The Signs of Christ's Coming

They Are Identified with the Coming Itself

The specific signs of our Lord's second coming are apparently so closely associated with the coming itself as to be indistinguishable from it. This is clearly indicated by the four passages of Scripture in which He especially deals' with the subject. These passages are Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17 and 21. This circumstance renders wholly futile the popular "prophetic" fad of attempting to identify current world events as "signs" of Christ's return.

The Setting of the Occasion. Following His astounding prophecy that "one stone" of the great and imposing Herodian temple would not be left "upon another" (Matt. 24:2), Peter, James, John, and Andrew accompanied Christ to the Mount of Olives, whither He resorted, and asked Him four distinct questions. 1. "When shall these things be?" 2. "What shall be the sign when these things are about to be accomplished?" (Mk. 13:4, ASV). 3. "What shall be the sign of Thy coming?" 4. "And of the end of the world?" (Matt. 24:3). Dismayed by the prediction about the magnificent temple, which within forty years was fulfilled to the letter, when it was destroyed by the Romans, the four Apostles privately asked for fuller details.

Jesus had said nothing of His coming or of the end of the world (which, incidentally, the disciples rightly associated), but to the four the destruction of the temple "seemed an event of such magnitude that they could not but associate it with the end of all things." In reply to their fourfold query, our Lord dealt with the first two questions in Matthew 24:4-26; Mark 13:5-23; and Luke 21:8-24. He answered the last two questions in Matthew 24:27-36; Mark 13:24-32; and Luke 21:25-33. He gave additional instructions concerning the second coming in Luke 17:23-37, which are repeated with exhortations regarding it in Matthew 24:37-51; and there are more exhortations on the subject in Mark 13:33-37 and Luke 21:34-36.

Reason for the Confusion. Failure to observe the distinctions in the subjects of reference in these portions of Scripture is what has given rise to all the confusion concerning the signs of the Lord's coming. The signs associated with the temple's destruction have been applied to the second coming. Matthew 24:6-8 is an outstanding example. "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," declared Jesus in answer to the first two questions, or in reference to "the end" of the temple and the nation as such. "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." How often do we hear these words quoted and applied to the imminent return of Christ! Yet, Jesus related them to Jerusalem's destruction, and Josephus, the historian, says such things as the words set forth took place before that occurrence. It is true that some, or all, of these conditions continue to exist, as they have since the world began, but they cannot be rightly claimed as signs of the second coming.

Incidentally, there occurs in the Lord's prophecy concerning the temple's destruction a remark that is destructive to the premillennialist insistence on a "great tribulation" to precede His second coming, or "third" coming, as they have it. "Then (at Jerusalem's destruction) shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be," He said (Matt. 24:21). Mark reads it thus: "In those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the

beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be" (Mk. 13:19). Luke's version: "These be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Lu. 21:22; cf. I Thess. 2:16 for Paul's reference to this filling up of "their sins" by the Jews, which brought down God's wrath "upon them to the uttermost" in the awful devastation by the Romans some 26 years later; and our Lord's allusion in Matt. 23:34-36 to the same punishment). So Christ's declaration is there will be no recurrence of this "great tribulation" ere He returns.

The Second-coming Signs. After fully responding to the first two questions: (1) When shall the temple be destroyed? (2) What shall be the signs which precede its destruction? the Master took up the last two: (1) What shall be the sign of Christ's coming? (2) What shall be the sign of the end of the world? The gist of His remarks on these subjects is that His coming will be "so glorious, universal, and pronounced as to be absolutely unmistakable," and, therefore, will be its own sign, observed by all people everywhere.

"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west;

so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matt. 24:27; cf. Lu. 17:24). "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen" (Rev. 1:7). See also Rev. 6:12-17.

The signs of His coming and the world's end are explicitly listed, and the language employed is clearly that of the ancient Prophets, used to describe catastrophic interventions by God and, on occasion, the end of the world (Isa. 34:1-5; Ezek. 32:7-8;

Joel 2:30-31; Amos 8:9; Hag. 2:7). "The sun shall 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). "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after the things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken" (Lu. 21:25-26).

