3 PROPHETIC Signs OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE
The Sign of the Son of
Man, Sign of the Prophet & Sign of the End of the Age
Three Prophetic Signs of Great
Significance.
The Sign of the Son of
Man
Regarding “the Sign of the Son of Man,” Jesus said, “Behold, I have told
you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert;
go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also
the Coming of the Son of Man be” (Mt.24:25-27 KJV).
The ‘Sign of His Appearing’ at “the Rapture” will consummate
the Church Age.
But, after the Great Tribulation, shall appear "the
Sign of the Son of Man."
The ‘Sign of His Second Coming’ will consummate the age of
His divine program for Israel.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory.
And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
shall gather together His Elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to
the other (vv.29-31 KJV)
According to Revelation 1:7, every eye shall see the Son of
Man when He Returns.
Behold, He cometh with
clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen (KJV).
Like lightning flashes out of the east and fills the sky to
the western horizon, so will be the Coming of the Son of Man.
"The Sign of the Son of Man" will be at His Second
Coming.
It will be ‘the Sign of Christ's Coming’ as “the Messiah.”
Prior to this, the Appearing of the Son of Man at “the
Rapture” will be “as the days of Noah.”
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of
Heaven, but My Father only.
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the Coming of the Son of
Man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into
the ark,
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the Coming of the Son of Man be.
Matt 24:36-39 KJV
Jesus said to His disciples, “It is not for you to know the times or the
seasons, which the Father hath put in His own Power” (Acts 1:7 KJV)
So, what day shall "the Sign of the Son of Man"
be?
But it shall be one
day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to
pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zech 14:7 KJV
Earlier in verse 5 was reckoned:
“…and the Lord my God
shall come, and all the saints with thee” (KJV)
This was written because the prophecy points to Christ’s
Return as “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Regarding ‘the Rapture’ no man knows “the hour” when the Son
of Man will be revealed.
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the
Son of Man cometh (Matt 24:44 KJV)
His ‘Day’ “comes like a thief in the night.”
Jesus Himself spoke of the only sign given in the New
Covenant—that sign is ‘His death and resurrection.’ This He referred to as:
“the sign of the prophet Jonah” (see Matthew 12:39).
He taught His disciples that He must suffer many things, and
be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and
after three days would rise again.
Why is this only sign given to this generation?
Because it is God’s Redemption Plan for man.
Our Redemption is by the precious Blood of His Son, Jesus
Christ.
Ephesians 1:7 says: “In Whom we
have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the
riches of His Grace” (KJV)
Colossians 1:14 also declares: “In
Whom we have redemption through His Blood, even the forgiveness of sins…” (KJV)
If His Blood was not shed for us, then, there would have
been no Redemption.
Hebrews 9:22 declares, "…without
shedding of blood is no remission" (KJV)
There cannot be Redemption without remission.
No Redemption means no Salvation!
Without Salvation, there is no Eternal Life—which is “the
gift of God.”
When the Pharisees came to Jesus and said to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod
wants to kill You.” He said to them, “Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I
do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected” (Luke
13:32 KJV)
The “third day” represents the day of Jesus’ Resurrection
after His crucifixion.
Only at ‘the hour’ of “the Second Coming” will the world see
“the Sign of the Son of Man” again—at such time “the Church Age” would already
have been over; then God’s Master Plan for the redemption of Israel begins.
Sign of the Prophet
Jesus is “the Greater Prophet.”
He is the climax of the prophets.
When the scribes and the Pharisees demanded a sign from
Jesus, He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.
And there shall no sign be given to it, but "the sign of the prophet
Jonah" (see verse 39).
When the people asked Him for a sign He referred them to
“the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Jonah was the only prophet who went down the
belly of a fish. Therefore, “the sign of the prophet Jonah” was the only Old
Testament prophetic sign which has direct reference to the number of nights and
days in which “the Son of Man” would be in “the heart of the earth.”
“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly;
so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth” (v.40 KJV).
“The sign of the prophet Jonah” points to the death and resurrection
of Christ. So, Jesus’ death and His resurrection from the dead is the only New
Testament ‘sign’ given to this generation.
