Watch for the Signs of Jesus’s Return

Matthew 24:32-42

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

• Recap of the Signs to Watch For.
• We can see that the leaves have blossomed on the tree of the Day of the Lord.
• Only God Knows the Day of Christ’s Return.

Recap of the Signs to Watch For. The signs described in Matthew 24:1-31 indicate that Christ’s return is approaching.

The Signs that the Day of the Lord is Nearby.	The Visibility of those Signs Today
Jesus walks out of the church.	The churches of today no longer serve as the light of the world for the Gospel of Christ. The Salvation of sinners by the remission of sin is no longer preached. Therefore, Jesus has walked out.
Churches are ruined.	Churches are in ruins since they no longer are a place for Christians or Jesus Christ. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are no longer worshipped as the Holy trinity.
False christs appear filled with deception.	Without the Church, people believe what the false christs say to them. A common narrative is that the collective action of humankind means salvation for the world. The United Nations’ objectives of saving the planet and establishing global peace and stability are upheld as the keys to salvation. We know we are seeing the global government of the beast in action.
Wars and rumors of wars and nations against nations.	The goal of global stability and peace will never be achieved. That is why the United Nations as the one world government will have a powerful military while the global population has no weapons. Even today, we see the world being stripped of gun ownership except for the nations who govern over the people. The Battle of Armageddon is inevitable.
Famines, pandemics, earthquakes.	The experts of the United Nations say that global warming is responsible for droughts, famines, pandemics, earthquakes, increased volcanic activity etc. Global warming is the Fourth Plague sent as judgment against the global government of the beast. As the United Nations becomes more powerful as the one world government, global warming becomes hotter and more intense.
Tribulation, betrayals, and hatred of the followers of Jesus Christ.	We already see hostility towards Christianity and everyone who lives by the teachings of the Bible. That’s because we make our body the temple of the Holy Spirit while the global culture insist that the human body is the territory of the entity that gives people their thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Cor. 3:16 The global culture lives for the one “… who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thess. 2:4 There is no fellowship between Christians and the global culture, “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.” 2 Cor. 6:16
Conflict and betrayal from person to person.	There is conflict, betrayals, and social unrest because the traits of psychopathy flourish within the global culture. The traits of psychopathy flourish because the human conscience is replaced by the entity that gives people what to feel, think, say, and do. People everywhere feel empowered to exalt their will over the will of others and above the will of God the Creator. People feel no guilt, remorse, shame, or regret in their dealings with others and abhor the idea of being considered a sinner in need of Jesus Christ for forgiveness. People see the Holy Spirit as someone to oppress, manipulate, exploit, and kill. Lawlessness and anti-social behavior flourish with no empathy for human beings.
False prophets.	False prophets dominate the churches of today and have no interest in preparing others for the return of Jesus Christ through the message of the Cross. They promote the humanistic agenda of the global culture in the effort to create a better world through human effort. They encourage people to live by the anti-Christian entity giving them what to think, feel, do, and say. A true prophet is rooted in the Gospel of Christ to preach about the death of Christ on the Cross to atone for sin. A true prophet shares how God raised Jesus from the grave after three days and of His ascension into Heaven to live eternally with God. A true prophet reveals that by our belief in Jesus we inherit eternal life to be with Him forever. A true prophet preaches that Jesus is coming as suddenly as a flash of lightning and we need to come to him for the forgiveness of sin.
Lawlessness abounds and love grows cold.	The Holy Spirit restrains lawlessness, but we live in a world where the Holy Spirit has been taken away as people live by the entity giving them what to feel, think, say, and do. A lawless environment is one where the harmless spirit of the dove and of the sheep are preyed upon. The lawless world is filled with those who are like a roaring lion roaming around seeking for someone to devour. Love has grown cold. “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed,” 2 Thess. 2:7-8
Gospel preached to all the world.	From the time of the existence of Jesus Christ on this earth to about the 1940’s, the Gospel has reached every part of the world. The presence of the Gospel of Christ has taken a steep decline in the world since after WW2 when the United Nations was formed. It brought with it the government of the beast as described in Daniel 8.
Abomination of desolation in the Holy place.	A desolation is the act of depriving something or someone of something or someone valuable. An abomination is a strong feeling of repulsion or disgust towards something. The abomination of desolation is the extreme loathing of someone or something that leads to their utter ruin. When the abomination of desolation is in the Holy place, it refers to the hatred of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to bring utter ruin to Holiness. There is an entity in this world that gives people what to think, feel, say, and do. This entity loathes the human body as the temple of the Holy Spriit and wants to destroy us as the home of the Holy Spirit. The abomination of desolation sitting in the Holy Place is the one “…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thess. 2:4 Click here for a post on the “man of sin”.
Flee from global culture and let go of money and possessions.	Money and possessions are used to reward people for living by the standards of the global culture through the entity giving them their thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors. Negative feedback includes withholding money and possessions etc. to show disapproval of those who reject the global culture of the beast. That sort of behavior modification is to coerce people to conform to the anti-Christian culture. The Holy Spirit warns us to let go of money, possessions, etc. and to flee from the global culture. “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” Revelation 18:4-5
Don’t look for Christ to appear on earthly terms.	Because of the abomination of desolation in the Holy place, this world is a desert when it comes to finding those who live for Jesus Christ. Jesus will never again return to this earth like He did the first time when He walked on this planet. The next time He comes will be in the air and He will not touch down on this earth but will call us up into the air to be with Him eternally. If anyone tries to find Christ in the form of any other person on this earth, they are making a huge mistake.
Amazing signs and wonders are shown.	The entity that has power over physiology to give people their thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds is showing this world amazing signs and wonders. For starters, just having power over physiology, like a puppeteer over a puppet, is beyond human comprehension. The many other signs and wonders include the ability to grant physical healings and endow with amazing physical accomplishments and feats. There is the empowerment through the giving of uncanny knowledge heightened intuition, extraordinary skills and talents, uncanny authority over others, etc. People are able to be on the same “sheet of music” from city to city around the world. There are also external signs and wonders such as the amazing intelligence of television that is personally tailored to the viewers. That amazing intelligence works through cell phones, computers, etc. The list goes on.
Christ comes suddenly like a flash of lightening not through a 20-year plan.	The coming of Jesus Christ does not come through a 20-year plan nor through the progression of global goals. Jesus Christ comes suddenly and unexpectedly like a flash of lightning. As followers of Jesus Christ, we prepare people for His return by sharing the message of the Cross. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
This heaven and earth will be destroyed for a new heaven and earth.	This present heaven and earth will be destroyed, so there will be no earthly utopia established by the collective will of the masses of the global culture. A new heaven and earth will be created for us followers of our Lord Jesus Christ where we will live eternally in the New Jerusalem.