Some regard this language as figurative, "indicating the eclipse of nations and the downfall of rulers. But there are many similar passages of Scripture which constrain us to take the language here as literal rather than figurative" (McGarvey and Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel, p. 630). See, for example, Hebrews 1:10-12;

II Peter 3:10-12; Revelation 6:12-14; 16:17-21; 20:11). It is evident that our Lord is here describing the identical cataclysmic occurrences which Peter also sets forth in II Peter 3:10-12 — the absolute destruction of the present world and elements at His coming. See also II Thessalonians 1:7-10 for Paul's allusion to the same dread event.

The Signs Attend the Event. The point of particular stress here is these are the signs, or sign, of Christ's coming and the world's end which He gave in answer to the Apostles' questions. In other words, the great event will be its own sign. "The coming and the sign are the same thing. The word 'sign' is used in connection with the coming of Christ to indicate that the nature of the coming (that is, the manner of its manifestation) will be fully commensurate with the importance of the event. His first coming in the manger was not so" (McGarvey and Pendleton, Ibid.)

"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. 24:30). "And when these things

begin to come to pass, then lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Lu. 21:28; cf. Heb. 9:28). When the stars of heaven begin to fall, the heavens to be "rolled together as a scroll" (Isa. 34:4; Rev. 6:14), the powers of heaven to be "shaken" and pass away "with a great noise," and the elements to "melt with fervent heat" (II Pet. 3:10), then we shall know that the coming of Christ is upon us, but not before. These are the signs, and there are no other express ones given by either the Lord or His Apostles.

The Cause for the Wailing. The consternation and hysterical wailing of the nations of earth on that great and terrible day of the Lord will be understandable. We get an inkling of it in the sheer panic that now attends any catastrophe of widespread proportions. As people behold these mighty and awful signs, they will be stricken with stark horror and unutterable fear and dread. They will cry out for the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them "from Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand!" (Rev. 6:16-17).

On that day, there will be no flooding of radio, television, and newspaper offices with frantic inquiries as to what is taking place. We fear that most of the people of the media will themselves be afflicted with the general terror. Every person upon the earth will know what is occurring. Deep within the inmost being of all people is the knowledge of "doom's day," as it is called, or the coming of the Lord and the world's end. "When these things begin to come to pass" (Lu. 21:28), all will instinctively know that THIS IS IT! — the end is here, and they must face God in eternal judgment.

In addition to the signs given by Jesus, let us not forget there will be the sound of the last trumpet (I Cor. 15:51-52), and the great shout of Christ as He descends from heaven "with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" (I Thess. 4:16), and everywhere the graves will be bursting open and from them the dead of all the ages emerging in immortal bodies. There will, indeed, be plenty of signs, so that no one will be unaware that the Lord is coming, and that they must appear before Him in judgment. The whole idea of a secret coming is nothing more than a figment of human imagination, born of the expediency imposed by a false theological system.

A Distinct Possibility. It is possible that the darkening of the sun and moon, the falling of the stars, the upheaval of the oceans, the shaking of the powers of heaven, etc., may not be precisely simultaneous with the great conflagration that shall burn up the present world and all that is in it. They could precede the actual appearance of the Lord with His consuming glory. In fact, the language of Joel's prophecy seems to require that. "I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, fire, and pillars of smoke," God declares. "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come" (Joel 2:30-31).

In all probability, however, these mighty wonders will be in close sequence to the second coming, if that be the case. Thus, the perplexing of the nations, as Jesus foretold, and "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth."

"We can conceive of nothing that would produce greater mental distress or perplexity than changes in the position and condition of the heavenly bodies. Such changes will be followed by corresponding commotions on our planet, as, for instance, great tidal waves and vast agitations in the ocean" (McGarvey and Pendleton, Ibid.).

If there is an interim between the time when "these things begin to come to pass" and the Lord's actual descent from heaven, it will offer no hope for the lost. The day of grace will be over. Apparently, the preliminary shaking of the earth (if such be the case) will be God's way of alerting a calloused and rebellious world to that awful reality. The decree of Revelation 22:11 will undoubtedly then be invoked: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still:

and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." "Behold, now is that accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Cor. 6:1-2). It will be everlastingly too late to sue for God's mercy when the sun is "turned to darkness" and the stars begin to fall.

