When will the second coming of Christ take place?
There are certain events that need to take place before the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Of course, there is that one event that will occur and then it will be just a matter of days. So let us look at some of what the Bible states that tells us the Second Coming of Lord Jesus Christ is near; also some of what is written in the Books of Numbers and Revelation that may have some significance for the days ahead.
First, here are ten signs that are fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies that have been sourced from Clyde Snobelen's "Miraculous Signs in Israel".
Sign #1: The Diaspora
The Bible prophesied the Jewish diaspora. The Nation of Israel would dwell for many years outside of their country and promised land. After this time had elapsed they would return to their ancient possession. The predictions were exact and complete making the nation's return a supernatural happening of our age. A modern miracle. They were dispersed for over 1,900 years. They are there again today.
- Hosea 3:4-5 - "For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days."
- Hosea 6:1 - "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds."
To see the rest of the passage fulfilled, Israel needs only to turn to God. For David to become their king once again, there will be a resurrection from the dead.
Sign #2: The Return
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Bible passages predict the return of Israel to the land of Palestine. Here are only two.
- Ezekiel 20:34 - "I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered -- with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath."
- Isaiah 11:11-12 NIV - "In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth."
Sign #3: Buying back the land
The prophet Jeremiah prophesied about 600 years B.C. just as the nation of Judah was being destroyed and the people taken captive into the land of Babylon. He spoke of a day when Jews would once again purchase land within the ancient territory. That is precisely what returning Jews did, starting nearly a century ago - they bought back the land.
- Jeremiah 32:44 NIV - "Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD."
Sign #4: Israel - Reborn in a day
Israel, a nation that had not really existed as a separate nation for nearly 2,500 years, was declared a new sovereign state by an act of the United Nations on May 14, 1948. The nation was born in a day.
- Isaiah 66:8 NIV - "Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labour than she gives birth to her children."
Sign #5: The order of the return
The first returning Jews to Palestine came primarily from eastern Arab countries. The next major movement came from the western countries of Europe, especially Germany. Then they came in great numbers from Russia (north) during the end of the 1980's. The last great migrations of Jews returning to Israel came from Ethiopia in the south. This precise order of return was predicted by Isaiah the prophet.
- Isaiah 43:5-6,21 - "Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, `Give them up!' and to the south, `Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth..."
- "... the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."
- Psalm 107:2-3 NIV - "Let the redeemed of the LORD say this -- those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
Sign #6: A pure language
With the return of the nation, the ancient Hebrew language has been revived and become the official language of the state. Prior to this happening, the Jews spoke an impure form of the language called Yiddish. The return to a pure common language was again predicted by the prophets.
- Zephaniah 3:8-10 KJV - "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, [even] the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering".
Sign #7: The shekel
After nearly 2,000 years the shekel has been reinstated as the common monetary unit in Israel, again, just as predicted.
- Ezekiel 45:12-16 NIV - "The shekel is to consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.... All the people of the land will participate in this special gift for the use of the prince in Israel."
Sign #8: Named cities of Israel
There are many cities in Israel that bear the ancient names of previous Jewish cities. Some of these that bear their Biblical identification include: Cana, Nazareth, Jericho, Nain, Bethany, Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, etc. Again, as the ancient nation was in the process of being destroyed, Ezekiel the prophet predicted that many of the ancient cities would, in fact, be re-inhabited and settled in the exact locations.
- Ezekiel 36:11; 24 KJV - "And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better [unto you] than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.... For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land."
Sign #9: Cities excepted - never to be inhabited
Yeshua pronounced a curse on at least three cities within the land. These remain in ruins today.
- Matthew 11:21-23 NIV - "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day."
Sign #10: From desolation to productivity
The restoration of the agriculture and of the trees and forests of Israel has been another remarkable miracle. Scarcely 75 years ago, the land was a desolate waste, full of malarial swamps and deserts. Today the replanted forests are flourishing and the Israeli agricultural production is one of the great wonders of the world. This tiny country exports quality produce around the world. Should we say, "Again, just as predicted!"
- Isaiah 26:6 NIV - "In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit."
- Isaiah 35:1-2 NIV - "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy...."
Really, it is rather incredible that the Bible has all these predictions that are coming to pass and people say that these Holy Scriptures are a mythological book with mythological characters about a mythological nation. And many of the deluded, ignorantly ask, "Where is the proof that the Bible has been inspired by God?"
What is even more amusing, scoffers call Christians like myself, an imbecile, an idiot, a moron, a fool and many other meaningless things, yet one wonders whether they are merely looking at mirror and seeing a reflection of themselves. For the evidence is overwhelming that the nation Israel is not a myth.
