Signs of Christ s Return

Signs of Christ s Return OUR GUIDE is published by the Protestant Reformed Sunday School Association. The Scripture Lesson Matthew 24:1-14 While He was in the temple on Tuesday, Jesus told the Jews that, because of their wickedness, their temple would soon be left desolate, or deserted. The disciples were troubled by that saying of Jesus. So, when they were leaving the city that evening, they pointed out to Him all of the beautiful buildings that were part of the temple. What they meant to say was, Is all of this really going to be deserted? And Jesus answer was that, even worse, the temple would be so completely destroyed that not one stone would be left on another. To the disciples, that announcement was more amazing than the first. It must be, they thought, that Jesus is talking about the end of the world. So they said to Him, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? Jesus did not tell them at all what would be the day or year of His return. No man, not even the angels of heaven, knows that date. But Jesus did tell them and us the signs by which we can tell that the end of the world is near. What are those signs? Jesus said that there will be more and more false christs and false prophets. They will teach things that are against the Word of God. They will try to get men to trust in something or somebody other than the Christ of the Scriptures. And many people, Jesus said, will be fooled by them. There will also be more and more wars, and more and more earthquakes and famines and pestilences. When we see these things, Jesus said, we should not be troubled, as the world will be, for we know that all of these things are leading to the blessed return of our Savior. Today these things are already happening. Every day our newspapers tell of wars and of all kinds of bad things (floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, droughts). But we must not think that Jesus might therefore come tomorrow. For there are yet other things that must happen. There must be persecution for God s people. Because we will not believe the false prophets, or go along with all the wickedness of the world, we will be hated of all men. We will be arrested, and put into prison, and beaten, and killed. But again Jesus said, Do not be afraid, for there shall not a hair of your head perish. Jesus did not mean that we would not suffer, or die, for His sake, but that the wicked have no real power over even a hair of our heads. They can do

nothing to us apart from God s will. And God s will is that even our suffering will work for our good. Last of all, Jesus said, the gospel must be preached to the ends of the earth. And when that happens, when all of God s people are finally gathered, then Christ will come to take His people to Himself in glory. Our Calling to Watch Matthew 24:15-42 When Jesus prophesied that the temple would be utterly destroyed, the disciples, you will remember, were very surprised, and they asked Him when that would take place. In answer to their question Jesus did not tell them exactly when it would happen, but He did tell them that many of the people of their day would live to see the fall of Jerusalem. And Jesus warned the Christians that, when they would see the armies of the enemy coming to their city, then they should flee at once. They should not believe the false prophets who would say that God would yet deliver the city. There will be no deliverance, Jesus said. The city will certainly be captured, and the people of Jerusalem will be made to suffer a tribulation greater than ever before. All of this happened, just as Jesus said it would, about 40 years after He spoke this prophecy. And we know that many Christians listened to His warning. Before the Roman soldiers surrounded Jerusalem, these people fled out of the country. They crossed the Jordan and settled in the little town of Pella, in Perea, and so escaped the punishment of Jerusalem. But we must remember that, when He was talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus was also telling us what the end of the world would be like. Just as there were false christs in Jerusalem, so will there be false christs (and, finally, one false christ the Antichrist) before the return of our Lord. And Jesus warned that the Antichrist and his false prophets will do great signs and wonders that will fool many people. 