READ: Mark 13:24-32: … Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. But of that day and hour no one knows, … nor the Son, but only the Father.
In the days of the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness and the greatest oppression ever for believers, the Son of Man, the Christ, will come. This is accompanied by cosmic phenomena: the sun, moon, and stars recoil or fall when the Son of Man appears. It is an awe-inspiring event that concerns the entire creation. Then people will see the Son of Man coming from heaven on the clouds with His angelic power.
He then sends out His angels to gather His chosen ones from all over the world and the entire heaven: both the deceased and the still living (cf. 1 Thess. 4:15).
Jesus delivers this discourse on the Mount of Olives where many fig trees stand. He points His disciples to such a fig tree. It is spring with Passover, the time when its branches become tender and its leaves sprout: summer and the harvest are approaching! In the same way, the mentioned signs point to the upcoming harvest of the chosen ones on the day of His second coming (vs. 27).
These signs are: great oppression, serious deceptions, the abomination of desolation, wars, and natural disasters. All of this already happened at the destruction of Jerusalem.
This generation, to which the disciples themselves belong, will witness it (vs. 30). “Truly,” says Jesus: let them realize this well! Even though the day of the second coming and the great harvest cannot be predicted, the approaching arrival is confirmed by all the mentioned signs and the destruction of the temple.
The disciples will see this with their own eyes, for consolation, as once again it becomes evident that the words of Christ do not pass away! Even though His second coming means the end of the current heaven and earth, the chosen ones will share in His glory from that moment, which only the Father knows!
What do you do with the signs of the second coming?
Singing: Hymn 51:6 (1984), 68:6 (2014)