Sign of the End

The End will not come until the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed to all nations – Matthew 24:14.

When the subject of Christ’s return is raised, the question of what “signs” will precede it is asked. Invariably, wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, and similar catastrophes are proposed as harbingers of that day. Yet Jesus gave us the definitive answer to the question, namely, the completion of the mission of the Church to proclaim his salvation and lordship to all nations.

After his final visit to the Temple, Christ predicted its destruction. Because Israel had rejected her Messiah, “All these things shall come upon this generation. Behold, your house is left to you desolate. Truly I declare to you, there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down” - (Matthew 23:34-39, 24:1-2).

[Photo by Ben White on Unsplash]

The disciples then asked two questions. When would the predicted destruction of the Temple occur? Second, what would be the “sign” of the coming of the Son of Man and the consummation of the age?

Jesus answered with a dire warning - Beware of false messiahs and false prophets who will deceive many. We will hear about wars, earthquakes, international conflicts, and famines. False prophets and other deceivers will point to such events as signs of the rapidly approaching End of the Age. Do not listen to them. They deceive and are themselves deceived.

Calamities of this sort are not indicators of the End. Disasters occur but the “End is not yet.” False teachers will infiltrate the Church and point to these very things as “signs” of Christ’s imminent return, and thereby raise false expectations and “deceive many” - (Matthew 24:4-8, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).

Human and natural catastrophes occur regularly, therefore, we must "not be alarmed" when they inevitably do. They are not chronological markers by which we can calculate the timing of the End. At most, they are a “beginning of birth pains,” portends of the inevitable conclusion of this age.

To the first question, Jesus answered, within “this generation,” namely, the generation of Jews that was contemporary with him. They saw the destruction of the Temple when a Roman army destroyed it in A.D. 70, exactly as predicted - within one generation - (Matthew 3:7, 11:16, 12:34-45, 16:4, 17:17, 23:33-36, 24:34).

THE SIGN

Regarding his “coming on the clouds and the conclusion of the age,” Jesus declared that no man knows that day or hour except God alone, and therefore, his disciples must always be prepared for its unexpected and sudden arrival.

Knowledge of the “times and seasons” belongs to God. Any man who claims such knowledge lies and arrogates to himself inside information that even the Son of Man did not possess - (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:33, Acts 1:7-9).

As to the requested “sign,” Jesus gave one explicit goal that must be achieved before he appears on the “clouds of Heaven,” the “proclamation of this Gospel of the Kingdom in the whole habitable earth for a testimony to all nations.” Only “then will the end come.” His message is Good News and brings salvation to all men who hear and obey it. Christ’s Church must bear witness to it in every corner of the Earth before the “Son of Man arrives… to gather his saints” and judge the nations - (Matthew 24:14).

In the Greek clause, the demonstrative pronoun translated as “this Gospel” or ‘houtos’ is emphatic. It is, “This Gospel of the Kingdom” that must be proclaimed, presumably, the same one preached by Jesus and his true Apostles.

That is the task he assigned to us. We must “Go and teach all nations to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you; behold, I am with you even unto the end of the age.” This mission must be completed before he returns and consummates God’s kingdom, raises the dead, destroys the “last enemy, Death,” judges the living and dead, and gathers his elect - (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:6-8, 1 Corinthians 15:20-28).

So, how do we know when the task is completed? According to Jesus, when the End arrives! The fact that it has not is rock-solid proof that our mission remains unfinished.

The human desire to know when Jesus will arrive is understandable. The desire for certainty about the future drives our attempts to discern the “times and seasons” and calculate dates. Nevertheless, all past attempts to do so have failed; date-setting always results in disappointment and failure.

In the period between now and his return, we are called to preach the Gospel until it has reached the “uttermost parts of the Earth.” Completing this mission matters far more than possessing accurate information about signs, “times and seasons,” and prophetic timetables.

This raises and answers the question – Why has his return been “delayed,” supposedly, for 2,000+ years?  The answer is clear. Since we have yet to complete our mission, he is waiting for us to proclaim the Kingdom of God in every corner of the globe, and only then will he appear “on the clouds of heaven.”  By preaching the Gospel, we may even “hasten” his return and the “Day of God” – (2 Peter 3:10-12).

Jesus is not late. The Risen Lord is waiting for us, his Assembly, to complete the primary task assigned to us by our only Lord and Messiah.

[PDF Copy]

SEE ALSO:

• Hastening the Day - (The apparent delay in Christ’s return is due to God’s mercy as He waits patiently for the Gospel to reach all nations)

• The Goal of the Church - (Jesus has tasked his disciples with proclaiming the Good News of GOD’s Kingdom in and to every nation on the Earth – Romans 3:22-30)

• The Message - (Jesus summoned his disciples to proclaim the Good News of his Kingdom to every inhabited corner of the Earth)

• Le Signe Définitif - (La Fin ne viendra pas tant que l'Évangile du Royaume de Dieu n'aura pas été proclamé à toutes les nations - Matthieu 24: 14)