What Season is it?
Although we won’t know the “day or the hour” of Jesus Christ’s return, we definitely can tell in what season He will return, and as I personally look around me, the season is now.
The thing about seasons (summer, fall, winter, & spring) is that by looking around you, being observant and watchful, it is easy to tell when the next season is close at hand. The Bible also tells us to be watchful and observant so we will be able to see the “signs” of the “last days”, when Jesus will be returning.
Matthew 16:2-3 (NLT)
[Jesus said] “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!”
Matthew 24:32-33 (NLT)
[Jesus said] “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.”
1 Thessalonians 5:1:3 (NLT)
Now concerning how and when all this [the last days] will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.
Just by looking for the “signs”, by being watchful, observant, and alert, we can tell a lot about what the coming days will look like. Whether seeing a red sky at night means good weather tomorrow, or seeing the buds on a tree means summer is just around the corner, or that labor pains means that a baby will be arriving soon, we can tell a lot about what “season” (Biblically) we are in. Yes, we might not know the exact moment the baby will be born, but we definitely will have a really good idea of when just by observing the signs.
So the obvious question then is what should we be looking for? The Bible has the answers.
Revelation 11:9-10 (NLT)
And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies [the two prophets]. No one will be allowed to bury them. All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.
For me, this is one of the biggest signs. It has only been with the invention of TV that “all peoples, tribes, languages, and the nations” could simultaneously see the two prophets killed and only within the past 10+ years that a single event was broadcast simultaneously around the world. And now with the invention of the smart phone where just about everyone can watch (live) things going on around the world, we are the first generation in which Revelation 11:9-10 can now be fulfilled.
Matthew 24:3-8 (NLT)
Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”
Granted the “signs” of wars, famines, and earthquakes have always existed, but the number of wars and famines are increasing as well as the number of earthquakes. All “signs” we need to keep a watch on.
2 Timothy 3:1a-5
.. in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.
The first two scriptures applies to world wide events and can often be hard to grasp since they are so large, but this third scripture is something personal that you and I can easily relate to and see for ourselves by just watching the nightly news. We’ve seen “lovers of money” at Enron and with Bernard Madoff, children killing their parents, people in New York city walking around a dying man as he lies on the sidewalk after being gunned down, people standing by in a McDonalds while a women is beaten and kicked in the head to the point of causing convulsions, and more and more people pushing God out of the public sector. Again, yes all of these things have happened in the past, but what makes these “signs” important is that they are happening at a greater and greater rate than every before.
Like a women in labor, as the contractions come closer and closer together, you know that the baby is due very soon, as all of the signs mentioned in the Bible come closer and closer together, we need to take notice since the end is due very soon.
You must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
As was quoted above, “the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night”. If you are watching, you will see “the thief” coming and you will be ready for him. If not, the thief will steal everything you have, including your life.
If you don’t already know Jesus, get to know Him. Learn all you can about Him and I pray that you will choose to follow Him and that He will become your Lord and your Savior and that in the midst of this process, your eyes will be open to see all of the “signs” that are around you showing how close His soon return is.
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