Heavenly Signs and the Second Coming.

Heavenly Signs and the Second Coming of Jesus. 

Let's remind ourselves of one unchanging truth that our God is infinitely powerful, infinitely wise, and infinitely resourceful. Our understanding, limited as it is, can barely comprehend the depth of his power and resources. Look around you. Look above you. And what do you see? The endless expanse of the sky stretching from horizon to horizon. From dawn to dusk. This vast sky is more than just a sky of blue or a theatre of twinkling stars at night. It is God's heavenly billboard, a powerful resource of our God, the Creator, the Almighty. And it is through this billboard that God communicates with us in ways we may not always understand. PSALM 19:1 TELLS US THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD. THE SKIES PROCLAIM THE WORK OF HIS HANDS. Indeed, the sky is a testament of God's magnificent creation, his grand design and his infinite power. When we see the sun rise in the morning, casting its warm, golden light on the earth, it is God's way of proclaiming a new day, a new beginning. When we see the night sky filled with countless stars, it is God's way of showing us the infinite possibilities that lie within His creation. Throughout history, God has used the heavens as his billboard to guide, warn and enlighten mankind. He led the Israelites with a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night.

 A star in the East announced the birth of Jesus. The sky turned dark when Jesus was crucified, and he has promised signs in the heavens before his second coming. These aren't mere coincidences, but divine signals from God who uses the celestial bodies to manifest His will and convey his message. However, just like any billboard on a highway, it is up to us to pay attention, to understand the message that is being conveyed. It is up to us to look beyond the beauty of the heavens and decipher the divine messages that God is sending us. When we understand this, we can truly appreciate the wisdom and power of our God.

 A God who can make the sun stand still, command the stars to align and darken the skies to reflect the sorrow of the world. ISAIAH 55:8-9. GOD'S POWER AND RESOURCES ARE INDEED BEYOND OUR UNDERSTANDING. HIS WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS. HIS THOUGHTS ARE NOT OUR THOUGHTS. AS HIGH AS THE HEAVENS ARE ABOVE THE EARTH, SO ARE HIS WAYS HIGHER THAN OUR WAYS AND HIS THOUGHTS THAN OUR THOUGHTS. For ages, humanity has been captivated by the sky. Some religions have even based their beliefs on what they perceive in the heavens. As we gaze into the vast expanse, we marvel at the beauty of the heavens. The sky stretches out beyond our sight, filled with worlds and planets moving at incredible speeds.

 Some even light years apart. No matter how long we might travel through the heavens, we would never reach the end. There are always more stars, more planets, more galaxies to discover. Yet at the center of this infinite expanse is a creator who governs it all, as described in Isaiah Chapter six. Everything in existence everywhere rotates and moves around the throne that the prophet Isaiah saw in the year that King Uzziah died. This central position is the command center for the entire universe. God, with his immeasurable power, has promised us signs in the heavens to foretell the second coming of the Lord Jesus. So can we truly rely on these celestial signs? Some Christians have their doubts. Perhaps out of fear of straying into occult practices, which often involve interpreting the movements of stars and the moon. To some, any attention of stars or moon may immediately hint at occultism and they stop listening. However, by doing so, they could miss out on a valuable truth. God attaches great importance to what we observe in the heavens. In fact, we could go as far as saying that the heavens serve as God's billboard for the world. God has used His celestial billboard in the past and continues to use it today. It's a source of guidance, of prophecy and of revelation.

 Therefore, let us keep our minds open to the lessons that God may be teaching us through the majesty of the heavens. GENESIS 1:14-16. THEN GOD SAID, LET THERE BE LIGHTS IN THE FIRMAMENT OF THE HEAVENS TO DIVIDE. THE DAY FROM THE NIGHT AND LET THEM BE FOR SIGNS AND SEASONS AND FOR DAYS AND YEARS AND LET THEM BE FOR LIGHTS IN THE FIRMAMENT OF THE HEAVEN TO GIVE LIGHT ON THE EARTH. AND IT WAS SO. THEN GOD MADE TWO GREAT LIGHTS. THE GREATER LIGHT TO RULE THE DAY AND THE LESSER LIGHT TO RULE THE NIGHT. HE MADE THE STARS ALSO. 

Our understanding of the seasons comes from the signs God provided in Scripture. There are numerous examples of God using the heavens to guide people. Take, for instance, the journey of the Israelites, as documented in EXODUS 13:21. THE LORD GUIDED THEM DURING THE DAY WITH A PILLAR OF CLOUD AND ILLUMINATED THEIR PATH AT NIGHT WITH A PILLAR OF FIRE. BOTH DAY AND NIGHT, THE HEAVENS SERVED AS THEIR GUIDE. When Jesus was born, we find in Matthew two two that the wise men were led to him by a star they had seen in the East. They followed this celestial sign to worship the newly born king of the Jews. Likewise, leading up to Jesus's Second Coming, God will use the sky to provide signs of his return.

