The Sign of Jesus' Coming

© 2008 by Stephen Amy
Shortly before the Lord Jesus was crucified, four of His disciples came to Him privately and asked for the sign of His coming and the end of the age. Jesus told them to look for "the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place."

Jesus said that His return would be signaled by a specific sign. But what was the meaning of this sign?

If there was a need for the disciples of the first century to know the sign of Jesus' coming, the need is even greater for disciples of the twenty-first century. The passage of time has brought the church closer to the promised coming of her Lord, and has provided opportunity for the simple teaching about the sign to become distorted and nearly lost. Before one begins an examination of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, it is necessary first to clear up what Jesus said would signal His coming.

An investigation and review of the sign involves a look at that which joins the natural present to the supernatural future, the reality of everyday life to the world of antichrist, miracles, angels, and the Lamb-become-King. Just as the Lord spoke from a burning bush to Moses about the coming deliverance of His people from the slavery of Egypt, He will speak from a burning world to those who look for His promised coming.

The Apostle Paul and the Sign
It is evident from the words of the apostle Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonian church that they also did not understand the sign of Jesus' coming. So confused were they that some in that church had apparently become convinced that the day of the Lord had already come. To set them straight, Paul wrote specifically about what would signal the coming of the Lord Jesus. To this gentile congregation he effectively converted "the abomination of desolation...standing in the holy place," a phrase meaningful to Jews, to words that gentiles could understand.

The apostle presented a simple argument. The Lord Jesus will come after, and in response to, the appearance of a particular man who rises to power when the church is experiencing apostasy. He will be recognized by certain things that he does, including lawlessness (2:3, 8) and destruction (2:3), taking God's place (2:4) and the display of power, signs, and false wonders (2:9).

Jesus had said that the abomination of desolation would stand in the holy place (Matt. 24:15). Paul had written that the son of destruction would take the place of God (2 Thess. 2:4). Daniel wrote (11:36) that "the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god." The Thessalonians would understand that "the abomination of desolation" is a phrase that characterizes and describes "the man of lawlessness, son of destruction," whose actions and words would amount to standing "in the holy place," God's place.

Spoken of by Daniel

The Lord Jesus had told His disciples that "the abomination of desolation" was "spoken of by Daniel the prophet" (Matt. 24:15). Daniel discussed the end-time, and the end-time ruler specifically from chapters 7 through 12. He described the end-time ruler as: (1) the "little horn;" (2) "one who makes desolate;" and (3) "abomination of desolation." The picture of the end-time ruler that emerges from these contexts is of one who takes the place of God, destroys saints and causes great desolation, and is destroyed by the returning Lord.

Paul's description is essentially the same as Daniel's. He describes the man of lawlessness as the "son of destruction," just as Daniel described one who would destroy and cause desolation. Paul says that the lawless one "exalts himself above every so-called god," nearly a quotation of "he will exalt and magnify himself above every god" (Dan. 11:36), Daniel's description of the end-time king "set-up" as the "abomination of desolation." Paul also revealed, as did Daniel, that the man of lawlessness would be destroyed by the coming Lord (2 Thess. 2:8).

Revealed by John 

The apostle John also reported details of events that would precede the coming of the Lord in the Revelation. He saw the majority of the Lord's churches fallen and compromised (Rev. 2-3). The saints experience some kind of victory, indicated by the rider on the white horse who is given a crown of victory. They are also embarked on a righteous course probably consistent with the recent victory. This appears to be a military crusade in light of the fact that a bow is in the hand of the rider. But then John shows the saints being killed by one who "takes peace from the earth." The reader then witnesses a series of judgments against the world, its gods, institutions and leaders, followed by the coming of the Lord (7-19). The one who "make[s] war with the saints and overcome[s] them" (Rev. 13:7) is described further by John as a "beast" who would be worshipped as God (13:8) and utter "blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle" (13:6). John also sees him defeated and destroyed by the returning Lord (19:20).

Military Power of the Saints
Both Daniel and John reveal that the saints are in a position of military power at the time they are attacked. The “little horn,” Daniel says, "will destroy mighty and holy people." The little horn is prophesied to "take action against the strongest of fortresses" (Dan. 11:39). When John reveals the saints in the symbol of the rider on the white horse (Rev. 6:2), the rider (saints) is portrayed receiving a crown of victory, probably symbolizing military victory. The crown of victory is probably from some recent military victory, considering that the rider is also seen in possession of "a bow" (a symbol of military power) and is "going out conquering and to conquer."

