PREMILLENNIALISM (9)

The Signs of Christ’s Coming

Victor M. Eskew

 

          When premillennialists talk about the Second Coming of Christ, they tell their audiences that Christ’s coming is near.  When asked how they know this, they tell us that the signs of Christ’s coming are being fulfilled in this present time.  They will never tell us the precise day of Jesus’ arrival.  They are just confident that Jesus is coming soon.

          When asked what the signs of Jesus’ coming are, they will usually produce a list of several items.  One of the signs is the rise of false Christs.  Another involves wars and rumors of wars.  They also tell us that there will be an increase in famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places throughout the world.  Another sign involves an increase in the number of Christians who are persecuted.  The signs also include a decrease in love and an increase in immorality.

          We are told that these signs are found in the New Testament.  One of the central passages is Matthew 24. It includes words of Jesus that they believe to be the signs of Jesus’ coming (Matt. 24:4-12).  Let’s go back to Matthew 24:1.  The chapter opens with Jesus and His disciples at the temple in Jerusalem.  “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple:  and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.”  During the course of this tour of the temple, Jesus spoke some challenging words to the disciples.  “And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things?  verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matt. 24:2).  The apostles did not question Jesus about His statement at the time.  They waited until they were alone with Him upon the mount of Olives.  “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us when shall these things be?  and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matt. 24:3). 

          The twelve asked Jesus three questions.  First, “when shall these things be?”  Second, “what shall be the sign of thy coming?”  Third, what shall be the sign “of the end of the world?”  When Jesus answered this question in the verses that follow, He attached the second question to the first and the last questions.  Thus, we learn about the signs of the coming destruction of the temple (Matt. 24:4-35).  Then, we learn about the signs of the end of the world (Matt. 24:36-51).  Note, Matthew 24:4-35, which include the supposed signs of the Second Coming, have nothing to do with Jesus’ coming at the end of time.  They have to do with the destruction of Jerusalem and the demolition of the temple at the hands of the Romans in A.D. 70.  If a person is truly honest with the text, this is the only application that makes sense of these thirty-two verses.  If applied to Jesus Coming at the end of the world, they do not make sense. 

          Let’s begin with Matthew 24:34.  Jesus told His followers:  “Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Dear readers, either everything Jesus spoke in this section of Scripture has been fulfilled, or, the generation to whom Jesus spoke is still alive today.  Has anyone seen anyone on earth who is over two thousand years old?  Most definitely not!  That generation has passed.  Since it has passed, the signs in that section have been fulfilled.  If they have been fulfilled, they no long need to come to pass.

          Notice some of the things Jesus tells his small audience that only make sense if applied to the fall of Jerusalem.  “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand,) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:  let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:  neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.  And woe unto to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.”  If this applies to Jesus’ final coming, these instructions are sheer nonsense.  On the other hand, if this refers to Jesus’ coming in judgment upon the city of Jerusalem the words make perfect sense.  When the Roman armies approach, there was a need for Christians to escape.  They were to flee to the mountains.  They were not to take anything with them.  If they were with child, or, if their flight was in the winter or on the sabbath day, it would make their escape more difficult.  It is interesting that not one Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem.  They watched for “the signs of His coming” and fled before they could be captured or killed by the Roman armies. 

          Now we turn your attention to Matthew 24:35.  Our Lord begins this verse with the word, “but.”  This is a conjunction of contrast.  Remember, Jesus provided signs for His coming in judgment against Jerusalem.  Now, He teaches the apostles about the signs of the end of the world.  “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, but my Father only” (Matt. 24:36).  My friends, there are no signs that manifest the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noe entered into the ark.  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:37-39).  The only warning given to the depraved of Noah’s day was the preaching of Noah (See 2 Pet. 2:5).  There were no signs to which those sinners could point in order to anticipate the catastrophe that was to come upon the world.  Jesus teaches us:  “But as the days of Noe were…so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

          Jesus continues to reveal that there will be no signs of His coming in Matthew 24:43.  “But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.”  The application of Jesus’ words might go something like this:  “If mankind knew in what watch the Lord will come, He would be watching, and would not allow his soul to be lost.”  Unfortunately, mankind does not know.  Therefore, Jesus teaches us to be ready at all times.  “Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come…Therefore be ye also ready:  for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 24:42, 44). 

          Men have been trying to watch “the signs of the times” that reveal the imminent coming of Jesus for centuries.  They have pointed to the same signs over and over.  There will be false Christs.  There will be wars.  There will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes.  Every time, they have been wrong.  Those who proclaim such things today are just as wrong.  Only the Father knows the hour of Jesus coming.  There are no signs.  It is up to us to believe Jesus will come and be ready at any time when He manifests Himself in the clouds with all His holy angels with Him.