We can see that the leaves have blossomed on the tree of the Day of the Lord. “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Matthew.” 24:32-33

Today, the leaves are budding on the tree and is evidence that the summer of the beginning of the end is here. The budding leaves are given life through the world government and its global culture who live for the entity that gives them what to think, feel, do, and say. This entity enables the image of the beast to live and speak through people in every city around the world. By what they say and do they contribute to spiritual corruption and wickedness, giving blossom to the leaves of the signs of the end. They exalt their will above the will of God the Creator. They feel no guilt or remorse and abhor the idea of calling themselves sinners who need Jesus Christ for forgiveness. They see the Holy Spirit as someone to oppress, exploit, manipulate, and kill. The summer of lawlessness and anti-social behavior has its foot in the door with no empathy for human beings.

“Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” Matthew 24:34

The phrase “this generation” means the period of time when Jesus Christ is in the world, from His birth until He returns like a flash of lightning. This means that the current world will not end before the signs of the last days are fulfilled.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Mattew 24:35

All the words spoken by Jesus Christ are true and verifiable by looking around at the world we live in. We know where the world is relating to the signs of the end times as we see where Jesus Christ is within the world, “…the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy” Revelation 19:10 The Bible is a perfect mirror reflecting the events in the world today. This heaven and earth will pass away but the words of our Lord Jesus will never pass away.

Only God knows the day of Christ’s return. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matthew 24: 36

Nobody on earth or in Heaven knows when the return of Jesus Christ will be, no one except God Himself.

“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37-39

Jesus compares His return to the flood that happened in Noah’s time, which was sudden and unexpected. The spiritually wicked did not heed Noah’s righteous preaching and were caught off guard by the flood. When they finally recognized the truth, it was too late. The skies were pouring down rain and the ground was spewing torrents of water. “…and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;” 2 Peter 2:5 A description of the days of Noah is given in Genesis 6.

Today, people are unprepared for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, which will happen suddenly and unexpectedly like a flash of lightning. As His followers, we are spreading the message that we need to get ready for His coming by repenting of our sins at the Cross and making Him the Lord of our life. The global culture is not listening as they continue their life as if God does not exist, Jesus Christ is not necessary, and the Holy Spirit is irrelevant. Like the people of Noah’s day was not expecting the flood, the people of these days are not expecting Jesus Christ to return. However, He will be coming on them like a flash of lightning moving across the sky.

Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:40-42

As believers, we are aware of the return of Jesus Christ, and we are living and working beside those who are oblivious or indifferent to His coming. When He does return, we will be taken to live with Him eternally and others will remain in the destruction of this present world’s system. As followers of Jesus Christ, we watch by keeping our spirit and soul shining with the light of the Holy Spirit. That is what the parable of the ten lamps teaches us. A person who has oil in their lamp, which symbolizes the Holy Spirit in their spirit, is prepared for the coming of our Lord Jesus. A person who lacks oil in their lamp, which means their spirit is empty of the Holy Spirit, will be left behind when He returns.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1