Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Matthew 24:32, 33.
The Saviour gives signs of His coming, and more than this, He fixes the time when the first of these signs shall appear: “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: 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….” Matthew 24:29-31.
At the close of the great papal persecution, Christ declared, the sun should be darkened, and the moon should not give her light. Next, the stars should fall from heaven.
Thus was displayed the last of those signs of His coming, concerning which Jesus bade His disciples, “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” After these signs, John beheld, as the great event next impending, the heavens departing as a scroll, while the earth quaked, mountains and islands removed out of their places, and the wicked in terror sought to flee from the presence of the Son of man.
But the day and the hour of His coming Christ has not revealed…. The exact time of the second coming of the Son of man is God’s mystery.
A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty. A little longer, and He will wipe all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and He will present us “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” Jude 24. Wherefore, when He gave the signs of His coming He said, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28.
The Faith I Live By p. 344
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Prayer Requests
—-My daughter filed a restraining order against her abusive husband and now we are coming up on the date Tuesday May 7 for her husband to rebut the restraining order. He has retained a lawyer and is saying none of the reasons for the restraining order is true and that she is crazy and she is involved in a cult. She goes to the SDA church. She does not have an attorney. PLEASE pray Tuesday that the judges heart will see the truth and that her husband will not be successful. Shari
—-praise—I wanted to thank you all for prayers for my newborn niece. She came home yesterday and is doing good. God is so Good. He healed our precious baby girl. Heather
—-Please pray R can get a better and less stressful Job. L
—-Please pray for Chad and Allison whose home burned down Monday. Their three year old twins were killed in the fire. Both are in a burn unit fighting for their lives. Nancy
—-Please pray for the safety of my youngest son and his coworker. They will be carrying heavy solar panels up onto a VERY STEEP ROOF without any safety equipment on. Connie
—-Please pray for my friend’s dad and Her mother. His name is Don, Her name is Sharri. Don is getting worse he cant walk more then 10 ft! He also said he doesn’t think we well make it out of the hospital his heart is slowly shutting down! He sees a heart specialist on Monday! B
—- Ann has been having problems with her left knee and she is in the hospital with a wound on her left leg; she is diabetic and has more health problems. The wound is bad and it is stinking and if the present treatment does not work, she might loose her leg. Please pray the God will lead the medical team to do the right treatment and to heal her completely if it is His will. Chandra
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Dear Friends,
My grandmother rarely went anywhere except to church or an occasional trip into downtown Kalamazoo. My grandfather even did the grocery shopping on his way home from work. Whenever she needed any item that my grandfather had forgotten, she would send my mother (and later, me) to walk the two blocks to where there was a couple of small grocery stores and a pharmacy.
One day, when my mother was a teenager, my grandmother sent her to the mailbox to mail a letter. The mailbox was on the corner where Van Avery’s drug store and Collison’s Market were. My mother decided to take her little changepurse and buy herself some little treat as a reward for running this errand. As she walked along, she began to daydream. Before long she had arrived at her destination and absentmindedly mailed the letter—and—her purse!
Just as she closed the mail chute, she realized what she had done. She went inside the drugstore and asked Mrs. Van Avery what she should do. My mother was very distraught, and the storekeeper could do little but comfort her. Finally, my tearful mother went home.
My grandmother was not pleased when she heard what had happened, but she had an idea. “Geneva,” she said, “You are just going to have to go back to the mailbox and wait for the mailman.” When it was near the pickup time, my mother stood beside that mailbox . She got very tired of standing there, but she wanted her purse. As she waited, she was tempted to go into the store and look around, but she knew that if she did that, she might miss the mailman. Then she would never get her purse.
After what seemed like an eternity, the mailman arrived! Blushing with humiliation, my mother told him what had happened and asked him to find her changepurse amidst all the letters that were in the box. He couldn’t help smiling at this teenage girl standing before him. He told her not to be embarrassed, because he often had to retrieve things a lot stranger than a change purse out of mailboxes.
Just as my mother anxiously awaited coming of the mailman, so we are to wait for Jesus’ soon return. Just as she had to resist the temptation to go into the store and look at all the pretty figurines that Mrs. Van Avery had, or go to the soda fountain and talk to the neighbor boy who worked there; so we must not allow the things of this world or anyone or any thing to take our eyes off from ultimate goal—Jesus’ soon coming! “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” Rev 1:7 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess 4:16,17
“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be….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. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors….Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.” Matt 24:27,31-33,44-47
Our Dear Saviour made a thought provoking statement, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8 We wonder, “How can that be?” He explains, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matt 13:24-30
Let us determine that He will find us faithful to be faithful wheat, for He promises, “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Rev 2:10 Let us endure unto the end for He has said, “he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matt 10:22 “Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:35-37
Rose

Signs in the Heavens