Signs of Christ’s Coming

What is the first sign Jesus mentions?

Jesus emphasizes that deception will not only be prevalent in the lead-up to His coming, but also powerful, as it will be accompanied by signs and wonders. Beyond people claiming to be false Christs, Satan himself can appear as an angel of light. Jim Jones and David Koresh are examples of false prophets who claimed to be Christ, but the danger runs even deeper than that.

Over the past few decades, the New Age teachings of pantheism (all is God) and panentheism (God is in all) have been creeping into Christianity, leading some to believe that they are actually god. These teachings build upon the serpent’s original lie, “ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5), and fulfill Christ’s prophecy that many would say, “I am Christ” (Matthew 24:5). Anyone who teaches that a human being can become god—or even Christ—spreads deception, because the truth is Jesus never promised us deity. He promised us eternal life (Romans 6:23), yes, but never deity. We are and will always be His created beings; He is our Creator God.

Will there be an interest in spiritism?

The interest in psychics, channelers, spiritists, and the occult is as old as time, but it will intensify in the final days of earth’s history. Surprisingly, these practices are alive in Christianity as well through the meditative techniques of spiritual formation, which allegedly enable the practitioner to come into God’s presence—and even hear His voice—on demand. This is achieved through an altered state of consciousness, known as “entering the silence,” in which all thinking is suppressed, resulting in a trance-like, meditative state—the same state that witches, psychics, and channelers enter when they do their work. When this state is reached, the mind is opened to the influence of evil supernatural forces. The truth is God never asks us to suspend our reasoning powers when we pray or study His Word; on the contrary, He wants us to be fully engaged (Isaiah 1:18). (For more information, see Howard Peth’s book The Dangers of Contemplative Prayer.)

What is another sign?

While wars, rumors of wars, famines, epidemics, and earthquakes have always existed, Jesus likened them to birth pains—which increase in frequency and intensity over time—to emphasize that these signs will follow the same pattern.

Is there a surprising sign in Revelation?

Humanity now possesses the power to destroy the earth—through weapons of mass destruction like the atomic bomb and by tampering with weather modification techniques like geoengineering.

How will people feel about the future?

Those without God as their anchor will find themselves in a fearful and anxious state as the world becomes increasingly chaotic. Such a state, on a societal level, makes people easy to control and manipulate—a fertile ground for tyranny and scapegoat-seeking narratives, which can easily lead to previously unimaginable atrocities. The Bible predicts this will happen just before Christ’s Second Coming.

What sign does Paul give in one of his letters?

This is related to the previous sign of apprehension about the future, because as nations attempt to bring stability, they will make promises of peace and safety, but according to the Bible, the reality that follows will be the opposite.

How will people treat each other?

As the love of many grows cold, evil will begin to assert itself in the lives of those who have rejected God. When the restraining power of God departs through persistent rejection (Romans 1:28), human behavior will begin to resemble that of the pre-flood world, when every thought was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). But this trend will not be universal. Communities of genuine followers of Christ will exist throughout the world who reflect His character. Specifically, they will be known for their love—which is, in fact, the love of God manifested in them (John 13:35; 1 John 2:5). Thus, in the end, there will be only two classes of people: those who give themselves over to sin, selfishness, and evil, and those who give themselves over to God’s loving mercy and enabling grace. Whether we realize it or not, the decisions we make on a daily basis are bringing us closer to one of these groups.

What will people be preoccupied with?

Obviously, there is nothing wrong with marriage; after all, it was instituted and blessed by God Himself. Likewise, it is impossible to survive without nourishing our bodies; we must eat, which means we must work, and for the majority of people, work consumes the largest part of their lives. Most are busy trying to survive, so in the absence of intentionality, it is easy to become preoccupied with the temporal at the expense of the spiritual. Yet Christ’s words quietly ring in the background: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). In Noah’s days, most people ignored his invitations to come into the ark because they were too busy doing other things. Where do our priorities stand?

Are there any socioeconomic signs?

The gap between rich and poor, coupled with corruption, fraud, and disputes between employers and workers, will continue to widen as we draw nearer to the coming of Christ. As the Holy Spirit is repeatedly resisted and withdrawn, people are left to the control of their carnal nature, whose chief aim has always been preservation and exaltation of self.

