• Home →
• Doctrine and Theology

Signs of Jesus’ Return

While leaving the temple the disciples asked Jesus, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age” (Matthew 24:3)? We can’t know exactly when Jesus will return, but we can tell when the time is near. Let me share a few things that reveal the end could be imminent.

Watch the Message

Signs of Jesus’ Return

1. Israel becoming a nation. God told Israel that he would scatter them as a result of their rebellion. We know that they lived in various places all over the world until 1948 when they became a nation again. Since that time the Jews have headed back to Israel in unprecedented numbers.

   In Ezekiel 37 and Matthew 24:32-35 Israel is referred to as a fig tree (fig trees in scripture usually symbolized Israel), and Jesus declares that “when you see these things take place” (their becoming a nation again), that generation would not pass away until all things were fulfilled.

   The U.S. Embassy being moved to Jerusalem is at the height of prophetic fulfillment. U.S. presidents have been promising to move our embassy to Jerusalem for generations. When President Donald J. Trump promised to move our embassy to Jerusalem, he apparently meant it. On May 14, 2018 the embassy was officially moved to Jerusalem and dedicated.

   It’s interesting that its dedication just happened to fall on May 14. The diplomatic recognition of the State of Israel (the international recognition of Israel), established by the Israeli Declaration of Independence was on May 14, 1948. The dedication of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem was exactly 70 years to the day of Israel’s Declaration of Independence and the international recognition of the state of Israel.

   I highly doubt that President Trump realized the extreme significance of this in the fulfillment of the prophetic calendar. God did! This is simply mind boggling. There’s simply no way man could have planned this event so perfectly. I am convinced, without a doubt, this all took place in the providence of God.

   “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

2. Deception. The proliferation of cults and deception is a sign the coming of Christ is near. Jesus, Paul and John emphasized this (Matthew 24:4-5 and 10-11; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 1 John 2:18). John said there would be many anti-Christs, Paul declared that there would be a falling away from the faith.

   People are being deceived in unprecedented numbers, from traditional cults, which are merely in error doctrinally, to Islam, who is not only in error doctrinally, but desire to take over the world, and kill all who do not believe (the infidels) and serve their false god – Allah.

   Jesus said that many would come in His name claiming that they were actually the Christ. Now I don’t know about you but I haven’t heard of many actually saying they were Christ, but I have heard plenty allude to the fact that they were the sent or anointed ones. Christ means anointed and/or sent one. We have people in other religions indicating they are the chosen, as well as those in the Christian faith boasting about being anointed.

   Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of times when I’m preaching that I sense God’s anointing and may at times say that I do. On the other hand, when your anointed by God you don’t have to go around telling everyone you are. I hear people being introduced as God’s man for the hour, God’s anointed, etc all of the time. Beware!

   There is also a general deception coming upon the world. There seems to be a blindness and scales over the eyes of much of the world today. People who once seemed to have a clear understanding of the things of God and the spiritual realm are losing all sense of enlightenment.

   Some of this could be because they were never truly born again. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

   This can also be the end time blindness the god of this world is bringing, “whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11).

   I encourage and challenge you to read our article Do Not Be Deceived (or watch the video message) for scripture and what to look for concerning the decption that’s over our world and the church today.

   “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

3. Natural disasters (Mathew 24:7-8). Natural disasters have come at us in full force in recent days. We have had Katrina, tsunamis, major earth quakes, and plagues such as the bird flu, ebola, AIDS, coronavirus, and a myriad of others. The coronavirus has shut down nearly the entire world. Something we have never seen before. This is only the beginning.
4. Wars (Mathew 24:7a). We’ve had 9/11, the Gulf war, Iraq, the threat of nuclear strikes from Iran, ISIS threatening people in the Middle East, beheading people from the U.S. and U.K. and threatening to come to the U.S., along with these we have already had what they consider so-called lone-wolf attacks. There were the attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, Orlando and Nice, France. And they are sure there are more to come. There are threats of cyber attacks which could potentially knock out much of a country’s infrastructure.

   On top of all this there are neclear threats – the height of terror. It is amazing to me that thousands of years ago God describes perfectly the effects of nuclear disaster. In Zechariah 14 verse one he begins by declaring the day of the Lord is coming, and in verse 12 he says that “their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.” Wow! Nothing could describe the effects of a nuclear holocaust better than that and it was written thousands of years ago.

5. The speed of travel. During Bible times the fastest mode of travel was by horse back. Now people are traveling at high rates of speed every day by automobiles, airplanes, and rockets into outer space. Cars alone would have blown people away just a little over a hundred years ago, yet God foretold traveling at high rates of speed over two thousand years ago (Daniel 12:4).
6. An explosion of knowledge. With the Internet and other technological advancements knowledge is increasing exponentially on a daily basis (Daniel 12:4).
7. Scoffers. Peter said that in the last days there would be scoffers saying where is the sign of His coming (2 Peter 3:3-5)? It’s amazing how many people mock the things of God, especially in comment sections online and it is getting worse and worse in these end times.
8. The Internet. In Revelation 11, John describes the two witnesses of the last days that are given power similar to that of Moses and Elijah to display signs, wonders and miracles. At the end of their time of prophesying to the world, the Anti-Christ has them killed and their dead bodies lay in the streets three and a half days with the whole world watching.

   The world not only watches, but rejoice over their death and exchange gifts to one another in celebration. At the end of three and a half days they stand to their feet and ascend in a cloud out of everyone’s site “and their enemies saw them” (Revelation 11:12). At the time John penned this it would have been impossible for the entire world to view this event. Today it is common via the internet and television.

9. Intense spiritual conflict and warfare. The Bible says that in the end the devil will come down to earth having great wrath knowing that his time is short (Revelation 12:12). During this time there will be an increase of conflict in the lives of believers like never before in history. The battle for the believer is more intense now than ever. Our family has gone through more trials in recent years than I ever thought possible.

   The important thing is that we continue to praise God in the midst of it (Hebrews 13:15). These signs signal that Jesus will return soon to give us the ultimate victory and rest (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7). Hang in there and don’t by any means give up “for he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

10. The worldwide preaching of the Gospel. Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). This is a major key signally the end of the age and the return of Jesus. With the development and proliferation of the Internet and satellite television the worldwide preaching of the gospel is made possible.

    With all the evils these tools bring, they have also caused the gospel to go out over all the world. It is important to note, Jesus was not saying in Matthew 24:14 every individual would necessarily have to hear the gospel before the end would come but that the gospel would be preached in all the world. This, without a doubt, is currently taking place.

Praise the Lord! The Return of the Lord is Imminent!

More articles and guides...