Signs of the Times

Signs of the Times Session 1: Knowing the Signs

I. Laying a Biblical Foundation: Many are eager to know what the Bible has to say about when Jesus will return and the events that must come first. This series is designed to give an overview of the signs that are laid out in scripture as prerequisites before Christ’s second coming. These sessions will give a biblical foundation for the signs as well as help to identify what to pay attention to and what not to. If you don’t already know the biblical signs of the times then this study will provide many convincing proofs that we are in fact living in the last days. A. Signs Point to Something: We are all familiar with signs, knowing that signs come in different sizes, shapes, and colors. Each sign has it’s own message and is intended to indicate something particular. By paying attention to these signs we avoid car accidents, know where to park, can find a friend’s street etc. The signs are there for us, they are meant to serve us and help us in this life. We do have a choice to ignore them however, or to never learn them and pay no attention to them. But they would remain none the less and their accessibility and purpose would be preserved. Everyone one of those signs is an attempt to communication important information to us and it would be unthinkable to pretend they didn’t exist.

B. Understanding and Preparing: It is the same with the Signs of the Times, God has laid them out very clearly in His Word and the it is His intent that we would see them and pay attention to them as they were given to us that we might understand and prepare. Many believers are not familiar with these signs, but that does not reflect on their importance or on their accessibility.

C. The Period of Birth Pains: Most often when we hear someone say “signs of the times” they mean the signs of the “birth pains,” which are signs specific to that time period. Every time period of the end times is full of “signs” that are to be recognized and interpreted but most people aren’t at first interested in or aware of all that, they just want to know “how can I be sure that we are living in the last days?” This is determinable by studying what signs the Bible prophesies will occur in the generation that the Lord will return to.

D. Where These Signs are Pointing: The signs of the times are very important because they actually point to quite a bit of divine revelation that the Lord desires for the Church to interpret and respond to accordingly.

1 1. The last generation: Some of these signs act as indicators to the last generation that they are living in the last generation. 2. Nearing the Tribulation period: Some signs tell that last generation that the last 7 years; the Tribulation, is getting near, being just years away instead of decades. 3. Entering in to the Tribulation: Some signs definitively tell us that the last 7 years has begun.

E. Overlap & Omission: As we are going to look at a great many of the signs laid out in the Bible we will be visiting dozens of texts in this series and there may be some amount of overlap due to a particular sign being identified slightly different from passage to passage. In my best effort to determine what God’s intention is I am going to partner some of these and leave others as their own separate sign. 1. Other signs: It is doubtful that the Lord listed everything He plans on doing or releasing in the years preceding, during, or following the Tribulation. But by studying the signs that we were given we can gain direct clarity about actual events and trends as well as a broader understanding of what other types of things the Lord might also have in mind to do that He didn’t specifically list. 2. Signs that carry over: We will primarily be looking at signs from the season of time before the Tribulation period begins. There is often a measure of overlap where a sign will carry over into that timeframe as well. This makes it difficult to classify every sign into a particular season, though many have a starting point or climax point that we can loosely use for this purpose. Then of course many signs are mush easier to classify because of how clear the start and end point are.

F. Simultaneous Fulfillment: The most powerful aspect of the signs isn’t that they are being fulfilled in our generation, it’s that they are all being fulfilled for the first time (since they were prophesied) and at the same time (within a single generation). This is a giant exclamation mark from Heaven that we are in the last generation.

“When you see all these things, know that it is near--at the doors! Assuredly…this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place (Mt. 24:33-34 NKJV)”

G. Importance of Global Realities: It’s not a sign of the end of the age -which is the end of the age for the planet, if it happens in an out of the way manner, it has to be a global reality or at least globally recognized. So these prophesied trends will be recognizable and span continents, nations, cultures and social boundaries.

2 II. Common Lies Against Knowing the Signs: There are many false ideas being taught and believed about the end times that the Enemy is employing against the Church. These misconceptions keep God’s people from the truth by making the end times seem unknowable and impossible to understand. A. We Can’t Understand End-Time Scriptures: This says that the signs of the times which were given as “signs” can not be known and so they are null and void. Scripture was given to humanity be understood. The majority of people throughout history have been uneducated and God cares for them as much as He does for the scholar and the learned.

B. The End Times are a Distraction: Some think that understanding the end times will minimize the work of the Kingdom because people will be distracted by the message. While it is true that it is possible to take the study of the end times to funny places that are not helpful (as is the case with any teaching) the study of the End is really the study of the Man of the end –Jesus. Spending time on these subjects causes our hearts to become more alive and in love with Christ as we see His remarkable leadership. Actually the work of understanding, teaching and preparing for these events is part of the great commission as Jesus taught much about this subject and promised to come back.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Mt. 28:19-20)."

