“When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately." Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.” (Luke 21:9-11 NASB)

There will be distress of nations, with perplexity

“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.” (Luke 21:25 KJV)

It be will as in the days of Noah!

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matt. 24:37-39)

It was the same in the days of Lot!

“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28-30)

Watch out for deceivers!

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matt. 24:4-5; 11:23-27)

According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of god, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:15-18)

You are not in darkness so that this day should not surprise you!

Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” (1 Thess. 5:1-6 NIV)

"Men of Galilee," they said. "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11)

You don’t hear much talk these days about the second coming of Christ even though much is written about it in the Bible. Over the next few days I will be writing about the promise of Jesus’s second coming.

The second coming is not a cleverly invented story, but it is an actual fact!

“We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16)

Jesus will appear in the sky with great glory and majesty!

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matt. 24:30-31)

Every eye will see Him!

“Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega”, says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:7-8)

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:15-17 KJV)

Don’t ignore the warnings!

It’s easy to focus only on the positive blessings and promises in the Bible and ignore the warnings. But, God is not only faithful to His pleasant promises, He makes good on His warnings as well. When you read the following scripture passages, written over two thousand years ago, you can clearly see they are very accurate and true in the world we live in today. The fact is, Christianity and the truths of the Bible are under severe attack. Jesus said it would be this way, and He was correct!

The following is a sampling of God’s warnings

• While we are in this world, we will encounter tribulation

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 KJV)

• If we are the servants of Jesus, we shall be called evil and devilish

“It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub [devil], how much more shall they call them of his household?” (Matt. 10:25 KJV)

• If we live godly in Christ Jesus, we will be persecuted

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3:12 KJV)

• We shall be hated by all men.

“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” (Matt. 10:22)

But, in the midst of all this, you shall be blessed and your reward in Heaven will be great! So rejoice!

“Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."  (Luke 6:22-23 KJV)

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast .” (Heb. 6:19 NASB)

There are several words to look at within this passage that will help us understand its meaning.

Hope: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

Anchor: something used to hold another thing securely.

Sure: confident in what one thinks or knows; having no doubt that one is right.

Steadfast: resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.

In other words, the hope we have from God is rock solid!

Therefore…

“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” (Rom. 12:12 NLT)

“But if I say I'll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It's like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can't do it!” (Jer. 20:9 NLT)

Therefore, declare His glory among the nations!

“Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.” (Psalm 96:3 NKJV)

Go into all the world and preach!

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'” (Mark 16:15 NKJV)

To every nation, tribe, tongue, and people!

“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.'” (Rev. 14:6-7 NKJV)

Make disciples of all nations!

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19:NKJV)

And then the end will come!

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14 NKJV)

“For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Eph. 5:14 ESV)

Wake up! Salvation is nearer than when we first believed!

“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” (Rom. 13:11 ESV)

Wake up! Do not go on sinning!

“Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.” (1 Cor. 15:34 ESV)

Wake up! We are not of darkness!

“For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” (1 Thess. 5:5-6 ESV)

Wake up and strengthen what remains!

“Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.” (Rev. 3:2-3 ESV)

“The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” (Jer. 1:12 NIV)

God keeps all promises in His Word, even in seemingly impossible ways!

Elisha’s amazing request

Just before the prophet Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, his successor, Elisha, made an amazing request. He asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit (2 Kings 2:9). This request was granted when Elisha met Elijah’s one condition that he be present when he was taken up.

Number of miracles

If you count the number of miracles done by both men you will notice something truly amazing, Elisha died one miracle short of the number of miracles Elijah did. But, don’t stop counting! Be sure to read all the way to the end. (Hint. Death cannot stop God from fulfilling His promises).

The miracles in the lives of these two men summarized

Miracles in the career of Elijah:

1) Causing the rain the cease for 3 1/2 years (1 Kings 17:1)

2) Being fed by the ravens (1 Kings 17:4)

3) Miracle of the barrel of meal and cruse of oil (1 Kings 17:14)

4) Resurrection of the widow's son (1 Kings 17:22)

5) Calling of fire from heaven on the altar (1 Kings 18:38)

6) Causing it to rain (1 Kings 18:45)

7) Prophecy that Ahab's sons would all be destroyed (1 Kings 21:22)

8) Prophecy that Jezebel would be eaten by dogs (1 Kings 21:23)

9) Prophecy that Ahaziah would die of his illness (2 Kings 1:4)

10) Calling fire from heaven upon the first fifty soldiers (2 Kings 1:10)

11) Calling fire from heaven upon the second fifty soldiers (2 Kings 1:12)

12) Parting of the Jordan (2 Kings 2:8)

13) Prophecy that Elisha should have a double portion of his spirit (2 Kings 2:10)

14) Being caught up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11)

Miracles in the career of Elisha:

1) Parting of the Jordan (2 Kings 2:14)

2) Healing of the waters (2 Kings 2:21)

3) Curse of the she bears (2 Kings 2:24)

4) Filling of the valley with water (2 Kings 3:17)

5) Deception of the Moabites with the valley of blood (2 Kings 3:22)

6) Miracle of the vessels of oil (2 Kings 4:4)

7) Prophecy that the Shunammite woman would have a son (2 Kings 4:16)

8) Resurrection of the Shunammite's son (2 Kings 4:34)

9) Healing of the gourds (2 Kings 4:41)

10) Miracle of the bread (2 Kings 4:43)

11) Healing of Naaman (2 Kings 5:14)

12) Perception of Gehazi's transgression (2 Kings 5:26)

13) Cursing Gehazi with leprosy (2 Kings 5:27)

14) Floating of the axe head (2 Kings 6:6)

15) Prophecy of the Syrian battle plans (2 Kings 6:9)

16) Vision of the chariots (2 Kings 6:17)

17) Smiting the Syrian army with blindness (2 Kings 6:18)

18) Restoring the sight of the Syrian army (2 Kings 6:20)

19) Prophecy of the end of the great famine (2 Kings 7:1)

20) Prophecy that the scoffing nobleman would see, but not partake of, the abundance (2 Kings 7:2)

21) Deception of the Syrians with the sound of chariots (2 Kings 7:6)

22) Prophecy of the seven-year famine (2 Kings 8:1)

23) Prophecy of Benhadad's untimely death (2 Kings 8:10)

24) Prophecy of Hazael's cruelty to Israel (2 Kings 8:12)

25) Prophecy that Jehu would smite the house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:7)

26) Prophecy that Joash would smite the Syrians at Aphek (2 Kings 13:17)

27) Prophecy that Joash would smite Syria thrice but not consume it (2 Kings 13:19)

The number of miracles at the time of the two prophet’s deaths

• Elijah: 14
• Elisha: 27

Elisha was one miracle short when he died

When Elisha died, it appeared as though he fell one miracle short in fulfilling the promise of doing double Elijah’s portion. But, wait! Death cannot stop what God is able to do! There is one more amazing surprise after Elisha’s death!

Read this incredible story!

“Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and fled. But as soon as the body touched Elisha's bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet!” (2 Kings 13:21)

The last miracle is performed after Elisha is dead and buried!

28) Resurrection of the man touched by Elisha’s bones. 

God’s eternal Word stands firm!

“Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” (Psalm 119:89 NIV)

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18 NASB)

Jesus was sent to bind up the brokenhearted and heal them

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners.” (Isa. 61:1 NASB)

“He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3 NASB)

He sent his word to heal and deliver them 

“He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.” (107:20 NASB)