What is one of the positive signs?

With the rapid advancement of communication technology over the past decades—such as television, radio, and the internet—the gospel is now being preached to even the remotest corners of the globe. What once seemed an impossible task has now become a reality. The Bible teaches that religious revivals—both genuine and counterfeit—will spread across the world, and religious discussions will take center stage, resonating through the legislative halls and judicial courtrooms of nations just prior to Christ’s return. Religion in general, and the enforcement of God’s law in particular, will be on everyone’s mind.

What specific signs have already been fulfilled?

Before the heavenly judgment began in 1844, three specific signs were fulfilled in the exact sequence outlined in Revelation 6.

The first (“a great earthquake”) was fulfilled by the Great Lisbon Earthquake of November 1, 1755. The shaking lasted for about six minutes and was so powerful that it was felt across Europe and North Africa, generating tsunami waves that reached as far as the Caribbean. Charles Lyell, a Scottish geologist, desribed the earthquake’s power: “In no part of the volcanic region of southern Europe has so tremendous an earthquake occurred in modern times as that which began on the 1st of November, 1755, at Lisbon. A sound of thunder was heard underground, and immediately afterward a violent shock threw down the greater part of that city. In the course of about six minutes, sixty thousand persons perished. The sea first retired, and laid the bar dry; it then rolled in, rising fifty feet above its ordinary level. The mountains of Arrabida, Estrella, Julio, Marvan, and Cintra, being some of the largest in Portugal, were impetuously shaken, as it were from their very foundations; and some of them opened at their summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful manner, huge masses of them being thrown down into the subjacent valleys. Flames are related to have issued from these mountains, which are supposed to have been electric; they are also said to have smoked; but vast clouds of dust may have given rise to this appearance.”^[1]

The second sign (“the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood”) was fulfilled by the New England Dark Day of May 19, 1780. The sun was so completely darkened that candles were required from noon onward, and later that evening, the moon appeared red. An eyewitness in Massachusetts described the scene: “Fear, anxiety, and awe gradually filled the minds of the people. Women stood at the door, looking out upon the dark landscape; men returned from their labor in the fields; the carpenter left his tools, the blacksmith his forge, the tradesman his counter. Schools were dismissed, and tremblingly the children fled homeward. Travelers put up at the nearest farmhouse. ‘What is coming?’ queried every lip and heart. It seemed as if a hurricane was about to dash across the land, or as if it was the day of the consummation of all things. Candles were used; and hearth fires shone as brightly as on a moonless evening in autumn…. Fowls retired to their roosts and went to sleep, cattle gathered at the pasture bars and lowed, frogs peeped, birds sang their evening songs, and bats flew about. But the human knew that night had not come.”^[2]

The final sign (“the stars of heaven fell”) was fulfilled by the Great Leonids meteor shower of November 13, 1833. Witnesses reported that the meteors fell like rain and that no language could describe their splendor. “Its sublimity and awful beauty still linger in many minds. … Never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth; east, west, north, and south, it was the same. In a word, the whole heavens seemed in motion.”^[3] “No language, indeed, can come up to the splendor of that magnificent display; … no one who did not witness it can form an adequate conception of its glory. It seemed as if the whole starry heavens had congregated at one point near the zenith, and were simultaneously shooting forth, with the velocity of lightning, to every part of the horizon; and yet they were not exhausted—thousands swiftly followed in the tracks of thousands, as if created for the occasion.”^[4]

Jesus prophesied that all three signs will occur again just prior to His Second Coming (Matthew 24:29-30; Mark 13:24-26; Luke 21:25).

What is God’s desire for the human race?

God does not want anyone to be caught off guard or unprepared for His coming. His desire is that every person be saved, so He is patient with us, granting repeated opportunities and every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3-4) we need to become His sons and daughters. Yet His patience is not infinite (Genesis 6:3), for if it were, the misery of sin would never end. One day, the door to reconciliation with our Maker will close forever. May it never be said of us: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20). Let us make the most of every God-given opportunity and blessing.

What advice and promise does the Bible give?

Those who watch for the signs of Christ’s coming and earnestly pray that He will prepare them for it will experience His unfailing faithfulness and enabling grace. If received and obeyed, His truth will protect them from deception, and He will be with them every step of the way, no matter what happens around them.