 He will warn the world of Jesus's second Coming using the heavens. In Luke chapter 21, Jesus talks about ten signs of his second coming. He says something particularly noteworthy in LUKE21:11, AND GREAT EARTHQUAKES SHALL BE IN DIVERSE PLACES AND FAMINES AND PESTILENCE AND FEARFUL SIGHTS AND GREAT SIGNS SHALL THERE BE FROM HEAVEN, Focus on the last phrase and great signs, shall there be from heaven? These are Jesus's own words highlighting the importance of heavenly signs. To dismiss these signs is to disregard Jesus's teachings. And I believe we can all agree that none of us knows better than him. So let's pay heed to the signs from the heavens as they are the divine messages from our Lord. In the same chapter, LUKE21:25 , AND THERE SHALL BE SIGNS IN THE SUN AND IN THE MOON AND IN THE STARS AND UPON THE EARTH. DISTRESS OF NATIONS WITH PERPLEXITY, THE SEA AND THE WAVES ROARING. Here, our Lord Jesus is talking about the period just before his second coming. He's referring to the time during and around the Great Tribulation. Matthew 24 29. Part of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount of Olives talks about a sign that will occur right after the Great Tribulation. It says MATTHEW 24:29. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS SHALL THE SUN BE DARKENED AND THE MOON SHALL NOT GIVE HER LIGHT AND THE STARS SHALL FALL FROM HEAVEN.

AND THE POWERS OF THE HEAVENS SHALL BE SHAKEN. Let's look at what comes next in this chapter. It reads 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. Note the first words and then indicating a time after the Great tribulation. There will be a period when the sun will be darkened. After this, Jesus will make his second coming.

 Revelation 6 12 echoes the words Jesus spoke during his sermon on the Mount of Olives. Concerning the signs in the heavens. REVELATION6: 12-13 I LOOKED WHEN HE OPENED THE SIXTH SEAL, AND BEHOLD, THERE WAS A GREAT EARTHQUAKE AND THE SUN BECAME BLACK AS SACKCLOTH OF HAIR AND THE MOON BECAME LIKE BLOOD. AND THE STARS OF HEAVEN FELL TO THE EARTH AS A FIG TREE DROPS ITS LATE FIGS WHEN IT IS SHAKEN BY A MIGHTY WIND. This passage provides three clear signs preceding the Second Coming. The opening of the sixth Seal will trigger significant cosmic disturbances. The first sign mentioned in this scripture is that the sun will turn black. This isn't the only instance when the sun will darken, according to the Book of Revelation. In the fourth trumpet found in Revelation 8 12, it's written.

REVELATION 8:12 THEN THE FOURTH ANGEL SOUNDED AND A THIRD OF THE SUN WAS STRUCK. A THIRD OF THE MOON AND A THIRD OF THE STARS, SO THAT A THIRD OF THEM WERE DARKENED. A THIRD OF THE DAY DID NOT SHINE. AND LIKEWISE THE NIGHT. Then in the fifth trumpet described in REVELATION 9:2 AND HE OPENED THE BOTTOMLESS PIT AND SMOKE AROSE OUT OF THE PIT LIKE THE SMOKE OF A GREAT FURNACE. SO THE SUN AND THE AIR WERE DARKENED BECAUSE OF THE SMOKE OF THE PIT. According to this verse, when Satan opens the shaft of the bottomless pit, dense and extremely hot, smoke billows out. The smoke is so heavy and dark that it blocks the sun and pollutes the Earth's atmosphere. This polluting smoke coming from the bottomless pit seems an appropriate setting for the evil creatures coming out of the pit. The abyss or the bottomless pit is a place of imprisonment for demons. No wonder the Bible in Luke 21 26 speaks of people's hearts, failing them due to fear and anticipation of the events about to befall the earth. Once again, revelation illustrates the sun's darkening during the fifth bowl judgment. It reads. THEN THE FIFTH ANGEL POURED OUT HIS BOWL ON THE THRONE OF THE BEAST, AND HIS KINGDOM BECAME FULL OF DARKNESS. AND THEY GNAWED THEIR TONGUES BECAUSE OF THE PAIN.

 These scriptures clearly indicate cosmic disturbances leading up to the second coming of the Lord. Picture the unsettling experience of living through a period where the sun turns black with an unnerving regularity. The moon, too, will not remain unaffected. It will turn a vivid red lending it the name Blood Moon. This is another significant celestial sight. Revelation 6 13 further presents the sign of the stars falling from heaven as figs from a tree shedding its late season fruit. The Bible mentions this phenomenon of stars descending to the earth only twice, once during the sixth Seal judgment and again at the Second Coming of Christ in Matthew 24 29. These three cosmic occurrences serve as a divine warning system, alerting the world to the imminent return of the Lord. God will go to great lengths to ensure people are aware of Jesus's return.

 He will send sign after sign, warning after warning, even to the extent of deploying angels visible to human eyes. All of these measures are taken to communicate one crucial message Jesus is coming. God will not let humanity remain oblivious. He will keep sending alerts reminding us of what is soon to come. This celestial spectacle is God's call to humanity, urging us to all prepare for the impending return of his son. We must heed these signs, take them to heart, and live our lives in the knowledge that Jesus is coming again.