Key Scripture: ". . . when these things [prophesied end times events] begin to take place, straighten up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:28).



There are no signs for the Rapture. It can occur at any moment. But the Bible teaches that we can know the season of the Second Coming and the period immediately preceding it - the Tribulation.



Knowing the Season

The reason we can know the season of the Tribulation and the Second Coming is because the Bible is full of signs which will signal the season of the Lord's return, and we are told to watch for them. These signs are found in both the Old and New Testaments, and there are a great number of them.



For example, one out of every 25 verses in the New Testament specifically concerns the Second Coming. But what is not so well known is the fact that there are hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament which also relate to the Second Coming.



In addition to the Major and Minor prophets, the Psalms are full of Messianic prophecies regarding the Lord's return. In fact, Psalm 2 is one of the most important Second Coming prophecies in the Bible.



An Area of Ignorance

Many, if not most, Christians have ignored the study of these signs because they believe that since "Jesus is coming like a thief in the night," it is a waste of time to try to interpret the signs to anticipate the time of His coming.



It is true that Jesus said He would come like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:42-43). But Paul later explained that Jesus meant this statement for non-believers, not for Christians.



Paul makes this point in his first letter to the Thessalonians. In chapter 5 he says that although Jesus is coming back like a thief in the night, there is no reason for His return to surprise any Christian (1 Thessalonians 5:4). Why not? Because, as Paul puts it, "Brethren, you are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day" (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5).



What does Paul mean by this seemingly enigmatic statement? He was referring to the fact that when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are given the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Through the Spirit we receive the power to become spiritually enlightened.



So Paul is saying in 1 Thessalonians 5 that we can know the season of the Lord's return because we have been given spiritual discernment through the gift of the Holy Spirit.



Jesus' Concept

In Matthew 24, Jesus compared the signs of His return to the signs of a pregnancy. Think of it this way: You may not know the date when a pregnant woman is to deliver, but sooner or later, as you watch the development of her pregnancy, you will think to yourself, "That baby is going to be born soon!" Why? You can tell by looking.



Jesus said the signs pointing to His return would be like "birth pangs" (Matthew 24:8). Any birth mother knows what Jesus meant by this remark. As the time nears for His return, the signs will increase in frequency and intensity, just like birth pangs. For example, there will be more earthquakes and more intense ones.



This is a crucial point that is usually overlooked. Thus, people often scoff at the signs by saying, "There have always been wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and famines." Yes, there have always been such calamities, but they are now increasing in frequency and intensity, just as Jesus prophesied.



In Hebrews 10:25 we are told that we are to "encourage one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." The context is the Second Coming of Jesus. This passage makes it clear that we can know the season of the Lord's return - that tangible things will be visible to alert us to the Lord's soon return. What are those things? What are the signs the Bible tells us to watch for?



The Signs of the Times

There are a great number and variety of these signs. In fact, there are so many that it is difficult to get a handle on them. The best way to get a grasp on them is to group them into several broad categories. Let's take a look at them in that manner.



1) The Signs of Nature - The signs pertaining to nature are the ones that are least respected. The problem is twofold. First, people are prone to think, "There have always been earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and famines. So, what else is new?"



The second problem is more philosophical. We are a very rationalistic people and, as such, we tend to be skeptical of the supernatural. If we can't see it, weigh it and measure it, we can't accept its existence. Yet, the Bible teaches there is a whole realm of reality that is not normally perceptible to the senses - the realm of the supernatural that includes angels and demons (Ephesians 6:10-12).



Because we are so rationalistic, we tend to scoff at the idea that God would speak to us through signs of nature. But the Bible affirms this over and over. The Old Testament prophets repeatedly pointed to signs of nature and claimed that they indicated the judgment of God or His impending wrath.



Today we are seeing natural calamities increase in frequency and intensity, just as prophesied.



2) The Signs of Society - Jesus said He would return at a time when society would resemble "the days of Noah" (Matthew 24:37). The Old Testament tells us that Noah's time was one of immorality and violence because the thoughts of men's hearts were continually focused on evil (Genesis 6:5-13).



The Apostle Paul emphasized this sign in his writing. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul says that the society of the end times will be characterized by great stress. It will be a society in which people will love three things: self, money and pleasure (2 Timothy 3:2-4). What Paul identifies here is the religion, the god, and the lifestyle of the end time society: Humanism, Materialism and Hedonism.



Paul describes the resulting despair in graphic terms: "men will be . . . boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited . . ." (2 Timothy 3:2-4). Needless to say, this reads like the evening news here in America.



3) The Spiritual Signs - There are numerous spiritual signs that we are to watch for, both negative and positive ones.