A special sign accompanies the life of a true prophet. “The
sign of the prophet Jonah” was supernaturally predetermined to occur in his
life; pointing directly to the Son of Man—by Whom we have Redemption.
In the course of redemption, the Son of Man—“the Greater
Prophet” went into the heart of the earth. Jonah went into the belly of the
fish, designating “the sign of the prophet Jonah,” but the Son of Man—“the
Greater Prophet,” went right into the heart of the earth, fulfilling this
prophetic sign.
“The Greater Prophet” spoke ‘in parables,’ uttering
“things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Psa.78:2;
Matt 13:34-35).
Prophet Isaiah prophesied of Him saying:
Behold My Servant,
Whom I have chosen; My Beloved, in Whom My soul is well pleased: I will put My
Spirit upon Him, and He shall shew Judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not strive,
nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed shall He
not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth Judgment
unto Victory.
And in His Name shall
the Gentiles trust.
Matt 12:18-21 KJV
He was approved and
attested by God to Israel by miracles, wonders and signs (Acts 2:22). The
prophets of old times spoke of His day.
Moses said to the people:
“The Lord thy God will
raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto
me; unto Him ye shall hearken…” (Deut 18:15 KJV).
In the next verse, Moses said,
“For this is what you asked of the
Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us
not hear the Voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we
will die" (v.16 NIV).
Continuing from verse 17:
And the Lord said unto
me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
I will raise them up a
Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My Words in His
mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him.
And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My Words which He shall speak in My
Name, I will require it of him (vv.17-19 KJV)
‘Every soul which will not
hear “that Prophet,” shall be cut off’ (from among the people).
At the point of the Triumphal
Entry, the people only acknowledged Jesus as a Prophet.
And the multitude
said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee (Matt.21:11 KJV)
The Samaritan woman at the
well perceived that He was a Prophet (read Jn. 4:19).
The chief priests and the
Pharisees looked for a way to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the crowd because
the people held that He was a Prophet (see Matt 21:46).
The people of Jesus’ day
often mistook Him to be ‘Prophet Elijah’.
Jesus said, “He that receiveth a
prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that
receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a
righteous man's reward” (Matt
10:41 KJV)
In chapter 13 verse 57 He said,
"A
prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own
house" (Matt 13:57 KJV)
John the Baptist, messenger
(forerunner) of Christ, came in “the spirit of Elijah”. He came to
"prepare the way for the Lord" (Mt.3:3). Jesus declared him to be
more than a prophet (11:9).
In Zechariah's prophecy in
Luke 1, he wrote concerning his son John:
"And thou, child,
shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face
of the Lord to prepare his ways…” (v.76 KJV)
John the Baptist became
“the prophet of the Highest.”
Jesus, in the time of His
Ministry, declared of him:
“Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath
not risen a greater than John the Baptist” (Matt 11:11 KJV)
In verse 14, Jesus said
that John was Elijah (he came in the spirit of Elijah).
John was ‘Elijah that came.’
Herod wanted to kill John,
but he was afraid of the people, because they counted him as a prophet (Matt
14:5).
Jesus is “the Greater Prophet.”
He is greater than “the greatest of the prophets” (Elijah).
He is superior to Moses who was ‘the Law giver’ (Hebrews
3:1-4)
Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration records:
After six days Jesus
took with Him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a
high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them. His face
shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Just then
there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus,
"Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three
shelters — one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
While he was still
speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a Voice from the cloud said,
"This is My Son, Whom I Love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to
Him!"
Matt 17:1-5 NIV
Verse 8 states that when the three disciples looked up, they
saw no one but Jesus.
Figuratively, both Elijah and Moses ‘handed over their
batons’ to Jesus. The Law and the prophets had to give way for “the Son of
Man.”
Therefore, it was necessary for one in “the spirit of
Elijah” to come and prepare “the Way of the Lord.” Isaiah prophesied, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye
the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa
40:3 KJV).
This is the prophecy of the coming of John the Baptist in
“the spirit of Elijah.”
This was fulfilled after over 400 years, in the AD (Anno
Domini)—the Year of our Lord.
