Chapter 24
SIGNS OF THE TIMES – PART I
The Arrival of Jesus
Before we begin our study of the signs of the times let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Lord please help us to understand and discern the signs of the times in which we live. Lord please do not allow us to be so smug and full of pride that we might possibly not be prepared for Your return. Father please open our eyes to see. Please open our ears to hear and please open our hearts to understand and comprehend the things of Your Kingdom.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
Many times as I reflected upon the events described in the New Testament, I often wondered why people so very learned in the Scriptures, as the Pharisees and Sadducees, could not recognize the arrival of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As I pondered these things, I once heard a quiet voice exclaim; “They did not recognize the signs of the times.”
This study was written out of concern that we, as the Pharisees and Sadducees did on His first visit, might miss being prepared for our Lord’s second coming. Consequently, this study is devoted to an examination of the reason why those, who were God's chosen people and extremely knowledgeable of the Scriptures, did not receive the truth that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah.
With this background and foundation the next study, which is chapter 25, is devoted to the times in which we live. It begins with a brief review of some prophecies that clearly teach us that Jesus Christ will in fact return a second time to this earth. Secondly, chapter 25 reviews some of the signs of the times in which we live and how they relate to some of the signs that have been foretold to precede our Lord's second coming.
With this short introduction, let us now begin by examining,
THE UNBELIEF OF THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES
To gain insight into the reason why the Pharisees and Sadducees did not recognize Jesus as their Lord and Savior we will,
1. See that in spite of all the miracles Jesus performed, the Pharisees and Sadducees still asked for a sign from Heaven.
2. Review some examples of the signs that foretold of the arrival of the Christ that the Pharisees and Sadducees should have recognized.
3. Find that the reason the Pharisees and Sadducees did not recognize or accept the signs of their times was because they truly did not desire to know or want to follow the truth.
4. See that the sign of Jonah, which was Jesus' death and resurrection, was and is the sign from Heaven to confirm that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah.
We begin our study by reading the following confrontation Jesus once had with the Pharisees and Sadducees,
Matthew 16:1-3
[1] Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. [2] He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; [3] and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
As one reflects upon this discussion, one might ask, “What kind of sign did the Pharisees and Sadducees ask for?” Surely,
1. They saw and heard how Jesus miraculously healed the sick. To see this let us read how widespread and openly Jesus healed and taught the people. It is recorded in,
Matthew 4:23-25
[23] And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. [24] Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. [25] Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
2. They saw and heard how Jesus brought life to the dead. To see this, let us read an excerpt from the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
John 11:43-46
[43] … He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” [44] And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” [45] Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. [46] But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.
3. They saw and heard how Jesus cast out the demons from those who were possessed. In fact they even claimed that Jesus had performed these acts by the power of the evil one.
Matthew 9: 32-34
[32] As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed [33] And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” [34] But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
In addition to the above and as we saw in earlier, they (the Pharisees and Sadducees) surely saw and heard how Jesus fed, in addition to the women and children, 4,000 men.
What, in addition, were they looking for? What did they want Jesus to do?
We find the answer to these questions by reading from,
Luke 11:16
[16] Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.
And again let us reread from,
Matthew 16:1
[1] Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
Notice, they wanted
A SIGN FROM HEAVEN
In reflecting upon this a bit, one might be left with the question of: “What would be a sign from Heaven that they wanted Jesus to perform?” To find out, let us review,
Two examples of signs from heaven
For our first example of a sign from Heaven let us read about the time when God sent fire from Heaven. This occurred during the reign of King Ahab. King Ahab was a very wicked king and promoted throughout all Israel the worship of Baal (a Canaanite idol representing a god). To bring His people to repentance and gather them to Himself, God sent His prophet Elijah to King Ahab and the people of Israel. Let us now read about the sign from Heaven that God gave to demonstrate that He is God.
1 Kings 18:30-39
[30] Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. [31] And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” [32] Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. [33] And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” [34] Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. [35] So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. [36] And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. [37] Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” [38] Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. [39] Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
For our second example of a sign from Heaven, let us read how God reversed the direction of the earth's rotation. This event took place after King Hezekiah asked God to heal him from a deadly boil and deliver the nation from the eminent attack of the Assyrians. So that Hezekiah would believe that God decided to grant him his requests, God sent His prophet Isaiah to speak to King Hezekiah.
To read what God said, through Isaiah, to King Hezekiah we go to,
Isaiah 38:4-8
[4] And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, [5] “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. [6] I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.”’ [7] And this is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: [8] Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.
With the above two examples in mind, let us now address the questions of, “Why?” Why were the miracles that Jesus performed not enough for them? Why did the Pharisees and Sadducees request for something more spectacular, which would be a sign from Heaven?
