The Bible doesn’t leave us in the dark regarding the Lord’s second coming; rather, there are many signs of the end of times, signs that will take place toward the end of the age to show us that the Lord’s coming is imminent.
The first and most important of these signs is the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom; the gospel of the kingdom is being preached to the whole inhabited earth for a testimony, and then the end will come (Matt. 24:14).
We can say that the gospel of grace has been widely preached, but who speaks of the gospel of the kingdom?
Who preaches the gospel in a complete and full way, speaking the whole New Testament economy of God to bring men not only to salvation but also into the kingdom of God to be the citizens of the heavenly kingdom?
Who preaches the gospel with the intention of delivering others from the authority of darkness and bringing them into the kingdom of God to be under God’s authority?
We need to see that the entire New Testament is the gospel of the kingdom, and our speaking of the gospel needs to be uplifted, so that we may speak the gospel of the kingdom to all those around us, to the whole earth, for a testimony, for the end of the age to come.
Another great sign of the Lord’s second coming is when Israel – represented by the fig tree – was miraculously restored as a nation; to us the believers this fig tree is a sign of the end of this age.
Hallelujah, the nation of Israel has been restored, and it “puts forth it leaves” and has tender shoots, that is, the nation of Israel has some activities.
The city of Jerusalem was restored to the nation of Israel in 1967, and they are thriving as a nation, even preparing all the necessary things for the rebuilding of the temple.
The Lord’s second coming is imminent, and we need to see the signs of the times, realizing that soon, very soon, the Lord will return.
There are more signs of the end times that are not so positive, and they involve Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, and the apostasy with all kinds of negative things that will take place at the end of this age.
May we see the signs of the times which indicate the Lord’s second coming is imminent, and may we give ourselves to the Lord to be prepared to be His bride, His overcoming ones, for whom He will return secretly to rapture as the firstfruits!
Before the Lord’s Second Coming the Man of Lawlessness will be Revealed and Apostasy will Come
According to 2 Thes. 2:3 and 7, before the day of the Lord’s second coming, the apostasy will come, and the man of lawlessness – Antichrist – will be revealed.
Paul wrote his epistles to the Thessalonians knowing that the recipients were new believers in the Lord, and he mentioned the Lord’s second coming in every chapter in 1 Thessalonians, for he wanted them to know the signs of the Lord’s coming.
Apostasy is falling away from the straight way of God’s economy.
Many Christians today are in apostasy; they may believe in God and hold the Bible as the word of God, but they do not know what God’s economy is, and they are not cutting straight the word of the truth.
In society right now there’s a principle of lawlessness operating, a mystery of lawlessness working in all men; if we just check the news, we will see lawlessness upon lawlessness.
Sin is lawlessness, which is the living of a life outside of and not under the principle of God ruling over man; man throws away God’s rule, rejects God’s rule, and lives in lawlessness (1 John 3:4).
Every time we sin against the Lord, we live in the realm of lawlessness, rejecting God’s ruling over us. God wants to be our king and rule over us so that He may rule through us over Satan, sin, and death; for this, we need to be under God’s ruling.
May we have a clear sky between us and God and a throne above it, having the Lord Jesus enthroned in our heart and dealing with anything that is between us and Him so that He may rule and reign in us (Ezek. 1:22, 28).
When we have a clear sky and the Lord’s throne in our being, we are filled with the ruling presence of Christ; we then have the heavenly condition, situation, and atmosphere of God’s ruling presence.
The mystery of lawlessness is working today among the nations and in human society until Antichrist as the man of lawlessness is revealed (2 Thes. 2:11).
Because those who are perishing do not receive the love of the truth, God sends to them an operation of error, an active power of misleading, so that they may believe the lie. Oh, Lord!
The mystery of lawlessness is working today and it will get worse and worse, darker and darker until the man of sin will come, the embodiment of Satan (2 Thes. 2:10-11).
Look at those around us: people believe a lie; those who read the news (especially in the USA) believe a lie, speak a lie and even believe this lie to be the truth.
This is exactly what the Scriptures have predicted.
There is an active power of misleading in people that they may believe the lie; it is beyond our human understanding how people can speak the lie and believe the lie as truth, but this is happening.
On our side, however, we need to love the truth; firstly we need to love the Lord, and then love His word, which is truth.
Psa. 18:1 and 116:1 say, I love Jehovah! Amen, we love the Lord Jesus – we tell Him that we love Him every day, and we do love Him with all of our heart and mind and soul!
We also love the truth; the Lord sanctifies us in the truth, His word is truth (John 17:17). If we love the Lord, we will also love the Bible. When we read the Bible daily, we are recovered from any desolation and degradation.
As we read the Bible in a spirit and atmosphere of prayer, reading it together with the footnotes in the Recovery Version, we will love the Lord more and more! Amen!
We will love the Lord’s word, which is pure (Psa. 119:140), and we will have the Lord’s word become instant, living, and operating in us.
When we love the Lord and His Word, we will also love the church in the church-loving Christ (Eph. 5:25); Christ loves the church, and when we’re in Christ, we will love the church in Christ and by Christ. Amen!
