Sermon Central
-
The Primary Signs Of Jesus' Return - Part 1 Series
Contributed by Dr. Craig Nelson on Feb 27, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: The Bible doesn't specifically say what day Jesus will return to Earth to set up His Kingdom, but it does say it "will come like a thief in the night" and tells us some events that must occur first (1 Thessalonians 5:2 ESV).
"when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place."
(Matthew 24:33-34 ESV)
Let's look at the primary biblical signs of Jesus' return.
1. Gospel Preached Worldwide
Jesus said that the Gospel would be preached in every country and to the ends of the Earth.
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14 ESV)
The Greek word for "nations is 'ethnos' and means a race, tribe, or a people group in every area of the Earth. The Church must "Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation" to every person in every nation to the remotest part of "the earth" before Jesus returns (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8 ESV).
2. The Restoration of Israel and the Return of the Jewish People
The Bible tells us it was prophecied that Israel would become a nation, but they would be scattered worldwide (Daniel 9:26; Zecheriah 7:13-14,10:9; Deuteronomy 28:36-68,29:22-28; Ezekiel 36:18-19; Isaiah 6:9-13; Lamentations 4:12-19; Matthew 23:36-39,24:1-35; Luke 21:20-24). Other prophecies are interpreted to mean there would be a second rebirth of Israel as a Nation (Hosea 3:4-5; Psalm 102:12-22 Isaiah 11:11-13, 14:1-5,66:7-11,60:9; Amos 9:9-15; Ezekiel 36:1-15,24,38:8; Jeremiah 31:8-40; Matthew 24:32-33).
The most specific prophecy that virtually all Bible teachers agree upon that points to the return of Jesus is the restoration of the nation of Israel. In 1917 a public statement called the Balfour Declaration was issued by the British government during the First World War that announced support for establishing a national home for the Jewish people. The Fig Tree began to bloom (Luke 21:29-30).
In 1948, Israel became a sovereign nation. That was almost 2,000 years after the end of the day's clock started when Jesus said, "Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:24 ESV). In 1967 the prophecy was fulfilled when Jerusalem came back under Jewish control after a miraculous victory in the Six-Day War. God declared He would re-gather the "outcasts of Israel" from all the nations where He scattered them.
"In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea." (Isaiah 11:11 ESV)
Jeremiah the Prophet also prophesied that Jewish people across the Earth would begin returning to their promised land after a period of exile from "the north county and out of all the countries where" God "had driven them" as a result of persecution so that they could reestablish their national identity and set the stage for the coming of the Messiah who would bring deliverance from all enemies (Jeremiah 16:14-15 ESV). That happened in 1948 when Israel was 'raised from the dead' and declared itself a nation (Jeremiah 16:15-16; Zechariah 14:3; Ezekiel 37:21-22).
Russia is a land north of Israel, and more than one million Russian-speaking Jews are now in Israel. They are also returning from all the countries where the Jewish People were scattered. There is also a growing gathering of Jewish people choosing Jesus as their Messiah, which will continue until He returns.
"Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." (Romans 11:25-26 ESV)
3. Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism will Increase
The prophet Zechariah declared that all nations would turn against Israel in the Last Days:
"On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it."
(Zechariah 12:3 ESV)
Irrational antisemitism and hatred continue to spread worldwide and have been at an all-time high since the Holocaust in World War Two, primarily due to the rise of Islam.
4. Love Will Grow Cold
Jesus said, "the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12 ESV). That is because "people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power" (2 Timothy 3:2-4 ESV).