The Conditions to Prevail. Although, as we have pointed out, the express signs. of His coming which Jesus gave are in close association with the coming itself, if not identical with it, it is true that both He and the Apostles told of certain conditions that would prevail at that time, or previously. For example, the Lord plainly implied that the faith would be in scarce supply on earth. "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Lu. 18:8). "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:12-13), and so they will be unready for the great day. "The coming will occasion universal mourning in the unprepared, and apparently the majority of the people will be in that condition" (McGarvey and Pendleton, Ibid.) "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:13-14).

Anticipating the coming of "the man of sin" — the Roman Catholic papacy — the Spirit "expressly" foretold through Paul of the "falling away" from the faith that was to occur ere Christ returned (II Thess. 2:1-10). "Many shall depart from the faith," it was declared, "giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (demons), speaking lies in hypocrisy" (I Tim. 4:1-3). But these prophecies have long since been fulfilled, and the conditions set forth in them continue and are increasing in force today. Iniquity is abounding, the love and many has waxed cold, and men are giving heed to seducing spirits and speaking lies in hypocrisy. In that sense, we have signs that we are in "the latter times" (I Tim. 4:1).

But as to the signs of the Lord's actual coming, we are shut up to those which He Himself gave — the ones provided by the convulsive and consuming cataclysm that shall attend His appearing. All the talk we hear today from "prophetic" preachers about "wars and rumors of wars," "nation rising against nation," and the endless identification of world events as sure "signs" of Christ's imminent return are outgrowths of a misreading of the apocalyptic chapters from Matthew, Mark, and Luke which we have cited. Such interpretations were applicable to Jerusalem's destruction by the Romans, but not to the coming of Jesus and the world's destruction by God.

The Absence of Decisive Signs. In fact, as our Lord concluded His revelation on the subject of second-coming signs, He, apparently anticipating such wresting of Scripture, scotched it beforehand. That day and time, He said, would be comparable to the days of Noah and of Lot, in that life will be moving along as usual, with no one aware that the coming of Christ is upon them. "Even thus will it be when the Son of man is revealed," He declared (Lu. 17:30).

Such an ordinary day or night will it be that one will be found "upon the housetop," "two women shall be grinding at the mill," "two men shall be in the field," and "two men in one bed" (Matt. 24:40-41; Lu. 17:31-36). In addition, people

shall be eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, buying and selling, planting and building (Lu. 17:27-29). Thus, "as a snare" shall the return of Christ "come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth" (Lu. 21:35). It shall come unexpectedly, "as a thief," when people are saying "peace and safety" (I Thess. 5:1-3).

In view of this nature of the case, those who are "of the day" are to watch and be always "ready," lest the Lord's appearing take them "unawares" (Matt. 24:42-44;

Lu. 21:34; I Thess. 5:4-6). There will be no distinctly recognizable signs of its approach, unless it is in the beginning of the heavenly bodies' collapse and the earth's and sea's violent shaking. And, evidently, when the signs commence, it will be far too late to get ready for the great event.

The Reason for the Secrecy. The veiling in secrecy of the time of the Lord's appearing is, thus, to serve its purpose of constraint for godly living. We do not know, nor can we know, by clearly identifiable signs, of its imminence; hence, we must constantly live in preparation for it. Jesus' answer as to the real signs of the coming also is in keeping with His own restricted knowledge of that subject. "Of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father," He declared (Mk. 13:32). Thus, He confined His revelation of the signs to those occurrences which will immediately precede or actually attend the great occasion.

"These words indicate the profound secrecy in which God has concealed the hour of judgment (cf. Acts 1:6-8). It is concealed from all people (including the saints), that each generation may live in expectation of its fulfillment, and we are to watch for the signs, though we may not fully know the times" (McGarvey and Pendleton, Ibid, p. 632).

Let us who are espoused, or betrothed, to Christ, therefore, "watch and be sober," as we are exhorted to do (I Thess. 5:6, 8). And, with our watching and sobriety, let us pray always that we may be "accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" (Lu. 21:36; cf. II Thess. 1:11-12).

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