The Sign

Matthew 24:29-35

²⁹“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

³⁰Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

³¹And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

³²“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

³³So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

³⁴Truly, I say to you, this generation [race] will not pass away until all these things take place.

³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

So far, Jesus has instructed His disciples to observe what is happening around them, for there is much to indicate that Jesus is going to return soon. In the Greek, Jesus doesn’t use the word “sign” to describe any of these events, such as the natural disasters, the wars, or the famines. Now, He finally points to the ultimate sign – His return. He Himself will be the “sign”. And then it’s all over.

Jesus’ use of the fig tree as an illustration of His point is well chosen. The fig tree is the very last tree to gain leaves every year. When leave appear on the fig tree spring is over and the summer has arrived. And summer is the time for harvest. If we heed God’s Word and pay attention to all of the markers that precede His arrival then we need to be busy about spreading His Gospel for the time is here – now. In the meantime, as we wait and work, we know that we have everything we need to know about God inside of His Word and He protects that Word for us.

The following excerpt was taken from Peace with God which is a free online book by Billy Graham. It’s is a story rather like the cross made from the steel girders after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, that has become an iconic picture representing the event. “The British and Foreign Bible Society was on Jerusalem Street, one of the main streets of Old Warsaw in World War II. When the Germans began bombing the city, the wife of the director went to the storeroom and carried some 2,000 Bibles down to the basement. She was trapped by the bombing and later captured by the Germans and put in a prison camp. She managed to escape, and after the war was over was able to get to those 2,000 Bibles and distribute them to the people in need. Warsaw was flattened but on Jerusalem Street one wall of the old British and Foreign Bible Society remained standing. On it were these words, painted in large letters: ‘HEAVEN AND EARTH SHALL PASS AWAY, BUT MY WORDS SHALL NOT PASS AWAY.’”

In the end The Word will return and take us into eternity with Him. John 1:1,14 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God. ... The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The perfection of the plan blows my mind.