NOTICE THE SIGNS, 2: CLOSING SIGNS

Matthew 24:42-51 – ⁴²“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. ⁴⁵Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; ⁵⁰the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, ⁵¹and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

            The previous article addressed the ongoing signs, signs that have continued through the centuries and have led the unchurched to mock the promise of His return.  Natural calamities and wars are two prominent ongoing signs.  The more subtle ongoing signs deal with the savior complex, cold love, falsehood and increased wickedness.  These signs have always been around but are increasing in intensity and dimension.  Ongoing signs declare His coming is near. As long as they continue, however, His coming has not yet occurred.

            The other group of end-time events is the closing signs, signs that declare a particular generation is the final generation.  Closing signs are unique to the end of time.  Some attempt to mistakenly declare these events as irrelevant.  Those who disregard these signs will witness His coming as a “thief in the night.”

            Matthew 24 records a parable about a master’s slave – one with an assignment; one with responsibilities until the master returned.  His instructions were simple: be faithful and sensible – feed instead of beat those under your care; nourish instead of neglect.  The master came back, not unexpectedly but unsuspecting to that individual.  The worthless slave was assigned a place with the hypocrites.  He knew what signs to look for but chose not to look.  Those who choose not to look will not prevent Jesus from returning.

            A National Geographic magazine showed, through color photos and drawings, the swift and terrible destruction in A.D. 79 of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The explosion of Mount Vesuvius was so sudden that residents were killed while in the midst of their everyday routine. Men and women were at the market, the rich were in their luxurious baths, slaves were at toil. They died amid volcanic ash and superheated gasses. Even family pets suffered a quick and final fate. The pictures leave little for the imagination of the panic on that terrible day.

The saddest part is these people did not have to die. Scientists confirm what the ancient Roman writers’ recorded. Weeks of rumblings and shakings preceded the actual explosion. An ominous column of smoke was clearly visible from the mountain days before the eruption. They only had to read and respond to Vesuvius' warning!

There are similar rumblings in our world. People need not be caught unprepared.  We dare not fail to notice the closing signs. Today is the day for faithfulness, not indifference.

The sign of the fig tree.

            “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁴I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:32-35)

            The parable of the fig tree is generally accepted as the restoration of the nation of Israel. Years after Jesus ascended into heaven, around AD 70, the temple was destroyed and the people of Israel were dispersed among the nations. They kept their beliefs while adapting to new cultures and societies. No group of people has survived without land like the Jew. No group of people has been harassed and blamed for social ills more than the descendents of Abraham. No group of people has endured more attempts at annihilation than Israelites.

            When the fig tree brings forth her leaves, summer is near. The fulfillment of God’s promise to the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a sign of the end-times. The tree of Israel showing life once again is testimony the time of the Gentiles is down to its last generation.

            The Bible reveals the length of a generation to be around 35 to 40 years (Job 42:16 and Numbers 14:33) When did the nation of Israel become restored? In 1948 the United Nations chartered the Jewish people a portion of land in Palestine, shaped and designed by human government. It excluded much of the land declared in the Abrahamic covenant. Old Jerusalem was not part of the agreement.

            In 1967 an amazing six-day war occurred. Jerusalem and a larger portion of the covenant land became their possession. In 1948 land was chartered by man, in 1967 more territory was incredibly conquered. It was also in the late-1960’s that the world saw the greatest shift in morality.

            Today much of the covenant property is not in their possession. Could 1948 to 1967 be Israel’s budding years and 1967 to the “trumpet sound” be their leaf-bearing years? What follows the “trumpet sound” is the fruit-bearing years, when the wine press of God’s wrath is poured out.

The sign of Noah’s generation.

            “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26-27)

            Jesus specifically mentions their “business as usual” mentality. In other words, they did not care.

            Noah’s generation saw the ark being built and did not care. They witnessed the warnings from righteous Noah’s life and did not care. They had a testimony of pending doom for a long time and did not care.

