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What Will Be The
Sign of Your Coming? In
Matthew 24.3 we have two questions asked by the disciples. The first dealt with
the destruction of “But
of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My father
only” (verse 36). We go from the parable of the fig tree in verse 32 in which
one can tell that summer is coming when one sees the fig tree put on leaves and
one will be able to see the signs of the destruction of Jerusalem; to being told
there will be no way of knowing. Either Jesus is contradicting what He said in
the earlier verses or He has changed subjects. Pertaining
to the end of the age Jesus says no one will know but the Father in heaven. This
same idea is recorded in Mark 13.32-37, “But of that day and hour no one
knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take
heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man
going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants,
and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore,
for you do not know when the master of the house is coming-in the evening, at
midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning-lest, coming
suddenly, he find you sleeping. And
what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” Those looking for secret or hidden
codes in the Bible pertaining to the second coming of Christ are looking in
vain. Jesus
compares His coming to the flood during the days of Noah. Noah knew the flood
was coming and he preached to the people of that time. However, no one knew when
it was going to come. The day the rain started was just like any other day.
People were getting married, going to work, and engaging in other mundane tasks.
“Therefore you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do
not expect” (Matthew 24.44). Our job is not to speculate about the second
coming but to be ready. Yet
many try to interpret current events as signs of Jesus second coming. I remember
as a young boy during the middle of a dry spell in the summer and at the time of
the Vietnam War hearing people say, “Well the Bible says there will be wars
and rumors of wars, and droughts before Jesus comes back.” Yes the Bible does
speak about wars, droughts, and earthquakes but they are in relation to the fall
of Terry
Sanders in an article titled, No Sign or Sign--- Which Is It?, makes the
following observation: Unfortunately, there are a few brethren who will affirm that there is no sign only to later announce that there is one! What, you say, how does that happen? Here is how it goes: Brethren will correctly state that there is no sign given about the Judgment Day. Only the Father knows the day and hour. However, if you quiz the same few brethren about the state of affairs today, you may be surprised by the answer. These good brethren will very likely tell you that things are worse today than they ever have been. They are so bad that surely the Lord’s return is imminent. Thus, they admit that there just might be a sign after all. We
do know Jesus will return and that will be the end of the age. This is stated in
many passages: “For
as often as you eat this b read and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s
death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11.26). “For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise
first” (1 Thessalonians 4.16). “Then
comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an
end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put
all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1
Corinthians 15.24-26). There
are other passages we could cite but the point is Jesus will return, that return
will be when all will stand before God in judgment, and the world will be
destroyed. No time frame is given. It can be safely said that we are closer to
the Day of Judgment than at any other time. It simply means it has not happened
yet. Those that die before Jesus’ second coming and those alive will all be
judged by the Law, John 12.48. We just need to be ready. – Dennis Tucker |