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The Big Question:
Throughout the ages, a number of great religious
teachers and seers have received special insight into the future. A discourse that is
regarded by many as the most profound and detailed of its kind was given 2,000 years ago
on a hillside just outside the ancient city of Jerusalem. There, a small band of
truth-seekers gathered around their Teacher, a carpenter-turned-preacher, known simply as
Jesus of Nazareth. The question they asked Him prompted a response that spans the
centuries and zeroes in on the days in which you and I are now living: |
"And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives,
the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, what shall be the sign of
Thy coming, and of the end of the world?’" (Matthew 24:3).
What His followers were asking Him about is often
referred to as the Second Coming, the dramatic personal return of Christ to take
over the world and establish the Kingdom of God on earth. The term "the end of the
world" is used here not to signify the end of the planet, but the end of the current
unjust and inhumane reign of man.
Jesus answered their question with not only one
sign that would indicate when "the end" would be near, but He gave dozens
of specific indicators to be on the look out for. Outstanding predictions by a number of
other biblical writers help fill in the picture. It is these prophesied "signs"
that we will now focus on.
