A few days before His death, Jesus said He would come to earth a second time. His disciples asked Him, "What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matt. 24:3, NIV). The Greek word translated age in the NIV and world in the KJV was aion. The end of this eon refers to the end of time or the end of the world.
It must have surprised them when the Lord answered their simple question with a sermon. It wasn't a one-point sermon, which would have satisfied their request for a sign. It was a sermon in which Jesus mentioned sixteen things that would be going on in the world just before His return. It was a sermon that would occupy two full chapters of Matthew's Gospel and a single chapter in each of the Gospels of Mark and Luke.
The disciples wanted a sign. Jesus gave them much more. He spoke about these things:
- False messiahs (Matt. 24:4, 24)
- Wars and rumors of war (Matt. 24:5)
- Famines (Matt. 24:7)
- Earthquakes (Matt. 24:7, 29)
- Persecution of saints, great distress (Matt. 24:9, 21)
- Apostasy and betrayal (Matt. 24:10)
- False prophets (Matt. 24:11)
- Increase of wickedness, decrease of love (Matt. 24:12)
- Gospel preached worldwide (Matt. 24:14)
- The mysterious abomination of desolation (Matt. 24:15)
- Fearful events and great signs from heaven (Luke 21:11)
- Roaring and tossing of the sea (Luke 21:25)
- Darkened sun and moon (Matt. 24:29)
- People terrified, "for the heavenly bodies will be shaken" (Luke 21:26)
- Falling stars (Matt. 24:29)
- A sign in the sky (Matt. 24:30)
Jesus mentioned the first fifteen things on this list without using the word sign. By referring to the sixteenth as the sign of the Son of man, He seemed to be singling it out as the specific answer to the disciples' request for such a sign. It was as if He were saying, "Look for all of these things, but especially the sign in the sky, because that one will be the clincher."
Jesus went on to say much more. What He said next was so important that, not only did the disciples record it for their own reference, but, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they wrote it down in three books of the Bible for ours: He wants us to be prepared and watchful (Matt. 24:42-44, Mark 13:35, Luke 21:36).
Prepared for what? If we are living in what the Bible calls the time of the end, as it seems we may be, we should expect suffering to result from events Jesus prophesied -- persecutions, wars, famines, and natural disasters.
Watchful for what? Jesus told us to lift up our heads and look skyward for the most conclusive sign of His coming and our deliverance (Luke 21:28). Five of the final six things on the list above refer to visible happenings in the heavens, and He directed our attention to the last of these five.
What celestial sign should we be looking for?
And what should we do after spotting it?