The prophecies in the Bible are extant. They were written down on pieces of papyrus more than two thousand years ago, with some written about two thousand years ago. So they have not be made up just recently or after the fact, as many have claimed about the prophecies in the book of Daniel regarding the rebuilding of the temple after the Babylonian exile and events that followed thereafter.
Obviously, such individuals who scoff at the veracity of the prophetic word in the Old and New Testament Scriptures have some major soul searching to do, because not only has the Bible been proven correct concerning Israel, it also says that everybody is going to be held accountable for their wrongdoing; that is, unless they are personally reconciled with their Creator through Lord Jesus Christ.
Incredible Statement in Numbers (does it apply today?)
Here is a possible prophecy that indicates when the Lord Jesus Christ will return. It is found in the book of Numbers.
- And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.” And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” (Numbers 10:35-36 RSV)
Ten thousand thousands of Israel equals ten million (10,000,000) people. At present, according to the Country Meters website (
Current world population by country. Population data for every country as of 2016) the population of Israel is just over 8.44 million (8,441,803). Looks like there is just over 1.5 million more people required to see what happens when a population of 10 million is reached.
Some Essentials For Christians When Lord Jesus Returns
In the New Testament there are two things that will occur to tell those who are Christians that the Meeting in the Clouds is about to happen.
Unfortunately, many people who claim they are Christians are going to miss out because they have been too lazy in seeking the truth, and because they believe that it does not matter if they indulge in a little sin every now and again, as they are saved by grace. The truth is we are saved by faith in Lord Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 3:15), for there is no salvation by grace alone.
- Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4 RSV)
- Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law; for “He who through faith is righteous shall live”.Galatians 3:11 RSV)
- But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. (Hebrews 10:38 RSV)
Faith, of course, is not a belief based on insufficient evidence, nor an assumption that something took place back in time, nor a body of philosophical ideas that need to be defended.
Faith is the substance (the assurance and the confidence) that what is hoped for, will be taking place in due course. And of this, there is no doubt, because the evidence exists not only around us, but is felt within our very being, since having become recipients of the Word of God (John 1:12), our salvation is sealed by the guarantee that is provided by the Holy Spirit which is given to us (Eph. 1:13-14; Rom. 5:5).
Unless we possess faith, as described above, we will not hear the trumpet call nor understand what the Lord God is saying when the thunders are heard around the world, as Almighty God, Lord of Heaven and Earth speaks to His people; that is, those who have ears to hear. This is what the Apostle John recorded:
- He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring; when he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” (Revelation 10:2-4 RSV)
The probable reason the Apostle was told not to write down what the thunders said, could be that only those who have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying will hear what is to be said at the time of the Lord’s return. When God speaks, what sounds like thunder to non-believers, and to those who are caught off guard in their sin, and to those who lack faith, will be music to the ears of those who have been weaned from the milk of the word (very important that you understand the milk of the word). Those who have not been weaned from the milk of the word will be like the Israelites who heard the voice of God from Mount Sinai.
- On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.... Now when all the people perceived the thunderings and the lightnings and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled; and they stood afar off, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to prove you, and that the fear of him may be before your eyes, that you may not sin (Exodus 19:16-19; 20:18-20 RSV)
Even the longsuffering Job, who resisted the temptation to sin and curse the Lord of Life, understood what the sound of God's voice was like:
- After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard. God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things which we cannot comprehend. (Job 37:4-5 RSV)
The Apostle Paul said that when the last trumpet sounds, the resurrection of the just, who are saved by faith, will be over in a twinkling of the eye. This last trumpet call will follow the thunders. However, there will be trumpet calls before the last trumpet that could very well be the call to repent and heed the warning to understand the milk of the word, so that you might have ears to hear what the thunders say.
- Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them…. Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets made ready to blow them…. But that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God, as he announced to his servants the prophets, should be fulfilled…. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 8:2, 5 10:7; 11:15 RSV)
- For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 RSV)
- Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:21-23 RSV)
We see that Israel has returned as a nation. We see that when it reaches a population of 10 million people, this could be when Lord Jesus Christ returns. Although it needs to be stated that those 10 million might need to be Israelites and not foreigners, or it could consist of true Jews and not phony ones.
We also learn from the Bible that the seven trumpets have to be completed and the voice of God has to be heard thundering around the globe. God’s voice sounds as thunder to some, but those who are to be saved will have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying, since they will be tuned into the right frequency, having matured as Christians, because they have feasted upon the Milk of the Word (Heb. 5:12-6:1).
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