Sessions Include:

Christ’s Return / Lesson #1
Stand Strong / Matthew 24.1 - 14           

Christ’s Return / Lesson #2
Stand Strong / Matthew 24.15 - 22         

Christ’s Return / Lesson #3
Jesus’s Return / Matthew 24.23 – 31

Christ’s Return / Lesson #4
As in the Days of Noah / Matthew 24.32 – 41

Christ’s Return / Lesson #5
Keep Watch / Matthew 24.42 – 51

Christ’s Return / Lesson #6
The Ten Virgins /  Matthew 25.1 – 13

Hardly a day goes by that some newspaper article is not featured, talking about the challenges we are going to face in the future. We can see that our culture is in deep trouble.

And as we look at the headlines, we could easily throw up our hands and say, “We’re going headlong toward destruction. We’re Sodom and Gomorrah on the way to the fire.” But there have been many similar occasions in the pages of the Bible. By reading Scripture, we can get perspective on what’s happening around us.

A PROPHECY

In Matthew 24:1–6, our Lord responded to a threefold question His disciples asked Him after He left the temple area:

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying,” Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

When the disciples heard Jesus’ teaching concerning the temple, they assumed He was speaking of the end times. Like all the Jews of that generation, they were looking for a Messiah to bring political leadership rather than spiritual leadership. They wanted Messiah to set up His kingdom, and they wanted it now.

Jesus’ answer to their first question—“When will these things be?”—is recorded in Luke 21. He never refers to this again in His discourse.

The second question posed to the Lord in Matthew 24 is, “What will be the sign of Your coming?” And the third question is, “What will be the sign of the end of the age?” Jesus answered these questions in detail.

As He describes what will happen toward the end of the age—the signs of His coming—He gives His disciples three things to look for. Understand that Matthew 24 is primarily talking about the Second Advent, about the things that will happen after the Tribulation takes place on this earth.

The Sign of Deception

In Matthew 24, Jesus warned that the time was coming when deception would increase. He encouraged His people to be careful not to be seduced by antichrists. We’re now living in a time when the spirit of antichrist is rampant around us. The devil never seems to run out of counterfeits. Everywhere we look, we see people showing up with their ideas about the future. Jesus warns us that as we move toward the end of the age, deception will increase.

The Sign of Disputes

Jesus warned the disciples that they would hear of wars and rumors of wars. He explained that nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. As wars and dissension among groups of people begin to escalate, Jesus said it is a signal of His return to this earth.

The Sign of Devastation

Jesus warned that there would be famines, earthquakes, and pestilence in various places. Today, millions of people in the world are going hungry. And as we get closer to the end time, there will be more and more famine.

There will be more earthquakes. Today the US Geological survey estimates that several million earthquakes occur each year. While most of them go undetected due to their small magnitude or remote location, there has been a tremendous increase in tracking earthquakes because of the increased number of seismograph stations throughout the world. In any given year, we can expect 134 strong earthquakes (6.0–6.9), seventeen major earthquakes (7.0–7.9), and one great earthquake (8.0 or above).1

Jesus also said there will be pestilence. What can we say about the sweeping plagues of our culture? AIDS and other deadly new viruses are breaking out in our world. In addition, once-isolated diseases are now being spread by airline travel into all parts of the world.

All of these are signs that the time of Christ’s return is getting closer. Yet we read in Matthew 24 that Jesus says, “Don’t be troubled.” Why? “For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Jesus was telling His disciples that these things would signal the beginning of the end of life as we know it on earth, but the end was “not yet.”

Those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ and have put our trust in Him know that before these things become full-blown on this earth, we are going to be with Him. We are going to be taken up or “raptured.” That’s what the Word of God says. Christ is coming for His own; and if we put our trust in Him, we will never see these devastating disasters in their ultimate form.

A PARABLE

These signs won’t happen in one day but will gradually grow over the years. Jesus told a parable to help His disciples understand this.

This parable is found in Matthew 24:32–33. “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!”

Jesus encourages us to learn from the fig tree so when we see the signs of the end times that Christ shares with us in His Word, we know that the end is on its way. It is really a very simple illustration saying that the harvest isn’t here, but it’s on its way.

There is another illustration in 1 Thessalonians 5:3: “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.”

The primary signs of the coming of the Lord are like labor pains. They are not really intense at the beginning, and they are separated one from the other. But as the birth approaches, the pains become more intense and closer together. That’s how we should view the signs of the Second Coming. As we see the intensity and the frequency of the birth pains growing, we should understand that our redemption is drawing nigh.

Jeremiah, David. 2007. Until Christ Returns: Living Faithfully Today While We Wait for Our Glorious Tomorrow (Study Guide). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.