Our Lord Jesus Christ gives us the answer to these questions by stating that the reason they asked for this type of a sign was because they could not recognize the signs of the times. To see this, let us return to our incident and reread Jesus’ response to the Pharisees' and Sadducees' request for a sign from Heaven,
Matthew 16:2-3
[2] He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; [3] and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
Given the seriousness of this, let us review some examples of,
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES OF JESUS' DAY
To do this we will review the following three events or signs out of the many, that those well versed in the Scriptures, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, should have recognized:
1. The visit of the wise men or magi to King Herod.
2. The preaching and baptism of John the Baptist.
3. The signs and wonders performed by Jesus Christ.
The first sign that the Pharisees and Sadducees, as students of the Scriptures, should have recognized and taken to heart was the visit of
The wise men, which were the Magi
The reason for this was because it was foretold in the Scriptures that: (1) the Messiah or the One who would be King over Israel would come from Bethlehem and (2) there would be bitter weeping for the children in the region of Bethlehem.
To see this, let us first go to the book of Micah and read the prophecy that God gave concerning the town from where the King or Ruler of Israel would come,
Micah 5:2
[2] “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
With this prophecy in mind, let us now read what transpired when the Magi, who were also identified as wise men, came to King Herod to inquire for directions to the place where the King of the Jews was born. This account is given in,
Matthew 2:1-9
[1] Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, [2] saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” [3] When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. [4] And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. [5] So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: [6] ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’” [7] Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. [8] And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” [9] When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
Let us notice the following verses,
1… Jesus’ human birth occurred in the town of Bethlehem.
3 … After the wise men told Herod they came to worship (note worship) the King of the Jews, King Herod and all Jerusalem were disturbed. In other words, they all knew or suspected that something of great importance and significance had occurred.
4 … Upon hearing the request of the wise men, King Herod summoned the teachers of the Law. He did this to ask where the Christ was to be born. In other words, King Herod was pretty convinced that the wise men were talking about the promised Messiah.
5-6 … Knowing the Scriptures, the priests and scribes told King Herod that according to the prophet Micah (Micah 5:2), the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem. One would think that by this time even the priests and scribes (who belonged to the various religious sects such as the Pharisees and Sadducees) would suspect that the prophecy, which was a sign depicting the arrival of the Messiah, given by Micah, had been fulfilled.
However, if the magi’s visit and Herod’s request did not alert the priests and scribes to the reality that a sign announcing the arrival of the Messiah was fulfilled, then certainly they should have been alerted when King Herod had all the male children of Bethlehem slaughtered. The reason for this is because this action by Herod was foretold, through the prophet Jeremiah. To see this, let us read from
Jeremiah 31:15
[15] Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”
It is noted that in the above prophecy, Ramah designates the geographical area of Bethlehem (see The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of The Bible1). In addition, it is further noted that the region of Bethlehem is also the place where Jacob, later renamed Israel, buried his wife Rachel after she died giving birth to their son Benjamin. To see this, let us read from,
[19] So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). [20] And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.
It is noted that Bethlehem belonged to the tribe or house of Benjamin, that is the descendents of Rachel's son Benjamin lived there. Thus, the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:15 is telling us that Rachel would be, in a spiritual sense, crying for her grandchildren that would be slaughtered in Bethlehem. With this in mind, let us read from,
Matthew 2:16-18
[16] Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. [17] Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: [18] “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”
The second significant sign of the time that should have been recognized by the Pharisees and Sadducees were the activities of
John the Baptist
The reason for this is because the Scriptures also foretold that preceding the Messiah; a person will come to prepare them for their Lord. To see this, let us read what God said through His prophet Isaiah in,
Isaiah 40:3-5
[3] The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; [5] The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Let us notice the following verses,
3-4 … These verses are a reference to what was done in those days to prepare a path/road for a king to travel on. In other words, in honor and respect for the nobility of their king, before he would travel upon a road, that road or path was cleared and smoothed out before him. The analogy here was that before the Lord, that is King of the Universe, would be revealed, the people were to prepare themselves for Him. In the case of King Jesus the preparation was not a physical one but a spiritual one. In other words, to prepare the way for King Jesus the people were called to repentance, that is to confess and forsake their sins and prepare their hearts for Him. As a side note, it is the same today for anyone who wishes to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
This prophecy or sign signaling the eminent arrival of the Messiah was fulfilled by John the Baptist. To see this let us read about his ministry from,
Matthew 3:1-11
[1] In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, [2] and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” [3] For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. [4] Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. [5] Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him [6] and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. [7] But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, [9] and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. [10] And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [19] I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
To further see that the Pharisees and Sadducees were without excuse with respect to this sign, John the Baptist himself told them that he (John) was the fulfillment of the above prophecy. To see this, let us read from,
John 1:19-28
[19] Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” [20] He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” [21] And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” [22] Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” [23] He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” [24] Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. [25] And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” [26] John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. [27] It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” [29] these things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Let us notice the following verses,
19-23 … A representative of the Levites and priests were sent by the Jews to inquire about John. John specifically told them that he was fulfilling the prophecy given through Isaiah. In fact, in verse 23 we read that John actually quoted to them from the prophecy of Isaiah.