C. We Can’t Know When He’ll Come: This line of thoughts says that since Jesus said no one knew the day or hour of His return we should not try to know the times and seasons or the signs of the generation in which Jesus will return. The truth is that the Scripture requires those in the generation the Lord returns to know it and prepare accordingly. Jesus and Paul emphasized the know-ability of the prophetic signs of the End-Times (Mt. 24:32-34; Lk. 21:25-29; 1Th. 5:1-6; 2Th. 2:1-11). Though Jesus did not know the day or the hour that doesn’t mean that we won’t, in fact we will know with great precision once a few of the Biblical signs occur. For instance once the Antichrist sets himself up in the temple there will be 3 ½ years until Christ (Da. 9:27).

D. Every Generation Believed They were the Last One: It is probably true that a very small number (less than 1%) in each generation believed this. In only one generation has the majority of God’s people believed in a sustained way (for decades) that we will see Jesus’ return. Some in history spoke of the End-Times when a great crisis occurred (but the emphasis was temporary). There was millennial fervor for a short time just before 1,000 AD but it was not sustained.

3 E. It will all Pan Out in the End: This lie says it’ll all work out so there’s no reason to worry ourselves about all this. The question however is how well will it pan out for you? The Signs and the Warnings laid out in the our Bibles related to the End Times are there to serve us not merely amuse us. The service is this; to pay attention and to be ready means understanding, salvation and to be found in the middle of God’s will when those times approach. To neglect these signs or remain unaware is a dangerous gamble and many warning passages paint a grim picture for those who take that approach (Mt. 24:4, 42-44; Mk. 13:32-37; Lk. 21:34-36). Warnings are not neutral –they have consequences if not heeded, they are an expression of God’s love and concern for us.

III. Prophetic Time Frames: Scripture describes that there are several distinct prophetic time frames related to the end times. Each of these time frames has it’s own distinct identity that sets the stage for the next one. The time line ends in the return of Jesus which ultimately is just the beginning of the new time line called the “ages to come.” A. Silent Years: We will go into the details later in this series but for now it is enough to know that Israel is very significant to the end time clock and that before 1948 there was no nation of Israel which made biblical fulfillment of dozens of prophecies impossible.

B. The Period of the Birth Pains: This period actually comes first and is the season of numbing that leads into and sets the stage for the 7 year Tribulation. It is very important that the Church has intimate understanding of this stage of God’s last days plan. This period of time will last significantly longer than either of the other two times frames listed above, likely the majority of the lifespan of the last generation, but certainly some decades in duration. The danger of not being prepared; which preparation only comes from lifestyles of study, prayer, fasting, and discussion, about the details of the period of time called the birth pains is that the signs will be missed and misinterpreted by many due to the more subtle nature of this season. A frog thrown into a boiling pot will immediately jump out, but put that same frog put into a pot at room temperature having the heat slowly increased will cook to death unable to discern the changing circumstances and slow peril that ensues him. This may seem an odd or even dramatic picture to use but it is very fitting due to the warnings and eternal consequences that the New Testament lays out regarding those who don’t pay attention to the signs of this time frame. Primary scriptures describing the Birth Pains (Mt. 24:5-28; Mk. 13:5-37; Lk. 21:8- 36).

C. The First 3 ½ Years of the Tribulation: The increased birth pains, described as a time of peace and safety; which will greatly contrast the previous time frame. It will also be the height of

4 what is described as a great falling away of the faith where a great number of saints will turn away from God as a result of the seedbed of lies that is sown in the previous time frame. The primary scripture describing the Tribulation period is found in Daniel (Da. 9:27).

D. The Second 3 ½ Years of the Tribulation: This period is called the Great Tribulation and it is the season when the plagues of the Book of Revelation are released and when the Church will also experience the greatest period of victory over darkness and the greatest number of people coming into the Kingdom as a result. Primary scriptures describing the Great Tribulation: (Je. 30:7; Da. 7:25, 9:27, 12:7; Mt. 24:21; Re. 7:14, 11:2, 3, 12:6, 14, 13:5).

E. Timeline Line Graph: As a visual aid I have included a line graph that shows the order that these seasons will occur in the last days.

(Second 3 ½ years) Beginning of Birth Pains The Great Tribulation | | <---1948------> | | Start of Tribulation The Millennium (First 3 ½ years) (1,000 year reign of Christ)

IV. Commanded to Know the Generation: Now that we have introduced the basic concept of what a sign is for and we have taken a look at the different seasons that will unfold in the end times we can at least have some framework to process a very important point. It is a much-neglected order from Heaven that the Church must know when it is the generation that the Lord is returning. We have been commanded to understand these signs and respond appropriately. A. Jesus’ Command: Jesus actually commanded the people in the generation of His return to know that His return was near when they saw all the sign events of Mt. 24 occurring at the same time. There is only one generation in which all these things happen simultaneously on a global basis.