2 Signs of Christ s Return/Our Calling to Watch Many will believe that that wicked one must really be the Christ. But do not believe them, Jesus said, for you will surely know when Christ really does return. The people of God, Jesus warned, must go through terrible persecution because they will not worship the Antichrist. But after that persecution, great things will happen. The sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars will fall, so that there will be pitch blackness. And then Christ will come from heaven in all His glory and power, to take His people to Himself. For that kind of coming must the people of God watch and pray. Jesus said that we must be careful that we not be found sleeping when He returns, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. The people of Noah s day were unprepared for the end of their world. Noah warned them over and over again; but they just laughed at him for building an ark on dry ground. They told him that a flood could never come, and they went right on living in their sin, till the flood came and carried them all away. The coming of the Son of man, Jesus said, will be just like that. People will laugh at anyone who says that Christ is coming again. They will go right on living in sin, till Christ comes in judgment. Do not be like them, Jesus warned. Live in the hope of His return. Be faithful to your calling to seek the things of His kingdom. And thus be spiritually awake when He returns. Memory Work Group A Luke 21:14, 15 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. Group B Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

3 ACTIVITIES This paper has been prepared in the hope that it will be used by students of all ages. The activities are designed so that the oldest will be challenged, and the youngest will find some of it within reach. Parents should encourage their children to attempt only what they can handle without frustration. For some that will be much, for others little. DO YOU AGREE? If you do, write Yes; if you do not, write No. 1. The disciples, knowing how wicked were the leaders of the Jews, were glad to hear Jesus say that their house would be left desolate. 2. When Jesus and His disciples were alone on the Mount of Olives, the disciples asked Him about the sign of His coming. 3. Antichrists have been in the world during all the history of the New Testament. 4. The false christs at the end of time will have more power to deceive than did earlier antichrists. 5. But, because of Jesus clear warning to the church about these antichrists, few will be fooled by them. 6. Because Christians are concerned about the welfare of others, they should pray earnestly that wars may cease, and that there will be no earthquakes and famines. 7. The reason that Christians in America today are not being tortured and killed is that the world does not yet hate the church of Christ. 8. Jesus promised that, when we will eventually be brought to trial before wicked rulers, the Holy Spirit will give us words to speak. 9. That the gospel is today reaching into every country of the world is also a sign of Christ s coming. 10. Jesus warned that, in the end times, the Antichrist will be able to perform great signs and wonders, by which even some of the elect will be deceived. 11. The great tribulation in the last days will be so severe that, when Jesus does return, there will be no elect left on the face of the earth. 12. His coming, Jesus said, would be to the world like the coming of the great flood was in Noah s day. QUESTIONS FOR YOUNGER READERS 1. Why did the disciples show the buildings of the temple to Jesus as they left the area on Tuesday evening? What did Jesus tell them about those buildings? 2. Do you understand why the disciples then asked Jesus what would be the sign of the end of the world? 3. Jesus told His disciples what would be the signs that the end of the world is near. Can you name some of them? 4. Jesus said that there will be false christs. Are there false christs in the world already today? 5. Are there wars and famines and earthquakes and pestilences in the world today? Why, when we see these things, should we not be afraid? 6. Before the end comes, there will be a very great persecution of those who are Christians. Why is it that the world and the false church will hate the people of God? What did Jesus mean when He said that not a hair of our head will perish? 7. In talking about the signs of His coming, Jesus told His disciples about the fall of Jerusalem, because that fall would be a type, or picture, of the end of the world. Jesus said that there would be false prophets before the fall of Jerusalem. What would those false prophets prophesy? What did Jesus say that the Christians should do at that time? 8. There will also be many false prophets before the return of our Lord. And Jesus said that many people will be deceived, or fooled, by them. How will those prophets (and especially the Antichrist) be able to deceive so many? 9. What terrible things will happen in the heavens just before Christ returns? 10. What did the people of Noah s day do when he warned that a flood would soon destroy the world? How will the days before Jesus returns be like that? 11. How must we watch for His coming?