Nation of the Desolator
Daniel and John provide additional information that indicates the possible nationality of the end-time desolator. John identifies the end-time desolator as one who represents and uses the power of ten kings. These ten kings are a confederation, an eighth empire that arises immediately from the pieces of a seventh empire (Rev. 13:1-3; 17:8-13). Daniel wrote about the same confederation of ten kings (Dan. 7:8-24). In Daniel's account, we learn that the end-time ruler who wields his power does so after seizing the power of three of the ten kings.

Various authors have attempted to equate the ten kings as rulers of remnants of the Roman Empire. But in Revelation 17, the angel tells John that the time frame in which John lived was the time of the sixth "head" or kingdom (Rev. 17:9-13). John lived in the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was the sixth head. That empire was to be followed by a seventh empire that would die and be resurrected as an eighth empire of ten kings.

Only one empire has arisen since the Roman Empire that meets all the necessary criteria for the seventh head. For over 70 years, the atheistic USSR spread like a cancer over the face of the earth, a totalitarian government that held her population captive, persecuting Jews and Christians. But because it was economically unsound, the USSR dissolved in September of 1991 and was replaced immediately by a ten-member confederation, the Confederation of Independent States (CIS). It immediately became dominated by Russia, after Russia took control of the nuclear arsenal that had been controlled by three others of the ten members.

Russia appears to be the nation of the end-time desolator.

On September 3, 1991, the front page of The Salt Lake Tribune read: "Old USSR Buried." "10 Republics Forging New Union." "The old Soviet Union, mortally wounded in last month's coup, was buried Monday by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and leaders from 10 of the nation's 15 republics. In an effort to stop the disintegration of the country and preserve some kind of union, Gorbachev and the 10 republic leaders presented the national congress with a historic plan that would dismantle the old Soviet Union and replace it with a loose confederation of independent states." The Arizona Republic, on September 29, 1991, reported this as the "End of an Empire."

The Sign
The sign given by the Lord Jesus, "the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place" (Matt. 24:15) emerges from Paul, Daniel, and John with definite meaning.

During a time of apostasy in the churches, when the world's most powerful nation has embarked on a righteous crusade, an individual arises from Russia and makes war against the "strongest of fortresses," (Dan. 11:39) a nation populated in part by saints. His attack is in cooperation with "a foreign god," (Dan. 11:30) another powerful entity. The catalyst for his attack is twofold: (1) the saints, as a military power, are an obstacle and threat to his ambition, and (2) the saints are attempting a righteous course of action with their military power. The extent of his destructive war against the saints earns for him the ominous description, "the abomination of [that causes] desolation," "man of lawlessness, son of destruction." As a result of his successful attack, he declares himself to be God. Just as Antiochus Epiphanes IV once desecrated God's temple, so the lawless one will desecrate the church, the temple of the Holy Spirit by killing a substantial number of Christians in the cities of the United States.

Who Witnesses the Sign
After Jesus explained to His disciples the sign of His coming, He followed up by saying, "then let those who are in Judea flee" (Matt. 24:16). It is apparent from Jesus' instructions that "those who are in Judea" would be in a position to see the sign and take the appropriate evasive action, and flee. This means that the saints initially destroyed are outside of Judea, and that their destruction would become known to inhabitants of Israel. Luke records in his synoptic record (Luke 21:20) that Jerusalem would be "surrounded by armies," a fact that he substitutes for "the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place." Thus, as a result of the destruction of those saints Jerusalem would become immediately vulnerable to her enemies.

Conclusion
The definite sign of the coming of the Lord Jesus will not be done in secret. The sign will be such that "the abomination of desolation," "son of destruction," will be regarded and worshipped by many as God.

Some informed guess-work
If any of these prophecies unfold in our times, then it is apparent that Russia, probably in covert cooperation with a Muslim terrorist group, will attack and desolate the United States when the United States is engaged in a "righteous" military activity. The attack will likely involve the use of nuclear weapons constructed and detonated in place in several of the large cities of the United States. Because the United States is the principal ally of Israel, then after the desolation of the United States, Israel will become vulnerable to her enemies. Since the attack will not be done openly with missiles, and the attacker will not be known, the United States will not be in a position to effectively retaliate. The conqueror, safe from retaliation, will easily reason with all who witness the desolation that the Christian God does not exist because such a God would have never allowed such a desolation.