2. Key Text: Luke 21:11– “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” PRAYER

3. Last week we discovered that God predicted through Daniel that there would be four, and only four, universal kingdoms. History tells us that these kingdoms have come and gone. They were Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. God said that there would be attempts to put together another universal kingdom, but this would not succeed. God said that His kingdom would be next, and it, unlike the kingdoms before, would never be destroyed.

4. This week we shall talk about the Signs of Christ Second’s Coming—the event which inaugurates the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom. For our first text, let us turn to Luke 21:11. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –There will be earthquakes in various places, famines, pestilences, and fearful signs. –There will also be great signs in heaven.

5. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –The sun would be darkened and the moon wouldn’t give her light. Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, Unabridged (1934), states that the “Dark Day—May 19, 1780” was a day “when an unexplained darkness extended over all (the State of) New England.” So this sign has already been fulfilled.

6. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –The stars would fall and the powers of the heaven would be shaken. First of all, please note that the stars in the sky are fixed heavenly bodies. These do not move. However, historians tell us that: –“One of the most remarkable of these ‘meteoric showers’ (what we call shooting stars) came after midnight on November 12, 1833.

7. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –The meteors were said to ‘fall like snow-flakes’; as many as ‘200,000 within a few hours’ at times being visible at some places.” –William T. Skilling and Robert S. Richardson, A Brief Text in Astronomy, revised edition (1959), p.198. –Another writer states, “A magnificent display of shooting stars startled the inhabitants of the Americas on November 12, 1833...

8. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –....Next day all was serene, but a new branch of astronomy, the study of meteors, was founded.”— Fletcher G. Watson, Between the Planets (1941), p. 118.

9. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –Perilous times will characterize the last days. –People will be self-centred. The book of James (5:3, 4, 8) says that people’s chief concern will be to pile up wealth with no regard to the method of getting it. –Immorality will abound everywhere. –People will be crazy for pleasure. –True religion and godliness will be on the decline.

10. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –The Gospel must go to all the world. –It is to be a witness to all nations. –Then the end will come.

11. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –When we see all these signs fulfilling, then we may know it is near, “even at the door.” –The next glorious even we witness may just be the coming of our Lord and Saviour.

12. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –Paul is here referring to the coming of the Lord. –He warns us not to be deceived, for when mankind shall cry “peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come. –But at the same time men cry “peace and safety,” they will be preparing for war as never before. Listen to the Bible’s description of world conditions just prior to Christ’s second coming. Matthew 24:6, 7

13. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –This states that just before Christ comes, there will be wars, nation warring against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places.

14. POINTS TO EMPHASIZE: –We must be ready for Christ’s Second Coming. –The Lord has warned us so we do not have to be caught off guard.

15. May God help us to make the necessary preparation so that we shall be ready when He comes.

16. Thank God for His bountiful love for showing us what conditions would prevail in the world just before His Second Coming. Since these signs are evident all around us, pray for courage and strength to accept Him before it is too late. Pray for the needs of the family.

17. Today we have studied about the conditions in the world just before the Second Coming of Christ. Next week we will study about the facts of His actual coming: what will happen to the wicked living? The wicked dead? The righteous living? The righteous dead? These we will answer from the Scriptures.