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What signs
on earth will testify to the soon coming of Jesus Christ?
“And there
will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth there will be
despondency of the nations and perplexity; and the sea will make a noise and
rage; people will die of fear and expectation of disasters coming to the world”
(Luke 21.25-26).
What signs
will people see in heaven?
“And there
will be signs in the sun and moon and stars” (Luke 21.25).
When were
the first signs to appear?
“And suddenly,
after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon
will not give its light, and the stars of heaven will be shaken” (Matt 24.29).
“But in
those days, after that tribulation, the sun will darken, and the moon will not
give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven
will be shaken” (Mark 13.24-25; see Joel 2.30-31, 3.15; Is 13.10, Am 8.9).
Note.
Eclipses
began to appear in the sky after, at the end of a period of 1260 years (about
the middle of the 18th century) the persecution ceased.
1. An
unusual eclipse of the sun and moon.
About a
dark day on May 19, 1780, Harvard University professor Samuel Williams relates
that the eclipse was approaching from the southwest, from where “dark clouds
moved between 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning; it lasted until midnight,
differing in different parts of the United States in terms of duration. In some
places, people could not read printed type for several hours in natural light,
but this was not the case everywhere“. “In the houses, people lit candles, the
birds, having sung their evening songs, disappeared and fell silent, the hens
sat on their perches, everywhere, as at the end of the day, roosters sang,
objects could be distinguished only close up, and everything looked dark and
gloomy, like at night“ (see Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences [1783], vol.1, pp.234,235).
The moon
was full last night, and during the day it was on the opposite side of the
planet, where there was no solar eclipse, so the lunar eclipse in the eastern
hemisphere was not so long, and therefore not so noticeable. Based on this, it
is unreasonable to believe that the eclipse, however significant it would not
have been, should have completely covered the entire surface of the planet.
“In the
evening of that day, it was as dark as it probably had not been since God
commanded the sun and moon to illuminate the earth. And if this darkness were
also tangible, as once in the time of Moses in Egypt ( Ex 10.21 ), then it
would be quite an extraordinary and amazing phenomenon... If everything
luminous on earth could be wrapped in impenetrable shadows or made completely
invisible, then the darkness would not become any darker. A sheet of white
paper at arm's length was no different from black velvet“ (Samuel Tenney,
Letter [1785] , Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, part 1,
vol.1 [ 1792 ed. ] , pp.97,98).
Timothy
Dwight, president of Yale University, recalled that “the word quickly began to
spread among the people that the day of God's judgment was about to come. The
House of Representatives of the Connecticut State Legislature, being unable to
fulfill its duties, closed its session and the deputies went home, but the
senators, unlike the state congressmen, lit candles, preferring, as one of them
later said, to remain at their workplaces in case the judgment of heaven does
come” (see John W. Barber, Connecticut Historical Collections [2nd ed., 1876],
p.403).
Contemporaries
and eyewitnesses of the event did not agree on the causes of this unparalleled
eclipse, but everyone was unanimous that this phenomenon is unique. And no
explanation of its causes from a scientific point of view, no matter how
logical and deep they may be, cannot one iota underestimate the significance of
this event. Sixteen and a half centuries before, the Savior foretold that this
would happen; speaking of the signs of His Second Coming, He said quite
unambiguously that "in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light" (Mark 13.24). These events
happened exactly as predicted, and exactly at the time that Christ spoke of.
The main thing for us is that it happened, and not the causes of this event.
When the Lord opened the way for His people through the Red Sea, He
"driven... the sea with a strong east wind" (Ex 14.21). Does that
make a miracle stop being a miracle? When the bitter waters became sweet, was
this Divine intervention less real because it involved the use of specific
natural materials in which, by the will of God, there was something that made
the water in Mera drinkable? (Ex 15.23-25). So it is in this case. Although
science cannot give an exhaustive explanation of what happened on May 19, 1780,
we do not need to try to understand the causes of this event, but to treat it
as a merciful sign of the approaching end of the time allotted to us by God.
