The Scriptures inform us that Christ will not come until the worldwide revolt against authority has taken place; the man of sin has been revealed; the sun has been darkened; the moon has ceased to give its light; the stars have fallen from heaven; and the powers of the heavens have been shaken.

It is possible that these last four signs have a spiritual as well as a physical fulfillment: Christ has been removed from the attention of the world as being anything more than a human philosopher and teacher of the past (the sun has been darkened); the testimony of the Church has been overcome (the moon has ceased to give its light, being covered with "blood"—the persecution of the saints during the time of Antichrist); Satan and his angels have been cast down from the heavens (the stars have fallen from the heaven); and the spiritual thrones in the heavenlies have been shaken in preparation for the saints to ascend the thrones formerly occupied by fallen lords of the heavenlies (the powers of the heavens have been shaken).

The Spirit of God has carefully instructed us concerning the events that will lead up to the return of the Lord from Heaven.

God has a purpose in telling us of the things that must come to pass—events that will prepare the Church and the world for the return of the Lord. God's purpose is that we may have an awareness, a vision, an understanding of history—past, present, and future. When we have a "vision" of history we can prepare ourselves accordingly.

God's saints are not to walk in darkness. The Day of Christ will not overtake the righteous as a thief. Christ has told us what to look for. When we behold the worldwide mutiny against authority, the man of sin sitting in the Temple of God, the sun grow dark, the moon cease to give light, then we know that the coming of Christ is near—"even at the doors" (Matthew 24:33).

First Thessalonians 4:16 informs us that the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the chief angel, and with the trumpet of God. This is the coming of Christ of which Jesus spoke in Matthew, Chapter 24, the hour when two will be in the field; the one will be taken and the other left (Matthew 24:40).

Notice in First Thessalonians 4:16:

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (I Thessalonians 4:16)

Compare the following passage with I Thessalonians 4:16:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30,31)

To be continued.