            They may have been thinking, “When I see the flood, then I’ll worry.” It is no different then when people say, “When I see the rapture, then I’ll worry.” The time of the flood was too late in Noah’s day. The time of the rapture will be too late in the day of His coming.

            Genesis 6:5 states the intentions of Noah’s generation were evil. They were continually bent on evil. They liked the crude, the sadistic, the foul, the sacrilegious, the brutal, the reckless and the treacherous. They were lovers of pleasure at other people’s expense. They found pleasure in viewing suffering. Their heart became hard, calloused and indifferent. They were a society that lost decency.

            Genesis 6:11 states the craving of Noah’s generation was violence. Evil intentions and physical violence go together. The movie industry has statistics that prove the top moneymaker is violence. The second is sex.  If the two themes are done together financial success is assured. Note the number of horror movies that regularly come out of Hollywood. It is a “Noah’s generation” form of entertainment. Violence is in entertainment, in sports and in the heart.

            These signs, as in Noah’s day, will be evident in the last generation.

The sign of Sodom’s generation.

            “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28-30)

            Many assume the sign of Sodom is the act of Sodomy, defiant sexual behavior. This is a symptom of a greater problem. Ezekiel 16:49-50 reveals the real issue: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.”

            They possessed an attitude of arrogance. They based life upon unwarranted pride and self-importance.” 2 Timothy 3:2 states that the last days will be filled with arrogance like Sodom.

            Arrogance carries a feeling of being unbeatable. Out of arrogance Lot’s son-in-laws thought Sodom could not parish. When an attitude like this develops, defenses go down and loose standards develop.

            They had abundant food. The United States has 70% of the food and 7% of the world’s population. America is the food producer of the world. What is the wrongfulness of Ezekiel’s concern? Abundant food is representative of a failure to share with others; a testimony of uncaring people; a lack of compassion that causes hoarding. Sodom was not willing to share what they had. Over abundance is the testimony of selfishness; a visible statement of lacking faith and concern.

            Sodom lived in careless ease. The King James Version writes, “An abundance of idleness.” This country’s leading industries are geared towards leisure and entertainment. Gambling, the ultimate waste of time and resources, has become a major enterprise of local and state government. Believers are to focus on service, not ease and chance.

            Sodom refused to help the poor and needy, a willful defiance to recognize their plight.

            Sodom was haughty. They had contempt for others; disdain for others; treating others as scum. The nature of haughtiness is abuse and is the source of cruelty. Haughtiness crushes the feelings of others.

            Recall the story of Sodom, as recorded in Genesis. Visitors came and they desired to perform a contemptuous act. Forced sexual activity is a natural outgrowth of haughtiness.

            Sodom committed many atrocities before God, one being homosexual preferences and behavior. Sodom is a picture of people feeling unbeatable, self important, uncaring, unresponsive to needs, having little sense of the sanctity of life or respect for people, pursuing pleasure at the cost of life itself and craving inappropriate moral behavior. This will also be the sign of the last generation.

The sign of the worldwide declaration of Jesus

            “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

            The Good News is the ray of hope in the gloom of the final generation. Romans 5:20 states, “…where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” The church is to embrace the assignment of a righteous Noah (addressing a wicked world) and a righteous Lot (separating from a wicked lifestyle) and declare, “Today is the day of salvation; the day of the Lord is at hand.”

            The story of Jesus is presently being told to a “business as usual” generation; a generation strongly influenced by arrogance, selfishness and haughtiness.

            Worldwide missions is to be the high priority of the church.  By word of mouth, through printed material and on the airwaves the good news is to spread around the world. Aggressively proclaiming the message of grace through faith to every nation is testimony of the final generation.

The end

            Are the closing signs evident today?  Israel has a promised land. The actions of Noah’s generation are being witnessed. A Sodom mentality is in our midst.  The church is diligently proclaiming Jesus around the world. 

Today is the day of salvation. Any moment can be the coming of the Lord.

