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Back in ancient days, the nations were trying to pull back the curtain of the future to understand the events of their time. They were looking for signs about their pagan sacrifices that would indicate the future. And now people attempt the same through the means of spiritualism which has been condemned by God. Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
To whom does God reveal His secrets? The prophet Amos declares:
“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7.
These so important revelations of God are found in the books of the Old and the New Testament. And this is why Jesus counsels us: “Search the scriptures…” John 5:39.
And he did not consider the disciples’ question as to what the sign of His Coming shall be, as too daring, but he gave an exhaustive answer to it in Matthew 24.
The events that were foretold there can be divided into 1) signs in the heaven; and 2) signs in the earth. Jesus speaks of the former in verses 29 and 30. He says:
“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…” Matt. 24:29.
Signs in the heaven
The Dark Day
Out of the numerous testimonies for the darkening of the sun in 1780, we will give just one. Commenting on Revelation 6:12, d-r Seiss says:
“On May 19, 1780, in the whole North-Western part of the United States in North America, there was a remarkably dark day. Eyewitnesses called this a supernatural, inexplainable event. It could not be a solar eclipse for the moon was almost full. Nor the reason was in a cloudy sky because – on the contrary – the sky was so clear that the stars could be seen. Yet from 9 am to the usual time when the sun would set, there came such dense darkness that any work had to be stopped and candles had to be lighted in the houses, and the cattle returned as if the night had come. And if the sun could be seen at any time, its appearance was such as if it had lost all its brightness.” (Seiss, J. A. Die Offenbraung Jesu Christi, vol. 1, p. 361).
Humboldt speaks of a similar dark day three years later, and he calls it “the most significant darkening that – from May till August 1873 – constantly kept in alarm Europe and Africa, and also the whole North America.”
The moon lost its power
Jesus prophesied that the moon would lose its power. In “History of Beverly” we read:
“The night that followed this day [May 19, 1780] was so dark, that in some cases horses that were needed for work could not be led out of the stalls.”
The signs in the stars
The foretold signs in the stars also found exceptional fulfillment. The comments of d-r Swiss on Revelation 6:13 declare:
“An extraordinarily remarkable Starfall of this kind happened on the night of November 13, 1833… It seemed as if all the stars of heaven were straying from their courses and falling unto the earth.”
The powers of heaven shall be shaken
The next sign in heaven that is predicted is still awaiting its fulfillment. This is the shaking of the powers of heaven.
“… and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt. 24:29, 30.
Signs in the earth
Later on, Jesus described the events of the earth that should be accepted as signs foretelling His Coming and the end of the world in relation to it:
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matt. 24:7.
From the statistics and announcements of today’s news outlets, we see that earthquakes, famines, and the dangers of a coming war are increasing. Though there are several peace organizations, our world is facing a catastrophe and it does not take any measures to escape it.
Jesus also predicted a moral decline in the world, saying:
“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt. 24:38-39.
According to Luke’s account, Jesus also made the following comparison:
“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.” Luke 17:28-30.
Why would Christ come unawares for the nations and for most people who call themselves Christians? Because they do not pay attention to the warning message that is being proclaimed and because they trust notable scholars and leaders more than they trust the faith in the soon Coming of Christ. In 2 Peter 3:1-5, the apostle Peter describes the people living in the last days as those who – under the guise of godliness – practice sins and transgressions. This is the seeming Christianity of our days. Sadly, the newspapers testify of the spread of most contemptible sins and lusts, and that in Christian nations. The modern dance around the golden calf acts out its shameful festivities, and the mind is turned not to God but to Mammon.
The preaching of the Gospel
One of the most important signs of the soon-coming end of the world was given by Jesus in these words:
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24:14.
Just before the end, the faithful will proclaim the saving message of the Kingdom of Christ as the final saving message to the world. For 120 years Noah, the preacher of righteousness, preached to the wicked people of his day. His success was small, as only the members of his family believed in the warning.
In our days also, according to the teaching of Jesus, the gracious message for salvation is being preached for a witness to all nations. Jesus does not teach that all people will be converted. On the contrary, in the Sermon on the Mount, He called us to go through the straight gate, “for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.” (Matthew 7:13).
“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matt. 7:14.
While walking on the straight way, man cannot have his own idea, nor can he pass through the straight gate his cherished sins and his Mammon. On the wide way, however, there is plenty of space for all the sins and lusts, for all vanities, fashion, and pleasures, for all the commandments and deceptive teachings of men.
God calls men who would be ready to bring the Gospel of the kingdom to all nations, far from their relatives and their loved ones, and be self-sacrificing Christians, following the example of their Master.
For more than twenty centuries, Christians have prayed: “Thy Kingdom come.” Yet the majority of people do not embrace the hope that Jesus is soon going to come. Why? Because they love this world more than they love Christ and His kingdom. Because His kingdom “is not of this world” (John 18:36).
How to know when the time is near
The day and the hour of Jesus’ Coming have indeed been hidden from us, but he predicts the signs that are to precede His Coming. If we pay attention to the events and compare them to the signs that were predicted, we shall have to admit that many of the preceeding signs have already appeared and those signs of His Coming which have not yet transpired, are soon to be fulfilled. Jesus admonishes us:
“So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Matt. 24:33.
There are two completely different aspirations in the two great classes of the world. In Genesis 6:5 the Bible declares that “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”. And to His followers, Jesus recommends: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…” Matt. 6:33.
One class lives for this world and the other class – for the Kingdom of God. Everyone who – in this world – is striving for the Kingdom of God, shall live according to the principles of this Kingdom that are declared in the Ten Commandments. This will be the differentiating characteristic of those who are subjects of this kingdom. God wrote the holy Law on two tables of stone. The first four commandments contain the duties of man toward God, and the other six contain the duties of man to his neighbors. To His children in the New Testament God wants to write His law not in stone but in the heart and mind. Hebrews 8:10. For this reason, the beloved disciple says to everyone who states that he is a child of God but at the same time transgresses His commandments:
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4.
Jesus Himself told the priests in His day:
“Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matt. 15:6-9.
Praise God that in these last days, He is leading a nation out of the world, who will not accept the mark of the Antichrist power, but will keep and teach the law of their God:
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.
Why is the current state of the world so comfortless? The Word of God tells us:
“The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate…” Isaiah 24:5, 6.
Therefore the Lord speaks:
“O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea… his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.” Isaiah 48:18-19.
In light of Bible prophecy, the current state of things in the world evidences that the greatest event in human history – the grand Coming of our Savior – is very near. The signs of the times are messengers of His Coming.
Why is Jesus Himself going to come to this earth? To save His obedient people from all suffering and bring them into His everlasting Kingdom. What will you do? Choose Jesus and keep the commandments of God.