Outwardly what we see happening is the fulfillment of Isa. 5:20, for many call evil good and good evil; they put darkness for light and light for darkness, and they put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Inwardly, however, we choose to love the Lord and His Word, and we love the church!
Lord Jesus, we love You and we love Your word! Amen, we love the Lord Jesus and we love the Bible, the word of God! Your word is pure, and our soul loves it. Sanctify us in Your word. Prepare our whole being for the Lord’s second coming. Save us, dear Lord, from believing a lie as truth and from calling darkness light. Oh Lord, save us from the spirit and mystery of rebellion and lawlessness operating today in society. We enthrone You in our being. We want to have a clear sky and a throne above it. Lord Jesus, we love You, we enthrone You, and we want to remain in Your word day by day! Amen, Lord Jesus, we just love You, we love Your word, and we love the church!
When the Great Tribulation is about to Begin, Antichrist will set up an idol in the Temple and make people Worship him and it
One of the signs of the beginning of the great tribulation – the last three and a half years of this age, the consummation of this age – is that Antichrist will set up an abominable idol in the temple and will make people worship both him and it (Matt. 24:15; Dan. 9:27; Rev. 13:14; 14:9, 11).
This shows that the temple of God in Jerusalem will be rebuilt before the Lord comes back (2 Thes. 2:4), for Antichrist will set up this abominable image of himself in the temple and make people worship him.
Oh Lord, may we be those raptured before this happens!
Right now on the Temple Mount there’s a mosque, and there doesn’t seem to be a way for it to be removed so that the temple would be rebuilt, but the Bible says that this will happen.
There’s an institute in Jerusalem called, The Temple Institute, and they have prepared and made all the utensils and items that would go inside the temple, and also the materials are all ready for the building.
They are ready at a moment’s notice so that, when the outer structure is built, they would put in the inner contents. In Matt. 24 the Lord said that, when we see the abomination of desolation standing in the Holy Place, His coming is near!
In Dan. 9:27 we see the abominations of the desolator; the Antichrist will have his idol and many other idols, many other abominations, and all men will worship him and those idols. Oh, Lord!
The Antichrist will oppose God and exalt himself to be like God, above all that is an object of worship, setting himself forth and saying that he is god (2 Thes. 2:4).
Some use this verse to oppose us for saying that we become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead; the ministry clearly says that we are NOT becoming God in His Godhead, in His quality of being worshipped – we become God only in life and nature.
What the Bible tells us is that we are children of God by faith in Jesus Christ, and we are being conformed to the image of Christ.
For us to say that we become God in His Godhead is a heresy, but for us to say that we are not becoming God in life and nature is unbelief, that is, not believing the word of God.
God created us in such a way that He would come into us as our life and nature, and He would be expressed through us.
But Antichrist will exalt himself above all other objects of worship and he will demand to be worshipped. Oh Lord Jesus, take us before such a thing takes place!
A Lack of Faith and an Evil Living that Stupefies Man are Signs of the Lord’s Second Coming
When the Lord spoke concerning His return, He said that the conditions of evil living that stupefied the generation of Noah before the flood portray the perilous condition of man’s living before the Lord’s coming and the great tribulation (see Matt. 24:3, 21, 27, 37, 39; Luke 17:26-27; 21:34-36).
He said that just as in the days of Noah, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. To be stupefied, simply put, is to be made stupid; it is to live and conduct yourself in a stupid way, being under some sort of an influence.
It means that our senses are dulled, our faculties are not working properly.
To be befuddled is to be stupefied with alcoholic drinks, not being in the right senses, not having the right reasoning and understanding.
This is what we see when we look around us: grown-up men live in a stupefied way, as if being drugged and drunk, and they have an evil living that stupefies man. Oh, Lord!
A sign of the Lord’s second coming is a lack of faith among many of His believers, for in Luke 18:8 He said, When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Oh, Lord!
We want to have our faith developed and increased so that, when the Lord returns, He would find us having faith! Our aspiration is to be the constituents of His overcoming bride, those living in the principle of the manchild, those who are the firstfruits! Amen!
How can we have faith? It is only by looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:1-2).
Faith is not “mindless believing into God”; faith is something infused into us when we look away unto Jesus. Jesus is the Author of faith; when we look unto Him, He infuses Himself into us as the believing element to believe for us.
We need to keep looking unto Him so that He can generate faith in us, fill us with faith, and develop faith in us until He returns! Amen!
This also involves that we need to take heed to ourselves not to be weighed down with debauchery and the anxieties of this life but be watchful at every time, beseeching to prevail and escape (Luke 21:34-36).
May we look away unto Jesus to both be infused with faith and have the endurance to run the race! May we keep the word of His endurance so that He may keep us out of the hour of trial, which is the great tribulation.
May we pray what 2 Thes. 3:5 encourages us to pray, that the Lord would direct our heart into the love of God and into the endurance of Christ.