NOTICE THE SIGNS, 1: ONGOING SIGNS

Luke 21:34-36 – ³⁴“Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; ³⁵for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. ³⁶“But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

            Matthew 24:3-13, 36 – ³As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” ⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. ⁸But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. ⁹Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. ¹²Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. ¹³But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved…. ³⁶But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

            In the series entitled, “Look Who’s Coming” four questions were asked: Do you know Him? Are you serving Him? Are you looking for Him? Are you preparing yourself to reign with Him?

Look at these questions differently: 

• Have you entered into a meaningful relationship with God?
• Are you laying up valuable treasures in heaven?
• Are you living daily with a sense of expectancy? 
• Are you being led by the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit and manifesting the fruit of the Spirit?

            The second series entitled, “Notice the Signs,” is in two parts. There are several ways to look at the indicators of His soon return. Even though no one knows the day or the hour there are hints that it is about to take place.

            The simplest and most literal way to examine the signs is to divide them into two groups – the ongoing signs and the closing signs. Ongoing signs are continual. They have been appearing through the centuries. They keep before us the reality His coming has not yet occurred. As long as they continue, the day of His return is before us. Closing signs are events unique at the very end.

The “ongoing signs” cause the church to be mocked by non-believers.

            “Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4)

            The unsuspecting often ridicule the consistency of God. What goes unnoticed is the intensity of these signs gradually increases, as the day of the Lord approaches. The frequency and dimension of these signs is slowly escalating and their rate of occurrence is causing little alarm.

            One aspect of ongoing signs is natural calamity. Continental land shelves are shifting causing earthquakes and volcanoes to erupt. Scientist state they are occurring more frequently. Weather patterns are changing and causing an increase in ice glaciers’ melting and regions of the world experiencing greater droughts.

            Another form of ongoing signs is “nations rising against nations.” Throughout history it has not taken very much to get various people groups fighting. At the end of every major conflict comments are usually made about being a new day; an era of peace and safety. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 warns, however, “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”

            Conflict and war are on the rise around the world. Most clashes go unnoticed by the news media. One commentator wrote twenty wars commonly occur at the exact same time around the world. The writer went on to say sometimes the number goes as high as forty.

            These ongoing signs are the reason mockers do not recognize His soon return.

There are a few subtle “ongoing signs” barely being noticed.

            An increase of the savior complex. “…Many will come in my name claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” (Matthew 24:5)

            The world has always had people who claimed Jesus did not finish His mission. Mohammed, Joseph Smith, and Sun Yun Moon stated they were to complete what Jesus’ abrupt death prevented. They failed to recognize Jesus’ mission was to die for our sins.

            There are many who believe they are Jesus. When serving as a Bible College administrator, students were assigned ministry at a nearby mental institution. Many found it unsettling the first time they met someone believing themselves to be Jesus. In care facilities across this country are people who regularly make this claim. These are not the kinds of people that will deceive many in the end-times.

            Many look for someone to rescue them from the ills of society; someone to come and “save the day.” They are looking for a savior, searching for a savior leader. Of greater concern are leaders with a savior mindset.

            Consider the numerous political promises. Politicians spend hours trying to convince people they have answers that will deliver them from their own greed, corruption and immorality. Editorials in leading newspapers give a sense that government leaders should be able to “save” the nation, expecting the impossible.

            The antichrist will come with a savior-leader mentality. Leadership, however, is a call to serve. Politicians used to be called, “Public Servants.” Jesus told His followers to be servants, not saviors. One thing is certain: No one is truly able to take credit for something God does. Jesus is the only Savior; the genuine Christ.

            As the hour of His return approaches, there will be an increase of “kingdom builders” whose kingdom they build is their own.

            The increase of cold love. “…The love of most will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12) The Biblical text is not suggesting no love but cold love; referring to indifference, unconcern, insensitivity and disinterest. Cold love focuses on self-centeredness.

            Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” He responded, “Love God and love others as you love yourself.”