24 … Those who were sent to inquire about John’s identity came from the sect of the Pharisees. It is interesting to note that in Matthew 3:7 we are told that members from both the Sadducee and Pharisees went to be baptized by John.
Thus, we find that the Pharisees and Sadducees should have taken to heart that the prophecies concerning the Bethlehem birth of the Messiah, the slaughter of the male children of Bethlehem and the voice in the wilderness had and were being fulfilled. They also knew that these events and happenings were signs that would announce the arrival of the Messiah.
Our third and last example of the signs of the times of the Pharisees and Sadducees were,
The works performed by Jesus Christ
Another one of the prophecies that the Pharisees and Sadducees should have known and recognized was the sign of the works the Messiah would perform. As an example, let us read the following excerpt from the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 35:5-6
[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. [6] Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.
Earlier in this chapter we saw that the Pharisees and Sadducees were very well aware that Jesus gave sight to the blind, opened the ears of the deaf and in general performed an unbelievable amount of miraculous cures. In fact, we also found that they saw Jesus cast out evil spirits and even bring the dead back to life.
Thus, as with all the previous signs we reviewed, seeing and hearing about all the miracles that Jesus performed, the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were students of the Scriptures, should have recognized and taken to heart the signs of their times. However, they did not. Why?
THE REASON FOR THE UNBELIEF
The key to finding the answer as to why the Pharisees and Sadducees did not recognize the signs of their times lies in the response that Jesus gave when they asked Him for a sign from Heaven. To see this, let us return to the book of Matthew and read from,
Matthew 16:4
[4] “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, …”
Why? Why did Jesus call the generation that He visited a wicked and adulterous generation? Jesus said these things because even though they were God’s chosen people, they did not desire and want to follow the Truth of God. Even though they knew the Scriptures, they instead preferred to follow the teachings and traditions of men. In other words, outwardly they appeared to be righteous and holy, but inside their hearts were far from God.
To see this, let us read an excerpt of what Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees about following the traditions of man rather than the commands of God. It is interesting to note that in His rebuke Jesus quotes from a prophecy given by Isaiah that foretold the attitudes that people would have during the days of His visit with them. What is extremely interesting to note is that as we will find in our next study (chapter 25), it is these very same attitudes that will be a sign of Jesus’ second coming. We find His rebuke in,
Matthew 15:7-9
[7] Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: [8] ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. [9] And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
In summary, we found that because their hearts were far from loving God and the Truth of His ways, the majority of His chosen people did not recognize nor accept the signs of their times that pointed to Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. Instead they insisted upon something more spectacular, that is a sign from Heaven. This brings us to
THE SIGN OF JONAH
At the close of His conversation with the Pharisees and Sadducees Jesus did tell them that in fact they would see a sign from Heaven. To see this, let us now return to their conversation and read about the sign that would be given,
Matthew 16:4
[4] A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.
This raises the question of; “What was and is the sign of Jonah that was to be given?” To find out, let us read what Jesus said to them when He described what the sign of Jonah would be. To do this we go to,
Matthew 12:40
[40] For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
In other words, the sign of Jonah that was and has already been given for all mankind was Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and ascension back into Heaven.
Unfortunately for the unbelieving Pharisees and Sadducees the sign they so desired occurred after they rejected and gave up their Messiah to be crucified. Just as Jesus said when He wept over Jerusalem, they did not recognize the time of their visitation. To see this let us read from,
Luke 19:41-44
[41] Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, [42] saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. [43] For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, [44] and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
CLOSING
One might ask, “What is the lesson to be learned here? How can we apply all this knowledge to the Christian community of today?” These questions will be addressed in the next study, which is chapter 25, when we will,
1. See that as the Scriptures foretold Jesus Christ’s, first visit to this earth, they also foretell of His return.
2. Find that as the Scriptures gave the signs of the times of His first appearance, they also provide us the signs of the times of His second visit.
3. See that we should always keep our hearts right with God and desire His truth so that, unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees, we will be ready and prepared to be gathered by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
With this in mind let us close this portion of our study of the signs of the times by prayerfully reading Paul’s prayer for wisdom and revelation. This prayer is found in,
Ephesians 1:15-21
[15] … after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, [16] do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: [17] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, [18] the eyes of your £understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, [19] and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power [20] which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, [21] far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Blessed be the Lord forever!
AMEN and AMEN