Even though
it looks as though He failed to accomplish His goal of redeeming His earthly
people when He died on the Cross, His plan has not changed nor has He failed
for He is coming again (John 14:1-3) to complete His work and bring full
redemption to His people (Isaiah 59:20; Romans 11:26)!
In addition to the Lord’s Preparation
of the nation of Israel and the present-day Pattern unfolding in Messianic prophecy, the Plan the Lord gave to His
disciples concerning His second coming and the end of the age in Matthew 24 is
also systematically progressing before our very eyes:
I.
Focus: Global Overview to The
End (Matthew 24:4-14)
A. The Beginning of Sorrows (Matthew 24:4-8)
1. False Christs [Influx of major Christian cults-19th Century]
2. Wars and rumors of wars [World War
I & II-20th Century]
3. Famines, Pestilences and
Earthquakes in diverse places [21st Century]
All these are the beginning of sorrows but The End [Day of the Lord] is not yet.
B. Christian Persecution Escalates (Matthew 24:9) [Mid-point/70th Week of Daniel]
1. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted
2. And shall kill you
3. And ye shall be hated of all
nations for My names sake
C. Christian Defection Occurs (Matthew 24:10-12)
1. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another
2. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many
3. And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold
D.
Christian Deliverance by Rapture (Matthew 24:13, 14)
1. But he that
shall endure unto The End, the same
shall be saved [delivered by Rapture]
2. And this Gospel/kingdom
shall be preached in all the world for/witness unto all nations
3. And then shall The End [The Day of the Lord] come.
II. Focus:
The Holy Land/Judea/Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15-28) [Last Half of the 70th
Week of Daniel]
A. The Holy City of Jerusalem [Temple of God]
1. When ye therefore shall see the
abomination of desolation
2. Spoken of by Daniel the prophet
3. Stand in the holy place
4. (Whoso reads let him understand)
B. The Land of Judea
1.
Then
let them which be in Judea flee into the
mountains
2.
Let him which is on the housetop
not come down to take anything out of his house
3.
Neither let him which is in the
field return back to take any of his clothes
4.
And woe unto them are with child,
and to them that give suck in those days
5.
But pray ye that your flight be
not in winter, neither on the Sabbath day
6.
For then shall be
great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world…
7.
And except those days should be
shortened there should no flesh be saved
8.
But for the elect’s sake those
days shall be shortened
C. The Jews Clamor for the
Christ/Messiah
1.
Then
if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not
2.
For there shall arise false
Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch
that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
3.
Behold I have told you before.
4.
Wherefore if they shall say unto
you, Behold He is in the desert; go not forth.
5.
Behold He is in the secret
chambers; believe it not
D. The Coming of the Son of man
Illustrated
1.
For as the lightning comes out of
the east and shines even unto the west; so shall also the
coming of the
Son of man be. [Illustrating the global manifestation of the Lord’s coming]
2.
For wherever the carcass is,
there will the eagles [vultures] be gathered together.
[Illustrating
the absolute certainty of the Lord’s coming]
III. Focus: The Sign of The Day of the Lord & The Coming
of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:29-31)
A. The Sign of the The End/Day of the Lord (v.29; Joel 2:31)
1.
Immediately
after the [great] tribulation of those days
2.
Shall the sun be darkened
3.
And the moon shall not give her
light
4.
And the stars shall fall from
heaven and the powers of heaven shall be shaken
B.
The Coming of the Son of Man (v.30,
31)
1.
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:[Shekinah
Glory]
2.
And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn
[Worldwide Manifestation/His Coming]
3.
And they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power/great glory.
4.
And He shall send His angels with
a great sound of a trumpet (I Thess.4:16; Rev.1:7)
5.
And they shall gather together
His elect [Rapture] from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Notice the chronological sequence
continuing through all three sections highlighted by the words that are
underlined in bold print. The Lord first of all gives a Global Overview to The
End (v.4-14). Then, He focuses on Judea/Jerusalem (v.15-28) for it will be the
epicenter of end time events. Then, He zeroes in on the global effects of the
sign of The End/ Day of the Lord and His immediate return to rescue the saints
by the Rapture (v.29-31) before the Day of the Lord begins.
These two events, the Rapture and the sign
of the Day of the Lord, which indicate the beginning of God’s judgment, will
occur “the same day” as the Lord indicated in Luke 17:26-30:
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be in the days of
the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given
in marriage, until the day
that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them
all. Likewise also as it was in the days
of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they
builded; But the same day
that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed
them all. Even thus shall it be in
the day when the Son of man is revealed.”
We are presently living during what Jesus
called the “days of Noah…days of Lot”
when a business as usual attitude prevails among most citizens of the world
including many Christians. Iniquity abounds as open homosexuality is flaunted,
slaughter of the innocents continues to increase, varying degrees of public
nudity has become the norm and the world is ‘Going to hell in a hand-basket’ as
the saying goes.
We are definitely closing in on the end of
‘the beginning of sorrows’ (Matthew
24:7, 8) teetering on the brink of the escalation of worldwide Christian
Persecution. The most unreported story of the 20th Century was that
more Christians died for their faith during that century than in all the
previous nineteen combined!!
False prophets seem to be countless as
they breathe forth their deception and money-begging on the air waves and
pulpits of the world using the name of Christ for gain which is in reality lustful
money-worship as good people are taken in with their Satanic deception and
religious rituals. And,
with the present-day global financial uproar, the world appears to be near
total economic collapse and subsequent globalization. Knowing the world-wide
hatred of Israel and the U.S.A. it would not be surprising if a one world
currency and actual effective one world government arise!
In recent times there has been a call by some of the prominent world
leaders for a man to head up a global governing body and a one world currency
in order to organize and ‘clean up’ the ongoing financial crisis which may well
be the beginning of the end. This is where we are according to the Lord’s
chronological unfolding of the end of this age in Matthew 24! And with a
possible peace plan brewing between Israel and the Palestinians a two-nation
solution could see a Temple built on Mount Zion making way for a time of
unparalleled ‘peace’ allowing for the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38:1-16?
During my trip to Jerusalem last year [2012] one of the tour guides on
two different occasions showed me how there is definitely room on the Temple
mount to build the end times Temple. He emphasized the fact that there is enough
land available in line with the Eastern Gate to construct another Temple.
In recent months a member of the Knesset has taken up the cause of
building the third Temple on the Temple mount and the orthodox Jews called “The
Temple Faithful” have all of the instruments and accessories necessary for
resuming full scale worship as prescribed in the Old Testament Scripture.
At the present time, the United States Secretary of State has made
numerous trips to the middle east in an effort to restart talks with the
Palestinians and Israel. A two-state solution is the focus of his agenda and
the Arab coalition appears ready to agree to this peace plan scenario.
So, while the Church is sleeping, the world is looking for a man for the
time may be right for the rise of the Antichrist onto the world stage. However,
we must ever look to the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ “the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), for He has all
the answers and holds the future in His hand…always in control of the outcome
regardless of the devil’s working in the world, give Him all the praise and
glory, for He is coming again as He promised (John 14:3). Hallelujah what a
Savior!!
Bible Truth Ministry
www.btmi.org
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