Signs of Christ s Return/Our Calling to Watch 4 Lesson 41 COMPLETING SENTENCES 1. Jesus had left the wicked leaders of the Jews with this pronouncement: Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. If the Jews were troubled by that prediction, they would never have admitted to it. But the disciples were indeed troubled... for they believed it, though it did not square at all with their notion of the kingdom. As they left the temple on Tuesday evening, therefore, they said to Jesus, Master, see what of stones and what are here. So massive were the stones, so beautiful the buildings... and all so important, it seemed, to the spiritual life of the Jews. Can it really be, that all of this will be deserted? In His answer to the disciples, Jesus was even more emphatic than He had been with the Pharisees. Seest thou these buildings? Jesus asked. There shall not be left one upon another, that shall not be down (Mark 13:1, 2). 2. Perhaps they walked on in silence, pondering this new revelation; for we read that it was not till they reached the Mount of that the disciples questioned Him further. Tell us, they said, shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy, and of the of the world? (Matt. 24:3). 3. Clearly, the disciples saw the destruction of the temple as being reserved for the end of the world. They saw the kingdom of Christ as being inseparably connected to the nation of Israel, and the temple in turn as being essential for the continued existence of the nation. If the kingdom of Christ will endure to the end, therefore, as they thought it must, so will also the temple. Jesus instruction, however, will show that they are mistaken that His kingdom does not depend on the survival of Jerusalem, and that the destruction of the latter will be a picture of the end of all things at His second coming. When shall these things be? No day or year does Jesus give in answer to that question. But He does give a solemn warning concerning the end times: Take that no man you. Why that warning? For many shall come in my, saying, I am ; and they shall many. We know that that was true before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. But it has been true ever since, and will become increasingly so as the final end draws near. False prophets there will always be, who attempt to turn the hopes of men to saviors other than the Christ of the Scriptures. And many will be deceived (Matt. 24:4, 5). 4. The rise of those antichrists will be but one sign of the approaching end. Jesus goes on to say that there are others. Ye shall hear of (close at hand) and of wars (more distant). Further, there will be, pestilences, and in places. These too occurred in the years before the fall of Jerusalem; but they are signs also which continued thereafter and will multiply as the final end approaches. When all these things occur, Jesus says, see that ye be not, for all these things come to pass. War is a terrible thing, surely, as are also famines and earthquakes; but in them all we must see the coming of our Savior. And, seeing them, we must also know that the end is not, for these are only the of sorrows (Matt. 24:6-8). 5. Wars and famines are afflictions in which everyone shares. For the church, Jesus says, there will, besides, be ever-increasing persecution. They shall deliver you up to, Jesus said. And in the synagogues ye shall be ; and ye shall be brought before rulers and for sake, for a against them. Again, that occurred first of all in the years leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem. But persecution is always the lot of the church; and we know that it will increase in intensity when the end draws near. In that great tribula-

tion the saints of God will be called to give faithful testimony to Christ, before earthly judges who hate Him. And, lest His people be fearful and wonder how they will ever be able to do that, Jesus added this assurance: When they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no beforehand what ye shall, neither do ye : but shall be you in that, that speak ye: for it is not that speak, but the (Mark 13:9-11). 6. A further sign of the end, Jesus says, is that many prophets shall arise, and shall many. Apostasy in the church, in other words, will abound as the end approaches. Further, Jesus said, iniquity (lawlessness) will also. There will be open contempt for God s laws at every level: children rebelling against parents, employees defying employers, civil governments making godless decrees. And the result will be that the of many shall wax that is, there will be more and more forsaking of the church by those who had professed to be part of it (Matt. 24:11, 12). 7. One final sign: The of the kingdom shall be in all the for a witness unto all nations. When all the elect are at last gathered into the fold, by the preaching of the Word, the world will have served its purpose, and shall the come (Matt. 24:14). 8. Jesus warning concerning false and false (Matt. 24:24) applies first of all to the time before the fall of Jerusalem. But the ultimate great tribulation lies still today in the future. For, just as the worship of God became impossible in Jerusalem s temple, so also will all organized worship of God be banished from the earth when the Antichrist will have succeeded in establishing his worldwide kingdom. Particularly in those days there will be false christs who will show great and, 5 Signs of Christ s Return/Our Calling to Watch insomuch that, if it were, they shall deceive the very. And particularly in those days shall there be a great, such as was not since the of the world. So violent will it be that, except those days should be, all those who do not bear the mark of the beast will be hunted down and killed. But for the sake those days will be shortened (Matt. 24:21-24). 