The Big Sign, Too Obvious to See
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming,
and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3
We are sign seekers. Show me so I’ll know. Maybe it’s really, “Show me so I’ll believe.” Every time I teach Bible prophecy in a group setting, someone is always bold enough to ask, “How much time do we have left?” One time I actually gave the questioner not only a date, but an exact clock time before he realized the absurdity of his question.
But God did give us a promise of signs. After the disciples asked Jesus to disclose what sign to expect for His return, He gave them a pretty good list. There is another big and obvious sign that is so big, it gets overlooked. God slung it out there in the beginning. Mrs. Prophecy Dude pointed this scripture out to me.
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years… Genesis 1:14
Right in the middle of creation, and even before He formed man, God established signs, seasons, days, and years. We easily catch the natural meaning of this, but the double meaning here applies just as strongly. The spiritual realm is also assigned signs, seasons, days and years. God put into place the authority of signs and symbols to guide mankind.
We totally miss these signs and their meanings. They are subtle to us because they were established before man was formed so he has always lived with them. Signs, seasons, days, and years have prophetic significance.
But 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. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10
Paul has several things going on in this revelation. One sign the rapture is near is when there’s a cry for peace and safety or security. Then there is sudden destruction as labor pains. Now, if I were lining this up for the end, I would have the labor pains leading to the sudden destruction. But God chose a different order. Labor pains build and release and as the birth approaches, the time between pains diminishes so that the pains come more rapidly. I believe this describes what to expect in the end times as a physical manifestation on the earth.
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Romans 8:19-22
The earth itself and everything connected with it, is a sign.
Earthquakes are a sign. Jesus said so, but not necessarily in the way you might think. Many people believe that earthquakes are increasing. Although that certainly was so with the March 2011 Japan earthquake and the many quakes that followed it, generally over the years the yearly number hasn’t been increasing. What has increased are the intensities of the earthquakes.
Some years there seem to be clusters or masses of intense quakes and plotted out, you see peaks and valleys. As time moves forward, the valleys between the peaks are becoming shorter, much like labor pains before delivery. We are getting closer to delivery.
It’s not just quakes that the earth is releasing as signs. The weather has been phenomenal, to say the least. For more on that, check out the Climatic Convulsions page on Prophecy Dude.
The drought in the United States has brought with it some unusual phenomenon. The constant and extremely high temperatures are destroying infrastructure points. The news article Melting asphalt, kinking rail tracks: Weather extremes buckle US infrastructure states:
From highways in Texas to nuclear power plants in Illinois, the concrete, steel and sophisticated engineering that undergird the nation’s infrastructure are being taxed to worrisome degrees by heat, drought and vicious storms.
What is seen represents what is unseen. The failing physical infrastructure represents the failing political and moral infrastructure of the United States. Both are related. The earth is releasing a sign of imminent failure, for those who are watching the signs.
The whole of creation groans and labors with birth pangs. These will increase as the end time approaches for delivery. God established these signs in the beginning to signal to us the closeness to the end. What will we do with this knowledge? We need to be reaching the lost.
Reading the passage in Romans 8, it could be that the birth produces or reveals the sons of God. That could be the rapture of the church, but it could also be an end time revival where the church takes its place of authority as the body of Christ for one last fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8
PD
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