At “the Transfiguration,” Moses represented “the Law” and
Elijah represented the prophets.
Jesus is “He Who comes in the Name of the Lord,” and so He
is “the Greater Prophet.”
Peter, James, and John who witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration
up on the mountain, soon as they came down, asked Him, "Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come
first?" (Matt 17:10)
Jesus replied, “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I
say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done
unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of
them (vv.11-12 KJV)
This confirmed Malachi 4:5-6 (Prophecy of the coming of Elijah the prophet).
Prophet Malachi's
prophecies ended with ‘Prophecy of the coming of Elijah the prophet,’ which
will be fulfilled in the latter times.
Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the Great and dreadful Day of the
Lord:
And he shall turn the
heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Mal 4:5-6 KJV
God Almighty Himself gave
the guarantee:
“Behold, I will send
My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, Whom ye
seek, shall suddenly come to His temple…” (Mal 3:1 KJV)
In these last days, one in
"the spirit of Elijah" 'truly shall come first,' and 'restore all
things.' He will come as God's "messenger," who shall prepare the way
before the Lord.
After this, shall be the
Lord’s Return.
The sign of the prophet
points directly to Christ.
A true prophet sees what no one sees but GOD.
‘The spirit of a prophet’ is subject to the prophet (I
Cor.14:32).
Christ is superior over the prophets; superior by His deity;
superior in His humanity; superior in His work and ministry; superior in His
personality; and superior in His position.
Sign of the End of the
Age
The Lord Jesus revealed
“signs of the end of the age” to His disciples.
In Matthew 16, He referred
to them as “the signs of the times”.
In Luke 21, He said:
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the
stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
waves roaring;
Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken”
(vv. 25-26 KJV)
In Matthew’s Gospel, in the
24th chapter, is recorded:
And Jesus answered and
said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in My Name, saying, I am Christ; and shall
deceive many.
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not
troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you:
and ye shall be hated of all nations for My Name's sake.
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and
shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of
by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out
of his house:
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his
clothes.
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in
those days!
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the
sabbath day:
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but for the Elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there;
believe it not.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall
shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very Elect.
Behold, I have told you before.
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert;
go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Matt 24:4-26 KJV
“Signs of the end of the
age” began with signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and then, the ‘distress of
nations’ upon the earth, the seas and the waves roaring.
Next, to these were the
appearances of false-messiahs, and then, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, and persecutions.
Jesus referred to these
occurrences as “the beginning of sorrows.”
‘The end is not yet’ while “the
beginning of sorrows” persist.
All the signs listed above,
are still in occurrence, presently!
Within these events is the
emergence of false prophets, who deceive multitudes.
At the climax of these
events, ‘the antichrist’ will emerge on the world scene—note that his ‘false
prophet’ is already on the world scene.
The false prophet of the antichrist
will demonstrate lying signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very Elect.
In ‘the fullness of times’
of the dispensation, the Great Tribulation will occur in the earth. Then, the
antichrist will setup “the abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the
Prophet. This, he will do through his false prophet.
Immediately after the
tribulation of those days, the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
‘He that shall endure unto
the end, the same shall be saved.’
But, before the very end,
when Jesus Christ—Who is “the Word of God,” comes to take over the reins of
this earth with His saints, in the Millennium; one last sign shall occur in the
earth.
‘This Gospel of the Kingdom
shall be preached in all the world.’
And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come (Mt.24:14)
All ‘signs of the end of
the age’ shall take place before the Lord's Return.
Jesus said, “And when these things
begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your
redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21:28 KJV)
When the Pharisees asked
Jesus for a sign from Heaven, He answered and said to them, “When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is
red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and
lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not
discern the signs of the times”? (Matt
16:2-3 KJV)
The Pharisees and Sadducees only understood the pattern of
the weather, but could not discern “the signs of the times.”
The times of these
occurrences is already upon us; they are “the signs of the times” (end times).
The event between these
occurrences and the Great Tribulation is “the Rapture.”
Creation awaits the
manifestation of the sons of God (Rom 8:19, 22), and we look forward to the
home of Glory prepared for us in Heaven.
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and
a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2 Peter 3:13 KJV