The Sign of the Lord's Coming,
and of the End of the Age
                                                          By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                       July 25, 2017
     "And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying,   Tell us, when shall these things be?  and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world [age]?"
                                                                                             Matthew 24:3  
Introduction
     On this occasion, close to the end of the Lord's ministry at His first coming, His disciples came to Him, asking Him the above questions.  Notice that they were asking for a single sign, which would serve a dual purpose.  One "sign" which would indicate that the Lord was coming, and which would also indicate that the present world "age" [aion] was swiftly drawing to a conclusion.  
The Lord's Answer
     The Lord answered by giving His disciples a brief view of the entire dispensation, from the time He ascended back to His Heavenly Father, to the time He will come again.  The Lord's answer covers the entire 24th chapter of Matthew.  However.......
     The Lord's answer is divided into several parts in the 24th chapter.  It is His answer in verses 4 through 8 which I want to emphasize in this study.  In these particular Scriptures the Lord told His disciples.......
 To Beware of Deceivers
     "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.  For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many," 24:4-5.  
     Shortly after the Lord had ascended back to His Father in Heaven, the Jewish people were deluged with "false Christs," all claiming to be the real promised Messiah of Israel.  Bar Kochba is probably the most well known of all of these "false Messiahs," even though there were many others.  And even all these centuries later, there are still men rising up today, claiming to be the long awaited "Messiah of Israel."  
To Be Mindful of Wars to Come
     "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet," 24:6.
     There would indeed be wars, and there would be rumours of wars [threatenings], and it came to pass.  The Roman wars with various nations and peoples was almost constant between the time the Lord ascended back to His Father in 30 A.D. and 70 A.D.  It was so bad that the Lord warned His disciples, that regardless of how it might appear, "the end [of the age] is not yet."  
To Correctly Identify the Time
     "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places.   All these are the beginning of sorrows,  24:7-8.
     The English words translated as "nation" in this Scripture is, in the Greek text, literally "ethnos."  This then means that those of one "ethnic race or culture" would rise up against those of another "ethnic race or culture."  In other words, the Lord spoke of a time when people of different races, and skin colors, and languages, and  sexual genders, and even religions, would rise up against each other.   And hasn't this come to pass?  Race against race?  White skin people against black and yellow skin people, and vice versa?  Men's movements pitted against women's movements?  And even multiple "religions" pitted against each other, and especially against Bible believing Christianity.  Every honest knows that such is happening today even as I write.  
Earthquakes in Divers Places
     But what I wanted to especially emphasize in this study was this last "sign" given in the Lord's description, "and earthquakes, in divers places."  
     The English word, "divers," in this Scripture is where we derive our word, "diverse."  This word, of course, as used in this Scripture, means "different places."   
     Well dear readers, we have arrived!  According to the professional geologists who keep records of such things, in the past two weeks, there has been some 800 or more earth tremors, and actual earthquakes, in various places all over the entire earth.  There is no indication that these earth tremors are lessening.  Rather, they are steadily increasing, both in frequency and intensity.  This does not bid well for mankind over the whole earth, and especially for God's people here in the United States.  Why do I say this?
     Because here in America, the means of America's destruction is  already in place and set to go off at the Lord's "appointed time."  I personally live only approximately 100 miles west of the New Madrid fault line which runs north and south along the west side of the Mississippi River.  The greatest earthquakes ever recorded as happening in America, occurred on this New Madrid fault line in 1811 and 1812.  Thankfully, back then the area was still sparsely populated, so there was not that many casualties.  However, today there are several millions of people living on, along, and in near proximity to   the
fault line.   When such a similar earthquake occurs today on the New Madrid fault line, there will be massive destruction and death.  And it could occur at any minute now.  
     Then there is Yellowstone National Park!   This national park is the site of one of the largest "super volcanoes" on the earth.  Due to changes on the surface of the ground, the outlines of this "super volcano" are hard to see today, except by trained geologists.  But the huge mouth of this volcano actually covers a large part of the park.  And for the last couple of years earth tremors have been steadily increasing in the park.  The geologists claim that this is an indication that the magma [molten lava] is gradually moving upwards from the bowels of the earth towards the surface.  So another eruption of this "super volcano" is expected to occur at any time.  Now these earth tremors are occurring almost every single day with increasing intensity, indicating that this "super volcano" could explode and erupt again at any minute, as it has done at different times in the past.
     The geologists who have seriously studied Yellowstone, claim that volcanic ash from Yellowstone is now buried several feet beneath the soil all over Mid-America, and that the layer of buried ash is several inches thick.  For instance, they claim that when Yellowstone erupts again, it could leave a three inch thick layer of volcanic ash over much of the Southwest and Midwestern United States.  Besides the other damage this would do, it would bring a temporary halt to farming and food production in America, and cause massive food shortages and possible famine.  
     Then there is the massive San Andreas fault line which runs north and south  along the west coast in California, and some smaller extensions from it go on up into Oregon and Washington.  This fault line too, has been shaking with earth tremors the last year or two, and it appears that they are increasing.  It has long been predicted by psychics
and mediums [the dark side] that some day soon, a large earthquake will
occur on the San Andreas fault line, and the entire western half of California will drop off into the Pacific Ocean, carrying thousands or even millions of people to a watery death.  
     These are the three major geological faults that could easily bring an end to this nation of America as we know it today.   Significantly, all three of these faults are now showing increasing signs of activity.  There are also many other fault lines scattered over other parts of this nation.  So, when the "appointed time" comes for the destruction of America [Psalm 9:17], the means of its destruction are already in place.  
     I personally am not near as concerned about a nuclear attack, as I am about this country being destroyed by earthquakes, and our own "super volcano." Of course, a nuclear attack could also set one or all three of these earthquake prone areas into motion.  Or any one of the three producing a major earthquakes could set off the other two in a chain reaction.  
Conclusion
      Earthquakes were the last sign the Lord mentioned in Matthew 24:7, "earthquakes in divers places," as "the beginning of sorrows," 24:8.  And right now as I write, hundreds of earth tremors and earthquakes are occurring in "divers places" all over the earth.  Is the Lord God trying to tell us something?  
     If He is, are you ready to listen to Him?   His inspired Word plainly states, that His withholding of judgment up to this point, is because "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance," 2 Peter 3:9.  
     What is stated here, as big as a billboard, is that the Lord God loves men and women, boys and girls, and wants to give every person an opportunity to be saved.  Our gracious Lord is very reluctant to pour out judgment upon unbelieving, Christ rejecting, mankind.  Read  Ezekiel 18:23, 18:32, and 33:11.  Father God gave His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die in your place and pay for your sins, that you might be saved, John 3:16.  Won't you right now bow your head and heart in prayer, and ask the Lord Jesus to come into your heart and life and save your soul from sin, death, and Hell?   If you are sincere, He will hear and answer your prayer of faith.  Do it now!  Tomorrow could be too late!  
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