The negative ones are the very negative indeed. They include such things as the appearance of false Christs and their cultic groups (Matthew 24:5,11,24), the apostasy of the professing Church (2 Timothy 3:5), the persecution of faithful Christians (Luke 21:12-19) and an outbreak of Satanism (1 Timothy 4:1).



We are in the midst of the fulfillment of all these prophecies. Much of mainline Christianity is wallowing in apostasy. Cultic groups are multiplying. Christians are being persecuted worldwide.



But, thankfully, there are some very positive spiritual signs that are prophesied for the end times. One is the proclamation of the Gospel to all the world (Matthew 24:14).



This prophecy began to be fulfilled in the 20th Century as a result of modern technology such as shortwave radio and satellite television. With the advent of computer technology, the Bible has been rapidly translated into hundreds, even thousands, of languages and dialects.



Another positive sign is the increasing understanding of Bible prophecy. Many of the prophecies concerning the end times were not even understood by the prophet who gave them. A good example is Daniel. He was mystified by many of the end time prophecies which the Lord gave him. When he complained about this, the Lord told him to stop worrying about it because "the words are concealed and sealed up until the end time" (Daniel 12:4,9).



As we get nearer to the day the Lord will return, we understand more and more of Bible prophecy. Some of the new understanding is due to the development of world events, such as the re-establishment of the nation of Israel. Other mysterious prophecies can now be understood due to modern technological developments.



One of the most glorious spiritual signs is the great outpouring of God's Spirit that the Church is receiving in these end times. The Bible prophesies that a great Holy Spirit empowerment will come in the latter days to enable Christians who are open to the Spirit's power to stand against the assaults of Satan.



In Joel 2:23 this is put in the imagery of an "early rain and a latter rain." The early rain was at Pentecost and continued through the early history of the Church when it was young and struggling to get established. The latter rain is occurring today as the true Church stands against the final assaults of Satan.



4) The Signs of Technology - The explosion of scientific knowledge and its technical application to communications, transportation, data processing and weapons of war is definitely a sign of the soon return of the Lord (Daniel 12:4).



For example, how could all the people of the world be given the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16-18) before the invention of lasers and computers? How could the False Prophet make an image of the Antichrist that would appear to be alive (Revelation 13:14-15) before the development of robotics and holograms?



5) The Signs of World Politics - Bible prophecy forecasts the coming together of a certain international pattern of nations in the end times.



The nation of Israel will once again exist, and all the nations of the world will seek to destroy the Jewish state (Zechariah 12:1-3). Particularly menacing to Israel will be a superpower located in "the remote parts of the north" (Ezekiel 38:6). This nation is identified in Ezekiel 38 in terms that can only be interpreted to mean modern day Russia.



The existence of the Jewish state will also be threatened by its Arab neighbors (Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 35).



The resurgence of China as a superpower is also prophesied (Revelation 9:12-16 and 16:12), as is the reunification of Europe (Daniel 7:7-8,24).



The world will be characterized by wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). The nations will also be afflicted with internal political strife that will often lead to "kingdom against kingdom," or civil war (Matthew 24:7).



Lawlessness will increase everywhere (Matthew 24:12), a prophecy that has been fulfilled on the international scene with the advent of modern terrorism.



6) The Signs of Israel - The most important group of signs, more important than all the rest put together, is the group that pertains to the nation of Israel. One reason is because end time prophecy focuses on Israel.



Another reason Israel is so important is because the Jewish people are God's prophetic time clock. This means that very often when God is revealing an important event that will take place in the future, He will point to the Jewish people and assert that when a certain thing happens to them, the important event will also occur.



An example of this principle is found in Luke 21:24 where Jesus told His disciples to watch Jerusalem. His point was that Jerusalem would be conquered and then "trampled under foot by the Gentiles" until it was time for Him to return. In other words, He was saying that whenever the Jews win back the city of Jerusalem from the Gentiles, it will be a sure sign that His return is near.



 The Romans were in control of Jerusalem when Jesus spoke these words. They were succeeded by many nations and empires until June 7, 1967, when the Jews finally regained sovereignty over the city of Jerusalem for the first time in 1897 years.



The Super Sign

There is a decisive "super sign" that overshadows all the ones mentioned above and which clearly indicates that Jesus is at the very gate of Heaven preparing for His soon return.



That sign is what could be called CONVERGENCE. What it means is that for the first time in history, all the end time signs of the Lord's return have converged. None are missing.



This means we are living on borrowed time, and the crucial question for all of us is, "Are  you ready for the Lord's return?



Lamb & Lion Ministries www.lamblion.com