9. In those last days there will be attempts to rally people around a false christ (by lying wonders wrought by the power of Satan himself). Men will say, Lo, here is, or. But, Jesus said, believe it. For when the Son of man does return, it will not be in secret but as the lightning, which cometh out of the, and shineth even unto the (Matt. 24:23, 26, 27). 10. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the be darkened, and the shall not give her, and the shall fall from heaven. And then, in that impenetrable darkness, there shall appear the of the Son of man in. What that sign will be we are not told. But it will be recognized for what it is, a sign of the Son of man. The wicked shall mourn that is, they will be struck with terror, for they shall see Him whom they once despised, coming in the of heaven with and great. But to the righteous it will be a most welcome sight, for their deliverance is at hand. Christ shall send His, with a great sound of a, and they shall gather together His from the four, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt. 24:29-31). 11. The words of Christ are plain as plain as those of Noah, who warned of an impending flood. But the effect will be the same. Right up to the that Noah the ark, the godless people of his day continued marrying and giving in, re-

fusing to believe there would be a judgment day. So shall also the of the Son of man be., therefore, Jesus said, for ye know not what your doth come (Matt. 24:37-42). QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT 1. The disciples exclamation in Mark 13:1 suggests that they were astonished by His prediction that the temple would be left desolate. A couple of months later, after Pentecost, they would not have been surprised at all by that prediction. What change in their thinking would make it easy for them, at that later date, to believe that the temple could soon be leveled? 2. What Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 24 applies to two distinct realities: one, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70; two, the return of Christ at the end of the world. Can you find a verse that applies only to the first; another that applies only to the second; and still another that applies to both? 3. There are today some mentally deranged people who say, I am Christ. They deceive no one. Are there also false christs today who do deceive people or is that reserved for the days of the Antichrist? 4. All of the signs of Jesus coming are really activities of Christ by which He comes. And all of those activities are used by Christ for the good of the church. Can you tell, for example, how the continuation of wars actually helps the church? Will the eventual stopping of wars, during the reign of Antichrist, be bad for the church? In light of all of that, how should the child of God pray concerning wars? 5. In light of the word of Christ in Luke 21:17, what would you say is the only way in which a child of God can avoid being himself an object of the world s hatred? 6. Jesus tells us that, when we are brought before kings for His sake, we should not meditate before what ye shall answer (Luke 21:12-15). How ought we to prepare to give a God-glorifying, Christhonoring testimony in such circumstances? or should we not try to prepare at all? 7. How, do you think, will the prophecy of Jesus in Matthew 24:10 be fulfilled in the end times? (Mark 13:12 will help.) 6 Signs of Christ s Return/Our Calling to Watch 8. In Matthew 24:12 Jesus says that the abounding of lawlessness in the world results in the waxing cold of the love of many in the church. How, would you say, does the one cause the other? (Be sure to understand this well; for Jesus intended it as a serious warning to His people!) 9. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:14 that the preaching of the gospel in all the world is one of the signs of the end. Do you see the connection between the two? 10. The prophecy of Daniel regarding the abomination of desolation was twice fulfilled once by Antiochus Epiphanes and again just prior to the Roman siege. In both instances worship of God in the temple became impossible. Once more, in the end times, an abomination of desolation will stand in the holy place; and the result will be that all organized worship of God will be banned. Read II Thessalonians 2:3, 4 and Revelation 13:11-18. Without trying to understand all of what you read in those passages, can you find in them how it will happen that open worship of God will become impossible in those days? 11. Many Christians did heed Christ s warning to flee into the mountains and thus escaped a horrible death at the hand of the Romans. Do you think there will be a similar opportunity to escape death in the great tribulation? 12. Why, do you think, did Jesus add Behold, I have told you to His warning in Matthew 24:24? 13. In Matthew 24:32 Jesus said, Now learn a parable of the fig tree. What exactly was it that Jesus wanted us to learn from that parable? 14. Does Mark 13:32 teach that only the First Person of the Trinity knows the day and hour of Christ s return? 15. Matthew 24:40, 41 does not teach that believers and unbelievers will still be working side by side in the field and at the mill on the day of Christ s return. Rather, Jesus teaches here that the watching required of the child of God is not physical but spiritual. Do you see how those verses accomplish that? 16. If the return of Christ will be preceded by the great tribulation, by the battle of Armageddon, and by the falling of the stars, no one could possibly miss it. Why then does Jesus so solemnly urge watchfulness, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh?