The Bible is filled with references to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, many before He had even been born. Jesus Himself taught many parables about His coming and the need to be prepared, like the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25).Speaking of His return, Jesus said, “but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matt 24:36 NKJV). He taught that understanding the timing of His coming is like watching a fig tree in spring. No one can say the exact moment that summer begins, but when the fig trees start to grow leaves you know that summer is almost here (Matt 24:32). Likewise, while no one knows the actual date of Jesus’ return, we can be prepared by knowing what the signs of His coming are.
Since His death on the cross, Christians have eagerly awaited His return, with many carefully studying the signs given in Matthew 24 and the Book of Revelation. We will review five of these signs that are particularly relevant for our day. The purpose of this article is not to pretend to know when Christ will come again, but to persuade that His Coming is imminent and that we must be prepared for when He does.
The Signs of the Times
The Bible contains many signs of the Second Coming of our Lord. The following signs of the times are all taken from the scriptures.
Signs that have been fulfilled or are being fulfilled:
There will be false prophets deceiving people.Not long before Jesus was captured to be crucified, He warned the apostles about false prophets. He said, “If anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand” (Matt 24:23-25 NKJV).
There are many denominations of Christianity, with hundreds and thousands of Christian churches across the globe. With so many options available to us, we should be careful to follow honest people through our own personal study of the scriptures, through prayer, and following the promptings of the Spirit.
There will be an increase in natural disasters.
Revelation 8 mentions natural disasters, as do other scriptures. It is obvious from the history of hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, floods, and tornadoes during the past decade that this prophecy is being fulfilled.
There will be plagues
Revelation 16 describes various plagues to be poured out upon the earth prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ. A few verses, if taken literally, could explain climate change (Rev 16:8-9) and the dying coral reefs (Rev 16:3 NKJV). Matthew 24:7 mentions famines (these shortages are often due to droughts, which we have experienced severely in the last decade) and pestilences as well.
There will be wars and rumors of war
In Matthew 24:6-7, Jesus warns “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars… For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Wars and rumors of war have been pervasive since the time of Christ. The massive wars of the 20th century, however, introduced an all-encompassing type of international warfare that was unprecedented in history. As world interests continue to tangle together, we can only assume that wars and rumors of such will also continue.
People will be filled with pride and mock the commandments of God.
This sign may be the least popular because we are the ones who fulfill this prophecy. This sign is not out of our control or caused by nature. Uncomfortable though it may be, we should view this sign and ourselves with integrity.
2 Timothy 3:2 states that "men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection." One example of the fulfillment of this sign is social media. Social media is a wonderful and recent invention but has largely allowed for the general population to become more self-centered, untruthful, and angry than ever before.
In fact, we are in an era that proudly promotes “living your truth,” which communicates that truth is relative. God is truth, and if we are to believe that there is one God, we must believe that there is one truth. While Christians believe that only God can judge righteously and that we can all repent of our sins, it is folly to believe or promote that the definition of sin changes based on popular culture.
How can you prepare for the Second Coming?
How can we prepare for such turbulent events? Both panic and complacency are pervasive, but neither are what God wants for us. Like the parable of the fig tree, we don’t know exactly in what ways these unsettling events may occur and how they will touch our lives individually. We can, however, prepare physically and spiritually.