TOPIC:‌“Significant Signs of Christ Coming”

                 by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Matthew 24:3

 

‌‌“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 age?”

 

‌Students of prophecy are asking these thoughtful and urgent questions regarding the end times, Will the Lord come in the immediate future? Are there any signs in the world in which we live which might lead one to the conclusion that the coming of Christ is near?

 

‌Now listen, The coming of Christ for His Church, which we know to be the Rapture, can happen at any moment. There are no prophetic signs or prophecies that need to be fulfilled before the Rapture takes place. Christ could come back for His Church today. The Rapture will take place seven years before Christ comes back with His Church to set up His millennial Kingdom. Because of this, we Christians are not looking for SOMETHING to happen, but for SOMEONE to come - the Lord Jesus Christ. So let us keep our eyes off the SIGNS and put them on the SON.

 

‌Now there are no signs needed to be fulfilled before the Rapture. But there are significant signs on the horizon today which point to the time when Christ is coming back with His Church to establish His Kingdom on earth. I believe there are at least six distinguishing signs of the approaching end of this age which are evident in the world today. Such signs could lead one to the conclusion that the coming of Christ may be near. But how near, I honestly do not know.

 

‌But though we do not know when the Lord will return, the Apostle Paul did declare that as believers we should “not be in darkness that the day should overtake us as a thief” (I Thessalonians 5:4). Listen as Paul exhorts us in these words: “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober” (I Thessalonians 5:6). Elsewhere the Apostle Paul in writing about the return of Christ commands believers to EXPECT it (Romans 8:19), to WAIT for it (I Thessalonians 1:10), to PREACH it (II Timothy 4:2), to LOOK for it (Titus 2:13) and to be UNASHAMED of it (I John 2:28), but never to predict it.

 

I.

 

‌Consider, first of all, this important sign - The DEPARTURE from the FAITH. The Apostle Paul warns of this approaching apostasy in these words: “Now the Spirit speaks expressly that, in the latter times, some shall depart . . .