THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE END TIMES IN THE TEACHING OF JESUS Clifford Hill
Adapted from his bi-monthly audio Update Messages in 2013
Published by Issachar Ministries
Copyright © 2013 Issachar Ministries UK
E-published in 2013 by Issachar Ministries ISBN 978-0-9573522-2-3
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Issachar Ministries UK.
Biblical quotations are from the New International Version © International Bible Society 1973, 1978, 1984 unless otherwise stated.
ISBN 0-9573522-2-3
Published by Issachar Ministries UK, Moggerhanger Park, Bedford MK44 3RW
The Twelve Signs of the End Times in the Teaching of Jesus These are all events which Jesus said will happen before the Parousia (the common Greek word for the ‘Second Coming of Jesus’).
There are three main sources for this teaching of Jesus in the Gospels. They are in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 and there are 12 such signs. 1) The Sufferings of this Present Age: wars, rumours of wars, great earthquakes, famines and pestilences. These are found in Matthew 24.6-8; Mark 13.7-8; Luke 21.9 – 11. 2) The Persecution of Disciples of Jesus: and being brought before rulers. Found in Matthew 24.9; Mark 13.9 and 13.11-13; Luke 21.12-17. Also in Matthew 10.17–22 and Luke 12.11–12. 3) Apostasy: a great falling away from the faith. This is to be found in Matthew 24.10 and 12. 4) False Religion: there are three kinds of false religion – (a)
False messiahs: in Matthew 24.5 and 24.23-25; Mark 13.6 and 13.21-22; Luke 21.8 and 17.21-15.
(b)
False prophets: in Matthew 24.11 and 24.24; Mark 13.22.
(c)
False signs and wonders: in Matthew 24.24; Mark 13.22.
5) The Siege and Capture of Jerusalem: Found in Matthew 24.16 – 20; Mark 13.14 – 18; Luke 21.20 – 24 and 17.31. 6) The Desolating Sacrilege: Found in Matthew 24.15; Mark 13.14. 7) The Great Tribulation: Found in Matthew 24.21; Mark 13.19. 8) The Gospel Preached throughout the World: Found in Matthew 24.14, and 10.18; Mark 13.10 1
9) The Restoration of Jerusalem: Found in Luke 21.24 10) Astronomical Signs: - sun, moon and stars: Found in Matthew 24.29; Mark 13.24 – 25; Luke 21.25. 11) Increasing Distress: - on earth prior to the Parousia. Found in Matthew 24.30; Mark 13.26; Luke 21.27. 12) The Sign of the Son Of Man in the Sky: Found in Matthew 24.30
In addition to the Gospel references there are also references to a number of other biblical passages. These are listed below in the order in which they occur: 1. Zechariah 13 - 14
18. Luke 21.20 - 24
2. Daniel 12.1
19. Matthew 23 from verse 35
3. Jeremiah 30.7
20. Psalm 118
4. Matthew 24.21
21. Isaiah 13.9
5. Isaiah 66.8
22. Matthew 21.33
6. Matthew 24.28
23. Zechariah 9.9
7. Joel 2.28
24. Zechariah 12.10 – 13.1
8. Isaiah 42.6
25. Acts 1.6
9. Isaiah 6.1
26. Romans 11.25
10. Isaiah 66 from verse 19
27. Isaiah 13.9
11. Matthew 29.18
28. Joel 2.30
12. Isaiah 19 from verse 16
29. Ezekiel 10
13. Acts 1.8
30. Matthew 24.29
14. Romans 11 from verse 13
31. Luke 21.25
15. Zechariah 4.14
32. Matthew 24.30 - 31
16. Revelation 11
33. 1Thessalonians 4.16
17. Ephesians 2.16
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THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE END TIMES IN THE TEACHING OF JESUS
Introduction I’ve had many requests to do some Bible teaching on the signs of the end times in the teaching of Jesus. In the first two Update Messages of 2013 I set out what I believe to be the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels on this subject. Many people have asked for the teaching in those recorded messages to be made available in print. This little booklet is the result. In the original recordings I tried to set out what Jesus taught his disciples about the ‘end of the age’ and the signs of his ‘Second Coming’ (the Parousia). The New Testament has many references to this subject most of which can be traced back to the teaching of Jesus himself. So the Gospels are the best starting point in any such investigation. In this study we will be concentrating on the record of the words of Jesus in the four Gospels, especially the Synoptics, because they provide the foundation for the teaching of the Apostles which is developed in the rest of the New Testament. But we always have to remember that there is continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament and the study of the signs of the end times in this booklet is largely from an Hebraic standpoint. Jesus was steeped in Hebraic history and the teachings of the Hebrew Prophets and the sages of Israel. He stands directly in the line of the biblical Prophets. Their words often referred to events in their own lifetime or in the near future, but those same words can often have a reference to events in the far distant future because prophecies can have more than one fulfilment. A good example is in Isaiah 24 which is sometimes referred to as the ‘Little Apocalypse’ of Isaiah. Reading Isaiah 24 in any of the English translations it sounds as though some catastrophic worldwide destruction is foretold such as a nuclear holocaust. Although this cannot be ruled out, if you read the chapter in the Hebrew you get a different impression. The word EARTH occurs numerous times in Isaiah 24. The chapter begins with the statement, “Behold, the Lord is going to lay waste the Earth and devastate it.” Verse 3 says “The Earth will be completely laid waste.” Verse 4, “The Earth dries up and 3
THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE END TIMES IN THE TEACHING OF JESUS
withers”. Verse 5 “The Earth is defiled by its people”. Verse 6 “Therefore a curse consumes the Earth”. And so on... All these references to the Earth use the Hebrew word ‘erets’ which throughout the Bible usually means ‘the land’, or more specifically the ‘land of Israel’. But suddenly in verse 21 of Isaiah 24 the word changes from ‘erets’ to ‘adamah’ which elsewhere refers to ‘the earth’ as the whole world. So suddenly it changes from the land of Israel being thoroughly shaken to the statement “In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the Kings on the Earth below” meaning that some great judgement will come upon the land of Israel, after which the great shaking is extended to bring judgement upon the whole world. This is very much in line with the teaching of Jesus. He also speaks of judgement coming upon the land of Israel and then in the next breath he is speaking about worldwide judgement. The last verse in Isaiah 24 reads “The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem”. If you compare Isaiah 24 with Matthew 24 you see that Jesus speaks about terrible distress coming upon Israel and then he says in Matthew 24.29 “Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” That is followed by his statement about the coming of the Son of Man. In Matthew 24 Jesus was just walking away from the Temple when his disciples began eulogising about its magnificence. Jesus responded by saying that not one stone would be left on another. He and his disciples then walked across to the Mount of Olives where he could talk to them privately. They asked three questions, “When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming? And of the end of the age?” The difficulty all Bible students face in studying the record of Jesus’ teaching is distinguishing which of these questions he is answering because they refer to different periods of time. The destruction of the Temple would occur during the 4
THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE END TIMES IN THE TEACHING OF JESUS
lifetime of most of the disciples whereas the end of the age and the Parousia were to be in the far distant future. Most scholars assume that the end of the age and the Parousia occur at the same time. It is significant that Jesus began his response with a warning about deception which he repeated several times. There would be false messiahs and false prophets who would deceive many before his Second Coming at the end of the age. There are, in fact, 12 such warnings in Matthew and Luke. We have seen a number of these false ‘messiahs’ and false prophets in recent years and as the times become more unsettled we may expect to see more of them. This is why it is essential for Christians today to know what the Bible says and to have a clear understanding of the words of Jesus: what he did and did not say, and be able to reject false teaching.
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Series Objective The purpose of this series of mini-books is to outline the biblical basis of the teaching used in Issachar Ministries. The vision underlying Issachar Ministries is that of equipping the church to be the prophet to the world and to fulfil the mission of Christ given in the Great Commission. For this purpose the Holy Spirit has been given to the church bringing new life, power and spiritual gifts to all believers. A major objective is to mobilise the spiritual resources of the church by promoting greater understanding of spiritual gifts enabling individual believers to recognise and use their gifts. A further objective is to enable Christians to understand the signs of the times, to listen to God, to guard against deception, and to know what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches.
Summary of this booklet “The Twelve Signs of the Times in the Teaching of Jesus” is a biblical study of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels relating to his statements on events leading up to the end of the age and the Parousia. The 12 signs are: – 1) The Sufferings of this Present Age
6) The Desolating Sacrilege
2) The Persecution of Disciples
7) The Great Tribulation
3) Apostasy
8) The Gospel Preached throughout the
4) False Religion (a) False messiahs: (b) False prophets:
World 9) The Restoration of Jerusalem 10) Astronomical Signs
(c) False signs and wonders: 11) Increasing Distress 5) The Siege and Capture of Jerusalem 12) The Sign of the Son of Man in the Sky
The Rev Dr Clifford Hill MA. BD. Ph.D. exercises an international ministry that is both prophetic and evangelistic. He is an ordained minister with many years pastoral experience of churches in inner-city areas of London. He and his wife Monica founded the Newham Community Renewal Programme in the East End of London. Together they founded Moggerhanger Park as a Ministry centre and base for their work through Issachar Ministries. They also carry responsibility for the work of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group of which Clifford is the Convenor. Dr Hill is the author of more than 40 books ranging from community relations to biblical commentaries.
e-published by Issachar Ministries UK ISBN 978-0-9573522-2-3