2.
Breathtaking picture of "star rain".
As an
eyewitness, an astronomer at Yale University, testifies, “The morning of
November 13, 1833, went down in history because of the breathtaking influence -
the fall of the stars. Neither before that day, nor the field, had anyone on
earth seen a more impressive and majestic spectacle than on that November
morning in 1833. Perhaps, since the time of the first settlers, no other
celestial phenomenon has been observed by some Americans with such interest,
attention and amazement, and by others with such surprise and fear” (Denison
Olmsted, The American Journal of Science and Arts, vol. 25 [1834], pp.363,364).
Throughout
the entire area from the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until the sun rose, and it
was no longer possible to make out the sky lined with falling meteorites, this
phenomenon was a delightful sight. Traces of "shooting stars" formed
an intricate, constantly changing pattern in the sky, and the whole earth was
illuminated by reflections from falling and burning celestial bodies. According
to some estimates, meteors fell over Boston that day with a frequency of only
half the number of snowflakes during an ordinary snowstorm... Following their
flight, one could notice that all their trajectories invariably originate from
one point located in the constellation Leo (Agnes M. Clerke, A Popular History
of Astronomy [1885 ed.], pp.369,370).
Frederick
Douglas, recalling his youth spent in slavery, said: “I watched this
magnificent performance, and I was seized with awe. It seemed that the air was
filled with bright heavenly heralds descending to the earth... I admitted the
thought at that moment that what was happening before my eyes was nothing more
than a harbinger of the coming of the Son of Man. As far back as I can
remember, I was then ready to welcome Him as my Friend and Deliverer. I had
already read by that time that "the stars would fall from the sky", and
now they were falling before my eyes“ (Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
[1941 ed.], p.117).
Whom will
the inhabitants of the earth see after the signs that have taken place?
“And then
they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory”
(Luke 21.27, see Matt 24.30).
What should
we do when all this begins to come true?
“When this
begins to come true, then rise up and lift up your heads, for your deliverance
draws near” (Luke 21.28).
What do we
know when we see the leaves on the trees?
“Take a
likeness from a fig tree: when its branches are already soft and let out
leaves, you know that summer is near” (Matt 24.32).
What do we
need to be aware of as we watch the signs taking place in heaven and on earth?
“So when
you see all these things, know that it is near, at the door” (Matt 24.33).
”So, and
when you see it come to pass, know that the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Luke
21.31).
What did
Christ say about the immutability of this prophecy?
“Truly I
say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place; heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matt
24.34-35).
Note.
Everything that Christ predicted about the destruction of Jerusalem came true,
down to the smallest detail. Knowing this, we can be absolutely sure that
everything He said about the end of the world will be fulfilled with the same
accuracy.
Who only
knows the day and hour of the coming of Christ?
“But no one
knows about that day and hour, not even the angels in heaven, but only My
Father alone” (Matt 24.36).
What will
be the moral state of human society on the eve of the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ?
“But as it
was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the coming of the Son of Man: for as
in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking and marrying and
giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they did
not think until the flood came and did not destroy them all, so will the coming
of the Son of Man” (vv.37-39).
What
important advice did Christ give us?
“Therefore
also be ready, for at what hour you think not, the Son of Man will come” (v.44).
What will
happen to those who say in their hearts that the Lord will not return soon?
“But if
that servant, being angry, says in his heart: “My master will not come soon”,
and begins to beat his comrades and eat and drink with drunkards, then the
master of that servant will come on a day on which he does not expect, and at
an hour in which he does not think, and will cut him, and subject him to the
same fate with the hypocrites: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (vv.48-51).
What is the
appeal of all those who are on God's side to the world to come over to His
side?
“And the
Spirit and the bride (church) say: Come! And let him who hears say: Come! He
who is thirsty, let him come, and he who desires, let him take the water of
life freely” (Rev 22.17).
