1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 reads: “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 says: “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 
“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
“For when they say, ‘Peace and safety’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labour pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
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“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief.
“You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
“Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.”
Mark 13:32 reads: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Introduction Before Christ ascended into heaven, He made another great and startling promise: He said He would come again and take those who are living and watching for Him, to heaven.
In other words, some may not die before Jesus returns, but will be instantly taken to heaven and given a perfect and immortal body — not the one we have now.
God’s people are to know the times and the seasons, for that day is not to overtake them unawares as a thief.
Even though no one knows the day or the hour, no not the angels, neither Christ Himself, but only the Father, we are to know the seasons and the signs.
In Matthew 25:14 and 19, Christ taught that the time of His absence would be long. Matthew 25:14 and 19 says: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man travelling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.
“After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.”
Jesus declared His going away would be as a man “travelling into a far country” who would return “after a long time”. What then are the signs of Christ’s coming?
Do these signs indicate the event is yet far off, or is it nigh at hand? Signs of the soon coming of Christ
The increase of knowledge sign Daniel 12:4 says: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” The prophecy spoken by an angel indicates that at the end-time, there will be an unprecedented increase in human knowledge.
Second, there will be a startling increase in travel upon the earth. These developments, the angel would have us to understand, will be key signs in discerning the approach of the end of the age. It is commonly known that during most of the history of the world, knowledge has increased comparatively slowly.
Our grandfathers, as boys, travelled about on donkeys in much the same fashion as the disciples of Jesus did 2000 years ago.
A man in his 90s today can remember when there were no cars, no telephones, no electric light, no radio, no television.
However, with the turn of the century came the invention of the aeroplane, radio and television and many electronic devices we now take for granted.
Computers, laptops, cellphones, microwaves, palm tops, etc, e-mail, cable television, vier, skyping, ipads, iphones, satellite and visits to mars by year 2020 are some of the signs of Jesus’ return.
The angel implied the great increase in human knowledge would be a sign of the time of the end.
The vehicle (automobile) sign Nahum 2:3-4 says: “The shields of his mighty men are made red. The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots come with flaming torches In the day of his preparation, And the spears are brandished.
“The chariots rage in the streets, They jostle one another in the broad roads; They seem like torches, They run like lightning.”
Here is one of the most remarkable prophecies of the Bible. This prophetic fore view of the vehicles and highways is so detailed it can hardly be misunderstood.
These strange vehicles that Nahum saw in his vision were as flaming torches — an illusion, obviously, to the brilliant lights of today’s vehicles.
The raging in the streets is an apt expression describing the traffic which has increased in intensity until it has become a menace to life eg cities like Jo’burg, Harare, Nairobi, Lagos, London, New York, traffic jams are a nightmare.
Finally, the prophecy adds: “They shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.” Most of the cars being manufactured today have had their power stepped up until they can make over 220km/hour.
What about Formula 1 racing cars, they move like lightnings. But the most significant part of the prophecy is the time element. The vision was to be fulfilled “in the day of his preparation.”
In other words, at the time when the Lord would be preparing Hisreturn on the earth, these things should come to pass. The cars that you drive today are a sign of Christ’s soon coming.
Radio and television sign Not until about 1875 did man dread of the possibility of sending music and pictures by means of electromagnetic waves through space at the speed of light. Job saw this before it happened long ago.
Job 38:35 reads: “Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, ‘Here we are!’? There is an interesting prophecy in this connection in Revelation 11.
At the end-time the beast or anti-Christ, will overcome and kill the two witnesses, whom God will send to warn people against this evil ruler. Then the beast will permit their dead bodies to lie in the streets of Jerusalem.
Revelations 11:9 says: “Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.
The implication is that people of many nations will be able to view the scene at Jerusalem. How? Cable television, satellite TV.
The earthquake sign Luke 21:11 reads: “And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.”
The general increase of destructive earthquakes has been one of the most notable phenomenon of the past 500 years.
Here are the statistics: 15th century: 115
16th century: 253
17th century : 378
18th century: 640
19th century: 2 119
20th century: 18 564
On average, each year there are: One great earthquake,
10 major earthquakes,
100 destructive shocks,
1 000 damaging shocks,
10 000 minor strong shocks,
100 000 minor shocks.
If all of the shocks (tremors) were included there should probably be one million in a year, including the Bulawayo shocks (tremors) — we had a few years ago.
Jesus said there would be earthquakes in various places.
Sign of the sea and the waves roaring Luke 21:25 says: “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring.”
The words of Jesus concerning the roaring of the seas obviously is an expression indicating that at the end-time the seas would cross over their bounds.
Floods are being recorded daily, in different parts of the world, Mozambique in recent years, South Africa, United Kingdom, Asia, United States and many parts of the world.
Revelations 8:8 and 9 reads: “Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.
“And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. The sea and the waves roaring, indicates the time of Christ’s coming cannot be far off.”
To be continued in next week’s edition of The signs of the soon coming Christ
