SIGNS OF THE END

December 2007 article by David Thompson

Jesus was explaining to His disciples in Matthew 24 vs 29-42 the signs and details that would be observed prior to, and at His return, to the earth. Verse 30 tells us that at the signs of the Son of Man (Jesus) all peoples are so shocked that they mourn. (The Greek means to strike the breast in anguish). He returns with a great trumpet sound (vs 31) and those who are His elect, who have been His disciples, are gathered from all over the world. He tells us in vs 36 that no-one on earth knows the exact date of His return. However, He does tell us that the time would be just like the days of Noah, the great Old Testament character who was instructed by God to build an ark to preserve the lives of his family and those birds and animals that God would bring to him to be saved. (Genesis chapters 6, 7 and 8).

God tells Noah in Genesis 6 vs 11-13 that mankind was corrupt upon the earth, that they had put God and His worship aside and were doing their own thing. Consequently, the earth was filled with violence and so God destroyed the population of the world by a great flood and only Noah and his family who had believed in God were saved, along with the animals and birds that God had selected for survival. The very medium (water) that destroyed the then-known world saved Noah and his family because they believed in God and did what God told them to do. Jesus is saying in Matthew 24 vs 37-42 that His return to the earth to be its King would be at a time when the things of Noah’s time would be observed again. The people of the earth would be corrupt, living without any thought or belief in God, doing their own thing - eating, drinking, living only for themselves with the earth filled with violence. Doesn’t this echo our own time. They carried on in this way until suddenly the great flood came and took them all away. (Matt 24 vs 39).

Jesus warns us that the time of His return would be just the same as in Noah’s day. Think how violent our world is. There are wars between nations large and small. We read reports of ethnic cleansing, mass graves of victims all over the world, terrorism, bombings carried out by young people committing suicide in order to inflict the maximum carnage, the attacks in our own country by terrorists blowing up buses, trains, ramming a vehicle bomb into Glasgow airport. Recently, Mrs Benazir Bhutto returned from years of exile to Pakistan and suicide bombers killed themselves and 140 people near to her and her motor transport. Gun crime appears out of control, children shot in the street whilst at play, old people attacked in the street and in their own homes by drug-crazed thugs, teachers and pupils, stabbed by knife-carrying youngsters. “The earth filled with violence.”

We could be forgiven at being in despair at our world were it not for the comfort that Jesus offers to those who believe in God and the Lord Jesus Christ and who follow His ways and teaching. He tells us in vs 42 of Matt 24 that we are to watch for his coming (the signs are frighteningly clear) so we may be ready for His coming, (vs 44), being faithful and wise servants, (vs 45) and to be blessed by Him, (vs 46 and 47), as opposed to those who suffer the righteous judgements of the King (vs 48-51). Just as in Noah’s day those who did not listen to the warnings of God were destroyed those not having faith and trust in God that He will do again what He has promised are condemned.

“All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea”. (Isaiah 11 v 9).