Study The Signs

When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Luke 21:28

The daily events of our world and the prophecies of the Bible are beginning to coincide. We’ve been told in Scripture to study the signs and to learn the signs of the times. If only the world had studied the signs of the Old Testament, it would have known that Jesus was coming the first time. But ignorance and blindness concerning the teaching of the Scriptures led men to fail to recognize hundreds of years before Jesus was born that the Old Testament revealed these things.

The Scripture said that He would be born of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 4:9); He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5); He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7). He would be called out of Egypt (Hosea 11). He would be a prophet (Deuteronomy 18). His own people would reject Him (Isaiah 53). He would be betrayed and sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11). He would be put to death by crucifixion (Psalm 22). The soldiers would cast lots for His clothing (Psalm 22). He would ascend into heaven (Psalm 68). And on and on. Almost every detail which happened to the Lord Jesus Christ was predicted hundreds of years earlier by prophets inspired by the Spirit of God.

Jesus told His disciples that there would be signs for which they could watch when He would come back again. When He warned them on two occasions to beware of setting dates, he said, “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). He also said, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” To speculate about a date would be absolutely foolish and unbiblical and against the teachings of our Lord. But we are told to watch for the signs.

Although He warned about speculating on the exact time of His return, Jesus did assure the disciples that there were signs throughout the Scriptures, as well as in His own words, which would make it clear to those who have eyes to see that the time is near. He said, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28). That is the hope that is in the heart of every believer—that our redemption is drawing nigh. Certainly we are two thousand years nearer the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ than we were when He made those predictions.

Are you excited? I am!

Our Father and our God, You are my great Redeemer. You are my Savior, my hope, and my dearest love. You are the source of all grace and mercy, and I cannot live without You. Save me in that final hour, O Lord, because of the purity and sacrifice of Jesus Your Son, through whom I pray. Amen.

Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).