Discerning the Signs of the Times (Part One)
Matt. 16:1-3
We believe that we are living in the End Times. We believe that the Lord will return soon to catch his bride away and begin the Tribulation period where he deals with the Jews. If this be true, what are the signs Jesus is coming?
The Signs of Nature [Ps.19:1-6] [Job 12:7-10]
[Matt.24:7] [ Luke 21:11] We are told to watch for earthquakes, famine, pestilence, and signs in the heavens
This is the least respected category of signs for several reasons:
- “There have always been natural calamities, so what else is new?”
[Isa.26:17] Jesus says these signs will be like “birth pangs” [1Thes.5:1-3] — that is, they will increase in frequency and intensity as the time draws near for His return. In other words, there will be more intense earthquakes and more frequent ones. That is exactly what is happening today.
Since A.D. 1900, the growth in major earthquakes has been relentless. From 1900 to 1949 it averaged three major quakes per decade. From 1949 the increase became awesome with 9 killer quakes in the 1950’s; 13 in the 60’s; 56 in the 1970’s and an amazing 74 major quakes in the 1980’s. Finally, in the 1990’s, as [sic] the present rate, we will experience 125 major killer quakes in this decade (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Report, Boulder, Colorado).5
The intensity of North Atlantic hurricanes and the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes have increased since the 1980s.
- Most Christians are so rationalistic that they do not really believe in the supernatural, and they therefore find it difficult to believe that God speaks to the world through signs of nature. Yet, the Bible teaches this principle from start to finish.
God dealt with the world’s sin through a great flood in the days of Noah [Genesis 6]
He called the nation of Judah to repentance through a terrible locust invasion [Joel 1]
- [Amos 4:6-10] He called for the nation of Israel to repent by sending drought, wind storms, mildew, locusts, famine and pestilence
- [Haggai 1:10-11] The prophet Haggai pointed to a drought as evidence that God was calling the people to get their priorities in order
- [Matt.2:2] The New Testament begins with a special light in the heavens marking the birth of the Messiah
- [Matt.27:45-51] On the day that Jesus was crucified, there was three hours of darkness and an earthquake
- [Rev.16:17-21] And when Jesus returns, the earth will experience the greatest earthquake in its history as every mountain is lowered, every valley is raised, and every island is moved
God has always spoken through signs of nature, and He continues to do so today. We had better pay close attention to them.