            For centuries the emphasis of the second part was on loving others. In the 1970’s the emphasis changed and some taught, “You cannot love others until you love yourself.” With the intent of creating a wholesome self-awareness, the focus changed to an unwholesome selfish love.

            Many fail seeing the bigger problem; people do not love their neighbors. If they did love their neighbor, they would not covet their possessions.

            Envy and competition have become the norm of the day. Someone accurately described the problem in this prose: “I was gaining on the Jones. But they’re still far in the lead. Just when I was gaining, they refinanced – and took on a new burst of speed.”

            If people did love their neighbors, there would not be the chronic problems of lying, cheating, stealing, rape and murder in society.

            This is the day of cold love – selfish love, introverted love, self-centered love.

            The increase of falsehood. “…Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.” (Matthew 24:11)

            Heroes used to the good, the honorable and the just. In October 1917 Sergeant York made headlines for his heroic efforts during World War One. Out of concern for men under his charge, he did an honorable act. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor and was admired by the nation. He became a hero to his generation and to the soldiers of World War Two.

            By the 1970’s movies like “The Sting” (about two con men) became the hero of the day. Heroes were people who achieved greatness through falsehood.

            In 1989 a movie became a box office sensation to youth around the country, “Ferris Bruler’s Day Off.” A teenager through falsehood and deception skipped school. He is the film’s hero.

            Sometimes the issue becomes debated: “Do movies reflect the moral fiber of society or do movies create the moral fiber of society?”  The answer is both.

            A “Dirty Harry” cannot make a legal case against a bad guy and becomes a law unto himself. His character is made to appear right by his actions.

            Our choice of entertainment considers falsehood as acceptable, if not honorable. Our means of entertainment reveals a misguided society. Wrong is glorified as right.

            The increase of no self-control. “…Increase of wickedness.” (Matthew 24:12)

            A society without restraint is intensifying. Unable to control various desires, people are looking for ways to fulfill cravings recklessly, carelessly and thoughtlessly.

            Tragically many young women, fearing weight gain, become bulimic. I knew someone who did food purging for several years. She attempted to end this deadly habit. Her intestines had shut down and doctors told her only God could repair the damage. Mercifully the Lord graciously healed her.

            Many girls are no longer safe in their own homes and, sadly, cannot trust a stranger if their car brakes down on the road.

            Civil unrest requires very little provocation. Society has laws on the books but not in the heart.

            Lust is overcoming devotion in every area of life. Lawlessness is increasing.

Sadly, “ongoing signs” are manifested by some who claim to know God.

            The savior-leader mentality is increasing in churches; cold love is on the rise among God’s people; falsehood is increasingly practiced by believers; and, lawlessness is gaining acceptance.

            With an element of pride, some ambitiously attempt to “save the day.” Instead of building the Lord’s Kingdom, they build personal kingdoms.

            Indifference (cold love) is rising in believers who were once caring and loving.

            Falsehood is taking the place of integrity in churches.

            Many who claim to follow Jesus are creating their own standard of living, a lawless standard. The Bible is being shelved as the measurement for acceptable living.

            These are signs that “many will turn away from the faith.” (Matthew 24:10) Followers of Jesus must insure spiritual armor is in place and the sword of God’s word is aggressively applied in every situation. The word of the Father (Scripture) is our standard. Jesus is the truth, the life and the way. The Holy Spirit is our strength.

            Jesus is coming soon. The ongoing signs of His return are increasing in the world and church. We have a choice: Look at these signs with indifference or anticipation.

            Matthew 25:1-13 records a story Jesus told about ten maidens. Ten pure maidens made plans to meet the bridegroom but only five were properly prepared for his visitation and were called “prudent.”  The other five were partially prepared and had to make a purchase.  The response given to the last five when they got to the party was, “Be alert, for you do not know the day or the hour.”

The parable warns about ongoing signs. Do not get caught unprepared for His coming because nothing appears to have changed.  At a time when least expected Jesus will return. Look up!