Our God is the God of all endurance; the God who dwells in us in Christ as the Spirit, this One is the God of endurance.
Lord Jesus, save us from having a living that is stupefied and befuddled like the ones in the world. Save us from having an evil living like those who are perishing. We look away unto You, dear Lord Jesus, for You are the Author of our faith! Amen, infuse us with Yourself as our very believing element! We want to be watchful at every time, taking heed to ourselves not to be weighed down with debauchery and the anxieties of life. Lord, we beseech You that we prevail and escape the hour of trial! Amen Lord Jesus, direct our heart into the love of God and into the endurance of Christ, so that we may run the race with endurance and be raptured at the Lord’s second coming!
Lawlessness being Multiplied, the Love of Many Growing Cold, and the Over-Accumulation of Wealth are Signs of the Lord’s Second Coming
According to Matt. 24:12, a sign of the Lord’s second coming is that lawlessness is multiplied and the love of many will grow cold (Rev. 2:4).
When many genuine believers in Christ see the lawlessness being multiplied all around them and God seemingly not doing anything to stop it, but rather the evil ones thriving and not being punished, their love toward God grows cold.
It doesn’t say that the love suddenly becomes cold but rather, that it grows cold; little by little, our love for the Lord grows cold. We don’t want that to happen for us.
In Rev. 2:4-5 we see the beginning of the degradation of the church: losing our first love for the Lord; when we leave our first love, we no longer do the first works, and degradation comes in.
May we give the Lord our first and best love by giving Him the preeminence, the first place in all things (Col. 1:18).
May we allow His love to constrain us to regard Him and take Him as everything in our life.
As we love the Lord with our first love, we will do the first works; we love Him in a new and fresh way, and we give Him the first place in our being and in our service. Amen! Another sign of the end times and of the Lord’s second coming is the over-accumulation of wealth (James 5:3).
Many will store up treasure in the last days, and some will have extraordinary amounts of wealth.
In the last days before the Lord’s second coming, men will accumulate wealth in an unprecedented way and will thus be unaware of their coming miseries and their miserable destiny of God’s judgment (Matt. 16:27).
It is like the rich man in Luke 12, who had many crops, and he wants to relax, eat, be merry after he builds more barns for his riches; yet the Lord required his soul that very night! Oh, Lord!
What the Lord wants is that we are rich toward God, and not rich in material possessions; He wants us to be filled and saturated with the riches of God in our soul, not that we would accumulate riches outwardly.
In the last days there will be a multiplication of material enjoyment and lustful indulgence with unprecedented pursuit of and devotion to pleasure and senses (see James 5:1-6; cf. Zech. 5:5-11).
If we look around us, men everywhere give themselves and all they have to accumulate riches, have material enjoyment and indulge in lusts in an unprecedented way.
Satan is a businessman, a merchant, and he does everything according to his commercial principle of wins and losses; he bargains for man’s soul, for he will offer many things in the world to gain a man’s soul.
Satan is a merchant who wants to ruin our soul by corrupting it with lusts and pleasures in this world.
But we want to be those who seek the Lord in incorruptibility, and when it comes to the things in the world, we love the Lord so much that all things are counted a LOSS and even DUNG compared to Christ (see Paul’s testimony in Phil. 3).
Our living shouldn’t be in the realm of outward gain or loss, having a commercial mind; rather, everything other than Christ is refuse and rubbish to us, for we want to gain Christ, the real wealth in this universe!
Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to love You with the first love and do the first works. Amen, Lord, we give You the first place in all things by faith. Have the first place in our life. Be everything to us, dear Lord. Save us from trying to accumulate material riches – may we be those who are rich toward God! Lord, fill and saturate our soul with Yourself as the real riches! Amen, Lord, we open our mind, will, and emotion to You so that we may be constituted with You as the real riches, the real treasure! We love You so much, dear Lord, and we treasure You above all other things. Nothing else compares to You. You are our real wealth, and we want to gain You!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932-1949, vol. 4, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6,” pp. 605-609, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Christian Life, the Church Life, the Consummation of the Age, and the Coming of the Lord (2020 fall ITERO), week 2, Watching and being Ready in Order to be prepared by the Lord for His Second Coming.
- Hymns on this topic:
– I have learned the wondrous secret / Of abiding in the Lord; / I have tasted life’s pure fountain, / I am drinking of His word; / I have found the strength and sweetness / Of abiding ’neath the blood; / I have lost myself in Jesus, / I am sinking into God. (Hymns #564)
– To Ephesus, the word is clear: / “To your first love you’re not so near; / You’ve left to work so far away; / Repent, return to Him today.” / Thus, we must all turn back to Him, / Leave other loves, for these are sin. / Oh, let us hearken to His call— / If we miss this, we’ve missed it all! (Hymns #1274)
– Look away into His face—Hallelujah, / He who’ll finish what He did begin. / O what grace to run the race—Hallelujah— / We obtain by looking off to Him! / Look away! O look away! / Look to Jesus now today! / Look away from everything unto Jesus, / Look away from everything to Him! (Hymns #1206)
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