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What The Bible Teaches About
The Signs Before Christ's Return

Lesson 6

When Will He Come?

1. What did Jesus' disciples ask?

Matthew 24:3

Matthew 24:3 (KJV)
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?

2. Is the date of Jesus' return known?

Matthew 24:36

Matthew 24:36 (KJV)
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

3. Are we in darkness regarding the Jesus' coming?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 (KJV)
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Signs That Announce Jesus' Return

1. What signs did Jesus predict?

Matthew 24:6, 7

Matthew 24:6, 7 (KJV)
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.

2. What will be the prevalent social conditions?

James 5:1-5

James 5:1-5 (KJV)
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 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. 4 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. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

3. What will be the moral condition of humanity?

2 Timothy 3:1-5

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (KJV)
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

4. What will happen with science?

Daniel 12:4

Daniel 12:4 (KJV)
4 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.

5. What signs would be seen in the stars?

Matthew 24:29

Matthew 24:29 (KJV)
29 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:

WHAT MUST I DO?

1. Be aware of the signs of the times.

Luke 21:28-31

Luke 21:28-31 (KJV)
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

2. Watch and be prepared.

Matthew 24:42, 44

Matthew 24:42, 44 (KJV)
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

MY RESOLUTION

I believe that Jesus will come very soon. I decide to prepare myself to be ready and go with Jesus to the New Earth.

Addtional Study 6

THE TIME OF HIS ADVENT. We do not know the exact moment of his coming (Matthew 24:42, 44). Determining the time of his coming is something that only God can do (Acts 1:7). His coming will be surprising (Luke 12:40; 21:34). As a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:2). But we are not in darkness because Jesus gave unmistakable signs (Matthew 24:33; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4).

SIGNS THAT ANNOUNCE JESUS' RETURN. Rise of immorality (Luke 17:26, 27; Micah 7:1-3). Fear and anguish (Luke 21:25, 26; Matthew 24:21, 22). Natural disasters (Luke 21:11). False christs (Matthew 24:5,23,24). Generalized apostasy (Matthew 24:11; 2 Peter 3:3, 4). Preaching of the gospel worldwide (Matthew 24:14).

PREPARATION FOR JESUS' RETURN. Waiting and speeding up our preparation (2 Peter 3:12). We have to always be prepared (Luke 12:40) We have to be diligent to be found without spot (2 Peter 3:14).

According to the Holy bible, we do not know the exact day nor hour of Jesus' return. However, just as there were clear prophecies about Jesus' first advent, there are clear signs for the Second Advent. The fulfillment of the signs indicate the time of the end and the imminence of Jesus' return.

Cosmic Signs

  1. GREAT EARTHQUAKE. "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth" (Revelation 6:12, 13). This earthquake happened on November 10, 1755; it destroyed Lisbon and shook Europe and northern Africa.
  2. DARKENING OF THE SUN. (Isaiah 24:23; Joel 2:30, 31; Mark 13:24; Matthew 24:29). This extraordinary event happened on May 19, 1780. The day started normally, but midmorning a strange darkness covered a great part of the United States. The celebrated astronomer Herschel said: "It was a marvelous natural phenomenon, and this story will always be read with great interest and no philosophy will ever be able to explain it."
  3. FALLING STARS. (Matthew 24:29; Revelation 6:13). This remarkable sign happened on the night of November 13, 1833. An eyewitness said that the stars fell so abundantly that you could read the newspaper by their light.

Knowledge Shall Be Increased

Daniel predicted that in the time of the end "knowledge shall be increased" (Daniel 12:4). This clear sign is fulfilled dramatically before our eyes. "Human knowledge doubles every fifteen years, and in less than two generations man has gone from horse-drawn carriages to remote-control missiles".—Billy Graham, The World Aflame, p. 225.

A Glorious Dawn Approaches

The exact fulfillment of the signs announced by Jesus and the prophets indicate to us that the long and devastating night of pain and death will soon come to an end. We can see glimpses of the radiant dawn of the new world offered by Jesus to "all who love his coming".