Do You Know the Signs of the Times? Why Not?

1. And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3. And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

I have written about this in another article called “Why didn’t they know? Should we know?”. I would like to bring to light a few more verses to show why Jesus expected them to know the time in which they were living. (He also expects us to know) Their own Holy Scriptures revealed the exact day that their Messiah would come. Danial 9:26 gives that very day and Zechariah 9:9 told them how He would arrive. But they just loved their own status in society, rather then teaching the truth or applying the truth to their own lives.

Jesus had a right to be angry with them and call them the things He did. They were indeed leading people astray and trying to make disciples after themselves. This is no different then today, there are a lot of preachers and teachers that want people to follow them. Is it all their fault? Absolutely not, it’s every individuals responsibility to get into the Bible and read it for themselves. We have been given the gift of being able to read, yet we squander it on useless things. It is up to us to read God’s word. He had it written for us, for everyone! What’s more important than your souls, final destiny, heaven or hell?

We should read the Bible, so as we put it into practice God will conform us to the image of Jesus.

Ephesians 5:25-27 

25.Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26. that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27. so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 

It’s not our job to beat other people up with the scriptures to make them conform. I’ve seen way too many times where somebody would demean another person trying to get them to follow what they believe the scripture says. Especially a man to his wife. You live up to what God shows you and she will follow. If God revealed it to you, then He expects you to follow it, not the other person. We all grow in Christ at a different pace, and we are responsible for that change to look like Jesus. God gives us that ability when he shows us the verses that he wants us to live up to. We are without excuse.

It’s every persons own responsibility to take the Word of God and let it change themselves. The scriptures are for me so that I might change into the image of Jesus.

In so doing I will know the signs of the times and not be fooled by every wind of doctrine. (Matt. 16:12) If every Christian had that attitude, we could all see what is happening in today’s world and know Jesus is coming soon.

Matthew 16:11-12 (ESV) (Please read the whole Chapter).

11.How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12. Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Instead of Pharisees and Sadducees, put in preachers and teachers for today and you can see we are no different than they were when Jesus lived. We follow some of these teachings without checking the scriptures about them and yet some of the things they say are wrong. Please read your own Bible to see if what you hear and see is true. Be like the Bereans in the book of Acts, they checked the scriptures daily to see if what Paul was saying was true.

Acts 17:10-11(ESV) (Please read the whole Chapter)

10. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Even preachers and teachers I know and trust, I will check what they say by the scriptures. If I have a disagreement with what they say I’ll go to them and talk to them. One thing I won’t do is put it out on social media. They may be right and I maybe wrong! Either way we work it out between us and no one else. I do ask you to please check out everything I say or write with the Bible. That’s why when I quote a verse in my articles that I always say “please read the whole chapter”. I’m just a person that wants to follow God with my whole being. But I can be wrong and If I am, I will repent and follow the Bible.

If you are unaware of the times in which we are living, don’t you think it’s time for you to get in the word of God and find out for yourself. We are living in the last days, the days right before Jesus comes back. Studying Bible prophecy will show you that this indeed is the last days. The unfulfilled, prophecies of wars and “rumors of wars” are taking place right now or are falling into place. The Jews are going back to Israel. We live in exciting times and we have to know the “signs of the time”.