“When you see all these things, know that it is near--at the doors! Assuredly…this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place (Mt. 24:33-34)”

B. Defining a Generation: It is difficult to definitively identity how long a biblical generation is exactly because a generation in Scripture ranges anywhere from 40 years to 100 years (Ge. 15:13-16; Nu. 32:13; Ps. 90:10; Mt. 1:17; Ac. 7:6). The Lord spoke to Abram about Israel’s future captivity in Egypt as lasting 400 years and called that four generations (Ge. 15:13-16) so in that case a generation referred to 100 years. In the New Testament Matthew

5 recorded that there were 14 generations from Abraham to David (Mt. 1:17) each of which averaged about 70 years.

C. Rebuked for not Discerning: Jesus spoke sternly with those in His generation for not being able to read the signs of His first coming. Asking for a sign was a legitimate request because Joel prophesied that the Messiah would give signs from heaven (Jo. 2:30). Their hypocrisy was in testing Jesus by asking for signs beyond those He did.

“The Pharisees…came testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven… Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign (Mt. 16:1-4)”

D. Knowing the Time of Visitation: Israel’s unresponsiveness to God was partly related to them not knowing the time of their visitation. There is a relationship between the measure to which people are informed of coming prophetic events and the measure in which they respond to God in context to those events. The next Day of Visitation will dwarf the previous in every way.

“If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace… For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground…because you did not know the time of your visitation (Lk. 19:42-44).”

V. Commanded to Know the Season: It’s not enough to perceive that we are living in the last generation; the scripture’s exhortation goes further than that. We are also commanded to know the season, which would be even more narrow than simply knowing that we are in the last generation. This means that we would have even more clarity in order to right understand when things are drawing near to the Tribulation period. A. To Three Week Old Believers: Paul actually taught that the Church should know the times and seasons related to the Lord’s coming. Further, this particular exhortation was written to a Church that Paul had birthed but was only able to spend 3 weeks at. During the first 3 weeks of these new believers Christian lives and teaching Paul taught them in depth on several aspects of the Last Days. Look how confidently he references their understanding of these matters.

“Concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night (the unprepared suffer unnecessary loss)…But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief...Therefore…let us watch and be sober (1Th. 5:1-6).”

6 B. Comes Like a Thief: Paul said that we are not in darkness that the Day of the Lord should overtake us as a thief. A thief causes one to suffer loss of things that could have been avoided by watching. The thief motif mostly emphasizes the element of loss that one suffers because of an unexpected coming. This same phrase was used by Jesus to describe the same reality.

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return…It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching…and…ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Lk. 12:35-40).”

C. Not Setting Dates: Those who have set specifics dates for the day of Jesus’ return have been corrected and rebuked so this is not for us to spend our time trying to determine. It will be clear enough as we draw closer to that hour. However, Jesus told us to know the generation and Paul exhorted us to know the times and seasons both of whom gave us signs to pay attention to in order that we may identify those time frames.

VI. We will Eventually Even Know the Day: It is true that at the time of Jesus’ teaching not even He knew when He would return, He only knew the signs that would proceed it, at which point He would know with increasing clarity the day and hour. He said that “no one knows” not that it would be impossible to know, but that at the time of His prophecy no one currently knew. But Jesus ends this discussion about the timing of His return with a statement that things in the last days will be like they were in the days of Noah. The context of this statement is actually timing and not wickedness (though things will certainly follow the same evil course as before the flood).

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man (Mt. 24:36-37).”

A. Noah Knew the Generation: Noah was told 120 years ahead of time that the flood was coming (Ge. 6:13-17), this can be likened to the period of the Birth Pains which mark the generation that the Lord returns.

B. Noah Knew the Season: Noah was then told seven days before he would enter into the Ark that God was going to flood the Earth. The Lord told him to make the proper arrangements (Ge. 7:4), which consequently clarified what “day” it would come. This can be likened to the years just before the start of the

7 Tribulation and even the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation where the Church is making ready for the destruction that is right around the corner.

C. Noah Knew the Day: And finally on the day God indicated, God shut Noah and his family up into the ark (Ge. 7:11-16). The lost world then and now was unaware of what God was up to until it was too late. The signs had been there all along –a man building a huge boat for 120 years in the middle of the dry land, preaching on righteousness (2Pe. 2:5), winning over some to believe and follow him (Ge. 7:7).

D. Caught Off Guard: So it will be in the last days, those who like Noah’s generation pay no attention to the signs will be caught off guard like when a thief comes in the night, but those who like Noah hear what the Lord is saying and heed the call they will be awake and ready for His return.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Mt. 24:42-44).”